LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID...

 

He slipped into her bed unasked and unmasked having just returned from a work trip to Mumbai.

She shrieked and reached for the hand sanitizer kept in her bedside drawer.

In the dark, she took the pepper spray instead and blasted him in the face with it.

He yelped and then unleashed a ginormous sneeze right on her face.

She ran to the bathroom and frantically gargled with salt water, mouthwash and Betadine for good measure.

Then she scrambled to the steam inhaler and inhaled for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, her unmasked boyfriend kept sneezing.

 The viral load reached maximum.

Last heard – both tested positive for Covid 19.

Covidi, Covici, Covini….

Nimmou Nilakantan

 

THE WHATSAPE WORLD

THE 'WHATSAPE' WORLD

Whatsapp is a counterfeit note – it has no purchasing power. Mere words on a screen and a range of emoticons that make us more Android than human. It has become the equivalent of the remote control in a couch potatoes hand- you can surf all those messages and leave a quick word or press a thumbs up emoticon and you feel you have connected. But, just like the stars in the sitcoms you watch, unless you are reinforcing the connection with phone calls, mailing or meeting your loved one, you become an audience but with a digital footprint.

 Yes, yes, during the Pandemic Whatsapp was a lifeline to connect to those we loved but could not meet – in that context it was an affirmation at best for an existing and solid relationship. Not to forget the free phone calls that enabled us to hear a loved one’s voice. But, if you are part of a Whatsapp  group just to feel connected then you are a Wildebeest. Part of a herd for safety but when the lion targets and kills the weakest member the herd does move on after a backward glance…

Whatsapp is what the keyboard is to the grand piano in terms of sound. You are never fully heard because each one has something to say – including you. You are held captive to a screen full of words and those can never fill your heart. Like Splenda after a decadent dessert with real sugar,

 Whatsapp never really fills those empty spaces within. A heart emoji never gets my pulse racing the way a living, talking human can…

Sending a forward is not communication or ‘keeping in touch’ – it is just plain lazy! Reacting with an emoticon is not showing emotion – you have just confirmed you are a frigging robot. Whatsapp is the cave dwellers means of expression without the artistry. It has hijacked the human and replaced it with a caricature – half ape (with sincere apologies to the magnificent beast) and all moron…

Nimmou Nilakantan

 

 

BEFORE THE WORLD INTRUDES

Before the world intrudes…..

It is 4 am…I love this hour where it is me and only me. Before the fears set in, the doubts, the anxieties, the angst and the people…and the world intrudes.

 This is my angel hour where I walk under a sky of infinite possibilities and I can be whoever I think I am – strong, brave, talented, fearless and adventurous…

The world beckons and like the stars twinkling above in a clear sky I feel empowered to chase every dream and make it a reality.

 And then, the sun peeps over the horizon throwing that golden light over every cobweb of lost opportunities and I am enmeshed in that web.

The dreams dissolve in the heat, the hope fades with the stars and I slowly trudge into the kitchen to put the cooker on. And, with the first whistle the world intrudes….

And I decide to embrace…

My Inner Sick…

I am not a goody two shoes

I know what makes me tick

I like to do what I do

Let me embrace my Inner Sick….

I love going for walks

At some ungodly hour

When it is dark and little eerie

That’s when I get my super power!

As I march around in silence

Of the cold and lonely night

It is when I feel the strongest

My inner demons to fight…

Sleep late, lie in bed people

Let me rouse my tormented soul

Doing the normal at a weird hour

Is just what makes me whole…

Some habits are here to stay

While some just do not stick

I know just what works for me

It’s when I embrace my Inner Sick…

Nimmou Nilakantan