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

 

 

 

 

 

THE PANDEMIC

We called it Pandemic

It was World War 3

Where we fought the Invisible Enemy….

 

We called it Pandemic

But it was World War 3

Every battle fought against the Daily Lonely…

 

We called it Pandemic

Every soldier had one task

To wear the weapon – A Mask….

 

We called it Pandemic

No condition could be worse

When humans became People Averse…

 

We called it Pandemic

It was World War 3

Imprisoned at home, no Longer Free…

 

We called it Pandemic

We wrote ourselves into history

By the failure of Human Society…

 

We called it Pandemic

It was World War 3

When will we ever return To Normalcy?

Nimmou Nilakantan

 

 

 

 

 

 THE MASK

We covered our face

But could not disguise

What lay deep within...

 

It gave us anonymity

To discover our true identity

And meet our authentic self...

 

Without beauty parlours and gyms

We realized the beautiful truth

That we could now uncover...

 

We found ways to connect

With the neighbour next door

Picked up the courage to talk

To those we did not know...

 

We covered our faces

And that opened our hearts

To unleash the human within...

Nimmou Nilakantan

GRIM REALITY

What is the alternate reality in these bleak Covid times? Where the 3^rd dimension, the 5^th element, the parallel universe or the promised Paradise? Where oh where and please tell me if you have found it. My life, like everybody else’s is fully engaged in the battle with the unseen but too well known disease. And yet we trip up almost daily… a hand not washed, a mask not worn, a distance not maintained, a crowded gathering – simple oversights now carry the threat of capital punishment.

We draw cold comfort wherever we can. “Next year will be better”, “This too shall pass”, “Soon things will be back to normal”, “We can soon travel freely”, “ We will see our loved ones”, “We will get our jobs back”…the list is a long cry of hope and despair. Meanwhile, we cling onto the vision of a cleaner, greener Earth and use phrases like “Heal the environment” and vow to become conscientious guardians of our precious planet, even after all this is over.

Covid 19 made us mindful and grateful that we were the survivors who beat the odds and emerged with a strong credo for simple, good living. Till the better times roll we try to do the mundane chores with mindfulness – cook, clean, buy the essentials, work, workout and shun physical human interaction even though we yearn for it

God’s punishment?  Hell no! There is nothing  Divine about Covid 19. Nor could Hell unleash a fury this toxic. This is Human folly, pure and simple. We did this folks- it is all on us. We got into it and now we have to find a way out of it.  And, from an uncaring, mindless species,  a new human shall rise and like a demi-God become the best version of the human while never forgetting to treat Mother Earth with the respect she deserves…

Get a grip on reality now

We have lost ourselves for so long now

On the merry-go-round of the mundane…

 

No longer can we fill our days

With little distractions and little treats

Just to keep ourselves sane….

 

Oh no, this is Grim Reality

That we confront with no backing down

Totally focused to conquer the grind…

 

There are no escape hatches or burrows

Every day is that hard won battle

Between our iron will and soft mind…

 

Pay utmost heed to the future now

But live, love in the minute to minute minutiae

While learning to balance on that thin fine line….

 

There is only one way forward

The one mantra or credo to follow

Repeat every day- “I am going to be fine”

 

Just mean it though!

Nimmou Nilakantan

 

DA COVID CODE

DA COVID CODE!

This damn virus has infected all of us – with gullibility. Never have we hung on every word, every Forward, every reported way to beat Covid. We watch videos, posted by the self- proclaimed ‘experts’, the jobless, the bored and those simply seeking their two minutes of fame. We hit our pressure points that according to one ‘expert’ activates our immune system and we end up with a sore body just because that idiot on a self- shot video told us it was a sure fire thing.

We are on an immunity enhancing diet which plunges us into a deeper funk than we are already in. I mean a turmeric latte over a good old butt kicking cup of caffeine? Nobody won a battle or a Pandemic war armed with only immunity boosters. Get real folks and stop believing every viral post – we have to beat this delusionary virus more infectious than Covid. I hope when they do crack the vaccine they will also discover an antidote for the herd mentality to boost our brain immunity.

Instead of keeping it simple we twist and complicate every damn thing. When bona fide scientists tell us to wear masks that is when our few remaining brain cells not hijacked by Whatsapp or Tik Tok videos, kicks in and rebels against proven theories. If the diktat had been “Cover your chin and throat with a mask” it might have saved the lives of those rebels whose masks dangle over everything but their nose and mouth…

Life has changed – deal with it. Immunity building has been added as the latest fitness fad – never mind that it has been trumpeted by our grandma’s good old cooking ages ago. Hand sanitizer and soaps have become numero uno in our shopping list toppling hand creams and lipsticks.  In addition to a shoe rack, a hat rack, a clothes rack we now have a mask rack – near the front door hangs our designer masks to ensure we do not forget the one accessory more important than house keys, car keys or wallet when you step out of the front door..

How you choose to wear it will determine if your genes are passed on or if Darwin’s law of Evolution or Extinction comes into play. Newton got it bang on with his law – “Every action has an equal or opposite reaction” Mask up and carry on living folks – this is our Brave New World….

Nimmou Nilakantan