Completing the syllabus- we hear this phrase SO often, that my ears are literally TIRED of these words .. It's a race, a competition....in which most beautiful things are lost.. lost behind the transition between the "want" to study, and the "compulsion" to study .. Going way off the topic- students nowadays only study, because they have to. Given the chance, I'm sure they'd rather spend time on FaceBook ...

But among the few classes that I REALLY look forward to is English ... beauty beyond barriers .... Poems, sonnets, stories..... fun

"The Frog and the Nightingale" - a masterpiece by Vikram Seth, a maestro in himself ... really inspired me ... So I wrote a poem, with animals as characters, as a satire on our society ... In the quest to learn more and grow more with each passing day, I aspire to make the most out of what I've got ....

So here's the poem:

The Snake and the Rabbit

"All eyes turn to me

As i tread along the path

The leaves cover the thorns

Beauty is such an art!"

Haughtily exclaimed the rabbit

Her head held oh-so-high!

Looking around as if to check

How many at her beauty did sigh!

Along came slithering, slivering

A snake- such a scare

Exclaimed the rabbit- "How could

To cross my path you dare!"

"Forgive me, my mistress"

The snake bowed deep into the Earth

"I'd forgotten there for a moment

Of humbleness here, there is a dearth."

Cried the aristocracy

For all her worth she fought

"You've dared to defy the social laws

For punishment now, you shall be sought"

"For all you can claim

Is a mere slither on the ground

Known to be a betrayer

To an ordinary fate you're bound"

These words, though heard before

Filled the snake with awe

She kept quiet at this humiliation

Choosing not to flout another law

Caressed by the snow fur

The look in the rabbit's eyes undaunted

Attendants all around her

The fox, the rat- keeping her enchanted

"I've been judged by my dark, tainted looks

A tradition carried on since ages

My ancestors' 'sins' I have to bear

For they have been forever engraved in pages"

"As I try to rise inside myself

By your kind words you empathize

Make me fall deep down infinitely"

The snake said unheard, invisible tears in her eyes

And so the world and its ways

Upholds the rabbit to the peak

Terrified of the minorities' empowerment

Simple acceptance is what the snake seeks.

:)