THE WARLOCK

It has been a journey that has taken 5 days short of two long years.  It has shown me the lowest ebbs in life ... from where i have learnt to dare to dream of reachin the zenith.. some day. It has shown me the extent to which a father and a mother can endure for a child ... thereby evincing the need for relations in this fragmenting world. It has shown me love, life, the quest for knowlegde .. its futility and its importance. Everything in the last two years has come as a package. It has ripped me apart and reconstructed me .. It has given rise to more questions than answers. Two years ago I thought this would be IT. Now i know IT is nothing... But these two years have given me time to see my life .. to sit and think ... I have figured out that  goals can never be abolut. 

As i turn back i see so many who have been good to me ..without reason. I was always blessed with unconditional love if not anything else and i have come to cherish it. sometimes i do fear about the dividends ... yes i do. Yesterday when i donned the gown and turned the tassel from right to left to be pronounced 'graduate' , I wanted to thank all those who have been standing behind me with smiling faces. Every time when I have tried to turn back and run .. i have seen their smiling faces .. i have seen their faith in me .. and I have stopped my retreat and decided to march ahead. 

To be a Graduate is nothing... many have done it before and many will do it in future .. and many will reach the pinnacle of success without ever needing it ... But for me it a battle won .. a goal scored .. a punch in the jaw of adversity. I have always admired Hemingway and have always believed in ' what a man can do and what a man can endure' .. today I have brought the merlin to the shore. 

here are the pics 
http://picasaweb.google.com/saptarshi.moitra/GradPics

Long live the dreamers 
Sapto

In the midst of a tempestuous night
With the bluster scathing by,
I stand still before the angry Lords
Awaiting the trial of my life

The bailiff roars and Heaven cracks
I see Mars brandishing his mace.
Then, through the blinding light I see them all
Their scorns scorching my face.

Clutching the railing with knuckles white
Reminiscing my deeds I shake
As the thunder bellows, chilling my spine
Demanding me on the stake.

Unsure of my crime, yet assured of its import
I watch with bated breath
My parents ensconced in the front pew
A motley lot filling the rest

The gavel strikes, all mortals shake
Drawing condescending looks from the Gods
I feel ashamed of my unknown crime
I feel I have fallen from grace

A crackle again! A momentary flash
And I can see two lovely faces
But their somber smile I cannot construe
I pray it’s a passing phase

Have I been a son, worthy of all their love?
I want to ask aloud
But a mortal has but little to say
When the Lords decide to arbitrate.

Theirs sudden darkness everywhere
Perhaps the trial is over !
This convict’s fate hence has been sealed
In the dungeons of Doom forever.


But those tiny lights I see yonder
Cannot be the proverbial hell
I am sure they are beacons from a mortal world
At the end of my Texan trail


Saptarshi Moitra

The wheel keeps turning on and on
Cranked by two skinny legs;
Like the arms of an antique clock
Wound by the hands of Fate.

The wheel keeps turning on and on
Through narrow meandering lanes;
Revealing myriad creatures around
Each with a tale to tell.

The wheel keeps turning on and on
As it passes a sooty face
That looks up from his blacksmith's hearth
Like a soul purging in hell;
The splinters fly everywhere
Like angry fire-flies
The anvil stays stoic to pain
As the angry hammer strikes.

The wheel keeps turning on and on
Crossing a baroque palace gate,
Where noblemen and women conflate,
Where vanity surrounds the place;
Their smiles hide a million vice
Enshrouding putrid thoughts
Yet, they are society's Noble Face
They are the Respected lot.

The wheel is tired , its path is tough
The road it travels , is abrasive and rough;
The cog squeals , and the spokes creak,
But the skinny legs pay no heed.

Lean, lanky, emaciated yet stolid,
With a gaunt yet poker face;
His skinny legs peddle on and on
By will, and not by brawn.

The Sun sets to accept Defeat
To this Spartan soul
And the night arrives in her capote
Only to a Dawn unfold

Life is a wheel to this noble soul
And peddle he must to live
His sorrows weigh heavy on the Divine Scale
But peddle he must to live .

.........................................................................

Along a Desolate aisle...Few men stand .. their faces pale.
With glassy eyes .. they see each other,
Recollecting their days, their finest hours;
In their minds... fond memories fly,
Yet , why shed tears? why say Good Byes?
Why be so sombre.. why feel the sorrow,
When it is time .. to embrace the morrow?

Making a huddle.. putting heads together
They sing for SPHINX ... while their hearts shed tears
The Whistle blows.. to say "It's Time!"
Like a judge's Verdict .. condemning a Crime;
The SPHINX Cracks! ...... to Fragments and Shards....
..Its pieces depart.. with Broken hearts.

TIME stands still , as the Train moves by....
Wondering, whether to smile ? or to sigh?

This tale i tell .. is History now!
But with hands on Hearts, lets make a vow........

"Come what may.. We shall All Stand Tall,
Fighting life s colossal barriers and walls."

I sear through the clouds.. carrying the Grace of God
onto the earth beneath..
A droplet m i.. carrying an ocean of Hope
to this sombre Earth.. i am the Watery wreath
i fall on the leaves .. like a drop of pearl
rolling down her lithe spine

to the poor, i m richer than a casket of gold
to the rich, i m poorer than wine

am the Mother of all streams... born in the hills
ending in the cacophony of waves
this journ of mine, is the cycle of life
for every living Race

am the Judgment of God .. His Grace .. His Wrath
i have no friends nor foe
He sends me as His Divine Verdict
foiled in lightning, or a rainbow

A droplet am i .. at times a Virago
at times a Graceful Dame
in the clouds i hide my shame
i m the Enigma called RAIN

SPHINX RIDIN ON TIME

Ridin on the back of Time ..
crossin meadows, lush and green
Reminiscin days wen we lived like swines..
devourin chicken with beer pints

but TIME s wily .. and she gives a jolt
till all our thoughts .. come to a halt
far off we see some passing colts
rushing by like thunderbolts
they remind us .. of our restless youth
those bohemian nd unruly days of truth

O TIME .. She is an imposter
memories She erases in a single flutter
she is carryin us all at a crazy pace
remindin, that life is a race

things we loved and things we cherished
recede into oblivion
but that is life and we must not perish
to the name of SPHINX.. we are all scions

ridin on Her back i sigh.. askin Her" WHY DO U FLY"
She stares back at me .. with eyes deadly calm
and then she says "I WAIT FOR NONE "

its an earnest request to viewers to post their comments after readin the followin lines.i just want to see if i could move even the slightest muscle in your heart. thank you

THE BAND OF BROTHERS

Lonely were the college lanes.. as arid as the desert
Silent were the hostel ailes .. perhaps cursed by a wizard
When entered the gates a band of men.. from yonder lands they came
The devil himself was afraid of them.. and the world called them INSANE
With books in hand .. were they seldom seen
To classes they came only to dream
Attire they wore most unclean.. but never were they selfish or mean

They turned the hostel into a colloseum.. where nights they fought in jest
Burned down the cobwebs of tradition.. each day to them was like a fest
Fortune played with them cartwheel..yet for years, they followed their Will

THEN one day the sun went down.. filling the town with gloom
The band of men set down their crown..and left the valley by the moon

Even for them it wasnt easy.. four years of memory did weigh heavy
Albeit men their heart did ache.. only memories were they allowed to take
Just for once .. they heaved a sigh
then looking thruogh the gates... they said GOODBYE

guys the bells are tolling .. soon it ll be time .. its my request to all sphinx members to come active and post their feelings their experiences their memoirs in this site.. lets see how much we still remember of those long forgotten days ...SPHINX.. it is time to rise like the phoenix ( not the muzzy PHOENIX).

under the starry night.. when my heart feels weary
i stop in my stride .. to answer its query
unseen unknown .. illogical they seem
a million doubts.. filled to the brim
the past .. the present .. the future together
like the trident of Lord Shiva.. they do rear
orphaned by fortune.. into darkness i gaze
through the treacherous path.. of a timeless maze
am a novice .. a tyro.. or an amateur
but devoid of fear.. my heart is pure
i ride alone.. to the valley of mystery
disregardin rules.. ignoring decree
am the solitary soul.. i want to be free
this banal life .. is not for me
yet i travel i travel through ruins and rubbles
solvin life s own mysteries

go blaze your guns.. its time for fest
remember we r kings.. with a crown on our crest
mount the dais.. look down from there
breathe in and then .. sing loud and clear
ressurect thyself .. and sing for the group
let ur heart speak.. like the melody of a flute
fear not failure.. for we 've failed enough
in the face of disaster .. we have learnt to laugh
lookin down from there.. you ll see our face
smilin and cheerin.. like those forgotten days
its then that u know .. you have not lost all
albeit hurt.. we have survived .. the abyssmal fall......... good luck guys