Thursday, December 30, 2010

Moving the Inflation Goalpost

For the economy began to leaven, 
"Inflation at year end, 
Six percent," we contend, 
Did they mean December 2011.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Onionee















At ninety rupees onions are dear
Rupee's worthless, Reserve Bank fears 
"The onion you see 
Is the new currency,"  
Says the Bank's Governor in tears. 

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Oligarchs Unlimited













India's ravaged by oligarchs, 
Politicos, corporations and sharks,
The country's being plundered,
But the media won't thunder,  
Political sponsors ensure it won't bark.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

All India Radia

 











Lobbyist Radia's brief it was said,
Was to appoint Raja the Telecom head,
Oil, land, and gas,
Resources looted en masse,
By whom is this banana republic led?

Friday, December 3, 2010

The Black Gown and the Pigeon















Radia's black gown it seems was chic,
When phone calls to Tata were leaked, 
Her phone was encrypted,
But calls were transcripted,
Niira, please deploy a pigeon that speaks. 

Friday, November 26, 2010

Stash under my Bed















Lobbyist Radia allegedly swore 
The latter then said,
"It won't stash under my bed, 
Where can I get some more?"
Source: Outlook expose on the 2G Scam Tapes 
*1 crore = 10 million

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

India's Unique Inventions













Applying for anticipatory bail,
Is a stratagem that often doesn't fail, 
"An offer" to resign,
Feigning illness a sign
That you're desperate to stay out of jail.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Obama's Discovery of India














Greeting Congressmen, he wasn't naughty, 
Nor was Obama distant or haughty, 
Meeting Rahul, the middle-aged, 
Obama declared as a sage, 
"India's dynamic youth are all over forty."

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Fight scams with more scams



















The Congress High Command combats corruption
With renewed vigor and gumption, 
Probes are such a chore,
So we'll have scams by the score, 
To cheat the nation with supreme deception. 

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Relationships Redefined

 













In Congress there's a new kinship equation,
So logic dictates
That a wife's not a mate,
When Mammon* commands fervent adulation.
 *Riches; wealth; the god of riches

Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Minor-League Courtiers

Before the Monarch, The Almighty Potentate, 
Their minds Lilliputian, 
Appointed for diminution,
"They also serve who only stand and wait."

Inspired by  C.L. Manoj's column "Congress' Lilliputian satraps" in the Economic Times

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Medieval Maoist













A revolutionary on the make,
"Sickular" Roy has ideas to bake,
In a Maoist stew,
Stir a Taliban brew,
Is she dotty or a certified fruitcake?

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Figures and The Figurehead














Food inflation's stubbornly high,
At sixteen percent figures don't lie,
The poor are dazed, 
The PM's unfazed, 
Because he's a figurehead, that's why.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Anarchy in the Assembly


 










The bribe was twenty five crores, 
So the MLAs* slugged, 
And behaved like thugs, 
In the Assembly, it was civil war.

*Members of the Legislative Assembly (Karnataka)

Friday, October 8, 2010

Terms of Endearment













If an Indian woman has you transfixed,
Don't kiss her say the Tourism hicks,
If you are really keen,
Find and kiss a beauty queen,
As for the rest, play safe, discuss politics! 
(Travel advisory to visitors to The Commonwealth Games)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Compliant Cringing Networks






Over Rahul, the media does drool,
Treating the public like twits and fools,
The sycophancy's crass,
On news channels en masse,
Perpetuating feudal rule.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

CWG's Scam Stars




The beggars and workers have been whisked away,
Dumped with rubble before break of day,
Delhi must be bedecked, 
With scammers unchecked,
Like Kalmadi and Dixit on display.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Delhi Adventure Games

















At the roadside kerb, you stand dismayed,
Waiting for a passing VIP cavalcade,
There's a sudden shootout,
For terrorists lurk about,

Friday, September 17, 2010

Delhi's obstacle race













Delhi's citizens run an obstacle race,
Straddling rubble mounds at a quick pace,
Mosquitoes bite their guts,
Buffaloes kick their butts
And hurl them in the flood waters' embrace.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Nuking mosquitoes













Delhi's mosquitoes are adept at evasion, 
So the army's been deployed on this occasion,
Soon the navy will be hired, 
And the air force will fire 
Missiles to nuke the pestilential invasion.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The hazards of swimming



















Swimmers failed the Games dope tests
Selectors will now choose the very best,
Jayalalitha may be rotund,
Mayawati will leave you stunned,
And the masses will succumb to cardiac arrest.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Breaking News: Militant Mosquitoes target Games















The Games' venues the athletes will throng,
Down with dengue they'll be before long,
With sneezes and coughs,
The stadium's roof will blow off,
They'll flee singing Rahman's lousy song.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Oh darling, I love your sweat equity













With his third wife, Tharoor looks pretty, 
Celebrating his wedding in four cities, 
With Sunanda in tow,
And a seventy crore glow,
"Oh darling, I love your sweat equity."

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Weapons of mass infection














After CWG's venues were ordained,
Mosquitoes multiplied in every pool and drain,
In multi-crore grounds,
Mosquitoes splash around,
Citizens be damned, let dengue fever reign.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

The MPs' Money Mantra













Voter, can you spare me a crore,
Why do you create such a furor?
I'll keep you in chains, 
Why do you complain? 
I'll be back looting some more.

With apologies to "Brother, can you spare me a dime?" a 1931 song of the Great Depression.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Shoe Time













If you have smelly old shoes to spare,
Fling them at fools of Vanity Fair,
Don't hurl one but two, 
'Coz you'll have to woo,
The politico with free footwear.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The middle class bribes to fuel progress













FIIs* favor the rich noblesse, 
NGOs nurture the dispossessed,
The middle class slaves away,
Long hours everyday,
And bribes to fuel India's progress.

Inspired by Professor Vaidyanathan's column in DNA: "Why economy is growing despite jholawalas and Wall Streeters"
*Foreign Institutional Investors

Sunday, August 15, 2010

India is dimming, not shining














With 8% growth rate quotes,
Our policy wonks grin and gloat,
Eighty percent slave away,
On twenty rupees a day,
India's not shining, please take note.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Scams and swindles opportune

















We won't have a helium balloon,
To herald the Games in full moon,
But we are enthralled,
With the daily roll call,
Of scams and swindles opportune.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Delhi's Fort Loo

Fortress Loo at Defence Colony Market












 


The MCD decided to push through,
An eatery above a loo,
But the residents raised a stink,
It's no place to eat or drink,
Welcome to Delhi's Waterloo.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

The missing ministers














Spectrum Raja's hands are in the telecom till,
Mamata decamped to West Bengal seeking thrills,
DMK's Alagiri doesn't care,
The Prime Minister despairs,
"It's not my brief, it's Sonia's will."

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The Ten Lakh Treadmill




















If you wish to dupe the exchequer by stealth,
Or amass a share of the nation's wealth,
Send Kalmadi an inflated bill,
Amass 10 lakhs leasing a treadmill, 
You'll augment the politicos' collective health.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Congress Wealth Gains














Are the Commonwealth Games a chaotic fat wedding, 
A shambolic affair towards which we're heading, 
The taxpayers have been fleeced, 
So politicos palms can be greased,
A gargantuan scam, that's what we're dreading.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The UnCommon Wealth Games















Delhi's citizens are enraged, 
The sportsmen are disengaged, 
The Games costs have ballooned, 
To enrich the nation's goons, 
'Tis for political leaders, the Games are staged.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Is the Foreign Minister a cream puff?












In the Indo-Pak talks SM Krishna wasn't tough, 
Not hawkish, not aggressive, nor rough,
He wasn't well-prepared, 
Wily Qureshi had him ensnared, 
Is he a Foreign Minister or a cream puff?

Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Deaf Politician









If you have the gall and gumption,
To whine about corruption, 
You'll be treated with disdain,
So you'd be wise to refrain,
For politicos are deaf, never forget that basic assumption.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Stop whining about the fuel price hike











"The fuel price rise," the PM explains, 
"Will reduce the budget deficit, so don't complain,
The price hikes are a bitter pill, 
You paupers have to pay the bill, 
Stop whining, and drink some champagne."

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Prayer: the inflation slayer
















Inflation's causing citizens to despair,
Policy wonks claim it's a short-lived affair;
As prices rise, 
The PM beseeches the skies,
Hopes ride on the wings of a prayer.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Where's the Prime Minister?




Where's the PM, ask his detractors? 
Is he Sonia's stooge, or a consummate actor, 
He addresses science conventions, 
Travels overseas to alleviate tensions, 
Of heading a government swarming with malefactors.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Congress declares Rajiv Gandhi its patron saint

"Rajiv Gandhi never had a taint, 
To Citizen Morons we must acquaint, 
We worship idols,
Our sycophancy's unbridled, 
Towards Rajiv: our patron saint."

Sunday, June 13, 2010

None wept when Bhopal died

In Bhopal, twenty thousand gassed and died, 
Justice delayed, the leaders inflate with pride,
Horrors even Bruegel could not have painted, 
Efforts are afoot to redeem the criminally tainted, 
With golden guineas, lawyers' egos are puffed,
While lives in gas chambers were summarily snuffed.

Political parties have a policy objective, 
Victims must endure, for justice is selective, 
The poor man's life is to be expended, 
The rich are nurtured, never apprehended; 
Politicos, judges revel in the macabre game, 
Passing the buck, shuffle the blame. 

Impervious to the images of ghastly death, 
Indifferent to the victim's last rasping breath,
Attorneys, politicians on Carbide's graveyard dance,
Absolve themselves of guilt's sharp lance,
Weak and impotent, more's the pity, 
The Prime Minister fiddles, forms a committee. 

Mega corporations, may your colonization never cease, 
Pillage and pollute what you can with ease, 
"Life's cheap," our leaders boast with glee,
"But in India we give it away for free,
We'll shield you from meddlers while you bide, 
Remember, none wept, when Bhopal died."

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Capital punishment

There's no need to workout,
In the current heat bout,
The wind's on the boil, 
We sweat without toil, 
You'll shed kilos even if you're stout.



The heat wave's beginning to roast, 
Our bodies into toast, 
The neurons gather silt,
While our frames sag and wilt,
We'll keel over and give up the ghost.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

The tantrum throwing dame

Mamata Banerji has a singular aim: 
Outmaneuver the Communists at their game,
The Railway ministry is inconsequential,
West Bengal has more potential,
To elect a tantrum throwing dame.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Jairam Ramesh's hurricane proof hairdo

When deriding his critics with disdain,
Jairam Ramesh flaunts his coiffured mane,
Thrice daily he blow dries, 
Using scarce power supplies, 
Environment Minister, shouldn't you refrain?

Monday, May 17, 2010

Euro's current worth

Greece has been on a debt binge,
The euro's got hammered and singed;
The German mark spurred the euro's birth,
Is the drachma euro's current worth? 
Ask investors extremely unhinged.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Braying for retrograde causes

Earlier this year, when Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh supported the introduction of genetically modified BT Brinjal or aubergine, he was opposed by farmers' and environmental groups. During his recent visit to China, he accused the Indian government of being alarmist and paranoid about Chinese investments in India. 

Naveen Jindal, a businessman and MP, meanwhile is playing footsie with the khap panchayats, self-styled community representatives who dispense medieval justice in the villages of Haryana. 



These two worthies have hidden agendas and I have a limerick: 
  
Jairam Ramesh is seduced by Chinese swindles,
Khap groups have wooed Naveen Jindal:
Both loudly brayed,
For causes retrograde,
Let's force feed them toxic BT Brinjal.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Rackets and racketeers

Sporting heads have never wielded a racket,
Yet they've all stashed massive pay packets:
Racketeers to a man,
Mobsters of a clan,
They belong to top income tax brackets.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Fight terror with sixth sense

Delhi lives constantly under the threat of imminent terror attacks, so the Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna advised the edgy, nervous residents of the capital to develop vigilance as a collective sixth sense. Translation: we the serfs are left to fend for ourselves.


Here's my riposte in verse to the Governor:

Be vigilant with your sixth sense,
Says Delhi's Governor who's quite dense,
Police will protect the elite
Not lumpen masses in the street,
We commoners now live in perennial suspense.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Big Brother learns to tap dance

Outlook magazine reported that the Indian intelligence services are keeping tabs on all kinds of electronic communication: landline calls, cellphone conversations, sms exchanges and chat. 


Big Brother, you've earned yourself a limerick:

It seems our phone lines are tapped
To plug the information gap,
Thousands are employed,
Ministers are overjoyed
Listening to unadulterated crap.

On your phone when you hear strange clicks,
Try some shrewd and canny tricks,
Chant a melodic Italian aria
Praise the Prince and Mama Sonia,
Who knows, you'll be chosen the Prince's sidekick.