Friday, December 31, 2021

Happy New Year 2022

Tonight, we are putting ourselves into a new year And we shall move forward with all things dear; Happy New Year 2022 and a happiest weekend And may your aspirations continue to ascend! Time spent cannot be retrieved as it’s the past While the present has, truly, a split-second to last; The...

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Holy and organic

My childhood spent about five decades ago At my parents’ place then; how did the house show? We lived in a house of stone walls, gaps mud-fed, Mud plastered, and mud-painted: half white and half red The floor, too, was mud and cow-dung coated, Wall edges at floors were with red mud, mud-red! White lime was obtained from around the rivulet far-flung; A hut-house perfect on a hilltop but never...

Friday, November 12, 2021

First interaction with a client…

First interaction with client is a listening exercise And getting into his likes and dreams precise; Sketchy images are out from both the sides And a relationship works out in multiple strides! Past is revisited to work out on the present need, Deadlines are frozen and all is fixed for the deed; The present gives way to the unpredictable future As lives connect to art and science of architecture! The...

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Glass: Handle with Care

A see-through was long ago crafted As blueprint for the future of glass was drafted; We are one with Nature as if out in the open; Opacity in built forms too is broken! Reflections, refractions, heat and insulation, Matted or glossy with or without undulations; Tempered, tinted, plain and frosted; Sheets...

Sunday, October 17, 2021

Some are squares...

Some are squares with right angles, Some circular, some triangles; Facing directions wide and high Many sides for accesses apply Rules must govern the use, From larger ones, each site is a reduce; Some for private living, some for malls of shops Some left blank like flat rooftops Where stories develop, there are plots Where fallow are the vacant slots; Across landscapes, each one uniquely...

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Delight of Light

The glow-worms had hidden after the night And I was awake before the first flash of light; I was waiting for the new day’s new sight With objects, revealing around me, in delight! And, as the sun brighter began to enter Through windows with the rays slanting off-center, It was directed by glass or edited by a curtain Filtered through to claim a space for certain! At times an ephemeral art...

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

In the contours of my life...

In the contours of my life I moved ahead Not exactly knowing how to pace each tread; Heights are meant to be scaled with each rise But, at times, falling back a bit isn’t a surprise! The floors that I strolled gave me the strength As I searched my soul in breadth and length; The walls within me promised a living Though the ceiling in-between limited my giving The facades, with nature around,...

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Here goes my second dose

Here goes my pose As I took my second dose! This time, the moderna vaccine travels my veins For immunity as euphoria mixes with fears and pains! We shall witness, with vaccinations, a downward trend In infection numbers to push the enemy to a dead-end And it may, still, be a little early to nurture...

Sunday, June 13, 2021

With All My Senses

My eyes are wide open, ears eager to hear in haste, My nose is ready for the smell and tongue for taste! A touch on any issue, the mind becomes the gear And if anything is bad, the heart moves forward to bear! Senses do loom large and yet we feel sorry, Perceptions vary: the very cause of our worry! Opinions and options are no reasons for threat Unless a vested interest, I have reasons to bet! Senses...

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Old and Gold

"I was a master of all, nothing stayed low As I matured to enhance my life's glow; Now, I have risen and risen and grown old Final home-going is my way forward, I am told Wrinkles are witness to my fight for resilence My performance is low; all around me is just penance; My ears are deaf, eyes are blue and hazy, Voice is low, mouth toothless and I feel a lot lazy I need support as I walk A...

Friday, June 4, 2021

Roadside Romeo

I waited along the route To catch a glimspe of you Now all I can sadly say I’ve wasted another day! Restless evening passed me by Darkness covered earth and sky I wish that I could fight This fast encroaching night And bring back some daylight Just so that I can see you And make my dreams come true (Phanindra Khanal) A short poem published in Kuensel in 1999 p{ text-align:center; font-size:17px; ...

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Architecture and Poetry

I delve from line to line For a structure with a strong spine While a space white gives way to letters dark With dimensions and metre making a mark! Poetry and architecture correlate in creativity From issues all to homes in a city; There is rhythm and music in standstill and motion, Approach...

Sunday, May 9, 2021

हिउ पर्‍यो

हिउ पर्‍यो है कान्छी रमितै भयो थिम्फू सहर। सूर्यको किरण धर्तीमा चमक्दा जउला है खेल्न वरपर।। तीन फिटको हिउमा पाखुरा डुब्दा हाँसी दिंउला है कान्छी मरी मरी। धराब हाँगामा अल्झेको हिउले बर्साई दिंउला है तिमीलाई घरिघरि।। चिप्लो बाटोमा मलाई समाए धसिदिंउला है हिउ जिउ भरी ऐया, आच्छी तिमीलाई भए भनी दिंउला...

Friday, April 30, 2021

A Street Dweller

His passion, truly, is to own the city wild Unbothered; a matured man from a long lost child! With tattered bags of belongings, weather battered face, Street his home and every nook and corner his place! Durpinay, as he is called, knows not his real name Over the years, he has always remained...

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Dream of a Queen

A dream that came true for a pious mom, The dream that the Enlightened One had arisen from, A dream that Queen Maha Maya had while asleep Is a dream deemed to be deep for humanity's upkeep! It's a dream treasured as absolutely confirmatory, A dream of a faithful for an everlasting glory, A dream...

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Eclipsed Eclipse

A shadow is cast; a full moon night is dark A celestial phenomenon is on its mark! Umbra and penumbra do resurrect the minds; Classroom stories to flashbacks of many kinds! Glow or hide, you are still the Moon Keep on moving and we will see you soon; Race the orbit no faster nor late and be back Wish to learn from you to be on a normal track! Oh no! Clouds are thick; no eclipse is seen, Past midnight:...

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Forshaken

Forshaken In full bloom arrayed Bidding my time for the bee I swayed in the summer breeze Hoping he would notice me Nectar in me for he, the Bumble Bee Decked out and fragrant was I But the bee disdained my troth And left me wanting to die My short stay spans less than a year My beauty is fading fast Still until the winter frost bites Shall this cruel betrayal last First published in Kuensel(1998) ...

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

आमा

नौ महिना गर्भमै बोक्ने आन्द्रा समेत जोडियेकि मेरै लागि तडपी रहने मेरै लागि सुर्ताइ रहने थियौ तिमी एउटी आमा ॥ अनमोल दुधले बडाउने न्यानो काखमा हुर्काउने मेरै लागि मरिमेट्ने मलाई मुटुमै टसाउने थियौ तिमी एउटी आमा ॥ ढिडो निस्तो खुवाये पनि थियो मेजमान भन्दा मिठो। हल्का-फुल्का गाली धम्की गर्यौ मेरै...

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

जुनेली प्यार

जुनेली प्यार (भाग 1) नष्ट हुन्थ्योकि चन्द्रको रोसनीले यो रातको भव्य अन्धकार‌ | डुबी रहंदा चन्द्रकै ज्योतीमा नहुन्थ्योकि यो जिन्दगी बेकार‌‌ ‌।। नरन्थेकि निसास्सिएका घिडघिडाहरु मनमा नीलो गगन बिचको कालो बादल जस्तो । नरुन्थ्योकि मन यो दु:खमा झारीकन आंसु,...

Friday, March 19, 2021

GNH and “Happiness for all, forever”

“Be calm. Stay wise. Be kind” Be happy to leave lockdowns and quarantines behind; Dates for the jabs have been announced May a new normal prevail as the virus gets trounced! Happy International Happiness Day With themes to beat the pandemic in a unique way; Kick the virus out happily, cheerfully and merrily And guard yourself with mask and distance heavily In Drukyul, we reflect, too, on...

Thursday, March 18, 2021

नक्सा

खेत र बारी बनिए सहरका नक्सा जंगल बिच सड़कका नक्सा भिर पहिरो , खोला नालाका पनि नक्सा हाहा, मेरा जीवन साथी यी नक्सै नक्सा।। हिमाली टुप्पा, पर्यटकका नक्सा हरियाली हरियो, जीव-प्राणीका नक्सा नक्सैले कोरिदिएं भविष्यका नक्सा रुपयॉ-पैसा, हाल-बेहालका नक्सा।। पेटमा घाउ, अनुहारमा नक्सा फोक्सो बिग्रिए धुम्रपानको...

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

याद आयो दशैंको

याद आयो दशैंको , दही चिउरा मेजमानको,खड़्कुडामा भिजेको अट्टे र कलमी धानको!याद आयो दशैंको,घरको दियो र फूलकोटिका र जमराले सजिएको घरढोका मूलको।।याद आयो दशैंको, घर मावल र मित्रकोरातोमाटो डम्फूडाँडाको,कमेरो छॉगेखोला भित्रको।याद आयो दशैंको, राड़ीमा बसेकोढिकी जाँतो मानो पाथी सबैले खटेको।।याद आयो दशैंको, खुशीले...

Saturday, March 13, 2021

Water Scarcity

Precious drop! The trickle has diminished Tanks are empty; water, so soon, gets finished! At the roof eave, a sparrow is waiting At the drought-torn field, a farmer sweating; A dry spell! Oceans of thirst unquenched- It becomes usual this time of the year The reality of "water-water everywhere" And drowning in drought is unusual to bear Here and there, buckets clatter for a fill While homes...

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Umbrella

Protect me all during sun or rain, Drenched or scorched, be over me time and again! The folds do unfold for your dominant show, You are as colourful as the brightest rainbow I stand the bitumen melt or the flooded footpath And, if I fall, we both shall feel the heavy aftermath; Remember that...

Sunday, February 14, 2021

A Gardener and Pumpkin: A Story re-written

When Dorji was short and fat and Penjore tall and thin, There was a moral story that is causing my head to spin A gardener after having toiled hard, relaxed under a shady tree "It isn't right!", he commented on God's creative spree; "Pumpkin on a small creeper, tiny fruit on a large tree; that,...

Monday, February 8, 2021

The Restless Soul

Heartbeats are the loudest sounds, Silence all around surrounds; Eyebrows dance with music in the ears, Sight is blurred and mouth fed with salty tears, Restless I am; restlessness for too long prolongs As, restlessly, I move on to dance to many songs And there stood none to watch and see, Only rotten...

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Age of Innocience

Right in the womb, my journey begins With my cries, a wish is what my mom wins! I chuckle and get the best suckle One and all, for my needs, buckles! Soon I crawl with my dolls sprawled; I am lapped, kissed, smudged, bawled, Oiled and powdered with warmth of sunshine And best of everything sublime! Hand...

Friday, January 29, 2021

Homeless

Home, House and Homelessness Home has no architecture It is only a space for the mind! Home means upbringing, Shaping, educating With choices of your kind. Home means celebrating Childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age With nothing left behind. Home means living, Taking, giving, and dying With...

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Echoes of Silence

Dear everyone, Each species is my bundle of joy, biodiversity my soul; Your happiness has always been my only goal! Air, water, and the rest in me make your body and blood And the same elements also cause storm and flood; Fire razes wild while my limbs and organs fail or fall, Microbes to atoms...

Saturday, January 16, 2021

My Neighbour

We share a wall but there is more than that, We have in common, a dog and a cat! We are the most uncommon of all the neighbours With all of life’s same tastes and flavours! We have the walls to make us good neighbours We have issues that each one of us maneuvers; We pedal the way that benefits mutually, Relations are neighbourly, lasting perpetually! We keep the walls for that’s the clue We keep...

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Ringworm Rot

Within the ring forms the ugly and unwanted patch It is itching terribly causing my reflex to scratch! It stands dominant from thighs to toes Spreading its cruelty to inflicting irritating woes! It is the fungus that is progressively mushrooming, I know nothing of conditions favouring its grooming! Ointments and antibiotics are not yet successful in their jobs, Oh, it is long time tolerating...

Friday, January 1, 2021

Your Planet And Her Dreams

I'm a world of mountains, plains, rivers, lakes; I shape each life; I have the most stakes! I breathe, bathe, consume just like you; To serve each other better, mustn't we have the trust anew? And, like anyone of you, I have a dream- A dream for you and I to be on a team! Search me deep for the pearl As I am your world! Be a star, as brightest in the sky And for sure, all is yours even if you...