I want to be your nosering

There’s been much confusion
Over a proposal,
The red-red rose is old,
And I guess all of them are sold,
Archies and Hallmark are candyfloss,
And great economic loss.
Amir and Ash chatted threir way
In a Coke bar and found themselves in dismay.
Pastry is bad for cholesterol,
So mundane a cream roll….
What more remains?
Let me rack my brains…
O Poetry is so boring, and Keats is long dead…
Perhaps a present…some mattress, and a bed?
Or should I stand at Chowringhee and sing
“Sweetheart! I want to be your nosering!”

-28/8/2001, Calcutta-63

This poem is dedicated to the most talented girl in my MA class at Jadavpur, for reasons I would refrain from saying. The origin of this little humourous piece of verse lies with the intention of getting back to the 'nosering' who is also a great poetess, and who had put up a few of her poems at the Departmental wall magazine. One of her poems starts with "Happy in love/Is an oxymoron". I was very much irked at this pessimistic, Keatsian attitude, and I barked back 'Well, the writer must be a moron'. In the months ahead I was to know that she was anything but a moron, and as I saw her accomplishments, which defy enumeration, my respect for her grew faster than the Brazilian bamboo (how's that for a simile). Need I say that the verse was refused for the wall magazine!

I would like to emphasise that this piece of verse is in the lighter vein- outrage will be unjustified.

The concerned person can get in touch with me at priyatu@vsnl.net.

See also: For colored girls...
Trina Nileena Banerjee, Trina, Trina N Banerjee, Trina Banerjee, TNB, theatre personality