This is not the life I ordered!

Friends losing touch,
Distances gaining ground,
Weekends shrinking,
Monday morning tyranny, increasing.
Lost myself in this crowd,
Found myself in this gutter.

At cafe’, she looks at me, intriguingly,
I look back at her, disbelievingly.
“To ask or not to ask,
And if so what to ask,
Is that the question?”
Forget it, it’s too late now.

Left office early – thrilled!
No plans for the evening! – feel miserable.
Confused - hit the nearest pub,
Blew money like crazy - feel worse.
Home @ 7 next day; friend calls, “You already home?”
“Yes. I’m always home. I’m uncool!”

Here, people walk faster
While traffic moves slower.
They work longer, if not harder,
While their 'lives' become shorter.
Weird. There are no finishing lines,
Still, they are all running.

Come rains and city comes to a halt,
Still rent is higher than emi elsewhere.
Maximum city, minimum me.
Cramped metro or Claustrophobic me?
Degenerated city or Overgrown village?
Take your pick.

Sambhar look-like served disguised as dal tadka
In Udupi’s version of N.I. dhaba,
I lose my cool & shout, “Mr Shetty,
This is not the dal I ordered”
Perhaps, Mr God,
This is not the life I ordered!