RIFLE RANGE BOY

Rambutan Kisses - Poems (2022) Author: Malachi Edwin Vethamani If the illustration of the cover is not provocative enough, the poems will definitely do.  This is a sampling of the many thought-provoking poems, old and contemporary, found in this collection. Enjoy. This work is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Follow Follow Follow  

THE ROOST T here was once, many years ago, there was a spate when many of my relatives had given up on their motherland, turned their back on Malaysia and started looking around for greener pastures. I wondered how Mother Malaysia would feel to see one by one, her children, after years of nurturing them, after growing so big and strong, feel compelled to fly away from their roost. Like a proud mother seeing her kids having a mind of their own, she must be immersed in a bitter-sweet feeling . Like a flight of swallows, you came stocks and barrels, from Swatow, Coimbatore, Minangkabau, Looking for peace of mind,piece of pie, for that, you scaled the high seas and brine. You were hungry; I fed your soul, you had shivers; I showed you warmth. you were homeless; I gave you home. you were stateless; I was your hope. Under the yellow umbrella, and a piece of cloth, you had dignity, camaraderie, a history, a legacy, an emblem, an anthem. The colours to spill your crimson. Now that you have win...

Gunga Din (1939) Director: George Steven This Hollywood movie is based on a poem written by Rudyard Kipling. Kipling, as we know, is quite proud of his European heritage. He and the colonial masters of his era vehemently believed that it was the burden of the white race to civilise the natives. They, the native with their odd-looking physiques, their equally funny-looking attires (or lack of), peculiar living habits and bizarre mode of worship by European standards and Judeo-Christian point of reference, are their subject of mockery. It is a light comedy detailing three disciplinarily-challenged army sergeants sent off to the late 19th century Northwest Frontier of Northern Punjab to check out some disturbances. They find a band of Kaali-worshipping ruthless 'terrorists' @ thugees taking over their post. The story is about how they defeat the thugs with the help of a naive local man named Gunga Din. Before jumping onto the bandwagon of the woke to blame all our current pathetic...

Love and Loss Author: Malachi Edwin Vethamani Maybe life has an innate plan to trap individuals. In the spring of youth, when hormones are raging high, we make hormonal-linked decisions that decide our futures. Somehow, hormones control rational thinking. The prefrontal cortex that controls analytical thinking is hijacked by impulses. We take the plunge dazed like a drunk monkey, like a prancing horse with blinkers, head on like sacrificial lambs, only to realise that we are in trouble deep when the dirt (or blood) hits the ceiling. The path into this journey called love stirs all the primal suppressed emotions. It lights up so many intoxicating feel-good emotions within us that we never knew existed. We are swept off our feet, the world is a utopia, and we only see goodness in everything. Maybe nature wants us to sow our seeds far and wide; perhaps it is just its way to improve the selection of traits. We lose interest. We get bored with the same routine and want freedom. We yearn to...