Association Meeting

by Arun Anantharaman

[box]In a poem that explores a very interesting theme, Arun Anantharaman captures his perception of the happenings in an apartment complex’s association meeting. Read on.[/box]

Someone called a meeting, and we dawdle in
Thirty minutes past the scheduled hour, then
We sit facing each other, in plastic chairs
In the musty smelling gym room, four of us
The usual suspects who unfailingly turn up
And two who sometimes do, to discuss
Pecuniary affairs and less material ones
That we would rather not deal with.

Maintenance dues owed by sundry tenants
Or owners, garbage lying around uncleared,
The stink from the north side sewer, with
Its flotsam of aimless plastic boats cast away
By the new fast food joint, prosaic problems
Liable to go unresolved for months together
Were we not to meet to find one, or so
We all vigorously like to think.

Forty five minutes after, we have had
Our say, some more than the others,
With our own unique methods – one garrulous man
Praising our neighbours and why we suck so, another
Nodding in agreement, and recommending action,
Though what exactly he does not venture to say, a third
Gently disagreeing, a fourth guiding the disagreement
Into a tangential story about troublesome mice
Breaking into his kitchen, that brings forth much
Amusement, and like a Tanjore doll, we bounce

Back and forth, back and forth till someone’s phone
Rings, it is his wife upstairs wondering what became
Of her husband who said he would be back in a bit,
A cue for the rest that it is time, we agree
It was a productive meeting and we should meet
More often to deal with our burning issues, and I,
having said little, volunteer to minute our discussions.

Arun Anantharaman works with a management consulting firm in Bangalore. He’s always wanted to write a novel, but it’s taken him a while to figure out that it takes more than just wanting, to actually write one. Start with several short stories, for instance. And put it out there. So, that’s where he is at now – trying hard to dedicate enough time every week to write, rewrite, shred, write, rewrite. So on and so forth. He is inspired by Jamil Ahmad, the Pakistani author who wrote his first novel at 79. While he certainly hopes it won’t take him that long, it is nevertheless, a possibility.

Arun attended the Bangalore Writers Workshop, an interactive method of bringing a group of writers together and allowing them to study the craft of writing while receiving constructive feedback on their own work. More details are available at http://bangalorewriters.com/

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