The body rumbles incessantly, like some monsoon melody, the mind rambles infinitely, like a bungling busybody; Shivering, the rain-drenched man pens a review, oh, buddy, blame it on September senility if it ends up as a parody.
There’s this finicky man, mbfarookh, in Hyderabad, who is forever busy with his unfinished work; He grew up on childhood stories of Aladdin and Sindbad, but as an adult he tries to find new ways to uncork.
He would browse the net in rare times of leisure, never did he find something that could hold him for long, but. He never dreamed that he would one day get pleasure, from googling his way to a site laconically called MouthShut.
What is this new site he many a time wondered , with reviews of products by writers of every hue; On a plethora of products strange, and kindred,
even mbfarookh thought he could scribble a few.
Easier said than done ‘twas when he began to write,
not one product came to his dull, and foggy mind;
He struggled in separating the good from the trite,
that a product of his choice he simply could not find.
Writing essays or articles, for him, was not difficult,
but review of products turned out to be more tedious;
Some good writers of that time almost started a cult,
and here was mbfarookh with his writings hideous.
There were specific reasons to believe he was off-track,
hence, finding time and talent was the immediate priority;
Like a true Cancerian, mbfarookh clawed his way back,
clutching at straws, relentless in his pursuit of creativity.
The writers at that time were mnc123, keerti07, and afrank,
juggernaut, zuludancing, parikhmunir, gia25, cousin2;
Akisha, darethisdevil, nikamma1112, all writers of rank,
indian1969, mouthshutdotcom, eagleeye, and mariner2.
Cool_tanmay, diver, rajni_raj, Dr.shafique, manoj101,
falsparsh, jai_coer, pranavi, buddingwriter, and criminal;
Muni, matwalaboy, aradhanaverma2002, rachitavats1981,
sweets-desire, snaz, bewafa, nikunjum, and pari_koolgirl.
One writer who made a grand comeback is Cticize
his writings and comments bring on our face a broad smile
He is one of the most talented and full of oriental spice
most love to read his remarks and store them in mind’s file
There are on this site other members like anukiran,
who are too busy, and a little shy to post a review;
But I can always count on them to support me in turn,
to read, rate my writings, and post their honest view.
We miss psmukund, whose comments were always decisive,
he wrote not as many reviews but his views reflect intellect;
Afrank, parikhmunir, criminal, and cool_tanmay are incisive,
they seldom sway to the galleries, with their writings select.
Today, the torch bearers are, pysxx who shines like the moon,
moviezombie, kvijayji, dreamzunlimited, and chand_tare;
Whitedevil, shrad_talks, anuj_bhatnagar22, and jrangoon,
rohitthebest, pri20, sweet_shruti, tech-writer, sab dulare.
It’s been discussed before, and it will be discussed again,
that the best of MouthShut have already left the field;
I am of a mind that some good has sprouted in the bargain,
new talent has sprung to fill in, quality begins to yield.
MouthShut has become everyone’s weakness,
which they could never imagine a few years ago;
Come exams, meetings, presentations, or sickness,
they firmly believe, MouthShut is the way to go.
MouthShut has its advantages, but it also has its limitations,
we must understand both if we are not to be frustrated;
Some are good at original stuff, some peddle imitations,
overall there are many good writers, and some underrated.
Star-writers are many, Hall of Famers only few,
hot reviews are many, review of the day just one;
Readers are numerous, some old some new,
many studiously RRC; some are there simply for fun.
The site is a boon to amateurs to develop their skills,
everyone can join even if they have no beans to spill;
Product or advice, the writer never fails to get the thrills,
gives them satisfaction when Jack reads the review, or Jill.
MouthShut is addictive, and draws mbfarookh to it everyday,
for some reason, if he is not able to login it makes him so sad;
It happened a few times before, depressed when kept at bay,
now that he is back doing what he likes most, he is very glad.
Looking back he feels some of his writings could’ve been better,
some were good, most of them okay, a few awfully bad;
At least, were non-controversial and not targeted at any member,
therein lies a sense of great satisfaction, he wishes to add.
Much water has flown under the bridge, nevertheless,
much more is bound to flow, many have gained widely from it;
But, a few have left the stage disgruntled and mirthless,
the show will go on for those who haven’t lost their humour or wit.
In these days of instant gratification, and instant karma,
there is no time for reading poetry or writing verse;
Too busy to ponder over nature and it’s divine drama,
our thinking is fast changing from the obvious to obverse.
Blessed are those who have read mbfarookh’s writings,
because they are honest, sincere, and without malice;
Equally blessed are those who have missed his citings,
because he drinks to their knowledge from the holy chalice.
(Albeit, with pure unadulterated… water)
T’s about time for mbf to bid adieu, and for you to rearatcom,
to click with gay abandon the four choices of veusnoustics;
and if you are still wondering whether its some new sitcom,
get on with the RRCing and stop bothering about semantics.
© M B Farookh.
