Auto vs. Autonomous
Auto vs. Autonomous. By: Nirali Lal.
‘A rickety ride / That’s a guarantee / it will think and recite. / It’s automatic / If you comply’
AUTO –
Tuk Tuk (sound)
‘You are
Sitting on the top, as if in a cloud
Weighty, like an autocrat
‘I cannot auto start
Descend now
Or get a clout
from the
Autumn cloud
There is accommodation
Below
With colourful seats
Feel the authenticity,
Spontaneity
Amidst the vast green fields
Below a golden sky
Come, sit in.’
AUTONOMOUS –
‘No, the music is too loud
And the colours are noisy
You keep blowing your auto horn
You are auto-function
You are just a habit
What audacity
I cannot stand the clutter
It’s too heavy
It’s a rabbit hole
I am a bird, a frog and even a rabbit
Up above in the cloud
I feel the rivers, below the sky
I am my own author
Different species,
can sit with me
Quietly
I will risk the ride
Even if I topple over
And you might be a liar
You might be glowing
and all bright
Full theatre
It is not true?
I ought to not trust you...
Allow yourself to be free and new
From these chains of flashy colours...
Why don’t you arise and sit with me?
Be blank, leave your vivid mind,
you auto heart
Have your autonomy
Leave the colours
And the glitter will disappear
And don’t talk,
as it will invite the mind.
It won’t sit still,
A rickety ride
That’s a guarantee
it will think and recite.
It’s automatic
If you comply,
I will descend
AUTO –
Tuk Tuk (sound)
Hey Autonomous,
Autos don’t lie
What authority!
Like an autopsy
Enlightening me
You an autodidact?
With so much mastery
Surely an aristocrat!
You will descend,
but please don’t fall
Leave your autograph
And I will write an auto-
biography
***
Nirali Lal is an artist and writer based in Baroda/Bangalore. She previously worked with Saffron Art as a Bangalore representative and as the Art Manager for The Artist Pension Trust in India. Her recent projects include Five Million Incidents (Goethe Institut, New Delhi in collaboration with RAQS Media Collective, 2020), The Nest (Anant Art, New Delhi in 2021, Space Alumni show, Space Studio, Vadodara 2020) and the Baroda March (Rukshaan Arts 2021-2022). You can find her on Twitter: @nirali_lal and Instagram: @niwawi_wow.
