The golden gate vikram seth pdf free download

When the pursuit of grades and knowledge Foundered in beery jokes and fights. Young graduates with siren screams Of power and wealth beyond their dreams, Ejects the lax, and drives the driven, Burning their candles at both ends. Thus files take precedence over friends, Labor is lauded, leisure riven.

John kneels bareheaded and unshod Before the Chip, a jealous God. As did Phil too, until his recent Flight from the rich realms of Defense With what John holds to be indecent Precipitation and bad sense John, still engaged in such endeavors, Feels Phil's new zest for peace work severs. Political debate should color A friendship based on easy cheer, Light camaraderie, dark beer, And double-dating.

Life's grown duller. Since when — ah, time! He idly thumbs the scribbled pages Of his address book. Well, he might Phone Janet Hayakawa. Many Seasons have sunk since there was any Hazard a meeting could educe. Their former love. A standing truce Shelters their friendship from all passion. They'd felt their union would constrict Their separate lives.

An interdict. Slaves to the Chip or artist's daze. She is a sculptor. Stress and pleasure For her thus perfectly combined, The boundaries of toil and leisure By definition ill-defined, Her worktime doubles as her playtime, But hand and eye deployed in daytime Yield,when night comes, to ear and hand. She the drummer in a band is. Well known and feared throughout the city: The striking sounds of Liquid Sheep Rouse distant suburbs from their sleep.

The critics' common nose Sniffs magisterially at her shows. And as for divine intervention. In Schiller's phrase, the very gods Strive fruitlessly against such clods. Blind mouths! They spew their condescension: Miss Hayakawa, it appears,. Unknown to her? The languid tedium Of lines too fluid to show pains Reflect this artisfs dated chains: Derivative, diluted passion,. With smooth and blinkered savagerv, Servile and suave, obsessed by fashion, These chickenhearted chickenshits Jerk off their weak and venomous wits.

Though savaged by this vain unkindness Which she tries not to take to heart, She too displays unwitting blindness, Plunging her spirit into art. A great loft studio, light and airy. Each day for breakfast Cuff and Link Have fish to eat and cream to drink. Sweet Siamese of rare refulgence With chocolate ears and limbs of tow, Jan gives them love, food, and indulgence. The cats take this for granted, show Scant deference to their human betters;.

In silken bed, on sumptuous board They fatten. Jan relishes the warmth and savor The deeds of Cuff and Link confer,. Through Cuff's exploratory predations Knobs in electric blankets know Untimely death. Link's sharp striations.

Score the old desk that years ago Was left by Jan's grandparents, issei, To her own parents self-made nisei , And now for lack of storage space In their small flat stands in this place Beneath a scroll by her grandfather: A twilight poem by Wang Wei He calligraphed that shameful day In ' Internment. Rather Yellowed and frayed in recent years,. John stands beside his phone, recalling Janet's warm beauty, smiling calm, Her dark eyes, high-boned features, falling.

Black ponytail, her vagrant charm. He thinks, "I guess I'll be the wiser For talking to a sound adviser. He dials. To his peeved surprise An answering machine replies,. Requests his message, name, and number. No message. At ten to one, From the crevasse of melancholy In which he now is buried wholly, He hears the phone ring. Are you OK? What's going on? I just got back. I thought I'd phone you Although it's late.

But as the hope-hour strokes its sum He fidgets: Janet hasn't come. Rebounding Off plastic chairs and grubby floor.

I've waited half an hour, blast her! Janet arrives at twelve to two: "So sorry, John, I had to do This torso. Yes, I tried to hurry. I'm glad you've got yourself a beer. What's that? Don't look severe. I didn't mean for you to worry. You've ordered? This place is fun! Two bottles each of beer enable Small talk and large, in cyclic waves, To wash their shores, and John behaves At last less stiffly if not sadly. But I came here to hear your song.

Now sing! I'm young, employed, healthy, ambitious, Sound, solvent, self-made, self-possessed. The Dow- Jones of my heart's depressed. The sunflower of my youth is wilting. The tower of my dreams is tilting. The zoom lens of my zest is blurred. The drama of my life's absurd.

What is the root of my neurosis? I jog, eat brewer's yeast each day, And yet I feel life slip away. I wait your sapient diagnosis. I die! I faint! I fail! I sink! Someone, Fd say, who's fun to be with And, of course, vitamin C to eat. And choose a richer lens to see with. Reach for a vision more complete. Trade in that zoom for a wide angle. Don't let your drooping sunflower dangle Its head upon the garden wall. It needs some watering, that's all.

The fervor of her declamation Induces her to drum a roll. With her chopsticks upon her bowl. A waiter turns in consternation. Don't put things off till it's too late.

Possessing, as the years go on, Less prepossessing vital data:. Love handles. John is getting nervous: "More rice? I wonder when they'll serve us. Lonely and lost, sans love, sans lover, Too much to drink last night. And here Jan pauses for a sip of beer. Nursing the dregs of your hangover, Blubbering into your raisin bran. Why not do something while you can? Directory drums on. Jan looks at him. Last night. A joke, Jan. Where's your sense of humor?

Harmless joke. Enough said, John. You've got my drift. I won't go on. Vegetables for answer, thinking, "She's had too much. Should I suggest We stop at this one? No, it's best. She talks about the weirdest things Guys with guys, or pigs with wings.

Now Janet's fancy winged? From pigs to pictures is enticed. Haven't I just? With base volition. I've gaped at Goya, ogled Titian, Loitered by Rubens with intent, But have to date not made a dent In the cool academic armor The women wandering through those halls Assume; we stare at paint and walls But not a word's exchanged.

I have to mend them: A plug, the plumbing, the Peugeot, A stone stuck in the electric mower And I'm a regular moviegoer: Whenever there's a decent show I try to make the time and go.

Last week I saw a Buster Keaton. I think he's great. He never smiles. Then home, to catch up on my files. The late night news, and so to bed. I could jump off the Golden Gate. I read in the Bay Guardian I've got it, John! The perfect answer! I should have thought of it. My friend Your sufferings are at an end.

Let's hear it. Jan says: "Advertise. You must be joking! In Tsingtao you don't know what's what. Me advertise? You must be kidding! Just do my bidding. Take out an ad. Right now. Young handsome yuppie seek I've always thought your schemes, though wacky Conceived in midair, born in haste , Remained within the bounds of taste, But as for this one — talk of tacky! Let's talk of something else instead. Why don't you put it to the test?

Why should I try it first to see If it agrees or not with me? It's a meat market, Jan. Seeks a bosomy brunette Who likes to play the flageolet. Let me make music with you, baby.

Box I will not share. A column with such types out there. How could you think I'd do it? Maybe You see me as Male, 26,. Janet picks up her fortune cookie, Then puts it down, turns to her friend:. Your rookie Season is drawing to an end. John, things — we would when young —not think of,. Start to make sense when, on the brink of Thirtydom, we pause to scan What salves and salads cannot ban,.

Our febrile clawing for mean goals, Our programmed cockfights and rat races,. Defeat or pity or derision Constricts our hearts. Our looks grow strange Even to us. The grail, perfection,. Of hope and trial, and exult When search or risk or effort chances To grant us someone who will do For love, and who may love us too While those who wait, as age advances, Aloof for Ms. Right Weep to themselves in the still night.

It's sad to see you look so lonely, That's all, John. He thinks, "If only. Things were that simple. You may be right. But if I do it. Wind up with. He sighs, "I can't pursue it. I'm sorry that I'm such a pain. It simply goes against my grain. The family, the clown, the lovers Have left. Muttering in Cantonese, Impatiently the waiter hovers Around the table. But, Janet, what have you been doing? Last time we met you were pursuing A work of deathless interest:.

Sculpting three golf balls in a nest. I know just what I want. I keep Remembering this scene: above a Meadow of lambs a green and white Hot-air balloon is poised in flight. Who painted that? Can you remember? Was it the air show last September?

I think I saw it there, though all. I know is, it was on a poster Sometime last year, well, at the most, a Couple of years back. No, I'm stuck. Jan, looks as though you're out of luck. Afraid my mind's deteriorating. You're right! A poster at a show. That's where I saw it. I've been waiting A long time for a proper clue. Janet reads out her fortune, wryly: "For better luck you have to wait Till winter. What's it now, September? Come speedily, O numb November.

Congeal my fingers. Here's mine: Forget The entanglement of love; forget not To practice charity. You see. The cookie says love's not for me. The waiter sets the check by John. Jan frowns. They pay, and Jan politely Thanks him and leaves a tip upon The cookie plate. She thinks, "Why bother?

There's always something or the other, And even good men of goodwill. I guess. It's been convivial. Part with a smile! That midnight, after strenuous drumming And an hour's drive for Liquid Sheep, After the catcalls of homecoming, Janet's arm hurts.

She cannot sleep. Seized by a notion so beguiling That she must —must? Doodles a face, attempts to caper Across a dubious word, but stays Poised in midair. Let's see,. If I used. Opus complete, and at the sill.

The city sleeps. Ah, Sunday morning, Most blessed of all times. She sets. Sated with requisite nutrition They eye her milk and Weetabix As she reads out her composition: "Young handsome yuppie, 26, Straight, forward, sociable, but lonely,.

Well-rounded and well-meaning square Lusting for love. Ifyou, out there,. Are friendly, female, under 30, Impulsive, fit, and fun, lefs meet. Brown paper packets, marked discreetly, From the Bay Guardian arrive Each week: within lie, nested neady,. That seemed at first an avalanche, She slits the packets to examine The postmark on each envelope, Thinking, "I wonder if he'll cope As sanguinely with glut as famine.

She counts the letters — eighty-two And wonders, fiercely, what to do. Should I vet them, Select a few and pass them on, Or curb myself, abstain, and let them Wing their uncensored way to John Expectant, uncurtailed, each letter Pleading its own defense?

It's better,. And burden him with bulk than dare Presume to cull his choice by proxy, Picking my path through torrid lines,. From dulcet Deborah to foxy Farah — a world of tendered joys, A passion play of pleas and ploys. You didn't fool me for a minute But would you care to know what's in it? It's wasted, I would say, on me My interest in pornography Is somewhat jaded.

Still, I'm curious: Why did you choose to loose this host Of bacchantes on me through the post? Ought I to thank you? Response; I'd find it quite exciting. How could they all be maenads mad With morbid lust? Is it that bad? Am a mere blameless passerby, I think it's better if you ran it. Just think it over. Look, I'm late for work.

I've got to go. To lesser cars within the law. Lights flash. This means a ticket. John brakes. A cop comes. This time It's just a fine. The speed you're going Is hazardous. How about slowing Your pace a little, Mr. With more impatience than repentance. The cop " says, "Better late than 'late,'. Signing his ticket on that sentence. He drives back on Route Above the rush-hour droves, commuting Bumper to bumper, horns are hooting.

Through the concussive gas fumes John Sees Goodnight, Lemmings! A stern contralto. Bays Wagner out on "Listener's Choice. The freeway sweeps past humming pylons, Past Canterbury Carpet Mart, Warehouses, ads displaying nylons On shapely legs that make John start.

A cigarette ad, sweet and suborning, Subverts the Surgeon General's warning: A craggy golfer, tanned, blue-eyed, Insouciantiy stands beside A Porsche-caged blonde; coolly patrician, He puffs a menthol-tipped King-size. John tries to curb his vagrant eyes And heed the poet's admonition: "Beneath this slab John Brown is stowed.

He watched the ads and not the road. But in five minutes other features Divert him: "Honk for Jesus. An ad describes The Roach Motel's compelling merit:.

Need John's life be so bug-infested? He wasn't always so alone. Entrepreneurial, double-breasted, He's changed from what his friends have known. Work, and the syndrome of possessions Leave little time for life's digressions. At college, walking down the hall, You'd meet your friends. But now it's all. From New York City to L. Yet even those who haven't drifted —Like Phil, or Jan —too far from John, He's chary to encroach upon.

His work's use does not disconcert him; At least, not much. John feels that what He chooses to ignore can't hurt him; Some things are his concern, some not. His politics have strongly, slowly, Rigidified; nor does this wholly Stem from his tenure in Defense. Against the fate that he'd been meted, The mother's love he'd never had, He'd clung to "standards," good or bad.

Mumbling, as he turns off the freeway, "Christ, what a day! Oh, any dumb thing-. Love, company, oblivion —something To breach this fearsome solitude. Two bourbons down, in cheerier mood, He thinks less of the ungiving fetters Of his bleak life, the Universe, And how things must get worse and worse, Than of the intriguing cache of letters, Almost untouched, back in his flat.

Boosts his intention with, "Godspeed! You've got to get your fingers muddy When panning gold," and starts to read. The first one, waxing weird and wayward, Comes from a doomed housewife in Hayward; The next, from Kate in mad Marin,. Is redolent of Chanel and gin; The third. That, dazed by this immoderate diet 'Too much confectionery, too rich" ,.

Silly and frilly, cool and hot, John finds about a quarter not Too evidently pornographic. Of these he gingerly picks three. Three crisp and courtly notes, and waits Unhurriedly. The act detaches. His heart from gloom, leaves to the Fates What lies within their proper region. I do not think that you and I Are matched, but thanks for your reply. In his notes, though, he begs the pleasure On three successive Saturdays If they should chance to have the leisure.

Followed by dinner. Wasp Bluestocking Accepts, and turns up with a shocking Pink parasol. They see Macbeth, Where John's bored to an inch of death By her insistent exegesis:. Appearance and reality themes And the significance of dreams And darkness, and the singular thesis That the Third Murderer is in fact.

Throughout the play she oozes jargon. Throughout the meal she oozes French Till John is numbed inert as argon. He grows quite pale. Feebly afloat. You look as white as Banquo's ghost Force-fed three slices of milk toast. When the time comes to leave, he sighs, "Lately, my work in Silicon Valley. Leaves no time for affaires de coeur" And bids a glad adieu to her.

Arrives with photograph. John smiles. He darts her a swift glance. She stops, But not for long. The curtain drops. Immune to his beleaguered blushes,. With "Oh, your accent is so cute! Of coq au vin, to John's disgust, Discomfiture, and rising lust,. He waits for A. For the nonce I think that's what I need. Belinda Would have combusted me to cinder And Wasp stung me to learned death. With indrawn breath John reads the note, the friendly greeting, The lines as usual, typed.

They say:. Since my job's taking me away From San Francisco soon, our meeting. Would serve no aim. Forgive me, please; Pvejust been told this. Anne T. Why am I taking this so badly? She's just a name brought by the mail, Gone with the wind. This is returned: Box Number Changed. Thus Janet alias Anne 's arranged Her creature's discontinuation. She feels the note she wrote for fun Would have been better unbegun.

And Coke, Jan meditates upon Her guilt. She forwards seven tardy Responses to the ad to John. John reads these with faint aspiration. On themes he's heard too loud and long. He reads the fifth one It's a farce. He reads it through twice, somewhat chary Of yet one more time being had. It goes: Dear Yuppie, I am wary. Of answering a personal ad.

This is the first time, I should mention, That I have broken my convention Of reticence. But, well, here goes:. My admiration. Nothing blights A document like sloppy drafting. Tour ad, if I may be allowed. Fm friendly, female, 27, Well-rounded too, and somewhat square.

Pve not yet known romantic heaven, But harbor hopes ofgetting there. Fmfit —at least, Fm not convulsive; And fun, I hope, though not impulsive. A cache of billets-doux arrive. A concert generates a meeting. A house is warmed. Sheep come alive. Olives are plucked in prime condition.

A cat reacts to competition. Arrests occur. A speech is made. Coffee is drunk, and Scrabble played. A quarrel is initiated. Vines rest in early winter light. The Winking Owl fills up by night. An old affair is renovated. The months go by; the world goes on. In the first chapter are John and Janet introduced who do not discuss the problems the world is facing or was facing but discuss the problem of loneliness and alienation and correspondence is invited by giving an advertisement for companionship.

In the second chapter, out of the eighty two response letters, John replies to three and meets Wasp Bluestocking and Belinda Beale -- Anne T. Fresie Janet herself declines a meeting but Elizabeth Dorati Liz readily accepts it.

Of the thirty-seven stanzas in the third chapter, first twenty-seven are devoted to introducing and describing Paul and Philip Phil. In the rest of them a music programme at Stanford is described. It is here that Philip and John turn out to be old friends and Liz is introduced to Phil. In the fourth chapter Prof. Pratt and Kim Tarvesh an anagram of Vikram Seth are introduced. While Prof. The party ends with heavy drinks resulting in homosexual behaviour of Ed and Phil.

The act is repeated many times latter. The cat Charlemagne reacts to John and Liz affair in the sixth chapter and considers John his rival. He is ultimately sent to a cat psychiatrist.

The seventh chapter is literally a plea for disarmament. In the Lungless Labs of the Lungless Town the scientists are making all sorts of devices to kill enemies.

Liz is also invited to speak which is a mere babble because she is not dedicated to the cause. Though, thematically this chapter no where fits in the novel yet it is the only sensible one in the entire book. I will definitely recommend this book to poetry, fiction lovers. Your Rating:. Your Comment:. Read Online Download. Great book, The Golden Gate pdf is enough to raise the goose bumps alone. Add a review Your Rating: Your Comment:.