"I think poetry is a fabulous medium to encapsulate thoughts far more precisely than prose," Sibal says, without a trace of diffidence or embarrassment. "You can deliver the message far more subtly—and succinctly—than prose." He points to his poem on POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) as a shining example of both. "The whole argument on POTA, both the pros and cons, are reflected in the poem." And, he adds as a clincher, "It's only two pages long."
There's another reason, of course, why the poems are so mercifully short—they've all been composed on the screen of his cellphone, as SMS texts. "One day while on a two-and-a-half-hour long flight, I put my cellphone on offline mode and started entering random thoughts," he recalls. For Sibal, a recent convert to all forms of new technology, it was an "open sesame" moment: "I had been wanting to write for a long time, especially after being exposed to a wide variety of issues, not only matters of public concern but things that have agitated my mind over the years." Here at last was a way of writing down "the thoughts cascading through my mind"—his views on everything ranging from politics and politicians to the judiciary and press, capital punishment and terrorism—without resorting to what he calls the "writer's props": sitting down at a desk, going to the trouble of consulting books, and revising. "It's so easy to erase what you write!" he marvels. Soon, poems ranging from his views on tsunami (three pages), on the infamous confidence vote last month (four pages), inflation (four pages) and bio-technology (one page) flowed fast and furiously. "That's what technology does to you—makes you lazy but allows you to innovate," Sibal says.
For an ignoramus, he can reel off the jargon like a pro. In verse, at that: