A CELESTIAL ROMANCE

She glowed in the dark,

for she was the princess of the night.

He was strong, he was powerful,

The knight of the morning skies-he was.

Night after night

she rose up to light.

She was looked upon with awe

She was hailed by all.

She beamed as poets wrote-

Of her mesmerizing light.

she enjoyed the hypnotized

looks, of the millions down.

He was radiant, he was glorious,

He was out wandering amongst the desert sands.

He kissed the sunflower fields all day long,

And  guided the nomads on land.

here was a serenity in her face – they said

There was a certain kind of calmness about her.

They said- He was the ever powerful one

He was the priest’s call,

He was the reason for life-they hailed.

here was a serenity in her face – they said

There was a certain kind of calmness about her.

They said- He was the ever powerful one

He was the priest’s call,

He was the reason for life-they hailed.

Her night time liaisons were many,

For she was the Casanova at night.

Yet, she yearned for love so pure.

The stars spoke of the mighty knight of the day-

To be her’s to lure.

He lived his life selfless; yet alone

Craved for a companion, he did.

Whispered the passing clouds,

Their encounters with the night’s princess

And awed he was by her tales.

Until one early dawn,

When he was drowning at the horizon-

They glanced at each other.

It wasn’t too long

Sweetened by the early bird’s song.

From that day on so,

They chased one another.

Through ages and spaces             

They swore love to each other.

Hope turned to despair,

They couldn’t ever get enough.

It was the fate playing – they said

It wasn’t destined to be- they said

She brew up a storm as she cried

The tides lashed up the sands,

The brook swept off the shores.

Despair turned to angst,

And hope to love.

She heard no more,

She wanted it out

She glided to her soul-

And stood in front of him,

Naked and in love.

The earth was blacked out

It witnessed the surreal moment.

She basked his magnificence and radiance,

And he drank in her beauty and love.

They stood there staring,

Each into the other’s soul.

His radiance filled out her despair,

Her love blotted out his temper.

They bathed in awe of each other

Until he moved,

And there was nothingness.

She was left with vacuum and void.

But she shone now,

With the radiance of his love.

For she dreamt of a dream

-That one which lingers

She dreamt of a dream

That love was real

And that- a beauty by itself.

The tale of an unexpected friendship, universe's games, farewell and my epiphany

She walked down the long corridor of the 3^rd floor of the company in a three inch heels. The sound of her heel echoed against the hard marble flooring of the otherwise silent finance department, forcing the accountants to lift their heads up from their workstation and smile at her. She steered her way down in grace, returning the kind smiles of all, not sparing the office boy even, till she reached the last cubicle on the left far corner of the hall. She turned, and entered with a smile and confidence that would quite put the aspiring Ms.Whatever-beauty-pageants to shame. She was medium built, dusky, with jet black hair curling a little after her waist. She isn’t the beauty you would compare with someone appearing on you tv screen, but there was something about her, about the genuineness of her smile, the warmth in her greetings, and the calmness in her eyes that allured you to her.

In the next fifteen minutes with nothing more than a few pleasantries, professional aspects, and fewer personal details exchanged, the awkward silence further lengthened  the  mere gap of two desktops and a couple of rusty files. One single question, “so, do you read any books? Something other than these CA books, something for leisure?” was all it took to start memorable conversations which lead to the blossom of a wonderful comradeship. In a mere week, likes were discussed, people were talked about, opinions debated, new plans made. But the universe, the wicked thing that it is, had different plans. This amazing person, who I warmed up to so quickly, had to move, and there I was, crammed with emotions of having to say goodbye to yet another person I dint want to. After a poignant farewell laden with tears and heavy hearts, I walked into a nearby coffee shop.

I sat there reflecting upon my brief, yet wonderful relationship I shared with this particular person, I couldn’t help but wonder upon the reason for her part in my life. She entered my life when I least expected, bonded with me over unusual interests, and has become such an influence in my life that she has been a catalyst for one of the biggest decisions I’ve made in life.

I've begun to feel, there is something almost sacred about people who are innocent beyond tender, about those who are not scarred by the negativity in life, about ones who would move mountains to help you. About those who can love without expectation and fear, about people who not only open their minds with you, but also share a part of their soul with you. That part which hangs with you forever, like a horcrux, and crafts one of the shortest friendships to mean a lifetime to you.

By the time, there was nothing more than the extra cream from the latte in my cup, I looked out of my reverie to the early evening traffic, I had an epiphany. Not an instantaneous one, but one which you realize and see , when the tempest in your mind settles down. There are few people who stay in your life to slap you down and show the tinted side of the human nature, while a few walk into your life, like the mid-summer-rains, be there for just a milli-second in the time span of your lives, but leave a mark in your heart with their clear conscience, and unpainted thoughts, which restores your beliefs in innocence, in love, and in magic of life. As I paid the bill out of the coffee parlor, and exited with a grin fixed on my face, I was filled with happiness knowing I have been lucky enough to meet at least a handful of such people in my life, and travel with me, no matter how much distance the universe puts in between. 

PS: sorry but couldn't help but, insert a harry potter reference :D for those who don't know, "horcruux" is an object which has a piece of the soul of the creator of the same :D 

Tale of a coffe shop, a long lost friend and uncertainties

A table in the rightmost corner of a small coffee shop , with comfortable bamboo chairs, clear skies, pleasant wind carrying the aroma of coffee beans being roasted, amongst a few people who sat by chitchatting with their pals, some lost in a book, and few others glued to their laptop screens with their headphones on, and one who sat a little uncomfortable, fingers drumming on the wooden table, glancing nervously at the entrance, and eyes flicking back to the face of the watch every five minutes in the rightmost corner. She was fifteen minutes earlier than planned, and it had already been ten minutes past the agreed time. With the minute passing, anxiety grew, with only a pinch of nervousness imbibed. Why the anxiety? After all the wait was only for the best friend! One who had promised to be in touch forever, one with whom the first exhibition exhibit was shared, one who screamed her lungs out to run only a little bit faster to win gold in those sports days, one with whom the tears of farewell were shed in the airport, and with the one “forever friends” was promised. But it had been four years, save for the birthday and other festival wishes, and the likes and shares on Facebook, there was no contact. They had been busy, they said to their sorry souls, only to convince that all knowing heart, that there could still be a chance we were right.

In the moments that passed, life re-winded, and many memories played, and the whole fact that there were so many people who were promised “forever in touch” were forgotten, and this sent an unsettling thought into the head. Why were people ,who once seemed around whom, the world revolved suddenly become nothing more than a count on the number of friends you have? How is that, when you couldn't pass a minute without that one, become the reason for so much anxiety in a relaxed coffee shop?

The fact is, the ephemerality of life is the law of nature. There is nothing in life which is permanent and to stay. The rainbow always vanishes after the rain. In life, we are meant to meet, and we do so too, people who promise things which are not in their hands, some who do so, because at that moment, nothing else is more important. Some who come into our lives so abruptly, and apparently without any reason, and some who are slowly introduced in our lives, who crawl inside to establish their place in your lives, and leave their marks so deep and clear. And yet life moves on, and you move on, promises of “forever” are always made, and they are more often than not broken too.

The gates opened and she entered, carrying a chocolate in her hands, with the same anxiety and a pinch of nervousness mirrored in her face, she scanned the floor only once, when she spotted the table to the rightmost corner of the coffee shop, there i was, feeling anxitement, and in the moments it took for her to walk to me, i realized ,i understood, and i knew, that i would go through this process of impermanence a hundred times if it meant looking at this person you knew would make you feel this level of happiness , that which cannot be put into simple words, that only which can be felt by someone who shares the same happiness, and someone who believes in the wicked games the universe plays with you, only to give you this moment- this moment of immense of happiness, that you are quite radiating with it and enclosing all around you in that happy bubble of yours.

I want to make peace with the idea of impermanence, of the flow of people in and out of my life, and accept my existence for what is really means, and enjoy these moments,this uncertainty and impermanence presents. And as the cliche goes, nothing in life, save you, is permanent.

And she hugged her old dear friend so tight, and as she remembered to bend down to my five feet figure to hug me tighter, it almost came naturally to me to stand on my tippy toes. She lifeted the chocolate, and all she had to say was “for old times sake” ...... :D

untold fury of an indian woman...

Dearest Indians,

The recent front page news got me thinking for a long time. And I just began to wonder:

You stayed silent when the boy’s side of a family demand lump sum amounts as dowry

You were okay when the mothers in the family were treated like inferiors,

You had no problem with drunkards beating their wives up, you called it normal.

You had no problem when college students sat on the compound whistling and hooting at every passing woman. You went ahead to call it adolescence and hormone rage!

You hardly raised your voice against millions of those little girls who are killed even before they got a chance to see day light, and some more who were thrown and got ridden of in one of those numerous unused dustbins of the cities.

You dint seem to mind too much when there is discrimination shown in the pay cheque just because of her sex,

You dint really come forward and help a girl who was forced to get married against her wishes.

You don’t mind when a son could come home after 9, while the daughter was expected to be back by 5!

You really don’t seem to be seeing how a woman’s voice is subdued in any family discussions by those of her male counterparts

You seem to conveniently overlook the numerous cases of custody rapes and other likewise military gang rapes.

You don’t seem to respond to people who call themselves moral police and do nothing but try curbing the little freedom this country offers,

You don’t want to utter a single syllable about how a man always likes to earn a higher salary than that of his wife or sister! Don’t get me even started over how you enjoy and tap your feet to songs calling women chikini chameli, halkuts jawanis and badnam munni!

Oh India....you have finally awoken and suddenly have manned up all because of one woman who was brutally raped??? Are you trying to, as usual forget the hundreds of women whose lives are miserable thanks to your insensitivity to the matter! Furthermore you go ahead to tell these wounded women that it was their fault that they dressed in a particular way which gives rise to these rapes.. well like the women today are any safer draping a saree!

This protest would hopefully see some justice for the one lady who just lost her life. But what about the millions of other women in this country?

The Delhi police have taken measures for increasing the safety for women in Delhi, what do the women in other parts of the country do?

You can have any number of candle light protests or you can continue to throw stones at our government and lament, but wake up to reality, is this what is going to help us?

As a woman of this country, I am not asking the men to give me their shoulder, but I'm here trying hard to stand on my own. All we are asking for is the freedom to be as independent as the opposite sex. Not their empathy nor sympathy! It’s when we get to hold hands as equals can we abolish more such autocracies. It’s not new, we did it with sathi, with child marriages and many more, why not this?? 

A NOMAD’S QUEST.

A NOMAD’S QUEST.

Walking without a path in mind

Drifting across the many clouds.

With nothing specific for the mind to find;

Looking out for ruins and lands.

The night sky shone;

Lit by a lonely moon;

Drawing to the beauty;

Of the stillness of the night.

The sound of the cricket’s chirping;

The silence in the cold breeze.

The mystery within,

Blending with the darkness.

Awoken by ripples of a brook,

Giggling and teasing as it flows.

I see fresh life beginning;

With rise of the sun, and

Flight of a bird, to hunt.

The breeze blows gently

Rustling the pale autumn leaves.

I bow down to the water,

Feeling its chill

With palms beneath.

The stream flows through,

Tranquil and at peace

Making way for all the lives in it.

I see life: in its myriad manifestations

And wonder where we differ?

I walk through the gardens,

 I climb through the hills

I walk through the dunes

I swim through the seas.

I see cultures, I see religions

I see health, I suffer the sickness.

I see the smiles, feel the tears.

Oh! My friend, where do we differ?

Isn’t this groundless?

Isn’t this an ignominy?

I see the cleric preach; I ask:

Are thou so blinded:

That thou can’t see; we are one?

 Like the river flowing through:

Like the moon lighting a path

I know not where I belong:

But, for every patch of grass,

I’ve laid my feet on.

Thus a nomad’s quest

its time to cut down!!!

Its that time of the year everyone sports a talk on the national budget, and here it is this year.,I tried to grasp as much as possible from all the news channels and papers ending up even more confused! Being the extra talkative person that I am, while on the rickshaw traveling back to my hostel, I started a SMART conversation wid the driver. All I asked was “bhaisab, howz the budget doing for u??”… well, he gave me such a admonished look, it scared me quite a bit. But well, he then gave me a small talk on his view of the budget, one which helped me understand the whole crux of the effect of the budget on my life within 5 minutes.

He started with his rattling about how the price per barrel of crude oil has increased, I wasn’t paying much attention until he mentioned that the minimum fare of auto will be Rs.24 in a few days! Tht would mean an extra Rs.7 per every ride, that would mean an increase of Rs.210 in a month!!! I understood my railway ticket is also going to see a rise, which would mean another increase of Rs.400 minimum in my expenditure.

Now frankly speaking, for a girl like me, any change in the VAT or CENVAT is of least bit importance, but, auto anna to rescue, he gently explained that “ behanji, ur cosmetic price is going to increase”. Now, my mind started its mental calculations. My monthly cosmetics plus tax etc etc would now add up to an increased gross amount of Rs.500! its time I stopped using the liner, mascara, blush and others!

After all this while my mind wandering on how to cut costs so that I could sustain myself with my monthly refills, my vary eyes rested upon the meter. My heart stopped at once. It read Rs.65!!! seeing my petrified face, auto anna with a diabolic grin said “ pranab dha has increased all the prices, question him, not me! I’m just the aam adhmi!” for the love of all the “aaam adhmis in India, do those financial giants even think of students?? Ponder over!!!

THE TALE OF THE LOST SOUL

She was safe


Was comfortable,

She was waund around

In her own safe cocoon.

But there came a time

She had to struggle;

She had to out wriggle.

Bit,by bit, her world tore apart

And her new life begun .



She was’nt confined,

Nor was she bind.

She had beau wings,

Red blue green and yellow

Enjoyed she did,

The freedom -the exhilaration .

The fragrance of scented flowers,

The ever twinkling night starts .

The blue sky and green grass..

The new life- she wanted it all.



Enjoyed she did

Until there came a day,

The wind blew too hard

The climate around worsened

The flowers dried, leaves crumpled

Clouds turned dark,

Grey and hard.



Wounded she was ,

Her wings tattered

Struggled, to resurface

To fly,

Failed and robbed of all

Her glory, happiness, and freedom

Returned she did,

To her home.

The old sound dint enthrall

The old hold comfort not

The old she, dint return

She fought,

But with a void of nothingness.

And so she left,

To her grave,

Took she with her

All the courage, hopes and soul!!!