Friday, July 24, 2015

I feel the monsoon..

Experienced, I have, the rivers, the beaches and the water falls, but seldom have I the monsoon. Scattered rainfalls and cyclonic rainfalls have defined my monsoon till now..

With utmost curiosity, from the windows of this library, I watch as the clouds move past. The winds blow them, and they sail away undisturbed, as another cloud takes its place. This continues, intermittent, leaving behind no trail.

An occasional sparrow flies up and back down, probably she’s playing with her sibling. She mocks at me! Dark are the clouds, ready to pour, just that I don’t know where. The butterflies have their share of fun, for when it rains they need to find a shelter. Drizzles appear on the window, drop by drop, disrupting my vision. I hear the raindrops.

As a child, I’ve wondered, if I could ever catch rain, use it as a rope and climb up to the clouds! As I grew, I realized, rains are a prodigy.

The mist covers it all. The rain drenches the Earth. I see it not. Window in front, and a book between us.

The book calls, and I am back to reading as the rain taps softly against the aged window panes, the clouds float away, and the rest safely assured.


What remains is the redolent fragrance of the South-West monsoon…


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Let it flow..

           Technology, Revolution, Advancements. Everything at our own disposal; Life needs no exertion, and so does writing. The pen and paper era has gone, the typewriters are long lost.


           I wonder if I would ever teach my kids to write like my Dad did to me – beginning from a pencil, to crayons, to scribbling on walls. To absurd nothings and the evolution of my Being to holding a pen – I wonder.
           As I write now, she flows like the alluring river bearing resemblance to the early morning rays streaming through the clouds.

           A good student needs a good teacher, a good food needs a good dessert, a good car needs a good driver and a good writer needs a good pen. Whether thoughts flow or not, the pen must make you write pulling every single word out of your little heart.

I write, because I hold a pen. 



Wednesday, October 15, 2014

She is beautiful, she is silent..

She would never disturb you until you give her what she needs,
She would eloquently manoeuvre you into her needs,
She would carry you to worlds unknown and lands undiscovered,
She would never let you go, difficult it is to detach from her
She would unveil you off all your secrets,

She loves the dark,
She loves the night,
She loves the moon,
She hates not the sun
She baits you with her pun

Guess who she is, 
for she is beautiful, she is silent,

She has friends, close they are, yet so far..



Monday, September 29, 2014

The moon still shines..



It’s not just another day she’d say. She saw the world through Alfred Noyes eyes – The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas; yes, she has experienced the moon from the hills, by the sea, travelling in a train, from her terrace but never has the moon caught her attention by the dusty roads of Chennai city, with the honk honk of the vehicles, the glaring lights, and the unbearable heat caused by the pollution. She stopped today, setting aside the agony of the day. To pause and live.

She shone in a crimson red pleading to the people beneath to look at her. The young lady draped in blue wanted to listen to her. This is no Grand ma tale, nor is it the search for a long lost soul-mate. It was, the rythemetic impressions of two souls in solitude, on one another. 

Shut was the noises around. Dark went the world.  There blew the Gusty wind. Immaterial became the material happiness. The hearts locked, both felt eternity in their beings. The thunderous clouds approaching them threw a lightening breaking their bond. 

Eyes set on the road she tried to look past the semblance. As the wave of moonlight guided her, she rode ahead never looking back.

She imbibed into her that all that we need to believe is that we are steering the ship of our own lives. And the best way to do it is to seek and enjoy solitude.

The moon still shines.


Sunday, March 23, 2014

What matters the most is to be present for your loved ones



            Extreme laziness and a cozy bed were my companions this morning. I’ve had a hectic week and I decided to relax before I begin the stretch of another hectic week. As I snuggled into my blanket, with my friends calling me for the Sunday morning chat,  my thoughts drifted to the happenings a week ago. It always makes me feel good when I recollect happy memories, and that’s the case with most of us right?

            Last Saturday was my Brother’s convocation. Being the “official ticket booker” of the family, I had to book tatkal tickets for my parents (from Bangalore to Trichy) and for myself (from Chennai to Trichy). These Tatkal sessions could be the most tiring ones if you haven’t got adequate patience to handle it. I didn’t.

           I couldn’t get my parents their tickets and I messed up with my ticket losing money, on deciding that I would get them bus tickets I lost money at the payment gateway as well, finally I had to ask my brother to help me with the tickets. And on top of it I wasted 3 hours doing this! Practically nothing!. It was a bad morning for the soul who woke up at 10 and skipped her breakfast to book tickets! I had a class that afternoon for which I hadn’t prepared and a project presentation on Monday for which I had to meet my mentor.

            A stressful morning ruined my day, and perceiving future uncertainties I decided not to attend my brother’s convocation stay back at Chennai and work on my project for a decent presentation on Monday. Convincing Dad and Bro on my perspective was an easy task, but, somehow Mothers have their own way of tackling their daughters right.. She didn’t shout, she didn’t tell me what to do, but the only thing she asked me was this, “He’s your brother, and you can’t make it for his convocation?”

            That was more than enough to make me feel horrible, not to mention the sorrowful evening I had! It was bad! A decision had to be made. I can’t travel in buses - they make me claustrophobic, and getting a train ticket for that night was out of reality. And for a decent presentation I had to be back on Sunday to prepare. I did!

            All the confusions last only till the tickets are booked. Dad can at best explain my confusions! Lady Hamlet he calls me “To be, or not be”. Anything I have to do, or any decision I have to make always had 2 options to choose from, well, that's also a trait of a Cancerian if you've known them enough..

            With less than 2 hours sleep that Friday night, I woke up at 5 for the train at 7.30am .It was a horrible journey! My choice of book for the journey “Train to Pakistan” turned out to be terrible! But well, I was travelling to be present at my brother’s convocation, it is important for him so it’s important for me, and my presence there would make him happy, and that is why I decided to travel 800 kms in a day!

            Being the youngest kid at home, one would have experienced the benefit of being such, let alone the fact that there are lesser scolding from the elders. But with me, I learnt more about life from my Brother than life itself. They’ve been lessons through example than through experience. When he had the experience I had the lessons. Those things that I ought to do and those that I ought not to. When he went through tough periods in life, the only thing that he told me is, “you better don’t do this, I do not want to see you suffer like me”

            The sibling rivalry, those days that passed like as though we were enemies for life, the chaos that we created that irritated everybody around, all seemed so immaterial right now. Maybe that’s what makes the Brother- Sister bond strong, I don’t know. Forever, through thick and thin we would stand.

            We were there exactly when the convocation parade entered the auditorium. It was a proud moment for all of us. And for me, being present there and meeting my brother after 4 months was what mattered the most. The smiling faces, and the joyous families, that feeling of accomplishment in everyone’s heart, that’s what made the day special..

            He had put on some weight, was a little shy when he walked up the dais, and he looked more handsome in his formals. His gold medal in “marketing subjects” was the most awaited, for I always knew my brother knocks it off when it comes to persuasiveness. And that happiness I observed from my Dad's expressions then. Priceless!

            After a little snack, and a little chat, and few crazy photography sessions, and get-togethers, and that crazy moment when i turned to observe the sunset at the far horizon, I noticed, Dad was enjoying as well :) we had the little family time, the last time we had one such was a long time ago!!! 10 months! We left for dinner, and through the journey we were deciding where to shift, and I was trying to prove why beloved Chennai is the best place to live..

            Time for me to leave, and in my 21 years and 6 months of life, that was the first time my brother dropped me at the railway station, I didn’t tell him that, but sure he’ll get to know it when he reads this :)

            The wait for the train merely made me more stressed after such a relaxed day, thinking about my ‘to do’ list for the next day. Early that Sunday morning I reached, the sleep cheered me up, and the fact that I was present there for my brother made me more cheerful. My presentation on Monday was extra ordinary and it could not have been any better.

And thanks to the prompt irctc and the bus services, all my lost money got refunded ;)
It's time to buckle up for the routine :)

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Frozen in memory, this would stand


Towards 22 on 22! - Tick :) - Mission 1 - Task 8


                It has been ages since I made the resolution of waking up early every morning, though I can at times, once in 2 or 3 days... today morning was an exception. The original plan was to stay awake all night, but well, as sleep invited me I had to succumb to its call...
 
                “Wake up, wake up” rang Lydia’s voice in my ears, (‘Lydia’ means some ‘Flower’ in some language, and hence is translated to ‘Poo’ in Tamil). As Poo kept singing into my ears “Wake up its 4.30”, I just wished that the dream would come to a happy ending; I was trying to pull the blanket over my head and hugging my pillow tight. “Let’s go to ‘Dha Beach’ (‘the beach’), there! I lost my sleep, and I forgot what I was dreaming about. That happens quite often right? when you are so engrossed in the dream, and when actually living it, something happens in real life and the dream is completely forgotten. But the impact of the dream remains. When I wake up panicking I interpret it ought to be a ghost dream, when sober it would have been an emotional dream, and today I woke up all smiles..

                In less than a minute I was up and brushing my teeth, trying to protect my legs from the mosquitos I performed an on the spot march in front of the basin. Poo next to me brushing understood that to be a break dance, and we performed the dance/ the march with perfect synchronization and hurried to dress up. My body being overly pampered needed a lot of clothing! Sweaters, a pair of sock and jeans! No sooner we left, Jagriti (Jaggy), Parisha (Roomie), Poo and myself..

                Pleasing our spirits with a hot cup of tea at the regular tea shop we started. Stopping the moving bus at the middle of the road, and getting down at the signal we were ready for the day’s adventure. After taking an auto to besant nagar, and seating ourselves comfortably for the 90Rs journey, is when I realized I had forgotten my mufflers! For the next 20mins I travelled like the Kikazaru of the three wise monkeys!

                Reaching the destination, we walked down to the beach. The sky and ocean dark, morning star Venus clearly visible, few others stars that I obviously don’t recognize and the moon in the western sky. 
There I was, standing, waiting to see the sunrise for the first time in my life.

                The brisk boat men set their boats into the vast Bay of Bengal like they owned the seas.. Or rather they believe they do. I felt envy , for they would race me to catch the glimpse of the sun at least a few seconds before I could. I laughed at my sense of Geography, and the spherical structure of the Earth.

                Nostalgia dragged me back to class 5 to a question a friend had asked. “Ma’am, why do we spend so much on air tickets? Wouldn’t it be just simple to blow a helium or hydrogen balloon, (Thanks to the Chemistry teacher for making us understand that these gases weigh light) tie ourselves to it, reach high up, and when the earth rotates ,we’d see the US down, burst the balloon so we land right down on US. There was an extended debate between the teacher and us, where all we 10 year olds were trying to prove our teacher and the whole world wrong. I smiled at the distance memory.


                To an exquisite colour of blue changed the eastern sky. At the horizon, it was a shade of white, and then blue and up above pitch dark… the stars still visible..


                Poo and myself sat on the beach, listening to the sounds of the waves lapping on the shore, while Jaggy and Roomie went on to play.

Minutes passed, about 30 minutes..


                To me, the changing colors were like a mimic of a melodrama. Sophisticated is the creation of God.

                From a darker blue, to a light blue then to a whitish blue, the dawn broke. First changing the horizon to a dull yellow… and a patch of orange later on..


                When intrigued what’s beyond the horizon, I concentrated on the line that divided the ocean and the sky , the vision captivated me. At that moment it felt like the ocean and the sky was frozen into one frame, What I saw , in simple words, was a moving picture. Try it, words won’t do to explain it..,

                Waiting there at that stage for ten minutes did make me lose my patience. I saw clouds at the horizon. The clouds were brighter now, Venus duller, the setting moon had traveled farther west.

                “Maybe a cloudy day” I thought. I tried convincing myself that this isn’t the last day that the sun would rise, I could come anytime, on a non-cloudy day, after checking the weather report, and that I could still see the sunrise.

                What I saw then had absolutely dumbfounded me.

                Just words wouldn’t suffice to express my emotions at that point. Seconds before the sun was out, the clouds on the east sky was a perfect silhouette of dark orange, anytime in the past I could have merely envisioned it as a painting by an expert artist. There, in front of me was God’s own painting. Never have I seen such an orange sky..

                What I first saw was an orange dot on the far horizon, slowly the dot grew bigger. It rose as a red ball of fire, fresh, out of the deep oceans. Pure, unabridged, perfect circle, with an unique distribution of the colors, red at the periphery, to orange and to yellow at the core. As I stood there awestruck the sun slowly rose, to lighten up the Earth. The stars disappeared, the moons brightness became immaterial, the sky brightened with life, and a cock-a-doodle-do of a cock somewhere far away..



The boats vanished beyond the horizon. The boatmen were Voyagers indeed..

                The sun’s rays shimmered through the Bay of Bengal, I never knew the colour orange would fascinate me, it has always been one of my least favorite colors. Enchanted I felt looking at the reflection of the lights on the vast ocean. The orange beam that directed at me, stuck me in my eye, revealing the brownish tinge of my eyelashes. Allured I felt. “That’s life” Dad would say..

Frozen in memory, this would stand, for days to come, as the first sun rise I ever saw..