The Real

Eyes stare out,

Into the blackness beyond,

A blur,

A memory,

A dream…

Broken, Burned

A blinding light,

The sign of awake-ness,

A smile,

A truth,

Real, Forever

The mistiness disappears,

With the welled up tears,

The curve commands,

And beckons joy near

The touch,

Surprises Love,

The eyes,

Piercingly warm,

Turn away the doubts,

The fear, the storm

Words melt,

Their meaning already delivered,

The grey no longer a looming cloud,

The lining already silvered

A speechless promise,

Sealed,

A soft kiss,

A long night,

Alone, not lonely

The coloured dream,

No black, no grey,

The elation spilling over,

No bounds, no seam

The real and unreal,

Merge, unite,

The present,

A gift from life.

Smile, it's today

MOWGLI - My angel :)

Sometimes I wake up,

Flustered,

The dream had broken bits,

Broken, yet clustered


And then suddenly,

Black-and-white comes wiggling forth,

Tail sweeping the air,

East-west, south-north!


Lips parted in a big grin,

And a pink tongue ready to kiss,

Smack, Smack, Smack it goes,

On my lips, cheek, chin, and nose!


I stretch and yawn,

I squint at the trickling rays,

I get some more kisses and wags,

Then, “Smile,” he barks, “it's Today!'

A small speck, that's all

..................................

I've often looked at ants carefully avoiding puddles, and wondered if that puddle were a sea or an ocean in their world...

Today, when I think about the world around me, I feel as small as an ant. I read the news, I watch telly channels flashing reports and I can't help but think that all those things that I'm disgruntled about hardly even matter.

In space, the junk of abandoned rockets, missile shrapnels and shattered satellites has reached a tipping point. One crash with a satellite and we could lose our communication networks. It sends shivers down my spine. Is this is a sign of the beginning of our end? An end that our own actions are responsible for?

In different parts of the world, there are oil spills that could wipe out birds, marine life. There are cyclones; there are earthquakes claiming hundreds and hundreds of human, animal and plant life. Our motherland is being tormented by plane crashes, blasts, terrorist attacks, and wars. There are rapes, reported and unreported, and there are honour killings. There are kidnappings, money launderings. Then there are government people. In Rajasthan, the corporation has left thousands of stray dogs – puppies, pregnant bitches and others – in the deserted desert, without food and water. They are caught with metal braces that cause their teeth to break and also result in other internal injuries. And then they are left to die in the sands.

In Pune, 35 dogs were recently poisoned by the PMC. The poison used was one that slowly attacks different organs and then causes death.

In Delhi, a cop raped a girl; in UP, two cops took obscene video clips of a girl, and drove her to commit suicide.

I can't even pen any more cases, because my stomach is knotted up and the cruelty makes me sick.

And I realise that I have no right to complain about the downs of work, the end-of-the month depleted bank account, the scratches on my car, the clot in my nail... Even if all my woes and worries were put together, they would never ever amount to what's happening in the world around me.

I'm just a speck, that's all. A small, tiny speck, much like an ant. A speck that's watching the ocean of cruelty drown and destroy the world it lives in.

It's time to sizzle

Beaches, bikinis and babes! Read on:

http://epaper.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalTimes/18Apr2010/Normal/Spice/page2.htm

Dancing Dots

I squeeze my eyes shut, but those colourful sparks no longer break the darkness. It's pitch black – there are no dancing red and blue dots, and no abstract circles. Instead, it gets foggy, a thick cloud of tears...

Sometimes life's like that. You can see the small circle of light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel's too long, almost unending. The darkness continues to stalk, and nothing you do can shake it away.

Sometimes happiness is like that. You see the other side of the fence, and your naked feet long to enjoy the coolness of the carpet of green grass... but, the fence is too high to cross over. The wires are too sharp, and sometimes, you get a jolt, a shock of Volts.

Sometimes smiles are like that. You can already feel the imminent joy that the curve will bring, but your lips are too dry. The chapness worsens as you wet them and the cracks get deeper. The redness burns inside, and the smile never reaches the eyes.

Sometimes love is like that. Deep down, you know it's enough to make up for the dark tunnel, the jolts and the cracks, yet you block it out, in fear that it won't reach you; in fear that an obstacle will block its path; in fear that it won't bring the dancing dots back...

The silence is deafening

I don't know his favourite food, his favourite restaurant or his favourite colour. I don't even know the colour of his eyes. But when I looked into them today, they were so grey and so lifeless. And the memory of meeting him flashed before me, and I recall his smile, full of mirth and mischief, a smile that reached his eyes.

I don't know Vikas well enough to be called a close friend, but I know him enough to know that he didn't deserve to die like that, in a blast of hatred and terror and cowardice.

A leg amputated, furious burns all over his person, failing kidneys... and what was his fault? That he chose to have coffee at German Bakery on February 13, at 7 pm.

The week that was, was of prayers for him. Those prayers are still with his soul that has crossed over. But his going has left behind a dreadful anguish in the minds and hearts of parents, siblings, family, friends – close ones and the ones like me. It will never go away.

My eyes will never forget the lifeless, far away look in his eyes, that I saw today at his funeral. And my mind will also never forget all those times I've met him and laughed and joked with him, oblivious to the fact, that soon, very soon, he'll only be a memory.

My emotions are troubled. They're confused. They don't know whether to feel deep sorrow at this loss of a lovely human being, or to feel justifiable hatred and uncontrolled anger at those who committed such a hideous crime, such an unpardonable sin...

It's been a week since blast, and a day since Vikas left us all, and the papers carry a headline: 'Even after 8 days, no breakthrough'.

I want to yell out to the ATS, to the government, to anyone who will listen:

'Will it even make a difference if there is a breakthrough?


Will the perpetrators be given a 'fair trial' like Kasab (26/11)?


Will I still hear explanations that a fair trial is a must because we're a democratic nation?


Someone tell me please: Are we a democratic nation for the citizens of India or for demons like Kasab and whoever is responsible for the death of Vikas and 14 others?


Will this terror ever end, or does our country want us to get 'used to' losing dear ones?


Will our Vikas ever get justice?'



My mind is constantly screaming. But still, there's only silence around. No answers. Only silence. And it's deafening.

FOR MY DEAREST BHAGWAN

This one's for Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, only Him... for there is nothing truer than Him and I have no better Best Friend than Him...
Love You Baba...

Our boat was sinking, or so we felt,
We closed our eyes and before You, we knelt,
With a wave of Your hand, You calmed the storm,
In a flash of events, You took away the tears, the mourn.
We were drowning, or so we thought,
But the touch of Your hand was enough to bring our fears to a naught,
You didn't let a drop splash upon our person,
You came to save us, just when we were beginning to think our lot would worsen.

The darkness kept creeping on us, or so we assumed,
'Where is God when we need Him?' we fumed,
And then You whispered, 'Why fear when I am here?'
Our eyes opened, and there You were standing ever so near,
And we saw a light, of a most wondrous hue,
It surrounded us, and then became You.

We were falling, crashing, hurtling down, or so we imagined,
We could see the sinister rocks below,
We could hear our screams, the din,
We clenched our fists, and shut our eyes,
We tried to subdue our fear, our cries,
We tried to show courage, but in vain,
And in our panic, we even forgot to call out Your name.
Still, the crash never came.
Our eyes opened,
And instead of deathly rocks, we lay on a bed of love,
We looked straight up at Your smiling face above,
And you said in a voice of unmatched love and kindness,
'My dear child, You may forget me, but how can I?
I live for You, for Your happiness.
Even when you are not looking, I'm standing right there,
Even when you don't feel it,
You're enveloped in My armour of love and care.
Pain and sorrow are a part of life,
But look once towards Me,
And I'll give you joy that's unchallenged by trouble or strife,
For you may not know it, but I've descended to love you,
A love that's the deepest of deep, and the truest of true…'