Month: June 2023

The Stranger

Who is that girl I see in the mirror?
To me, she is a complete stranger.
When I cry, she tells me to smile.
She says it brightens up my eyes.

When I feel like hiding in a corner,
I can hear her laugh at me louder.
She tells me the only way ahead
Is by going through it all instead.

When I feel afraid of the monsters,
She tells me I’m brave and a fighter.
When I think that I have lost it all,
She tells me to take another shot.

When I feel things couldn’t be worse,
She tells me they will only get better.
When I feel lost with nowhere to go,
She tells me I’m stronger than I know.

Yes, that girl is a complete stranger.
The girl I see every day in the mirror.
Oftentimes, I wonder who she is
Is she someone else, or could she be … me?

The Wait

Every second, every minute, every hour every day
Seems like an eternity due to this cruel wait.
It’s like being against a blank wall as we all pray
For the clouds in the skies to shower some rain.

The great Indian summer has long overstayed
With more than fifty shades of brown in the hills and plains.
The angry, hot Sun makes every living thing sweat,
And in an angry, hot breeze do all things sway.

What evil karma has brought about these days?
What will shake off the spell and cast it far away?
The king and his countrymen are all so helpless
As the heatwave causes fields to crack and break.

O Gods in Heaven, I have heard and it is said
That you can see even an ant as it takes a breath,
And hear its little sighs as it rummages and forays.
O why then are you treating us all as castaways?

Bless us with the vision so we may mend our ways
Lest the swelter outside, in our minds too, deserts create.
Open up the skies, and let your love pour down again.
Bring us back into your fold and end this neverending wait.

The Old Village Road

High up the plains at the bottom of the hill,
There’s a quaint little village that lies hidden.
And, in that village running right in the middle
Is an old village road used by animals and
people.

On it walks the cowherd with his staff and whistle,
And the bells on the necks of his small herd tinkle.
At times, it is crossed by geese in a gaggle
Making all the big carts come to a stand still.

The road is cobbled and has tiny, loose pebbles
And in the trees lining it, the north wind swishes.
But, that doesn’t stop the children as they dash and giggle
With the village dogs whose tails wag and wiggle.

O the old village road holds a lot many secrets
Of the generations that in the quaint village live.
O how I long for those times when all was so simple
When I skipped down the old village road without any reason.

The Bride – A Story

On the day of her wedding,
She felt a range of emotions –
Sadness and happiness,
nervousness and helplessness.

Wearing an ornate red attire,
Decked with jewelry and fresh flowers,
She looked every bit the beautiful bride.
But, she was a mess, deep inside.

In a moment alone, she looked at the mirror,
and saw someone familiar staring back at her –
It was the Goddess she prayed to everyday.
She could see Her resemblance in herself.

She realized her role in the circle of life
As Shakti…and not as a compromise
To the opinions of her society and class.
She felt ready to step towards the mandap.

A Fairy’s Tale

Once upon a time, there was a princess.
Imprisoned by an evil wizard, she was in distress.
Every day, she read fairytales and was so sure
That a brave prince would one day rescue her.
But the clock ticked on, and years passed.
No prince ever came to set her free, alas!
She then realized that her prince never existed,
And that it was up to her to rescue herself.
So, she planned to fight the wizard by hook or by crook,
And snuck into his library and read all his books.
Against him, she then used his most powerful spell.
And finally escaped after he was dead.
In her own castle, she then happily dwelled
As a fairy helping good folks with her spells.

The Reunion

They met at their class’s 65th reunion party.
Two frail beings…with strong spirits.
One of them slowly pulled out a photo
And suddenly, the conversation flowed.
They remembered their school days,  When, together, they studied and played.
The times when they laughed together,
When they were punished for pranking the teacher.
They laughed again as they narrated, too, Stories of their adventures after leaving school.
The sparkle was back in their eyes,
And that was when they both realized –
Age is just a number in a bank of happy memories,
And to live to the fullest, leaving behind all worries.

Incredible India

As the world lay in darkness millenia ago,
there emerged in the east a shining jewel.
This was my country; my India incredible
in the honor of which these words flow.

A mixing bowl of cultures and languages,
like beads on a string are many religions.
With 1.37 billion Indians calling it home,
and cuisines that are a hit across the world.

My incredible India is also a land of firsts.
Board games were created to teach morals.
It was the birthplace of Ayurveda and Yoga.
And diamonds were sourced from its earth.

My incredible India is a land of superlatives.
The world’s largest sundial was built in Jaipur.
The Statue of Unity is the world’s tallest statue.
And Varanasi is the world’s oldest surviving city.

The more I know, the more I am in awe
of this beautiful country where I was born.
This is my motherland; this is my home.
My incredible India makes me incredible too.

To Mother Earth

Mother Earth, you are truly divine.
Without you, there would be no life.
I could fill infinite books and pages
With words in your honor and praises.

Of the millions of species you bore,
We humans have taken so much more.
Even with the billions of neurons gifted,
We have from our purposes far drifted.

You gave us eyes, but we lack the vision
To see the equality in all your creations.
You gave us ears, but we choose to hear
All that pleases us from all that is dear.

We feel so proud of all our inventions
Oblivious of the impact of our intentions.
Not realizing you still hold the controls
To the wheel of fate as it turns and rolls.

When will we know for better or worse
That you are our sole link to the Universe?
That the answers we seek lie within you,
And the reasons for our existence, too.

Tulips

I walk into the flower shop seeking
The perfect little gift for my lover.
The shelves are all a riot of colors
Of smiling buds that await picking.

The blushing rose is indeed pretty,
But so clichéd with its velvet petals.
My eyes then look away and settle
On some big, blossoming white lilies.

Their freshness appeals in an instant
But I want them to mean a lot more.
And, soon my gaze passes over
To a group of nodding carnations.

They’re beautiful with shades aplenty
But for my one love, they surely fail.
And so I move on, a little restless
To a bunch of dew-laden red tulips.

With petals not just a sight to see,
They speak what my heart stores –
My deep and unconditional love –
A love so true for a lover so lovely.

I walk out of the shop so happily
With the red blooms in a bouquet.
I see the delight on my lover’s face
When the tulips speak so eloquently.