Month: April 2024

To You!

You! Caught in a traffic jam
On a hot summer afternoon
Or waiting at the red signal –
What’s not OK is the horn
Adding to the noise levels!

You! Racing in a big hurry
On the national highways,
Rushing to just overtake –
Keep a safe distance, and
You will see another day!

You! On an evening drive
Cruising on the city streets,
Keep the road in your sight –
When you use headlights,
Use the dipper at night!

You! Going to a party
Driving that motorcar,
For your safe journey –
Don’t use vehicle’s mirror
To put on your lipstick!

You! Yes, you at the wheel,
Pay heed to this free advice
Painted for you especially
On a truck’s colorful behind –
Seen exclusively in our country!

Shhh!

Your eyes are a mirror of your heart.
They reveal the truth when you lie.
Feelings that you try to hide
Can be seen in your eyes.
So, just stay silent,
And let me gaze
Into them
Tonight –
Shhh!

PS: This poem is a Nonet.

Ode to Time

O Timeless Time, moving on and on,
You are the one that will outlast us all.
Nothing escapes from your attention
As you step on, heeding to some call.
You were, are and will be the witness
Of all events that transpire everywhere –
Extinction or evolution – you see them.
You know everything in the Universes –
From life’s hope to death’s cold stare,
Yet, at predictions, you escape attempts.

O Timeless Time! In my imagination,
I’d like to think that you’re able to recall
All that occurred in the fleeting moments,
And you are not indifferent, like a wall.
That somewhere in your deep recesses
You keep a track of it all in a big ledger,
And you have a memory like us humans.
With Karma, your friend and mistress,
You write the scripts of each one’s future,
And then unravel them with every second.

O Timeless Time! Forever in motion.
Are there times you wish you could halt,
And maybe gaze around in admiration,
With the beauty of it all, be enthralled?
Or, can you see the impending progress
When some Chosen One somewhere
Will one day capture you in a button?
And, then, tap into your powers endless.
And, then, your secrets, will you share?
O Time! Do you have that premonition?

The Child in Me

O! To be young again
And revisit those golden days
When I used to laugh and play
With other children of my age.

O! I recall the meadows green,
The daisies and frangipani trees.
And the many evenings that ended
By bringing home little bouquets.

O! I remember the songs I sang
Through the lyrics I didn’t understand.
No matter how many times I listened
To the tape recorder with the cassette.

O! I yearn for those moments
When everything was so amazing,
And I had so many questions
Answered in books and conversations.

But as I ponder in wonder,
The thought to me does occur
That my age is just a state of my mind,
And I can rebuild what was left behind.

Why?! How lovely it would be
If I rediscovered the child in me.
If she broke through the worldly norms
Although people say she has grown up.

To be happy without restraints.
To marvel and discover in wonderment.
To retrace the footsteps of innocence.
To relive those memories in the present.

Never Stop

Do you wonder where unfulfilled dreams and wishes go?
Why things don’t happen the way you might suppose?

Why some people can only gaze at the silver moon,
While others zip in a space shuttle and walk on it, too?

Why some people live in the lap of endless luxuries,
And others struggle daily just to make ends meet?

Wishes, prayers, hopes and dreams are neverending,
But the Universe has its own mysterious ways of responding.

Surely, the hopes of humanity considered in entirety
Will one day manifest causing changes evolutionary.

We can keep wishing with our mind’s limited capacity,
But God will grant them only to the most deserving.

Only when the time is right and all pieces are in place
Will the answers be revealed and wishes be fulfilled.

But never stop dreaming, wishing, hoping and praying
It might just be what’s needed to complete the equation.

The Perfect Love Story

The king and the queen were worried.
The princess was yet to be married.

But none of the suitors were perfect.
In them, she always found a defect –

Too talkative or boring or fat or thin,
None of them, her heart, could win.

She was waiting for the ideal prince
Like in the books she’d been reading.

Until one day when with her friends,
She went to the riverside for a swim.

As they played in the cool waters,
A huge dragon appeared from nowhere.

Clutching the princess in its talons,
It flew off towards the high mountain.

The word spread around like wildfire.
The kingdom was gripped by terror,

But, one brave and fearless warrior
Took off on his horse to rescue her.

He shot an arrow at the huge dragon,
And a fierce battle then commenced.

The dragon roared and spat flames,
Yet, he was quicker and dodged them.

Finally, his sword found its mark,
And he pierced the dragon’s heart.

By the light of the pale crescent moon,
He brought the princess safely home.

The kingdom celebrated and rejoiced
As the princess then made her choice.

In the glow of thousands of candles,
They both exchanged rings, and wed.

And as a new dawn broke in the skies,
With it, in the kingdom, peace arrived.

And as the story ends, I say these words –
The perfect love story exists in this world.

There’s one for each and every person.
Love, like the wind, touches everything.

Just believe in it with your heart,
And welcome it with open arms.

The Road Itself

As we journey through our lives,
What stays with us is the road we tread.
Be it through pleasant or harsh climes,
The road unravels with every step.

At times, smooth, and at times, cobbled,
At times, dusty, and at times, cracked,
At times, graveled, and at times, potholed,
The road goes on as a neverending track.

Sometimes, it takes us down a blind alley.
Sometimes, it descends into a valley.
Or, curve till it reaches the mountain peak,
But the road we take is our choice totally.

The road is there, it always existed.
Waiting to be walked on and discovered,
Waiting to lead to new places and people,
The road unites with the one who travels.

Countless destinations are reached
All because of the roads people take.
Yet, we do not appreciate or notice
How life intersects with the road itself.

The Truth and The Dare

Today, I dare myself to –

Always care for my feelings.
Be mindful of my needs.
Choose my company wisely.
Divide and rule negativity.
Engage myself in self-care.
Forever be my best friend.
Go out to be one with Nature.
Have moments of rapture.
Invest in building my self-image.
Journal my thoughts everyday.
Know that I also have bad days.
Love all aspects about myself.
Motivate myself to achieve.
Never brood in self-defeat.
Overcome the challenges of life.
Prioritize peace at all times.
Quell thoughts of self-deprecation.
Reserve time for my ambition.
Sleep when I feel weary.
Try not to make everyone happy.
Unchain my thoughts and opinions.
Voice that I’m hurt by a situation.
Worry less about what others want.
X-cuse myself when I think I can’t.
Yield to my wishes to be free.
And
Zero out all that stresses me.

Once Upon a Lazy Day

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore,
I felt a cool breeze, and … is that the boom of thunder?

Suddenly, with arms flailing, I start falling nonstop.
I see myself floating in the center of a raindrop.

Hurtling towards the emerald earth at lightning speed,
I feel a thrill moving up through my toes, and I scream.

With a splash, I land on the petal of a frangipani.
It’s so fragrant and so smooth that I can slide on it.

My dress swirls round and round as I twirl in a pirouette
To the lively notes of a guitar strummed by a cricket.

In the background, I’m accompanied by butterflies
Who flutter with their colorful wings shining bright.

And as the music rises in a melodious crescendo,
Across the grey skies, there arches a rainbow.

And everything within view as far as I can see
Is bathed in a halo of the seven colors so heavenly.

The skies above then turn a flaming crimson red
As the Sun rues he wants to stay longer instead.

But, the twilight grows, and the moon tiptoes in a bonnet.
The stars cast a net of light, and the image vanishes.

I slowly open my eyes, and in my room I am, on my little bed.
T’was but a dream, like gossamer, on a lazy day, as I overslept.

The Samudra Manthan

This is a story from times ancient
When there existed Gods and demons.
Cursed by Durvasa, the great sage,
For the disrespect shown by Indradev,
The Gods lost their power and strength
And were defeated against the demons.
The wheel of Fortune moved in reverse.
The demon king Bali ruled the Universe.
The Gods then approached Lord Vishnu,
Praised Him and pleaded for a rescue.
Lord Vishnu in a gentle voice suggested
That as the demons had an advantage,
The Gods should adopt a friendly manner
To strategize and regain their powers.
He told them about the magical Amrita
That lay hidden in the ocean Kshira Sagar.
He asked them to churn the ocean.
And, so started the Samudra Manthan.
Without strength, the Gods were helpless.
So, they asked the Demons to assist.
The demon king Bali compromised
As the demons desired an eternal life.
Mandaranchal was the churning rod,
And Vasuki became the churning rope.
Lord Vishnu put Vasuki in a deep sleep
So he would not feel any suffering.
With demons at the head of the serpent,
And Gods at the tail, the churning began.
But as the mountain was put in the ocean,
Due to its weight, it started sinking.
Lord Vishnu then saved the day again.
As a Kurma, He balanced the mountain.
With this, the churning then commenced.
Many things came up from the ocean.
The Poison of Water, the Kamdhenu cow,
The Uchchaihshravas horse, Airavat,
The Kaustubhamani, the Kalpavriksha,
The Apsara Rambha, Goddess Lakshmi,
And in the form of a girl came Varuni,
The Parijat Tree, the powerful Shell
And Dhanvantari Vaidya, with the Amrita.
The powerful demons snatched the jar,
And then, they started a violent war.
Weakened, the Gods couldn’t fight.
They couldn’t get it even if they tried.
Then Lord Vishnu became Vishwamohini –
He became a woman of great beauty.
Mesmerized by Her, all the demons
Asked Her to come and join them.
She said that the Gods and the Demons
Were from one father descended,
And so, they were akin to brothers.
It was wrong to fight with each other.
On hearing these proverbial words,
The demons gave Her the Amrita jar
And agreed to let Her serve the nectar,
To distribute as She saw fit to all.
In different rows, She asked them to sit
And started to give the Gods a sip.
The demons, in a trance of sarcasm
Forgot about the Amrita from the ocean.
But there was one demon named Rahu
Who understood the plan of Lord Vishnu.
In disguise, he sat among the Gods
And received the Amrita in his mouth.
The Gods, Moon and Sun observed this
And to Lord Vishnu, called out his trick.
The Sudarshan Chakra was then used
To cut his neck by the great Lord Vishnu.
Due to the Amrita, the head and torso
Became the planets of Rahu and Ketu.
They are the ones that cause eclipses
Of the Sun and Moon due to hatred.
Well, Lord Vishnu then disappeared
Having given the Gods all the Amrita.
The enraged demons then fought,
But lost and had to concede Indralok.
Thus goes the story from the Puranas
A tale that imparts valuable lessons.
No matter how grave the situation,
With God’s Presence, good always wins.

Gratitude

As I commission my pen to write about my inspiration,
I wonder how I can describe you in these limited lines.
In my life, you have made innumerable contributions.
Whatever I am is because of your meticulous designs.

I may not even be aware of them anymore these days.
But you were the reason for my morals and good habits.
The learnings I forgot, the learnings that, with me, stayed,
For everything I define and interpret, you get the credit.

Like the rising Sun at dawn dispels the night’s darkness,
You lit my paths as I journeyed towards knowledge.
At times with encouragement; at times with harshness,
You helped me shine and succeed like a diamond polished.

So I say this to you, my teachers, as you taught me, too,
For being my inspiration, the little magic words – “Thank you!!!”

PS: This poem is a Sonnet.