Wrapped tight across, in a thick blanket,
of silence, we sit together
And wait and wait, for the ice to break
With awkward glances here and there, and whether
You would begin, or 'twould be me
To even say, "what lovely weather!"
And I look at your eyes,they hold such promise,
But those ungrateful words fail me,
when I need them the most
You suddenly turn your head my way,
my heart's in an awful mess
I look away, unwillingly,and I think I can see
An inward smile, a sigh of relief,
You too don't know what to say...
I pick up the courage, I sit up straighter,
You pick up your bag, get up to go
I wish I had said it,sooner than later
But suddenly you smile! And suddenly I know,
As you wave goodbye today, I know what to do
There's always tomorrow, when I'll wait for you...
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Tonight I yearn, to write down a song,
But somehow it seems to comes out all wrong...
And how I wish I could hum along,
To a tune, thats stuck in my head so long...
And I know, it ain't just a feeling now,
Its what I've always wanted to do,
And I just know, I just don't know how,
These words, I wanna sing them out to you...
And when I try to sing, I just can not,
Without a little tear drop escaping me
And it leaves me all muddled,sad,distraught,
Why? For it is a happy song you see...
That only I could see, a hundred ways
That each word evoked memories and brought tonight
Of you, of the smile on your face,
When I sing this song, to you, tonight.
But somehow it seems to comes out all wrong...
And how I wish I could hum along,
To a tune, thats stuck in my head so long...
And I know, it ain't just a feeling now,
Its what I've always wanted to do,
And I just know, I just don't know how,
These words, I wanna sing them out to you...
And when I try to sing, I just can not,
Without a little tear drop escaping me
And it leaves me all muddled,sad,distraught,
Why? For it is a happy song you see...
That only I could see, a hundred ways
That each word evoked memories and brought tonight
Of you, of the smile on your face,
When I sing this song, to you, tonight.
Friday, September 23, 2011
A Night Out on the Terrace
The clock struck 2 AM. A blanket of oppressive silence was spread throughout the house, punctuated only by the intermittent snores of my dad, my granddad, and my uncle.
I lay there in silence, wondering and pondering over why my sleep took so long to come. Maybe it was stuck in traffic. Or maybe the noise had scared it away. In any case, I knew it wouldn't come very soon.
It was the start of winter, and being in Mumbai, the cold was as alien to me as aliens are.
I slipped out of my room on the second floor of my bungalow, silently, making as much noise as the ants that crept up those walls. My destination was the terrace, and I stood outside the thick wooden paneled door to the terrace with a pillow, terribly nervous and excited at the adventure that I thought I was going on. I wasn't allowed nightly jaunts anywhere, and being awake at 2 in the night was considered a grave sin punishable by... I gave up such depressing thoughts of punishment and crept on forward to look for the key to the giant Godrej lock that kept the terrace out of bounds. Luckily enough, I found it hanging on a nail on the terrace door. What luck!
It was only when I began to unlock it, that I realized the futility of the effort. The noise that the damn slide bolt made was enough to raise an army of dead. I cursed myself and my silly ideas and slid out the last part of the bolt quickly. Somehow, nobody woke up.The stentorious snores still carried on with all might and power.
Now, my house being as old and creaky as it was, creeping up the stairs to the terrace again made me jumpy at every step. I had no idea when I used these very stairs during the day that they made so much noise. I finally made it up there. It was only now that I realized that I had bought no beddings or bed sheets. Drat!
I decided to spend a few hours here in the company of the stars and return to the relative comfort of my room. I lay down with my pillow looking up at the dark blue sky.
It was a full moon that smiled back at me, chiding me for being so naughty...I looked around. Not so many stars. Hmm, why? I finally came to the conclusion that most of the stars were either shy or had called in sick because of all the polluted air.
A somewhat cool breeze was blowing in an easterly direction, and I slowly felt the calm of the night descend upon me like a comforting blanket. I had to make sure that I wouldn't slip off to sleep and cause a heart attack below in the morning. I looked around the terrace. Everything looked so different in the night, the tiles on the terrace sparkled differently in the moonlight, the iron bars reflected it in strange ghostly ways with shadows playing across the floor in amusement.
I suddenly became aware of someone watching me with great interest. It was my cat, and she was regarding me in an imperious manner. She looked at me with disgust, how could I slip off like a night burglar in the middle of the night in her territory? That was her job!
She suddenly jumped down from her perch on the railing and giving me one final disapproving look, stalked off to the stairs, presumably to complain to my parents about my adventuring.
I on the other hand, took umbrage to this, and decided to stick around a bit more, just to spite her. Who was she to boss over me? I regret it to this day, and it has only taught me one thing, never disagree with the fact that pet cats rule over their owners and it is never the other way around.
Within five minutes, my dialogues with the moon and the stars were interrupted by the arrival of my entire family with expressions ranging from anger to amusement.
The cat, on its own initiative had woken up my mother who, like all mothers are, looked around for me to put the blame on. Not finding me, she came to the conclusion that I had finally come true on my promise to either run away, or spend a night on the terrace. They decided to follow the latter option first. I was lucky that there were no hockey sticks, or other assault weapons.
My adventure at an end, I was subjected to a barrage of choice abuse and lectures in the middle of the night. I have never ever tried such adventures since. I didn't even speak to the cat for the next few days.
The cat, on the other hand, had taken up this golden opportunity to drink up all the milk that was kept in the kitchen....
I lay there in silence, wondering and pondering over why my sleep took so long to come. Maybe it was stuck in traffic. Or maybe the noise had scared it away. In any case, I knew it wouldn't come very soon.
It was the start of winter, and being in Mumbai, the cold was as alien to me as aliens are.
I slipped out of my room on the second floor of my bungalow, silently, making as much noise as the ants that crept up those walls. My destination was the terrace, and I stood outside the thick wooden paneled door to the terrace with a pillow, terribly nervous and excited at the adventure that I thought I was going on. I wasn't allowed nightly jaunts anywhere, and being awake at 2 in the night was considered a grave sin punishable by... I gave up such depressing thoughts of punishment and crept on forward to look for the key to the giant Godrej lock that kept the terrace out of bounds. Luckily enough, I found it hanging on a nail on the terrace door. What luck!
It was only when I began to unlock it, that I realized the futility of the effort. The noise that the damn slide bolt made was enough to raise an army of dead. I cursed myself and my silly ideas and slid out the last part of the bolt quickly. Somehow, nobody woke up.The stentorious snores still carried on with all might and power.
Now, my house being as old and creaky as it was, creeping up the stairs to the terrace again made me jumpy at every step. I had no idea when I used these very stairs during the day that they made so much noise. I finally made it up there. It was only now that I realized that I had bought no beddings or bed sheets. Drat!
I decided to spend a few hours here in the company of the stars and return to the relative comfort of my room. I lay down with my pillow looking up at the dark blue sky.
It was a full moon that smiled back at me, chiding me for being so naughty...I looked around. Not so many stars. Hmm, why? I finally came to the conclusion that most of the stars were either shy or had called in sick because of all the polluted air.
A somewhat cool breeze was blowing in an easterly direction, and I slowly felt the calm of the night descend upon me like a comforting blanket. I had to make sure that I wouldn't slip off to sleep and cause a heart attack below in the morning. I looked around the terrace. Everything looked so different in the night, the tiles on the terrace sparkled differently in the moonlight, the iron bars reflected it in strange ghostly ways with shadows playing across the floor in amusement.
I suddenly became aware of someone watching me with great interest. It was my cat, and she was regarding me in an imperious manner. She looked at me with disgust, how could I slip off like a night burglar in the middle of the night in her territory? That was her job!
She suddenly jumped down from her perch on the railing and giving me one final disapproving look, stalked off to the stairs, presumably to complain to my parents about my adventuring.
I on the other hand, took umbrage to this, and decided to stick around a bit more, just to spite her. Who was she to boss over me? I regret it to this day, and it has only taught me one thing, never disagree with the fact that pet cats rule over their owners and it is never the other way around.
Within five minutes, my dialogues with the moon and the stars were interrupted by the arrival of my entire family with expressions ranging from anger to amusement.
The cat, on its own initiative had woken up my mother who, like all mothers are, looked around for me to put the blame on. Not finding me, she came to the conclusion that I had finally come true on my promise to either run away, or spend a night on the terrace. They decided to follow the latter option first. I was lucky that there were no hockey sticks, or other assault weapons.
My adventure at an end, I was subjected to a barrage of choice abuse and lectures in the middle of the night. I have never ever tried such adventures since. I didn't even speak to the cat for the next few days.
The cat, on the other hand, had taken up this golden opportunity to drink up all the milk that was kept in the kitchen....
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Random Thoughts
The random wanderings of an empty mind,
Take me,on a journey queer
To know and feel,what i've never seen
To places far and near...
I remember the past, like celluloid strips,
And sometimes create some stories new
I feel like I'm the master of the ship,
But I knew not how the winds blew...
I think of stories, and poems, and more
And yet I don't know why,
I somehow feel maddened to the core
And I feel my mind run dry...
Oh, 'tis good to be working hard,
To perspire, to feel the sweat upon my brow,to stand tall,
And bask in the glory of just reward
But now that i think it feels much better, to not have to work at all...
Take me,on a journey queer
To know and feel,what i've never seen
To places far and near...
I remember the past, like celluloid strips,
And sometimes create some stories new
I feel like I'm the master of the ship,
But I knew not how the winds blew...
I think of stories, and poems, and more
And yet I don't know why,
I somehow feel maddened to the core
And I feel my mind run dry...
Oh, 'tis good to be working hard,
To perspire, to feel the sweat upon my brow,to stand tall,
And bask in the glory of just reward
But now that i think it feels much better, to not have to work at all...
Friday, August 26, 2011
First Drops of Rain
Soft drops, they wait and watch,
For the right moment, to hit your face;
And when rain comes down, and the starlings hatch
And the sweet sweet smell of the earth, there are so many ways...
To feel alive, to lose your pain,
To let the tears, roll down unseen;
To prance around, in the summer rain
To cry, to smile, to love that green...
And to wish to God, to be worry free,
When the rain comes down, in sheets of white;
When dew and freshness and misty fog envelopes thee
With the pitter patter on the roof, in the night...
How blessed we feel, that first summer's day
When it begins to rain, and we feel relieved
We wouldn't have it, any other way
'Cos in His divine magic we had believed...
For the right moment, to hit your face;
And when rain comes down, and the starlings hatch
And the sweet sweet smell of the earth, there are so many ways...
To feel alive, to lose your pain,
To let the tears, roll down unseen;
To prance around, in the summer rain
To cry, to smile, to love that green...
And to wish to God, to be worry free,
When the rain comes down, in sheets of white;
When dew and freshness and misty fog envelopes thee
With the pitter patter on the roof, in the night...
How blessed we feel, that first summer's day
When it begins to rain, and we feel relieved
We wouldn't have it, any other way
'Cos in His divine magic we had believed...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
A Friend
One day, I will be a friend, you'll need me
One day, I will be some one you will see
With fresh new eyes, a whole new sight,
And deep down inside, you'll feel all warm
I'll keep you safe, from every storm
And sometimes I will let you cry at night
And I won't say a word.......
And one day, I'll let you fly,
And one day, I'll soar with you
To every cloud that made your day,
And be with you, whatever you do
I'll hold your hand, and I will stay
With you, today, tonight,
And I can't help but smile
When you become a free bird....
It feels so good, to be a friend
It feels so right, to say what's true
And never care, or ever pretend
And I can be, but anything else
Cos you know it, And I always knew
What you were to me, And I was to you
And I wish we were friends again....
And I wish we were friends again....
Monday, July 11, 2011
Moments that I will remember forever….
1) I distinctly remember the day I first went up the road to my school, holding my grandfather’s hand, waiting for admission. I remember climbing up onto the principal’s desk and delivering a Rajiv Gandhi speech I had learnt by heart with full gusto and enthusiasm, for a promised chocolate…. (Bribes! they start them so early…. :) )
2) I remember that happy day in class 1-C when I won the first of many quiz competitions. I didn’t realise it then, but that day was the beginning of a life long obsession with learning and remembering abstract and totally irrelevant facts… ( The first of them being the direction in which the sun rose….! )
3) I remember most of my quizzes, essays and elocution competitions in school, and the hard nights I had put in for every one of them, the sweet taste of victory, the anger at having come in second, and many more emotions…..
4) Watching In Harihar Nagar and Ramji Rao Speaking countless times on my ancient Video player and on TV…. Picked fights with mom when I was not allowed to watch them without completing my homework.
5) The day when my class came out with the class magazine “VISION”…. my proudest moment as the editor…
6) The day I won the bible crossword puzzle with Rs 50/- as the prize for my church magazine. My first earning. The beginning of a long journey with crosswords and puzzles.
7) Listening to ameen sayani talk of kishore, rafi, lata, asha and the names of a hundred unknown people from across India on vivdh bharati radio just before singing out malayalam prayer songs with my mom and slipping off to the world of dreams…. Beginning of a lifelong obsession with music, Kishore in particular.
8) Watching umpteen cartoons like He-Man, Swat Kats, Popeye. Eating spinach in the hope that I would get muscles like popeye. Learning that its all a hoax….
9) Taping songs from radio onto cassettes, and trying out hopeless imitations of all the singers…I remember spending a whole summer with my tape-recorder and walkman. It was an old Philips model, and we were inseparable!
10) Collecting and playing with cards of famous wrestling stars with my two best friends from the colony….Oh, the summers I spent traipsing all around my colony Mini-Land….the pool, the playground, trying to touch the sky on a swing….
11) My lifelong association with books began the day I got one as a birthday present, from the folks living on the ground floor in ‘93.
Didi, I will always be indebted to you for that Hardy Boys book.I’ve read and owned at one time or another, close to 200 other Hardy Boys books, and my thirst for books of that sort has only grown since.
I remember reading one book a day from my school library, and suprising the librarian everyday, so much so that she gave me an extra key to the shelf. And I daresay with just a hint of pride, I must have read more books than all of my peers in school combined.
Many subscriptions to Gokulam, Tinkle, Readers Digest, etc later, whenever I see a book, I am drawn to it.
12) The Food. My grandma’s cooking. No further words needed.
13) My first job in Accenture. Joining day. Rains. Four more years of many projects, people, hard work, no work, carrom, Java, etc.
14) My first trip to America.
15) My second trip to America.
And then there are many more memories. Of going to church on a cold December night every year for Christmas, Sunday School, Coaching classes, tuition classes for Marathi and Hindi, Gaming sessions in a video game parlour, travelling to Kerala, to Thiruvalla, Tripunithura, through all the states of South India, and many more.
I write this in the hope that one day, when I look back at this post and read it, I will remember all of these memories again.
One day, I will look back and thank God, as I do now, for all the blessings, all the happiness, all the memories. All the good and bad times I’ve had. All the people around me. All the love, affection, friendship I’ve been lucky to have.
I write this in the hope that whoever reads this may know, the Lord is great and merciful. And he never ever says no to a prayer from the heart for some true love and happiness. My memories are proof enough of that…..
2) I remember that happy day in class 1-C when I won the first of many quiz competitions. I didn’t realise it then, but that day was the beginning of a life long obsession with learning and remembering abstract and totally irrelevant facts… ( The first of them being the direction in which the sun rose….! )
3) I remember most of my quizzes, essays and elocution competitions in school, and the hard nights I had put in for every one of them, the sweet taste of victory, the anger at having come in second, and many more emotions…..
4) Watching In Harihar Nagar and Ramji Rao Speaking countless times on my ancient Video player and on TV…. Picked fights with mom when I was not allowed to watch them without completing my homework.
5) The day when my class came out with the class magazine “VISION”…. my proudest moment as the editor…
6) The day I won the bible crossword puzzle with Rs 50/- as the prize for my church magazine. My first earning. The beginning of a long journey with crosswords and puzzles.
7) Listening to ameen sayani talk of kishore, rafi, lata, asha and the names of a hundred unknown people from across India on vivdh bharati radio just before singing out malayalam prayer songs with my mom and slipping off to the world of dreams…. Beginning of a lifelong obsession with music, Kishore in particular.
8) Watching umpteen cartoons like He-Man, Swat Kats, Popeye. Eating spinach in the hope that I would get muscles like popeye. Learning that its all a hoax….
9) Taping songs from radio onto cassettes, and trying out hopeless imitations of all the singers…I remember spending a whole summer with my tape-recorder and walkman. It was an old Philips model, and we were inseparable!
10) Collecting and playing with cards of famous wrestling stars with my two best friends from the colony….Oh, the summers I spent traipsing all around my colony Mini-Land….the pool, the playground, trying to touch the sky on a swing….
11) My lifelong association with books began the day I got one as a birthday present, from the folks living on the ground floor in ‘93.
Didi, I will always be indebted to you for that Hardy Boys book.I’ve read and owned at one time or another, close to 200 other Hardy Boys books, and my thirst for books of that sort has only grown since.
I remember reading one book a day from my school library, and suprising the librarian everyday, so much so that she gave me an extra key to the shelf. And I daresay with just a hint of pride, I must have read more books than all of my peers in school combined.
Many subscriptions to Gokulam, Tinkle, Readers Digest, etc later, whenever I see a book, I am drawn to it.
12) The Food. My grandma’s cooking. No further words needed.
13) My first job in Accenture. Joining day. Rains. Four more years of many projects, people, hard work, no work, carrom, Java, etc.
14) My first trip to America.
15) My second trip to America.
And then there are many more memories. Of going to church on a cold December night every year for Christmas, Sunday School, Coaching classes, tuition classes for Marathi and Hindi, Gaming sessions in a video game parlour, travelling to Kerala, to Thiruvalla, Tripunithura, through all the states of South India, and many more.
I write this in the hope that one day, when I look back at this post and read it, I will remember all of these memories again.
One day, I will look back and thank God, as I do now, for all the blessings, all the happiness, all the memories. All the good and bad times I’ve had. All the people around me. All the love, affection, friendship I’ve been lucky to have.
I write this in the hope that whoever reads this may know, the Lord is great and merciful. And he never ever says no to a prayer from the heart for some true love and happiness. My memories are proof enough of that…..
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