From behind a hooded veil,glowing,
Smiles a face, unknown to me,
With eyes,a million miles away, yet knowing,
Of secrets, that I couldn't see...

A silvery glow,so inviting,that veil,
Yet without cure,deathly pale,
I seek a treasure there,left behind,
That never ever was mine to find...

A thousand eyes have set upon that visage,
But now,she hides from sight,
As if to taunt,ridicule my plight,
Like an oasis,a desert mirage...

At last, the stars in my favor,descend upon the night,
Deciding to give me a chance,
To talk to the moon, to end our fight,
To have another moonlight dance...

A trip to Alibaug.....

Well...
Now what do i write? Three days of pure unadulterated fun, frolic and enjoyment... When I agreed to go along to Alibaug to escape the stress and frenzied life in Mumbai, I never knew I would end up having so much fun in the process.
There we were, the six of us, Ajayraj, Ameya, Me, Nikhil, Sandeep and Rohit at the break of dawn on the 1st of May at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, ready to embark on a trip to Alibaug.
Day 1
The fun started in the line to get tickets for the boat to Alibaug. We saw a few trees that reminded us of something I cannot write here... And Ameya's Gym bag opened up a literal Pandora's box for him...Poor Ameya.Little did he know what would await him. Then there was the boat trip itself, with the other guys tripping over themselves to get a good seat (and an even better view...!! of what else...girls!)

Once at Alibaug, we kept all our 'saamaan'(enough for a small army, going by Ajay's standards) in our room, and left for Alibaug beach.
There we began walking thru water right in the middle of the sea towards the Alibaug fort... knee deep and steadily rising.We almost reached there.But alas! it was not to be. A failed attempt but success in that we were able to enjoy ourselves at the beach...
After a few replenishments and lunch at a good restaurant (Mumbai restaurants eat your hearts out!!! IT IS SO DAMN CHEAP), we went to Nagaon. Here poor Rohit and Ameya were being stalked by a lady while they were changing clothes...
We rode the "DUK DUK"s all the way and then went back home to a moderately good dinner.The best part came here... A night at the beach nearby...Moonlight and beautiful scenery..It was amazing!

Day 2
The next day we were off to a bit of history...Murud Janjira-The Impregnable fortress right in the middle of the sea.
2 Hrs in a rickety state transport bus did not dampen our spirits as we were sure we would have some fun here. The only sad part was we had to watch as a beautiful Kashid Beach went past us on our way.

We were amazed at the ability of the people 950 years ago, they took up the challenge of building an impregnable fortress and succeeded to a fair extent.
But, if you take a look at it now, it would rend your heart. Demolished, routed, rubbished and devastated, it looks forlon, forbidding and still holds within it the heart and soul of an era that has passed us by unheeded.

There was a guide who (mis)guided us about the history of the place.(22 Towers, 22 Years, 22 Acres, what rot!).

Rohit's compass decided to play truant at this point.
Well, for hundreds and thousands of years now, East is where the sun rise happens and West is where it sets. But Rohit's compass, for some strange reason unknown to us still, it decided otherwise! We spent quite a bit of time reasoning and arguing, but in the end, decided to stick to the traditional way of life and distrust his compass for the moment until providence proves us wrong.

There was some fantastic scenery on show there..(and for those in onto a little secret, I am not talking about turtles and 'Thigh'land...)

The return trip back home in ST bus was uneventful, followed by a mammoth dinner,(dirt cheap I might add..hey,this keeps coming up). There was some delightful Malai Pista Kulfi(kandi in local terms) to be had for dessert too.

Then comes the night when Sandeep pulled a fast one on Ameya by scaring him with a few ghostly sounds, good enough trick under the circumstances...We were awake till 2:30 am, talking and jibbering. All in all, it was a successful day, well spent.

Day 3

On the last day, everything went like clockwork. We were up and ready to go to Kihim Beach.We traded ghost stories at breakfast,(Ameya was too scared the previous night, thanks to Sandeep). We were lured into trying para-sailing, at 300 Rs a person, it felt like a good deal. Unfortunately, I and Ameya were not allowed to go at first owing to our girth. I think the guy was deranged or had a seriously bad sense of humor. Anyway, we came back later and did go para-sailing.
It was one of the most amazing things. To lift off the ground and look at the world from above is an experience every1 shud try atleast once.It was especially fun to see Ameya drag the jeep up with him as he flew!!

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within

Ajay,on his way out of the boat back on Mumbai somehow managed to rile an idiotic old man, who for some reason thought that Ajay was trying to molest his wife.(AS IF!!!). The scene that Ajay created was to be seen to be believed, and I think the old man fled fearing for his life, and that of his wife.

And finally, we caught the train back to Bhandup, back to our old lives, back to mundane existence and back to good old Mumbai..

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow

This is the tale of our trip, a story I will remember until there comes a time when I can't remember it anymore.
If there is anything I've left out guys, its purely keeping your interests at heart, and I hope you will remember the juicier bits and reminisce together on our next outing... Adios Amigos...

A bus ride...

Verily a bus ride I try,
To remember,yet still
many many hours fly
In a bus,uncounted I fill...
As I watch,the window shows,
The rest of the world,its ebbs and flows;
These sights and sounds,they parody
A new yet familiar orchestra's melody...
As the wind blows in my face,
I suddenly feel the urge to race,
The exhilaration i feel,as it gobbles up the road,
There's never a moment left to feel bored...
Some old faces,I remember from everyday,
Some new ones i see too,that fade away;
Such is life, You'll find your destination one day,
What matters is the journey along the way...

Insignificance

Insignificance,my friend,Is a grave matter,Of putting your whole life,Out there on a platter.
You shout,you scream,you make yourself hoary.But does anybody listen,Now thats another story...
A second glance,a thought,thats all you vie for, But a snobbish world awaits,tat doesn't care anymore...
Your insignificance,your mind's devil,It burns up your soul
It blackens your heart,like ashes from coal...
Greet not my friend,these silences with tears,
But face them instead,and banish your fears
then within you,you'll find,what was always there,
Then you'll give your true worth, for the whole world to share...

Goodbyes...

These are hard words to say,these goodbyes,
for they only bring tears to the eyes...
They evoke a picture,lush green,a smile they bring,
And of a tomorrow unknown, no longer seen,no longer spring...
Hath but in thy hands,other words to speak, To elucidate thine sorrow, yet lesser bleak...
A future,where our hands are no longer clasped together, All alive but in memories,that we spent in fine weather...
Call it lady luck,cruel fate,or just destiny
For there must come a day,when we must part ways,
And choose our own path,to life,to harmony,
For there must come a day,when we choose what stays...
Though rivulets may flow,through eyes,unbidden
It doth remind us of some love,still hidden
We all die a little,inside us,somewhere,
These wounds never heal,but we pretend not to care...

What is FAITH?
Its a question that often haunts me on those lonely nights when I have nothing better to do than thinking about such mundane topics that were once the reason for many great minds to disintegrate...
According to wikipedia(I have a lot of faith in Wikipedia by the way...!)Faith is the confident belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person,idea,or thing. But what if what we believe in is not really known to be the truth but something we wish were true?Where does that leave our faith? We believe that the truth will set us free (Veritas vos liberabit...), but then, what is the truth except for someone somewhere interpreting some event as being part of his idea of right or wrong and documenting it for the sake of the generations to follow? It is succeeding generations that will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts.
No wonder many great minds over the centuries have pondered over such thoughts and, well, gone crazy!
There is no particular reason for my posing such a question, but when the time comes for man to make peace with his own mind, I guess no question is a better one than this. The answer to that is not easily obtained... but then what is life if we do not pose the right questions?

Every time....

Every time i think of you,
I shed a little tear,
Every time i remember you,
I can feel you near,
I can see your smiling face,
Every time i close my eyes,
Everything else just is a haze,
and my world just feels so nice...
I could find no words to say,
What i feel in my soul today,
And every day,henceforth i will,
Regret being quiet,but still...
Every time my eyes will bleed,
I will say to myself,Be strong,
'Cos to you my heart will lead,
'Cos one day We'll meet, it won't be long...