Lift Me Up

Lift me up, o ye winds!
Lift me up high
Lift me up, O ye winds!
And just let me fly

Take me to the summer moon
Let me feel them all
The twinkling stars, palpable clouds
Let me experience the dark night fall

Let me watch the hell breathe fire
Let me see the heaven sigh
Let me sit on a raindrop bright
Let me fly around the sky

I want to see the blue earth
Take me up to the mars
Or let me be a little fairy
For just a few hours

I want to feel the meteorites
And let me see the sun ablaze
Let me have a quick glimpse
Or let me gaze n gaze

I have the dreams
But I need wings

Lift me up, O ye winds!
Lift me up high
Lift me up, O ye winds!
And just let me fly…

Born Into Brothels: My perception

At a time when every Indian is crying hoarse over the blackening portrait of the motherland, a non- Indian researcher Ms. Zana Briski had the courage to stand up and do something instead of sitting in the comfortable arms of the sofa in front of the television, pausing the feast of Paneer Tikkas for a moment to curse the ‘poor’, the ‘weak’ the ‘sluts’; holding them responsible for the present scenario only to resume enjoying the delicious food.

The documentary ‘Born into Brothels’ by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman left me deep in thought. Zana Briski not only made the documentary but did a lot more. It was the heart- wrenching story or I’d rather say reality of the shadowy part of India unbeknownst to most of us. The documentary unveiled the underbelly of a so- called ‘metropolitan city’- Kolkata. Revolving around the lives of the children of prostitutes, the filming as the name suggests was done inside a brothel which is not an easy task considering the condition of the brothels.

There were moments in the movie which managed to strike the chords of my heart like the scene in which a 9- 10 year old boy says that he would like to break free from the 'hell' and take the girl he liked with him and go to some other place to study. There were moments which made me smile (at the kids’ innocence), moments that made my heart leap up with joy like the scene where the kids go to a beach for the first time, moments when my heart cried with the silenced cries of the kids (at their anguish and unshared pain of living in such a condition), moments which made me heave a sigh of relief (when all the children were tested HIV negative) and moments which won my appreciation(the efforts put in by Ms. Zana to teach the children photography and get them admitted to a school). What inspired me was the way the children looked at the world. They had a positive approach towards life in spite of bearing so much pain.

I was especially moved by a kid’s statement "We have nothing called ‘hope’ in our future." The statement has remained etched in my mind and one day I aspire (like Zana Briski) to become that ‘hope.’ I too want to make an entry into their lives as a golden ray. Someday, maybe they too (the kids) will laugh that carefree laughter; they too will cry a child’s cry. Someday, they too will get back their lost childhood.

I Hold the World

(A tribute to women)

Born out of the darkness of a weary womb

I entered the world to be doomed

Midst echoes of unending pain

A meaning out of life, I try to gain

Fed from an almost empty bowl by weakened hands

Still I stand, still I stand

Walking for miles without a pause

‘neath the scorching sun with blistered toes

With a lamp in one hand to show the way

And flowers in the other to make a perfect day

I climb and climb, my limit is the sky

I rise high, I rise high

Arousing hopes, mending dreams

Like a tinge of light, a distant gleam

Working through the day, guarding the night

My life in my hands, an empty soul inside

Trudging relentlessly, my happiness gone

Still, I move on, I move on

On coarse grains of sand I walk

My throat dry, still I talk

Surrounded by angry voices

I’m left but with a few choices

People really don’t let me live

Still I give, still I give

With my head held high, I walk and work

People scoff and they smirk

My lips still curve into a smile

I move with a broken heart, all the while

My dreams and desires lie in a corner curled

I hold the world, I hold the world

A few Haiku Poems

Thanks to my guru +Vidur Jyoti , (a published poet) I tried a new form of poetry- Haiku. In a two day 'Regional writers' workshop' conducted by CBSE in collaboration with Katha Books, Dr. Jyoti, a surgeon by profession taught us different types of Japanese poetry like Haiku, Haiga, Haibun, Tanka as well as free verse poems. I thank him for teaching me to go beyond my own little word in just two days time. Here are a few Haiku poems that I tried.

the orange globe

shimmering waves

destination uncertain

* * *

garden bench- -

a man sits down

in a cloud of dust

* * *

ravens- - 

the only sign of life

in the withered tree

* * *

The Challenge of a homeless boy

Playing amidst the rubble,

Working on the streets,

My problems, each day double,

With so many losses and defeats.

One wants an end to such a life,

Where you don’t get anything despite the fact you strive.

My home is the pavement on the street.

My roof, the scorching sun’s heat.

My comfort, the splashing water on my face.

My life is the passing of the days.

My shoes, the blisters on my feet.

My hunger is the love that I need.

Life has given me so much pain.

I fell down time and again.

Still I never did moan or groan.

Instead, I challenge life to face it alone.

My world

I opened a page and it all came flooding

Poor little girls and big fellows strutting

Wicked witches and repellent ghouls

Sweet princesses and some fools

Elegant dancers and melodious singers

Step mums cruelly wagging their fingers

The great palaces the deep valleys

Super highways and dark alleys

Valiant efforts by gallant soldiers

Children playing midst bricks and boulders

Giants and fairies all in a row

A creepy night, a magic show

Rain lashing against the window

Cattles grazing in the vast meadow

Twisted plots and endless fables

Kings and queens dining at the tables

I flipped through the pages and I saw more

At every page I shouted "Encore!"

My fantasies ran wild, out from the corner where they were curled

And thus to escape from this place, I created my own world!

Those Who Depend on Tomorrow End up Doing Nothing

Owing to reasons as varied as health problems to technical glitches, I was unable to post anything. I apologize for the delay. Hope all of you are in good health.
This is a speech I wrote for extempore. I guess I got a good topic!

Ding... And another day is done. A day which otherwise could have been spent well. I could’ve finished the chores at hand but Alas! I woke up at dawn to the tunes of the singing birds watching the radiance of the orange globe. And the afternoon...it was spent leisurely lolling on the sofa in the welcoming arms of my cool room. The evening... Ah! How I watched the setting sun playing with the merry waves. And...and I was back to the pavilion planning to push my work to another tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

The Oxford dictionary defines tomorrow as ‘the day after today’ but I think it ought to step beyond its realms to encompass my definition of tomorrow, i.e. ‘the day after today which never comes’.

The moment to act is now, just now. The key to any achievement is to start using the present. One should have the three point mantra of the Ps on the finger tips i.e., Plan, Prepare and Proceed. One should not wait for that ‘sudden enlightenment’ or ‘inspiration’ that is not just going to come. Who amongst us (Indians) is so ignorant as to not have heard the story of the little Gopi and his famous five minutes? He kept postponing his work and we all know he did not get anything.

Many a great men have achieved big in their field because they kept at their work with a regularity which demanded tremendous discipline. Here I would cite the example of Mr. Fogg, the central character of ‘Around the world in eighty days’. He was very regular in his work and so he did achieve big!

Let’s not just be hearers, let’s be doers as well. As far as the question of hearing and doing arises, I trust the youth of the nation. I trust that exquisite magnificence of those eyes, the majesty in that voice and the power in those hands that dye the nation white midst shades of the dim and ugly black and the obscure muddled grey. I trust that they will not leave things for tomorrow. They will act or rather they are acting...

I would like to close by quoting Eleanor Nightingale "What the mind attends to, it considers; what the mind does not attend to, it dismisses." So, there’s no question of doing something ‘tomorrow’.

Before taking leave, I would like to tell you all that I‘v finally decided to bake that yummy cake for which my friend gave me the recipe about…a week ago. Yes, I will bake it TOMORROW…