In strange lands

It seems so strange that the loss of one person dear to the heart turns the world upside down and the world though same as it always was seems like an entirely different place. One forgets how the sun shines and the moon comes out. One forgets how the land is, how the skies are. Even though everything else remains the same, it feels like one is walking in strange lands..

Some different paths

Some different planes

Unknown seems the road ahead

It seems like walking in strange lands

Different seem the night and day

Unknown are the winds of land

With strangers standing all around

It seems like walking in strange lands

With no more hopes

With no more dreams

As if lost in some kind of maze

It seems like walking in strange lands

The heart has stopped singing

The eyes have stopped dreaming

More of tears and less of smiles

It seems like walking in strange lands

The vision is blurred

And the mist is all around

And the sounds are also strange

It seems like walking in strange lands

The Cuckoo Song

In the silence of the time

Feeling the gentle morning breeze

When skies are still dark

And the world still sleeps

The roads lie so lonely

And rustling of leaves can be heard

Amongst the chirping of birds

Dawn marks its arrival

And sounds here the song so sweet

It fills the heart with joy

But some tears of past memories remain

While future beacons ahead

Illusions

The truth and happiness are just illusions. The world is exactly how we want it to be. I am the world and the world is in me. The atoms that make the parts of my body today were parts of someone else's body earlier and will be part of someone else later. I was neither born, nor will I die, for matter can neither be created nor destroyed. My body was made out of one single cell from my mother's body, it grew from the nutrients derived from my mother's blood and today I am a distinct human being. But am I really distinct? The air I inhale is inhaled by people around me. I oxygen that enters my system has come out from some plant's body. I am constantly exchanging these atoms with other living beings, plants, animals, humans and also with the soil. I am a part of this universe and the universe is a part of me. The sky I see today, is all history, so many stars twinkling out there have died away millions of years ago. Truth changes with the frame of reference. I might be seated at my desk, but the land I am sitting on is moving. Plate tectonics states that all the plates(comprising of oceans and continents) are moving at different speeds over the surface of the earth. Even plates are getting formed and consumed for the earth is not stable. And the eart is both rotating on its axis and revolving around the sun, while the sun is revolving around the core of the galaxy, the milky way and the milky way is moving away from all the other galaxies in the universe and there might be many other universes. So am I really sitting at one place? Physics is based on the fundamental truth that the speed of light is constant, but that is also an illusion, because special relativity says that time dilates and length contracts, then how can speed of light be constant? And what exactly is happiness? Is it a biochemical reaction to some random stimuli or a psychological imbalance? I call it imbalance because mostly insane people seem to be happy in their own make belief world and their world does not exist in our world. Do they really see and hear that we are unable to perceive or are they in a state of illusion? What is the truth? Is it the world that we see and perceive or it is what we cannot understand? The truth is just an illusion because different people have different version of truth. Is it your truth or my truth or somebody else's truth?

Monkey woes

It is the month of May and the heat as usual is great in the Indian subcontinent. For the rich as well as the poor, for human, animal and plant life, rains are always a welcome respite. And so man prayed. Man prayed and Gods answered. There was rain and dust storm last evening and so a relief from the scorching heat for sometime. Children went out to play in the pleasant evening. Even my heart sang with joy at the wonderful change. But a change in weather brings about a change in the surroundings. It is not just the human beings who enjoyed this pleasant change but also our other companions from the animal world. And I realised it this morning when I went out for my morning walk and found some new companions. Yes, my walk was joined by monkeys. and whatever I may claim myself to be, I do not claim myself to be brave enough to enjoy their companionship. And so when I noticed one monkey observing me attentively, I felt that the only sane thing would be to change my walk into something fast and ran back home to save my life...Afterall I have heard so many stories of people being attacked by monkeys. And I could hear all the birds shrieking in fright. Because they sense danger before man. And I had nothing so as to bribe the monkeys to save myself. Thinking about all the pros and cons now I feel that maybe I should walk only when it is hot and not when it is pleasant, I should better leave that time for my other animal friends. Afterall it is the time to live and let live.

Pauses

You hurt me and then you expect me to love you
You don't listen yet you want me to be there always
When I am hurt, it is laughing matter for you
And you want me to wipe your tears always
I don't hold grudge against you
But I just want you to think me as a human
But even if you treat me like this always
I will forgive you and move away
Where you will never be able to find me

Too dirty

So 'The Dirty Picture' is too dirty for the Indian audience. It is such an irony that while on one hand any amount of skin show is not restricted on the television, a film that traces the journey of a woman who broke the stereotype is. It is too dirty to watch the story of a woman who wanted to be loved by her audience and by one man but died unloved. It is too dirty to watch the story of a woman who wanted to be loved and accepted by her mother but was scorned by the society. It is too dirty to watch the story of a woman who faltered at her peak, who succumbed to pressure of competition because she was friendless. It is too dirty to watch the story of a woman who was alone, unloved and friendless. It is too dirty to feel her pain and sufferings. It is too dirty to feel sympathetic. It is too dirty to watch even after 54 cuts...

Memories...

2nd May, I went with Saumya to an old age home in cantonment area of Lucknow to visit my old school teacher Ms. Protima Sen. I was surprised to see that the home was very well maintained and all the inmates were in good health and satisfied.
Though all of the inmates have been abandoned by their families, they all have formed a happy bond together. The only thing that they desire of is someone else to come and talk with them. We shared lots of our school memories and spent the evening chatting and sharing our ideas and experiences.
After crossing over 70 years of age, we realised that the only thing that our teacher wants from us is to spare some time for her. She and all other inmates are above all material desires and all that matters in their lives is the feeling that somebody is there to think about them. They want to talk. They want young companionship. Promising to return soon, we left unwillingly only because the clock said that it is time to leave.
I feel that it is time to stop and think about those people whom we used to look up to when we were children and spare some time for them before it is too late. They are a part of our memories, they are a part of our lives. They are the reason why we are standing where we are. It is time that we give something back to them. And all they want is our time. They gave us their youth, we need to spare our time when they are old and weak. It is time that we pause and try to give happiness to those who need us more than anyone else.