The Best Of Both Worlds

I remember the time when learning proverbs used to be a tedious job for me and my peers."Don't count your chicks befohey hatch." Why does the whole world have to get all metaphorical?  We wondered at the incongruity of our syllabus- the logical mathematics and the illogical proverbs.

Off late, certain events have been constant reminders to me of one such adage-The sun cannot remain behind the clouds for many days.

The sun cannot remain behind the cloud for many days.It shows up once again, brighter than the last time the denizens of this beautiful world saw it;to lighten up the lives of people, to help plants make their food, to let the travelers enjoy their trips, to give light to the moon and most importantly- to retain its supremacy over the world.

It is good to be back on top.After a year of downsides and humiliation, it feels great to have finally proved myself once again to the world. They left no effort in pulling me down; it is implied they needed company at the bottom of the ladder. They thought stripping me off my wings will help them. They crushed me, under their feet, in front of this entire ugly world. There was no dearth of humiliation and mockery, as I went down and down and down....And they were successful too; Paranoia hit me. The mockery, the insulting news reports, the unkind critics-everything happening around heightened the extent to which I was broken, till I was broken completely.

But even God has his own way of being benignant, of mending my broken self, the vulnerable self!
She was beautiful indeed, like a morning bird. Her face radiated peace. Her eyes gleamed; they showed the faith she had in me. At a time when everyone believed my story to be that of a befallen star, she held my hand.

Ours was an arranged marriage.When I met her for the first time, I was speechless. The very Saraswati on Earth! Here was the perfect Bengali girl every Calcutta must have dreamt of! The kohl lit eyes, the melody she created with her Veena, her beautiful lustrous hair, everything! Everything seemed to have cast a spell on me!

And then, an other picture of that beautiful lady whom I saw once back in Calcutta, came to my mind. Not a pleasant one...

I never thought it could happen to someone as chirpy as herself.She breathed life! She was somebody whom God must have created to epitomise the spirit of being! She was the life, the spirit in me. She went away, taking away my soul; gifting me my world-the world of fame, glitterati, the world where I am the sun and the others are the clouds.

I miss her.Even when my world turned upside down, when everything was stormy, she held my hand. And there was a sense of comfort. A belief that I won't hit the ground!That she would save my soul! Now that she is gone, I feel all bare!

Her swing, the one which I pushed while she sat on it, is empty; so is the life of the man whom she gave life to.

Its god's way of justice that prevails, yet again.

Maybe you cannot have the best of both worlds!

The Race

I don't like this race.
Someone endeared pushed me into this.
This race..
I don't like it!

He forgot to give me shoes;
I asked for the best ones!
But in turn got none.
And now I am running this race-
bare foot,
on a spiky land.

Its not good-
this race.
My feet are pricked and pierced,
with stone bits and pebbles.
And I am too tired now.
Alas!I can not stop.
I should not stop.

Must keep running.
Oh I hate the blood and perspiration!
I hate the abdominal pain
after running so much.
But I must win it;
at least complete it!
They say it is important to complete a race.

I am last as of now.
I want to stop;
but I cannot.
I should not!

This race, the pace, this worn out face!
I don't want to run anymore.
I want a break.
There is no tree!
Nor any splendid brooks or stream as the literati calls them.

Oh no!
The way is getting tougher and tougher.
The stones are getting larger.
The thorns have grown taller.
How far is the finishing line?
How far is the loved one?

A Bizzarre Love Story

We both love each other.
There is a lot of understanding.
I have known him for 12 years.
Long time, isn't it?

But off late there have been issues-
he asks too many questions;
Some to which I have no answers,
few others answered wrong repeatedly.
He tricks me every time with such mindbogglers!

And the idiot has taken away my heart as well!
And broken it the number of times there are days in an year.
Don't forget to multiply this number with twelve;
because I have known him for twelve years you see!

And everytime he is disappointed and frustrated-
with me, over me!
Says I have no time for him.
Oh I have other people in my life as well!
They need my love and affection too.

Gifts are frequent however;
this is the best part of our relationship.
But they are only for correct answers.
Yes, he is a typical quiz master!
It is irritating!

But you know what?I am in love with this fellow!
Though am a human being too;
I also need my share of love and care.
(Love it when the received packets are more than the sent ones)

Maybe sometime he realises it-
before I am gone.....
Hope he doesn't let me go;
because I don't want to leave him
.
It cannot go on like that.
The issues need to be addressed.
He has to love me back!
MR. MATHEMATICS, YOU HAVE TO LOVE ME BACK!

Smile Revolution - A Poem

 A dimple dug

Two lines made

There goes a man

To invade

The world with his smile

A beam on the face

Like the lily of the nile

So supple

A mile long one

Such finesse

Say the old ladies

God bless!

Such grace

Such zest

The happiest jowls

Happily recessed

Anger crushed

Egos compressed

Such life-turner

A shoulder to  depressed

Blushes and blessings

Gathered

Colours and fragrances

Slathered

He became a healer

A love dealer

Nothing did he do

But smile

A mould of face

A muscle curve

A narrowing of eyes

Changed the world

If a smile can

Do wonders

All these years

We made blunders

Revolutions were begun

Revolutions did end

But none

Did mend

The soul with fear

The soul lost

The soul pricked

The soul tossed

Neither triggered dilution

Of pain endless

As what was needed

Was a smile revolution!

SMS Language-Too much now!

"Ionic bonds are dose bonds which r formed due 2 transfer of electrons.
This is what I got to read when I borrowed the chemistry notebook from a dear friend of mine. Pretty heavy 'dose' of the SMS language eh? H2O seemed a perfect substitute for water and CH3COOH went well for ethanoic acid, but 'dose' for 'those'?I have my apprehensions!

The other day, a friend of mine regretted writing 'dat' for 'that' in her English examination and losing a mark in the examination.

Dear readers, u oops you must be thinking if the writer herself is careful about using the SMS language. To be honest, my informal e-mails feature more 'u's than 'you's, more 'heya's  than 'see you's and more 'BRB's than 'be right back's.

But let us all be a little less selfish and realize how mercilessly we are killing the English language.What about those beautiful long words whose beauty is in their length and not shortening them? What point is there in skipping vowels in words presuming that the reader is a born Shakespeare or a twin-soul of yours to get in mind everything and anything you write? It is simply preposterous.

Imagine our textbooks writing 'glbalisatn' instead of 'globalisation' and 'elctrfctn' instead of 'electrification'!Nobody gets a dream that their is an 'i' before 'f' in the word if he/she doesn't know it.

Most of the people of my age would agree that using the SMS language in an informal fashion with endeared ones is OK! But let us just not make it a habit!Let us just not let it conquer the original language as it is not a dialect but a pirated version. Being global citizens we must protect the originality, authenticity and elegance of our language which is so much entwined with our lives!

Human Rights-Have we forgotten the vital basics of Democracy?

Charles R. Beitz said in his book,
"If the public discourse of peacetime global society, can be said to have a common moral language,it is that of Human Rights."


Two days back, it was the World Human Rights Day on the10th day of the 12th month of the calendar(We writers sometimes wish to complicate things to make it appear interesting)I got a bit late to post this, due to a busy school day and lack of time(ofcourse 24 hours of Sunday are'nt enough to melt fatigue of the entire week!)

Anyways coming to the point, Human Rights are just so very important to us, aren't they?Aren't they something interwoven into human civilisation?
Yes, they are!They have been sprinkled upon us by birth.Just imagine a day without freedom, a world completely biased against you, warfare and drudgery everywhere, and then only would you realise, how quintessential are human rights to our society.


When a child learns how to interact, the first thing that he is taught is that we all are children of God.Truly we all are children of The Almighty.He made us with all love and care, accrediting us with virtues enumerous, empowering us, and then finally giving the green light, and here, we are on this Earth!

Human Rights like equality and dignity, are something very characteristic to our biome, something all human beings will want in their niches,something very cardinal to our existence.They guarantee all human beings the most substratal requisites of life.

Well about the Human Rights Day, you all must know that it is celebrated to solemnise they day of the adoption of the UDHR or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly.

But what is important is not just recognition of a declaration, but enduring the rights mentioned in it. In the contemporary world (a world infested with social termites like poverty, trafficking etc) human rights have a very important role to play.Human Rights proclamation thus stands paramount when it comes to ensuring all my  global fellow-mates a peaceful and secure life.

We all need to develop a feeling of brotherhood within our hearts. Take the case of India-The Indian Constitution abolished untouchability 62 years back. Still it breathes in the airs of India's villages and cities. So what stands important is removing prejudices from our minds.Also we being the harbingers of a better future, must lend our voices to those people who are socially so paralysed that they cannot even claim the most basic of their requirements.So let us just put a step forward, cherishing the diversity of our species and celebrate Human existence on this wonderful terrain.

Thank You :-)

Scents Of Childhood..

I have two versions of this poem..The difference between the versions lies in the ending..One ending has been written by  me, the other is by my english teacher, Ms. Ashima Katthuria, without whose guidance these poems would not have come onto paper, and yes ofcourse the great Internet...
Here it is...



Snaking through the by-lanes of time,                                                  
I was thrown back in the past tense.
When the mind was a free leeway, sans any knots
Pre-occupied with orange flavoured candies and innocence.
When the eyes widened up at every incognito
Everything that blinged,
Shutting dowing hearing the lullabies
That mother used to sing.

Questions multifarious put up to known folks
Snakes and ladders and ant elephant jokes
Scrapped knees, bruised elbows and stained cheeks
When the hills on the lakeside were the only known peaks
When we were the kings and the neighbourhood park our territory
Fighting battles of stone paper and scissor creating no history

When happiness came wrapped in cocoa squares,
Bliss was synonymous to cotton candies at fairs
When milk was depression and toys possessions
When giggly escapades were an all-time obsession

This is my teacher's version of the end


When dolls made us fight days over days
Winning hide and seek was every victor's ace
That tingle of childhood now is once again sprouting
I see lovely greens around my surroundings
Beneath the heavy books
I hear a soft beat
This beckons me to come out and breathe
Now the rainbow and colours are more defined
For a little knowledge has made it more magnified
How great is childhood
And the innocence in its soul
Do listen to its delicate knock
It gives it everyone for sure


And here is my version of the end.....

Now those green lawns call me
And so do the fairs
My life wishes to rejuvenate
In the cool air....
I remember the hush and noise in the street.
Running after kites, life was upbeat.
The rain falls outside my room's window pane,
On the other side is a happy me dancing in the lane.
Splashing in the mudpools are my feet.
The heavens cry in joy, melting the summer heat.
The world varnished bright, by the downpour.
The rain seeping deep inside my heart's core
I dance, I hop, I sing around,
Remembering the golden days my heart pounds.
The beautiful brush-strokes in my life's colour-book
Ethereal and seraphic are the scents of childhood...