I wish you would notice

I wish you would notice how sunny it is outside 

I wish you would notice how I wish to smile with joy

So many toils stand in our paths today

So many roads ask to be walked in each day

I wish you will have the time another day

To see all that I wish you would see

I wish you would notice how I wish you to stay

Time flies, moments melt away, children grow up

So much transpires in these minutes and days

So many flowers bloom and wither away

The storms brew and swing and sway

I wish you would see all that I wish you to see

I wish you would notice how I wish you to sing

The lyrics wait, the tunes linger and lilt away

So many words are said and left unsaid 

Songs dance in the tangerine evening skies

The stars light up the dark of the night

I wish on them for all I wish you to see

A Year and a Half

Time has a rapid fluidity hard to explain. Close your eyes and a few minutes gone. Sign out of the blog page and a year and a half gone! As I age I become wiser (or not). I positively know more about life.

I have two adorable daughters now.

I need to tick stuff off the rest of my bucket list. Bring them on...

I Wish

I wish I had wings

Yellow, gold, brown

Azure, veins milling about on them

Just a pair would do

I wish to fly

I wish the world weren't so huge

Oceans, mountains and plains

Unfathomable, daunting and vast

A tiny nest would do

I wish you by my side

I wish I had wings

Yellow, earthy, azure

Just a pair would do

That way, if not you

I could fly to be at your side

Can you sometimes hear?

When I don't speak a word?

The distance is so great

There are moments when helplessness overwhelms

I wish I had wings, Just a pair would do

I wish to fly

Happy Teacher's Day!

To everyone who touched my life and helped me on the journey. To everyone who guided me, disciplined me, taught me, encouraged me and led me...You have made me what I am today.
Happy teachers's day and Thank you!

And back...again

There is something about rains...I feel like writing again. Days, months, years have gone by. My writer's block stands victorious and indestructible.
Moved house,  moved on in life, the country has moved on. The new government surely has some promises. I wish them power and wisdom. Hope they are able to deliver on their promise and then some more.

मन

कभी चंचल कभी सौम्य
कितने भाव बदलता है
कभी काला कभी निराला
कितने रंग बदलता है ये मन

कभी गहरा कभी सतही
कितने मर्म छुपाता है
कभी जिज्ञासू कभी शिथिल
कितनी गुत्थियाँ खोलता है ये मन

कभी आहत कभी हर्षित
कितने घाव भरता है
कभी अजेय कभी पराजित
कितने युद्ध लड़ता है ये मन

कभी दुपहरि कभी शाम
कितने दिन गिनता है
कभी पतंग कभी धरा पर
कितनी उड़ाने भरता है ये मन

कभी विह्वल कभी विभोर
कितनी अठखेलियाँ खेलता है
कभी सुरमयी कभी नीरस
कितनी कवितायें लिखता है ये मन

I gave you my heart

I gave you my heart
Glad you carry it safe in yours
Now I know why I feel the pain
Every single moment you are gone
For you keep a part of me from me.

2009 Missing

It's a shame! I did not post a single blog in the year 2009. I was away to far off places and I was missing home. That sapped all my energy. Now am back, alive and kicking again. So here's to 2009...

2008 ended on a mixed note. There is a new addition to my family - my little niece. There was a sad incident around October which is difficult to get over but as the wise said "time cures the worst of wounds". Then there was a white Christmas and the dawn of a new year.

2009 saw the arrival of my second little niece. We are so blessed!

I worked, traveled around, went skiing, driving, cruising, clubbing and had fun. There were windfalls and pitfalls all the year but I made it back home and in good time to gather round with the family for festivities and merriment.

Thank you God for all my blessings and hope you will help me overcome what I have lost as you always do.

I wish you enough

[recd from a friend...]

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, “I love you and I wish you enough.”
The daughter replied, “Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.”

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry... I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?”
“Yes, I have,” I replied. “Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?”
“I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,” he said.
“When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”
He began to smile. “That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...” He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. “When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.” Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger...
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye...”
He then began to cry and walked away.

Farewell Tigers

It angers and disgusts me to read the title of my blog - "Farewell tigers"! Do I intend to bid them a final adieu, or am I praying for their safety and well being on this last leg of their journey? I fail to decide my real intent.
Is anyone hearing? I see slogans on walls in Bangalore "Tiger on its last leg". I see newspaper articles urging people to see reason, generate awareness...save tigers. I wonder whether poachers have the time to read newspapers or see television or worst read my blog.

I sincerely pray that people have a heart and save the remaining 1411 tigers left in India. Let's do whatever it takes.

I hope the next generation will not have to read books in school which say "Tiger was our National Animal - we did nothing to save them. We killed them all".

Rose and Gold Icing

I saw the pair dancing on a cake
They looked prettier than the rose and gold icing
White flowing gown, a tiara adorning her head
Smart suit, one flower in his pocket and
The other on his arm

Oblivious of the noise and mill around
Lost in a daze they swam above the rose icing
Her mazed eyes looking at his
With careful steps, he led her into
A world all their own

We ducked for cover; a bang rang in my ears
The glass in the window, shattered, rained on us
When the turmoil halted, we rose
Trouble makers had done their task and
Killed the pretty dancing pair

My glassy eyes strained to look
No one danced above the rose and gold icing
The music went blank, no bells tinkled
I held on to the outstretched hand and
Looked back once just to make sure
In the tumult and agitation
I had not missed to see the dancing pair
But they were gone

What a waste

This is a scene on Bangalore's Bannerghatta Road. This water tanker drove for a good distance in front of my vehicle and I noticed a steady stream of water dripping from the pipe at the back and this is not the first instance. I have noticed 9 out of 10 tankers leaking precious water onto the road and the amount of water wasted over a kilometer, I am sure would be enough for a household of 4 for over 2 hrs.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has a fleet of about 25, 6000 litres tankers and about 23 18000-20000 litres capacity tankers.

I was reading an article in the Hindu dated 24th August : http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/24/stories/2006082425230300.htm
It is indeed a very good step on part of the government to make water available in areas where the pipelines have either not reached or are under maintenance. But I would suggest that the tankers be checked and water loss be prevented, unless ofcourse it is by design. And in case it is by design, I feel the design is flawed!

The third picture shows an autorickshaw letting out thick fumes (not very evident due to the poor resolution of my cell phone camera). Yet again this is not the first incident of a polluting vehicle on the roads. I must commend the Bangalore traffic police on their efforts at checking rash/drunken driving, dazzling headlights, worn out tyres, etc. I am sure they are keeping an eye out for polluting vehicles as well, but somehow this one and a few others escape their notice.

IIMB

I wandered into the corridors of one of the seven fabled IIM institutions - IIM Bangalore. Unlike my usual Saturdays, I got up early to meet an ex-colleague and mentor. What better place to catch up than his alma mater.

We went from building to building, peeped in a classroom, talked to staff and faculty, and even went to the extent of imagining my name written on one of the place markers in the classroom! As if that was not enough, after looking at his name on the honour scroll, we construed my name written on it! The campus is beautiful with green trees, gray granite, two huge ant hills, and unbroken peace.

Why is it that some people make it to this institution and others don't? I have spent thousands of seconds pondering over this puzzle.
Some people are just born with the talent to crack CAT questions. Some people sweat on their conventional skills and make it through the 2.5 hour test, others like me sit back and wait for the nth hour to work on their quant abilities. The third category of people usually end up short of the cut throat cut offs while the first and second make it to the corridors I was talking of in the first paragraph.

Those who aspire to get into one of the IIMs and the institute is at an accessile distance to them, they should definitely visit the campus once. It does a lot for your yearning to get through the test.
The competition is tough, and it is so only because of the number of people appearing for the exam. Don't give up. There's still time left!

Rain Washed

Rain came down heavily last night
Lightning, deafening thunder in its wake
As I sat to count the drumming of the throbbing in my head
It struck a million times, sending brilliant flashes all around
I drew the curtains, turned out the lights, fearful lest it strike
At times it flickered somewhere in the distance
Like an innocent candle,
Suddenly it cracked in all fury, pouring lakes of water
I was drawn out, to witness its greatness
Its might and power, I stood rooted gazing
At the red, yellow, orange and silver whip lashing
And gallons of water to drown the fire
Morning sang a different tune
Skies were rain washed, green shone all around
Blue overpowered the gray and red of the night
All sorrow, tears, heartache, and fear
Faded away in the warm morning light

Eyes

Your eyes speak volumes
I wish I could read the meaning behind all the shadow games they play
It was only yesterday, I could fathom some of their depth
They would light up, at the slightest sign of rain
They would sparkle the moment they saw me in the crowd
They would sadden, at the lightest chiding, or a rebuke
Today, I am all lost
The games still set out at the smallest provocation
But hold a different substance
They suddenly light up, sparkle, darken
Only yesterday I could fathom, what’s now a riddle
The crowd grinds the streets to dust
I walk the same road, lost in the same crowd
Looking for an augury of that light
That rhythm of the sunshine and rain
That turned around all misery of the day
But I walk on for miles, nothing beckons me
I remember it was only yesterday I out ran the crowd
To see that sparkle in your eyes

Reflections of a Tree

I wonder where they carry truckloads of cut tree trunk
It’s not that I am unhappy in the forest,
I just wishThere were more of us to share the sun.

Old man Green Crown perhaps knows the secret
He was telling us of the town on the outskirt that grows
Tall cuboids with square gashes called windows

They carry away all the trunks, pulp them
Roll them out under gigantic pins into what’s called paper
Cut them up, dry them and write on them in the printer

We can’t run away and hide, they know all our hideouts
Their army is increasing steadily, while we lose
Slow down humans
We can’t walk, someone go tell them we want truce.

Hover is dead

She was just as big as my thumb. Pretty beyond words, she would dart about the fish bowl and race her companions to grab as many food pellets as she could. She loved to watch TV as much as she enjoyed washing her fins over the stream of bubbles.

I will miss you Hover.

Mundane Story Retold

Bills - electricity, credit cards and phone
Chill me to the bones
Last minute rush to drop a cheque
Or add the biller to the online payee's 'deck'
Work on Mondays, work on Tuesdays
I wish we had more holidays
Atleast they could have managed
To give us some Wednesdays
Life, home, dreams, and wishes
Why do they pounce all at once
If only they were more civilized
I would serve them in order of precedence
Worry, anxiety, loneliness, and woes
Do they really need a place under the sun?
Why do they have to bother anyone?
They should be forever gone!

Sunrise, Sunset

I had learnt this song at school, and was hunting for the lyrics. Finally I found them, though a little different from then. Here goes...
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older
When did they?
When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he get to be so tall?
Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears
What words of wisdom can I give them?
How can I help to ease their way?
Now they must learn from one another
Day by day
They look so natural together
Just like two newlyweds should be
Is there a canopy in store for me?
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

This day last year

This day last year, I was pretty much in the same state as I am in this year. Long chats over the internet, enthusiam, trepidation, and sudden bouts of homesickness. The only differences is that I added one to the count of the number of years I have spent happily here. Over the past 2 weeks I travelled to a few places, met lots of people, had myself over fed by my mom. In short I was on a vacation. Back to Bangalore.