Thursday, May 27, 2010

Ma...


She woke up at probably 6.30am, I don't know. I have never been awake before she woke up. She always woke me up, guess that is the reason why, alarms are not my cup of tea. 'Indu..' she calls out, 'time to go to school'. By the time I am ready, the tumbler of horlicks and something to eat is ready. When lunch bell rings, the orange basket with the steel tiffin, plastic waterbottle, folded towel and stainless steel spoon are ready at the school gate. When I get back home after a long day (yes.. at school :)) she is ready with something for me to eat. It may be snacks, or lunch. She let me play for a while, with the neighbours kids, or do whatever I want. After that she called me back, strictly, to do homework. English, Hindi, Maths, Science, she taught them all. She built a foundation, so that in the higher classes, I could do my work on my own, with little help from her. She made me independent. When my results came, she cried with tears, and hugged me with a 'very good'. Her smiles had no boundaries. She taught me happiness. When I was heartbroken, she quietly understood. She let me cry my sadness out, instead of carrying it as a burden in my heart. When it was time to move on to yonder lands, she let me go, with no strings attached. She let me learn the ways of the world the hard way. She let me look for myself, meet people, understand them, and figure out my way through the woods. She gave me the freedom. When I asked for things that money could buy, she let me buy some and said 'no' to others. She taught the value for money. When things were not going right, she bowed down and said her prayers to keep her child safe. She taught me to go on, and be bold enough to face every obstacle in life. She gave me the courage. When I am miles away, I know she misses me. She misses the smiles on my face. She misses the fact that she is not part of my everydays.
My inner strength. Ma... 


Mamma and rain..

the pitter patter of raindrops
echoes in my backyard
the grass is in a puddle
jumping to the tune of the rain
i stand outside
stretch my arms out wide
look up to the sky
and close my eyes
my face wet now
my emotions let down
i am a child again
waiting for ma's call
to get back inside.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Music..

Music - that which restores the soul. How true! That which has the ability to sway your mind from one emotion to the other, one mood to another. No matter in what form it is delivered to you - be it the do-re-mi or sa-re-ga or anything else, it can do magic. Gifted are those people who can make music, put words into the music, and sing them. Blessed are those souls who can take in the essense of this wonder and let it cast its spell on them.
Imagine a world without music... Would it still be this colourful? Maybe yes. The colors will be there, but probably they will lose their vibrance. A rhythmless world? Where you cannot place a tune in the chirping of birds, where you cannot see the rhythm in the swishing of trees. Silence, when there are no words. Or would it be eternal noise? I dont know, because I belong to the blessed strata of this world. If there were no music, would there be any music instruments? Would the untouched strings of a guitar, yearn to be struck. Would the untouched keys of a piano, wait for a touch to come to life?
It is so hard to concieve... Music is one of the colours of my life. Would you call a rainbow, a rainbow, if one of the colors were absent? Every feeling, every emotion, every mood finds a place in one or the other lyrical webs weaved by gifted people. Driving on a rainy day, amidst green pastures, with the raindrops hitting your windshield, playing 'rhim jhim gire saawan, sulagh sulagh jaaye man, bheege aaj is mausam mein, lagi kaisi yeh agan..' - bliss!! Days when God takes a vacation and somehow forgets to turn the page of your book, a little encouragement from 'aye zindagi gale laga le, hum ne bhi tere har ek gham ko gale se lagaaya hai, hai na...' hope!! When you lose something and feel that there is no end to this pain - 'itni shakti humen dena daata, man ka vishwas kamzor ho na..' - inspiring!! Romance in the air spreading out its sheath of love - 'pudhu vellai mazhai, ingu pozhiginrathu, intha kollai nila, udal nanaiginrathu, ingu sollatha idam kooda kulirginrathu, manam soodaana idam thedi alaiginrathu...'!! When you are too grown up and taken afar by the wings of life - 'yeh daulat bhi lelo, yeh shaurat bhi lelo, bhale cheen lo mujhse meri jawaani, magar mujhko loutado bachpan ka saawan, woh kaagaz ki kashti, woh baarish ka paani...' - Nostalgia!! Something that preserves child-like innocence 'Thumbivaa thumbakudathin...'!!
The list is endless, because the melodies are endless. Blessed is the soul who can understand the words, sway to the tune, humm the melody and dwell in this world of magic called - MUSIC!!!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Rain

dark clouds come gushing in
whiteness of the sky recedes onto yonder skies
the clouds will soon open up
to drench me
with its tear drops
every being on earth with bloom
when touched by the drops from heaven
when the clouds tears dry up
they will move to yonder skies
awaiting another sorrow
to rain down on me..

No title..

मुद्दतों के बाद लिखने बैठे हैं
आज भी ग़म का खज़ाना खोल बैठें हैं
चारों और हसी है, मुस्कुराहटें हैं
पर दिल न जाने क्यों ग़मगीन है
पता नहीं लगा पा रहा है एक ऐसी वजाह
जिसके सुलझाने से मुस्कान खिल उठे
न जाने वोह क्या बात है
जो नैनों में आंसू ले आई है
चुपके से क्या हम रो लें?
शायद आंसुओं के बह जाने पर
ये ग़म का खज़ाना कुछ देर के लिया अनजाना हो जाये
या फिर कुछ ऐसी बात हो जाए
जो चेहरे पर मुस्कान खिलादे.. ?

Saturday, May 15, 2010

A Saturday evening..

The boredom of a Saturday evening
Lingering in the air
The lack of doing something
Makes the world so unfair
The movie on the television
Fails to keep my interest
The scarcity of conversation
Makes the silence echo in the room
I wish there were conversations
To move this cloud away
The cloud of leaving
The cloud of the obvious pain.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Saturation point

The thoughts are running wild
Racing against each other
They hit against blank walls
And seem to bounce back at me
I try to decipher them
But the waves are playing their own tune
These are my thoughts,
My very own
But they want to wander today
Away from me
Leaving me clueless
The more I try to make sense of them
The more they leave me confused
People around me are saying a thousand things
A thousand thoughts clashing
Against the blank walls of my mind
Nothing makes sense
Nothing I can decipher
Just an endless wait
Till I get my arms around them..

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Birds in the backyard..

There are a hundred blackbirds in my backyard
Each one picking grains
Are they free to fly the direction they want
Or does somebody control that
Are they free to feel the wind in their wings
Or is the flapping of their wings restricted
My breath is creating a haze on the glass door
The image blurs
The door to my backyard is locked
The keys..
I run my fingers over the glass door
The birds have flown, flapping their wings away...

Heights of Badmaashi

I was showered upon the honour of watching the movie 'Badmaash Company' last night. Considering the quality of cinema today, I should say that it was an honour. I look for three things as the essence of a movie - the story, the actors and music. Would you consider a movie a hit, if the movie failed on all three accounts, but left you in splits for one hundred and fifty minutes of your day/week/month?

I watch a lot of movies and my intent is to come out feeling entertained. Thats what I pay for. Not life messages, lessons, how-to-be-a-good-*** kind of movies. Life in itself teaches you a thousand lessons a day, whether you learn them is a different story altogether, but movies are for entertainment and leaving it there, helps.

This movie entertained me right from the first shot till the end. The crew of the movie probably tried to create another masterpiece which would find its place in the laurels of quality cinema, but to me it was a brilliant comedy. The story was baseless - Imagine Michael Jackson wearing a shirt for his concert, that Shahid Kapoor sells to get his uncles stocks up. And Michael Jackson actually wears it. And the brand of the shirt 'Bleeding Madras'. And thats because the shirts are bleeding in the washer. He washes a shirt 7 times and each time it loses color, it becomes a new shirt!! So you pay the price of one shirt for 7 shirts!! I was WOW-ed!! And top American companies actually believe this bullshit and order for thousands of shirts. What brilliance!!!

Anushka kisses Shahid for the first time and says 'This is not serious, ok'. But towards the end of the movie she understands, coz she ends up with a round belly, six months!! Thats when the seriousness hits her!!!

Movie previews proudly announce the number of liplocks between the lead actor and actress. 2 long ones, one short one.. But they need to start announcing the number of times, the lead actor cries. Three times, Shahid Kapoor.. Somebody please pass him some tissues. 1 long cry and 2 short cries..

Music was simply brilliant.. Like the chicken egg question I really wonder if the music came first or the lyrics. Jingle Jingle was simply out of this world.. Here are the lyrics.. and you should read each line to get a grasp of the brilliance of indian music. Where Rahman is getting oscars and grammy's the same music industry is creating such masterpieces -

Kabhi to kismat hi-fi hamari ho
Kabhi to t-shirt se matching ferrari ho
Kabhi to bank mein currency karari ho
Kabhi to apni madonna se yaari ho
Kabhi kabhi aisa lagey, yeh bhi kum hai khwaishein
Khuda mera poocha kare, raza meri and he'll pay the bill
Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Jahan bhi jaye ek spotlight upar ho
Sensex niche phir bhi hum upar ho
007 James Bond wali gadi ho
USA mein dus baaran kothiyan padi ho
Kabhi kabhi aisa lagey, yeh bhi kum hai khwaishein
Khuda mera poocha kare, raza meri and he'll pay the bill
Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Mera check book leke aao, they don't accept cards
What to do, Dinar, Dollar, Euros, Francs
What's with the money of the world in bank
Crorepati but my pocket is khaali
Pretending that I'm living on milk and honey
Clothes and cars, diamonds and gold bars
I'm living off love but I'm looking like a star

Hazratein hai badi, full full hai tadi
Qaynaat chahiye, taaron se jo ho jadi
So what if sab chahiye (chahiye), muthi bar sahi
Jo seedhay se haasil na ho, chheen lo
One day jacuzzi wale do teen hotel ho
Apne bhi naam ki beer ki bottle ho
One day versace ka wardrobe total ho
Foreign ki ladki par rate yaar local ho
Kabhi kabhi aisa lagey, yeh bhi kum hai khwaishein
Khuda mera poocha kare, raza meri I don't take a pill
Jingle jingle sabki deve, jingle jingle de
Apne paas to sikka single, sau baata hai
Jingle jingle sabki deve, jingle jingle de
Apne paas to sikka single, sau baata hai
Jingle jingle sabki deve, jingle jingle de
Apne paas to sikka single, sau baata hai

I couldn't resist clapping, hooting and rolling on the floor with laughter for such exceptional comedy! I have not enjoyed another movie like this.

Recommended - 100% for those who need a good laugh.

thoughts..

the mind is saturated today
lost its ability to think
running towards a state of blankness
leaving behind all the thoughts
but still the mind is thinking
what will get me there first
to the state of blankness
leaving all the thoughts behind
never a moment without a thought
the mind never rests
even in sleep it dreams
thinking of what will happen next
what will get me to a state of blankness
tete-a-tete with friends
or laughs like there is no end
thoughts are deep in thoughts
to take me to a state of blankness..
the loop never ends
the mind never sleeps
coz each thought is thinking of the next one

a storm..

the storm is picking up outside my window
the wind rejuvenated today after some rest
determined to blow away tiny beings
alas its strength will soon be hushed
the clouds will open up
and express their joy
showering upon the land its strongest drops
the winds will go back then
to their old resting place
waiting in line
till the end of the clouds celebration..

the thin line..

the thin line between friendship and love
crossed by yound minds a million times
where do the boundaries begin
where do the boundaries end
you never get an inkling when the act is performed
a few steps across the line, hits you on the face
looking back the line has vanished
but for the fear of crossing
would you stop making friends?

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

People we meet..

So many people in life's journey
some share a laugh
and some tears
some giving dreams, hopes and promises
some just passing by on their way
some we meet yet once again
some fade never to return
the heart rejoices at familiar faces
yet at other times, it rejoices at new faces
people who spread laughs
making our journey lighter
so many people etched in the memory
so many more yet to be seen
what does one do with all these memories
stack them up in the corners of the mind
not to be woken till the face meets again..