Ma...

The other day,I was in a bus,coming back from somewhere when somthing happened thats made me write this.I saw something that happened in front of everyone,but I guess it did not touch anyone as deeply.Why it touched me, I don't know. I guess its because I had almost lost faith in the concept of family & respect. I did not believe that people in this day and age had anytime for values. Or it could be because I miss my mother a lot.
On the next stop after mine,a woman got in with two kids.They were boys,must be of the ages 5 and 7. The boys rushed into the bus looking for a seat while there mother climbed in later with a huge bag of groceries,I assumed. The boys were successful in finding a seat and sat down together on it,very happy at their success.Their mother patiently stood next to them with her bag beside her.After five minutes or so,the elder one(7 yrs old) got up,tugged at his mother's arm and asked her to sit down.He instructed his younger brother to give their mother some place to sit. He stood in her place like a brave man,taking care of his family trying to support the weight of the bag.
Looking at all this,I was touched.Touched by the gesture of the little boy,who had just shown a gesture worthy of a gentleman. I had never thought kids this small had feelings like these in them.He had suddenly metamorphosed from a brat to a man. His mother would have been so proud. They didnot seem to be from a very wealthy family,yet the boys action was commendable.It reflected his good upbringing even in sparse conditions.It taught me,that you don't need money and resources to bring up dignified citizens.You just need strong faith in values and morals.I felt tremendous respect for that tired,petite mother,who seemed to have too much on her platter.Yet she had managed to bring up such a wonderful son.
I hope and wish that the boy retains these values as he grows up.That the tides at school and then work,don't wash them away.That he understands his responsibilty later as beautifully as he does now. That he lets an old woman take his seat in the bus after a long day of work,hoping that someone else would do the same for his mother.
God bless!!

Who's the predator???

Last night while walking back to my room,
I met a snake on the front porch.
It sat all focussed trying to catch its dinner.
Aloof from the proding torch.

It had caught a few eyes before mine.
Which got scared and called the helpline.
And as we stood there watching it not move,
It charged at a helpless frog in the groove.

But before it could catch the leaping frog
It was distracted by the shreaking mob.
And turned around and darted back at me.
But only in defence of its territory.

When it saw our growing numbers it shrunk
into the dark corner of the gunk.
& sat there quiet waiting pateintly.
for the proding lights to go away,eventually.

As we got tired of waiting for it to come out.
Everyone went away,without any bout.
Between a predator and a prey.
Not knowing what role were they to play.

Later on, I heard a cry and shout.
Apparently the snake had tried to come out.
And caught the attention of a passing man.
Whose work had given him a nice tan.
And yet,he was worried,that this horrid beast.
Could have easily had him for a treat.

A crowd gathered from nowhere.
Everyone was shouting for someone to be there
To kill the awful beast,that had entered our land.
And could have killed anyone too unaware to stand.
Either near it,or even far away.
Just take it off! It ruined someone's day.

Some brats came out all excited.
Too happy of the task,all delighted.
And using a torch and a stick
They cornered the wild and viscious beast.
Held it by the tail & spun its head.
And hit it on the ground until it was dead.
Then carried it around,like a trophy they had won
And told me to be more cautious for the next one.

As I came back to my room,upset to have lost.
A fight to save a snake which had just paid the cost.
Of my bringing it to the attention of these "brave" men.
Who beat the creature,one against ten.
I sat wondering,all by me.
Who's the predator,
The snake or we???

Reconsidering decisions....

We all dream
We all hope
We all wish
to elope.
With our dreams
to some place far
to live a life
of happiness beyond bars.

What happens when the dreams are difficult to realize?
When the road to happiness is difficult to surmize?
Then do you rethink of giving up the dream?
& take up something easier that yield faster cream?

Do you think that the dream you chose to pursue
Was totally insane within your virtues?
That you'll have to take a step
Much beyond you,
To be able to make
your wondrous dream to come true.

Hold that thought.
Stop right there.
Don't think of leaving
your world without care.

Your dream is a world,made by you.
You designed its base,
You paid every due.
You worked really hard to get where you are.
In the process you might a gone a little afar
In pushing yourself,
To make your dream come to life.
You might have cut yourself
with the sculpting knife.
But when the forms will begin to take shape.
You'll find that there was no reason
for you to escape
the trouble that you had to go through
The joys that you gave up
the pleasures you chose not to pursue.

So when you see a dream
try to live it to the end
fight every battle
turn at every bend
In the end when the fruits of success
come in every hue.
You will see your world
bow down in front of you.

The toad in my shoe...

I found a toad in my shoe,
While running for class at timbuktu.
When in my usual hurried manner,
into my shoe i was trying to clammer.

My foot didn't go in all that well.
Something blocked its way and felt like gel.
But since I had no time to check
I dragged my shoe to the boarding deck.
When I got a moment to catch my breath
I thought I'd check my shoe instead.
And when I turned my shoe around
plomp! It fell out on the ground.

The people around jumped up in shock.
Some of them even tried to mock.
My clumsiness at dragging a frog along.
& not throwing it where it did belong.

The poor thing was equally amazed.
At been thrown out from a cosy place.
Which it had found after a long night.
To catch a nap before the sun got too bright.
And now the sun shone on its face.
Like being hit by a molten mace.
& from a warm and humid home
It lay on a dry & heated dome.
Must be feeling so alone
Homeless and tortured by crazy morons.
Who think they own the planet and erode
Every little animals abode
& pretend like its the little ones that were wrong
When they came in the way of the devil's song.

We are the devils here.
Who either by knowledge or by ignorance
Think they can obtain world dominance.
And come in the way of these little lives.
That are now trying their best to survive.
The begining of apocalypse in their world.
By the creature that presumes itself culled.

My rules...

To win the hearts of milloins
To bruise the heart of none.
To learn from every fight I've lost.
To cherish every battle I've won.
To know the words of my dear ones
Before they speak them out.
To never die of guilt.
Or fear of them finding out.
To appreciate every gift of nature.
To respect its beauty.
To love someone unselfishly.
To fulfill my every duty.
To acknowledge someone's victory.
Without a hint of jealousy.
To never leave a friend alone.
Nor disturb anyone's privacy.
These are a few rules
I try to live my life by.
Sometimes they are difficult to follow.
But the idea is to give it a try.

Live Life King Size.....

Live like you'll die tomorrow
Like you don't care about hurt or sorrow
Like today is the most important day
Like life is a gift in every way



Love like you don't know yourself
Like your beloved is your only wealth
Like you don't care about anything else
But their happiness and their health.

Laugh like you own the world
Like a small little innocent girl
Like you've been untouched by misery
Like you couldn't care about history





To live life king size
Might not seem to be very wise
But wisdom is in acknowledging the fact
That life can be lost with a small impact
& yet planning it like you'll live forever
& being certain about every uncertain second that you live
The only time you will fall is never.
And you'll be the happiest when you give.

The human touch...

The hand that pulls me into the bus.
The passing smile when I'm in a rush.
A wondrous rose in full bloom.
The first shower of monsoon.

Things that happen almost everyday.
Thing that make me stop mid-way.
Things that somehow touch my heart.
Things that make me human,in part.

We spend our days trying to catch up.
With someone or the other, always ahead of us.
There is always a plan evolving in my mind.
While aiming at the future,we leave the present behind.

The baby smiling from ahead in the line.
While her mother's busy paying bills and fines.
The friendly dog,you've never seen around.
That follows you home without making a sound.

These petty things that seem so prosaic.
That are so trivial for my life's sake.
Bring out a smile from with me.
Make me see the present through my future spree.

Its erks up the human from somewhere deep.
The human that long back was put to sleep.
It satiates my hunger for loving my day.
For taking off the charades and putting them away.

Its because within the mechanical me.
There still a human, dying to be free.

Alone amongst everyone...

Alone amongst everyone
Is where I find myself
When I feel like I'm standing
Against a rising wave.

Alone amongst everyone
Is when I find my eyes
Meeting with so many
& yet not finding anyone

Alone amongst everyone
Is when I fight by myself
& no one choses to be by my side
& just stand and watch the war

Alone amongst everyone
Is not a good place to be
It makes your rights wrong
& your opponents very strong

It makes every climb the steepest one
It makes every question the last one
It makes you doubt yourself
More often than you've ever done
Even when you start thinking you're right
At the end, you dont feel you've won.

Alone amongst everyone
Is where I often stand
Don't feel like putting on the mask
And pretend that I am one of them.
But sometimes I have no choice
And have to lie to myself
Thats when I feel like a hollow tree
Like my ego is no taller than an elf.

Destiny

Quite often,when I am walking down a small street in a small and insignificant part of the city I see these women and little kids picking up rags and plastics from the dumpyards and trash can.They get a few rupees here and there for seperating different kind of trash.I am reminded of the saying,"One man's trash is another man's gold"
I look at them and then I look at me.What mistake did they make? Who gets to decide who's the rag picker and who's a PhD student? Its nothing to do with brain size.Any given day,i'm sure most of them can beat me at an IQ quiz. Then where lies the fault? Is their only fault their birth? Why was that girl born in the house of a rag picker and I in the house of doctors? Why does she have to fight for every piece of bread she eats, and no one says a word when I ruin a million dollar deal? You'd say I'm lucky.I'd ask, why isn't she?
Its when all these questions are reeling in my mind that I start believing in the term called "Destiny". Its the only difference between me and her.The only birthmark that seperates the two. She is picking rags because she is destined to do so.I'm pursuing a phd 'cause I'm destined to do exactly that. She did not choose her life,I did not choose mine.But then who did? Who put me in an air conditioned cabin and her on the dumpyard? Does this mean that their are higher powers? There is a GOD?
But then,why is God unfair to her?They say He loves all;big and small.But then why does this difference exist? Hinduism and a lot of other religions explain this as a result of past deeds.Deeds from your past life. But I like to believe that God forgives. That his love is unconditional. That no matter what you do,he will always love you. Then why does he choose to differentiate?
I dont know the answers and that is what disturbs me. So when someone tells me they are sympathetic for the "poor" and then turn around and crib about problems from their workplace.I feel sympathetic towards them.They don't realize how lucky they are.And I feel angry at them...for the very same reason.

I have found my place...

I have found my place,
I have taken my stand.
I know what I want
I know who I am.

I have had my falls
I'm glad I survived
Nearly died a few times
But something in me thrived.

I have fought my battles
I have won some too.
The losses are many.
But the guilts are few.

I have loved my people
I still love them all
I know that they'll pick me up
and make me stand tall.

I've created my own niche
And bedizenned it with love
with jewels from the past
And the dreams my life is made of.

The philosopher in me...

I think all the people who blog are philosophers.I think everyone of us is a philosopher.The difference is some of us want our philosophies to be hear nad appreciated by people,other just want to keep to themselves.
What is philosophy if I dare ask? When I was 15 yrs old,my father read one of my poems,and said,"My daughter has become a philosopher" The poem was nothing extraordinary.Just my interpretation to a particular experience in life.My mother says,philosophies are vague and indirect.But the stuff that I write is the most direct expression of what is going on in my head.I guess that means that my thoughts are vague.Or as I'd put it,just to difficult for others to understand.And since I'm the latter kind of "philosophers" who dont like the world to know of their thoughts,I guess thats what I am...a philosopher.