As It Comes To Mind

She slips in silently, almost slyly, Wrapping her damp habit around everything she comes close to... Winter is her mother and dampness her lifeblood, And she'll run a mile when the sun attempts to intersperse her gossamer With His spools of golden thread. She glides along stealthily, Descending from the sky be it late night Or before Lady Aurora makes her appearance. Sometimes she may cause ol' Aurora to wait a while tho' Before she'll allow the Goddess to turn on her charm And turn the wet and the dark to the bright and the gold. But while she is about The whole world is one big ocean; Everything submerged in her moist whiteness... The hills, the houses, the deserts and the trees, Even animals and homo sapiens too! All enveloped within her wet shroud And appearing as if out of a storybook; Their very essence bathed in her mysterious glory. She is around everything and everyone She is inside everything and everyone And everything and everyone seem to have a bit of her...

'Twas a midweek morning And I was getting late for work. I rushed out of home looking anxiously at my wristwatch And wishing fervently that I had better managed my time. 'Tis often that I am caught up in this situation And if I'm deserving (as I like to think instead of being just plain lucky) I get to reach office just in time! Today was going to be no different Or so I thought to myself as I stood in front of my home Hand outstretched, scanning the road ahead for the elusive autorickshaw. Little did I realize that I was about to receive an important lesson In some of the finer aspects of human nature! I breathed a sigh of relief as an autorickshaw pulled to a stop; Inside, the driver sat looking askance I gave my destination and he motioned me to get in. As is usual when time is at a premium I mumbled to him about going faster He appeared to have not understood And said "Kya?" Louder I said "Please go a bit faster" He spun around...

‘Tis so strange - the range of emotions that can be awakened sometimes, By a mere glance, a slight brush of fingertips, A little pressure of a hand as it fumbles to find your own. Even by the mere proximity of someone Looking into whose eyes you feel dizzy for a moment As if the ground had moved beneath your feet. Your heart gives a little wriggle almost gasping By the rush of blood which surges through your body, Opening up every dormant cell within, And making every miniscule hair stand on end. The breath catches for an instant, There is a moment of pure weightlessness As the body as a whole is lifted effortlessly into the air And you wish you could rise up and become a feather! ‘Tis said that the human heart can distinguish An infinite array of emotions and feelings. But why do we feel sometimes that the heart lets us down That in its very ability to feel so much It somehow loses itself In the flood of these very emotions and feelings That it can recognize? Why does the heart bec...

The shadows of the trees outside were lengthening as dusk fell. Meera switched on the lights inside the house and started making tea. Her husband would soon come home exhausted from work and she liked to have the tea ready for him. As she bustled about the kitchen, her thoughts went back to the time when she’d first met Anand. Dwelling with all the fondness of womanly sentimentality, she retraced the maturing of their acquaintance into friendship and finally into mutual regard and caring which drew them into a lifelong commitment towards each other. Four blissful years of married life had followed thereafter during the course of which they had been blessed with a son. “Wham!...Whrrr….rrrr…” The banging of the front door and the commotion accompanying it startled Meera out of her reverie. A small hurricane came crashing through the kitchen door and hurled itself at her. A pair of rather dirty-looking, muddy arms with the most delightful little fingers blackened by grime wrapped themse...

The dark black clouds scurrying away, As if in search of a distant bay; The cool gentle breeze whispering along, Dreamily humming a magical song; The huge tall trees swaying to and fro, Doing a wild war dance unmindful of the show; The snow white raindrops falling everywhere, Covering each little leaf and each little petal with a beauty so rare…. The sweet scented air so pure and refreshing Caressing the very depths of one’s soul and being!

They are the clear streams That take their origins From the deep wells of emotions and feelings. They are a reflection of the thoughts That the mind at times struggles to cope with. They are born out of sadness and grief, glory and pride, Fury and bitterness, frustration and despair. They may erupt like lava from an angry volcano, Or pour down in torrents like the tropical rainstorm. But at times they come, silent, unbidden, on unheeding steps Like snow falling on mountaintops And calming the agitated hills and valleys of the mind. A balm to soothe the restless soul And a vent that speaks the language of the heart - sans words! Copious they may be not, Yet they carry away with them the bottled up thoughts Which if allowed to fester within, Might eventually choke up the receptacles of the mind And benumb the heart, Until the soul forgets the very difference Between the right and the real, the imaginary and the wrong. Tears are the gems that shine forth in misery And enable the soul t...

Morning dawned - a magnificent, enchanting monsoon morning! I woke up inhaling the heavenly perfume that pervaded everywhere, Of cool raindrops falling hard on parched ground. What a pitter-patter the raindrops make on my window pane! Ah! So long have I waited for these very sounds, So long have I wanted to inhale the smell of rain! So intoxicating, so pure – almost enthralling ones’s senses, Until they become indifferent to all else. The setting seems perfect for an idyllic rendezvous The temptation is there alright, the opportunity too, But I have other things to attend to And so I procrastinate. Later, returning home, I chance to look up And what a sight greets my tired, work-weary eyes! The ocean seems to have risen and merged into the sky My breath catches as I stare enraptured At the brilliant blue ceiling so lovingly painted by Him! And in between are streaks of resplendent orange, The fire god himself stretching out his arms To embrace the grey-blue (or are they a deep mauve?) ...