Silver Lining

Metamorphosis of a dream

2011-03-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

Into a self imposed exile...

Away from the din of reality...

Away from the rat race of life...

Away from the elements that stole our dreams...our smile...

Into a self imposed exile...

Into a cocoon...before we can fly on the wings of a colourful dream...

A beautiful smile spreading the nectar of cheer from flower to flower...

Entwined in the ecstasy of love on the wings of a zephyr...

And then we find our ephemeral selves back in the warmth of a cocoon...

Waiting to fly again into a burst of smiling colours...

Thus evolves the saga of life and beyond... a dream and its metamorphosis...

A smile in time

2011-02-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

Thrown back into time…
thrown into the back of a truck of memories and driven back into time…

I see a child in time, unknown of his purpose in life – happy nevertheless, smiling at the world around and planting his fair share of joy.

The child grows on the wings of expectation – never entirely his own...
His friends, his family, his society … all have their fair say in it, but then it is ‘his life’.

Time rambles along, and so does his life…
No longer a child in time, still pretty unknown is his purpose in life – not as happy as he were before…his heart doesn't smile anymore…

Oh take me back wheels of time… take me back…a child in time - just so I can smile

Fragrance of love

2010-04-03T00:53:00.001-07:00

They were strewn down the stairs, vulnerable to the crushing by the feet of fate.

Yet they happily adorned the stairs with a smile, fearless of tomorrow, living their moment.

In those flowers, I smelt the fragrance of unending care.

It was sheer instinct that made me pick one up - a flower so tender, a flower so fragrant with love.

She smiled when I offered it to her. The smile of the flower faded in compare.

As the fingers that received it wrapped gently around its bruised petals, I felt the gentle touch of care.

Summer and spring are stepping down and the gentle zephyr of autumn is doing it rounds, leaving the tree threadbare before the reality of winter stings with its cruel chill.

The fragrance of her smile lingers… beyond this life... and the tree awaits another summer and spring to smile in the fragrance of a flower.

A kiss before I live

2009-11-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

As I fade into oblivion, just one gift do I seek
A wish to be born, as I dream to live on
As I turn comfortably numb, just one gift do I seek
A kiss from my love, just to make me re-born.

Just to soar into the open skies, on the tattered wings of a dream
Hoping to keep afloat, on the softly blowing breeze of love
If not, to plummet to the ground of reality
And breath my last as the breeze of love kisses me - just so we will be re-born

Mask of Life

2009-11-14T08:46:00.001-08:00

The rain drops slithered and slided down the window pane.
What I saw leaning against the glass, reflected my life.
Just short of insanity, yet so full of meaning.
Just blurred and hazy, yet so clear and pristine.
I slowly peeled the mask off my face. The mask of life.
Everything that was meaningless to that very moment, now seemed to have a meaning. However the meaning wouldn't be revealed so easily. There was a clause to it.
The distant star of love needed to take off her mask as well.
Until then, it would all be a dream. A prayer.
A pain that would carve into our heart, cutting us without bleeding.
Hurting us without paining.

"Put the mask back and you will be just fine" So said the voices from around.

A moment in thought and then I threw off the mask from my hand.
It pained as the droplets of rain ran down the past, into an unknown future.
There I stood alone... but all I cared for was that smile I could see in a distance.
My star, no longer mine, smiling for me.

This was the paradox of life opening its door to me.

Broken piece of smile

2009-10-06T02:22:00.000-07:00

A broken piece of rainbow, just beyond my reach,
Just a broken piece of mirth, so lost amongst dark clouds
Painting through her sorrows, a sky in seven hues,
Just beyond my reach, to wipe that painted tear

If only I could fly, and reach the sky so high
Ride Pegasus with his roaring reins, spread lightning in the stride
If only I could smile, and get lost within her eyes
Together ride the lightning to eternal, endless times

Even with Gods

2009-10-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

Even Gods are confounded by the question of life
Compounded by the what’s, astounded by the why’s
Can Immortals comprehend an ephemeral life?
A race against death, though we all ride to death

Even Gods do realize, folly with their creation
Lowly mortals wage war, barrels blazing and swords flashing
Why do we not awaken to the drizzle of pure wisdom?
That we slaughter our soul, when we murder another

Even Gods do shed tears perched in Their high heavens
Mumble, rumble and grumble in the sniffle of a thunder
Wonder how we get caught in that tingling light drizzle
Drenched in thoughts raining down jumbled minds in a hustle

Even Gods laugh in colours, when they see mortals stutter,
Stranded and drenched in Their tears from yesterday
Wonder how we survive, battling frowns with sweet smiles,
Vivid as the rainbow, a bright bridge over our troubles

__________________________________________________________________
The irony of life is that the rainbow that arises from Gods laughing at our misery is the very bridge that helps us cross our troubles…An inverted smile filled with the colour and essence of life!!!
___________________________________________________________________

Free Hug

2009-09-30T01:49:00.000-07:00

GO AWAY!!! GO AWAY!!! She shouted.
If only he could hear the anguish in her tone, he would have fled. Nature had made him deaf.
If only he could see the hatred in her eyes, he would have left. Nature had made him almost blind.
Situations had made him what he was. It was never a choice left to him.
I would never know whether it was anger or love or desperation or expectation that I saw in his eyes. Two cold blue marbles staring through vacant street corner as the woman he approached for alms paced across the street to a perceived distance of safety.
That was when the old woman walked to him. She gave him a note and just hugged him.
As the old woman continued her walk down the street, I thought I heard a subtle sound, but couldn’t place whether it was from a silent sob or a smile from within.
One thing was for sure as I walked up to that man and hugged him. I was in need of the hug as much as him.

Do You?

2009-09-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

Then she asked him in a whisper “Do you love me?” and there was a stunned silence.
She looked into his eyes again, and before he could answer, asked “Do you love me?”
This time louder, and the silence loomed larger and lasted longer.
The silence lasted for what seemed to her like an eternity.
Her clear blue eyes locked in his dark brown eyes, and she was about to ask again.
The same old question she had asked a million times for gazillion years.
Before she could reply, he said “I Love You” just once, but so loud that the entire world around them echoed it.
There was that stunning silence again, and then they embraced. The waves and the rocks, their saga of love continued for an eternity it still does.

Strangers we meet, strangers we part.Yet......

2009-06-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

The mercury was in its early teens and the cold breeze blowing harshly on my face made me flinch.
Hands dug deeper into the coat pockets, and the feet increased pace.
I entered the hall and could feel the warmth return. As I slowly walked to the escalator, I passed the flower shop right underneath it. There she sat, surrounded by flowers and smiling as if one amongst them.
The fragrance around was intoxicating, and the only thing that prevented me from lingering more was the hefty price tags attached to each of those flower baskets.
There was an ease and charm about her – probably the result of being in the midst of all the wonderful flowers. Red roses, violets, daisies, chrysanthemums, lilies and then there was her.
Her eyes were fixed in a distance, and there was a serene calmness about her face. She imprisoned a smile that was yearning to break free from her lips.
So many people would have bought flowers from her. So many hearts would have spoken ‘I Love You’, ‘I Miss You’, and ‘I Care for You’ through her flowers.
What was she thinking seated amidst this abundance of flowing emotions? Was she thinking ‘When would someone gift me flowers?” Was she thinking “When would someone say ‘I care for you”?
I was watching her even as the escalator took me up and afar, pulling my mind distant from that of the stranger, like a mother pulling a child away from his favourite toy.

“Jason. Nooo” The young mother’s voice was too late. The toddler was already a fair ten pace ahead of his mom and before anything, had plucked a bright red rose from one of the flower baskets. I stood and watched as the mother came running to admonish her young. Little Jason looked puzzled and startled and what he did next was something out of the blue.
He walked to the flower lady, looked up at her and gifted a beautiful smile. Then he gave her that rose, just as if to say – I care.
The lady gave him a pat on his head, gave the flower back to him and guided him to his mom.
Seated in her wheelchair, the flower lady waved goodbye to the little boy. Little Jason was waving and jumping in joy as he walked away with his mom – the bright red rose in his hand.
There was a fragrance in the air. I didn’t know if it were from the flowers or from the joy around.

I slowly walked off to my apartment all the while thinking - Strangers we meet, strangers we part, and in between we enjoy it all - spring, summer, fall, winter and spring.
The night sky was getting colder, but nothing could steal the warmth from my heart. The warmth of what I had seen. The warmth of love unfold.

Bedtime Story

2009-06-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Mist arose from her watery abode, and slowly weaved a blanket in the air around. The blanket was a protection against the prying human eyes, as she treaded on air, to visit her lover – the Moon.
Mist, the daughter of the Night and mother Earth glowed in anticipation, as the rays of the Moon touched her gentle skin. Silver fingers reached down to hold his love as they lost themselves in each others eye.
No whispering of sweet nothings.
No loud promises of eternal love.
Just the two of them, shivering in the moment of a cold embrace
The mischievous Breeze whistled as he passed by, but ‘Mist and Moon’ were in a world of their own.
An occasional Cloud tried to prevent the son of Sky love the daughter of Earth, but the night Wind shooed them away.
They remained lost in their love, until dawn broke, heralding the rise of emperor Sun, master and commander of the morning sky.
Moon and Mist hung on as much as they could, and silently bid goodbye for the while.
As Sun spread his warmth and authority around, Moon faded in compare.
Mist wilted in the heat, her blanket of protection slowly falling apart.
Her tears of separation rolled down to cling on to the leaf blades around and glowed like pearls before being consumed by the Sun.

Far away, in some distant corner of Earth, the Mist arose yet again from her watery abode…. Moon was waiting …

Beginning of the end

2009-05-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

Frozen in a moment, wondering if we could ever work back the heavy arms of time.

Stopped for a moment, wondering if we could ever comprehend what we label as fate.
Puppets we are, with the strings being pulled by unknown arms.

Singing, dancing, laughing, crying, and acting our life to an unknown script.
As mysteriously as it all started, it ends...

A cruel world that makes us smile when in tears, and drops us into a black hole of sorrow when we feel things couldn't be any better.
Another scene from the act of life. Another role in the scheme of things, and we wait for our chance to roll the dice... and we wait for our chance to roll the dice

The colourful bridge of unending hope

2009-04-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

The mercury was dipping fast.The dark sky and a chilling breeze added a sprint to the pace of the pedestrians. The maple leaves had started withering, heralding yet another undressing by autumn. As more of dark clouds invaded the noon day sky, things were starting to get darker by the second.

Floating in time, like another leaf in the breeze I sat there wondering if there could be ever be a more dull day in life.

Don't know when I dozed off on the sofa, lost in thoughts.

Don't know who or what woke me up.

Don't know what made me look out through the window on that dull afternoon.

All I know is that it happened, and it changed my perspective.

Smiling at me from the dull gray sky was an arch in seven colours.

A rainbow of hope proclaiming aloud that the sun shines after every rain, that a smile wipes out every tear, that love wins over every hatred.

It shone in its brilliance for a while, telling human kind that it is the bridge to climb if you ever wished to reach for the skies. The colourful bridge of unending hope.

Reassurance

2009-04-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

Just to hold her hand, like a child, his fingers entwined with his moms
And sleep in the peaceful reassurance of her eternal presence.

Just to be lost in her eyes, like a traveller back in the lane of time
And walk in the reassurance of her presence, all the way I walk my thoughts.

Just to drown in the silence of her smile, as it infectiously seeps through me
And smile in the reassurance, of passing it back when she has an inverted smile.

Just to rest my head on her lap, as her motherly fingers run through my hair
And turn comfortably numb, in the reassurance of being born together again

Raindrops racing down the heart

2009-04-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Do not remember how many times or for how long the sight of raindrops racing down the window pane has mesmerized me. To this hour, the awe has neither ended nor receded.
Recede - the rain did, and the wind had calmed down, yet the raindrops rolled down. The more they tried to cling on, the faster they rolled down.
Finally they seize to roll down the window pane, as a rainbow slowly spreads out in the distant horizon, smiling inverted in a sky filled with new found colour and splendour.
It sketched a bruised heart. The rain and thunder within had lashed and seized. The tears were carving their way down the cheeks, racing to settle down the bottom of that very heart.
Clinging on to those eyelashes, clinging on to those cheeks, wishing silently for an arm to reach out and wipe them. Wishing silently for a heart to share the sorrows with. Praying for a reason to smile.
The bruised soul praying for a lap to rest on, wishing to look up and see the inverted smile on the face of that unknown soul. A rainbow of hope spreading the colour of love and its caring warmth.

As the next drizzle drenched my soul, I silently prayed for a touch that could heal...

Song of Life

2009-03-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

Saw a little girl chasing the sea-gulls on the lawn. The gulls would fly when the girl ran to them and then lazily glide back to the grass. The girl would turn back to continue her mission. The gulls repeated theirs, muttering and quacking...
An elder gull seemed to tell another - 'Look at this crowd that comes and leaves like the light green waves hitting the quay rocks - bidding goodbye in their every splosh. Everyone is too busy taking photos of the bridge and the opera house. No one seems to have time to rest their limbs, listen to the song of the waves, feel the caress of the breeze, watch the dance of the leaves. This little girl is the only one who has the time to play with us.'
I sat down to see what I was missing - to listen to their dialogue.
The younger gull asked 'How long will she play with us?'
The elder one replied 'As long as she is pure of heart. As long as she has no fear. As long as there is no apprehension of an unborn tomorrow and a dead yesterday. One day she will be like the majority of her race, too busy for fun, too occupied to smile, too involved with life to know what it is.'
The younger one quacked 'Thank You' and then both of them flew off.

The little girl watched them, called them back, not knowing they wouldnt return.Like time, they had flown off into a distant horizon, leaving memories to cherish. Memories she would run back to, some day in a distant future.
The young couple who were setting up the speaker system and musical instruments in the meanwhile had now started singing. She sang her worries into the night as he plucked the guitar strings. The notes of worry flew out as a sweet melody and created a symphony with the splosh of the water and the whistle of the wind. The leaves were dancing.
I was the silent spectator...

Defining smile

2008-05-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Mind seldom does multitasking when the tummy rumbles and asks the million dollar question ‘Where is my food?’ The mission was clear – destination McDonalds. Everything else was secondary at the moment. A tough day at the office usually has a very bad impact on your temperament and I was almost swearing when the queue at my counter was not moving. Someone has either placed a big order or is having a lot of indecision in selecting their choice of burger.
I was wrong. Making his order was a young man. His motions were restricted, his speech was not very audible and he had a distinctive stutter. The girl at the counter just ignored any mumbles coming from the queue.
The man needed help and the Mac lady was doing a great job. I don’t know how long her day had been or how tough it was. I know for sure it wasn’t very easy, but she was smiling. Smiling all the way till she handed over his order and took extra time to add an extra sugar in his coffee on request.
The queue wasn’t long anymore. The people weren’t mumbling. All were smiling.

Some acts simply can’t be more accurately defined, other than through a smile. This was one.

Wishing you acts and reasons to smile

Rainbow of hope

2008-05-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

The autumn leaves caught in the many small whirlwinds seemed to play to the tune of the wind whistling ‘merry go round the mulberry bush’.
The overcast sky was a stark contrast to the bright blue sky nature had painted a while ago.
The gusty winter wind added a spring to the pace of pedestrians, more so to the ones who forgot their overcoats. Ones in their overcoats, dug deeper into their pockets.
The evading warmth of nature caused a greater yeaning for brightness and warmth…just like one strained relation causes the human mind to look for warmer shores.
Pellets of rain hurled from the heavens hit hard on the heart of Earth. The first ones vanished, consumed by an accommodating Earth. The ones that followed overflowed… endless tears that can only be wiped by the rainbow of hope and the warmth of the sun.

I stood wondering how nature in her transition so closely resembled the vagaries of a human mind under transition.

Have a great day filled with the rainbow of hope and the warmth of a bright and smiling sun.

She means the WORLD to me

2008-05-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

In times of trouble and at times when you are helpless, there is one word that comes to us even before we call out to God - Mom...Amma...Maa...
A word that soothes us beyond compare..

To me, Mother personifies 'Care', 'Love', 'Control', 'Solace'....

Someone to whom I can tell all my concerns knowing i would get a solution...
[If she doesnt have a solution at all, there is always this solution called a hug]

Someone whom you have to pinch or chide so that she would stop singing your praise or little faults to friends, family and strangers alike...

Someone who deserves the very best from us... not just on the second sunday of May [Mothers Day] but every day together...

Dedicating this to all moms to whom their kids mean the world and to all kids to whom their moms mean the world.

A moment in thought

2008-04-29T19:14:00.001-07:00

Running to catch up with a life that is sprinting,
We often forget to stop a while to look back and think...
A moment to think of those who love us... not just the ones we love....
A moment to thank those strangers who became more than just a part of our life...while they helped us back to our feet when we stumbled in our stride...
A moment to thank those inspirations - events,individuals,words, thoughts... that helped us rise from the ashes of desperation and explore the blue skies high...

Its only when we have that we can give

2008-04-29T19:05:00.001-07:00

It was on a Sunday - a week before to my second trip to Aussie land had been scheduled.
It was difficult to face him in such a situation. A situation where neither of us could control our tears
My grandpa was bedridden, and I had to see him - more than just to ask for his prayers and blessings...
I sat by his side, held his hand and gently talked to him... told him about my trip..
He smiled.. tears running down his cheek and he held my hands and told me this...
'Never hesitate to help someone in need. It is only when you have, that you can give...'
That remains the last words he spoke to me...

Pappa was one who lived by what he spoke to me that day...
He was fooled many a time by cons who happily told him lies for the money...
He was chided many a times by friends and family.. including myself, for being so 'lavish' in his help...
He wouldn't stop at it...

Just a word to all my dear friends.... Its only when we have that we can give... and that includes everything.. love, smile, money....every little thing

Now here is a :-) just for you

As a new day dawns

2008-04-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

Seconds slipped, minutes fled and hours vanished as an year evaporated before our very eyes...
People who were near... not near anymore...
People whom we never knew existed...now the very essence of our life
Events that we thought would spell our doom turned out to be a stepping stone to new heights...
Opportunities we thought we could grab, just slipped away before we ever knew...
Luck, happiness, sorrow,love, hate... all mixed and served in the plate called 'The New Day'...
Tomorrow wakes up to yet another day...
Resolutions change...outlook change :-) we mostly remain the same...

Let the days that dawns bring out the best in you dear friend...

Song of Life

2008-04-29T19:00:00.001-07:00

Seldom is life, blue sky without clouds
Seldom does sun shine all the day long
Yet once the rain falls, the cloud cover melts
The rainbow of hope smiles in colours bright...

Thus goes the song of life...
giving us all a reason to smile despite the clouds of trouble we all have to face one time or the other....

Dream Builders

2008-04-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Somewhere down the walk of life, i thought i would bid bye to dreams...
When realization hit, i knew my life was a dream, and bidding bye to it .... couldnt just be...
Tiny dreams well knit to build a beautiful life....
At times a dream tumbles like sand castle in the wave or card castle in the wind...
Next time, build it with fevicol :-) just make it a bit stronger....
Never give up on your dreams... dream on

Cling On...

2008-04-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

If only we could travel down in time, and fly back or forth to happy times...If only wishes could be granted, by fairies or genies from magic lanterns...If only smiles would never vanish today, tomorrow or day after...So many dreams and aspirations all clinging on to a clause called IF..

Sand Castle Dreams

2007-10-24T02:52:00.000-07:00

The thick black clouds above hid gallons of tears...
I knew not the sorrow it hid...a broken heart? a confused mind? a love that wouldnt let go?
When finally a trickle hit me from the heights of heaven, i felt a thunder clap in my mind.
As the rain poured, i stood there drenched in my own thoughts, sand castle dreams washed down in the all cleansing shower...
As the speck of light in the horizon conquered the dark clouds - slowly yet steadily and surely, i saw the rainbow within me materializing to a smile on my lips.
Cry till you smile... smile till you cry...

The Thin Red Line

2007-03-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Nothing so sweet as things moving as we planned... or is it adjusting ourselves during unplanned occurances that make us feel good???
Nothing so beautiful as all the good things seeking us...or is it the occassional good thing that seeks us out more joyous???
Nothing so wonderful as a life without trouble... or is it overcoming troubles that make our little moments of glory worth the while???
Perception of events in a journey called life - the thin red line between sorrow and joy.

THIS TOO WILL PASS

2006-08-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

All the while I walked alone,
I knew not how the world did frown,
I knew not I was odd man out,
Till someone came to point it out

It dawned that I was not alone,
It felt as though a new day dawned,
I named the new entrants my friends,
And opened up my gates of trust

Together we faced the game of life,
As one for all and all for one,
We sat down as the sun it set,
And sang out loud till our minds set

Sipping on our steaming tea,
Our minds were like the storming sea,
But when we opened up our minds,
The winds and waves they did subside.

We vowed that we would never part,
And nothing could take us apart,
Why did we forget time so smart
Which changes every thing that starts

I felt the pangs of partition,
As dug deep fangs of attrition,
Once again I walked alone,
As west wind moved across the lawn

My footprints on the sand were deep,
The wounds within my heart was deep,
Panacea for the wound called time,
It healed me as it flew past by

Alone I walked along the way,
My stride relaxed, my face a smile,
I never stood to stare a while,
For I knew that this too would pass