Akashdeep

It is on such a beautiful night
That she comes home again
Led by the lamp set for her
On the terrace by her husband.

She stands in front of the tulsi,
Where she prayed everyday
To let her go first to God
Nor to lead a life without him.

Then she looks at her husband
Who lies asleep by the lamp
On his favourite armchair,
With a heart heavy with woe.

Dressed in red like a bride
With jewels all glittering
And eyes dancing with love,
She comes close to him.

She kisses his sleeping face
And caresses his stubble,
She runs her fond fingers
And plays with his soft hair.

She hums a delightful tune,
With a lamp in her brown hands,
“Where shall I put my lamp?
Where shall I set my heart?”

You did not hold me by force
You held in your arms gently
Nor have I left you alone
But am with you always".

The lamp goes out, dawn breaks
He sighs and smiles in his sleep,
But she leaves without any trace,
Only in his dreams and sad eyes.

Family Heirloom

The first among the heirlooms was a strong voice
One of contradiction and strife that hung over us,
With each and every good occasion hampered
By the tears of some sorcery or pure discord.

Among the signs of feasting were the skeletons
Skeletons in the cupboard that could bring
Multiple calamities and emotional disasters
Though it might have been an era of sunshine.

What this clan received as heirloom was eerie-
An absence of joie de vivre or an angst of life
That stayed on a like a perpetual thundercloud
And burst into rains even in days of sunshine.

Yet the strength of this clan lies in its heirloom
Of being ever-ready in the face of disasters.

Vantage Point

It feels like God who watches from the clouds,

To look at distant mountains and tall towers,

The blue and violet of the spectrum scattered; 

Which stand so blue in the summer drizzle.

We have fitted together two broken halves,

Watching the sunrises and sunsets together,

With limbs, run and coil against each other

Strengths and foibles of two separate lives.

We have picked up a few purple clovers,

To divine what the future has in store for us,

Colours that run amok in twilight dreams,

Of a full spectrum scattered in an afterglow.

When a pale sun sets along its blue horizon,

May it have love that’s like halves fitted again.

Perfect Match

How long have we belonged to only to each other?
That day since we took a quiet walk of togetherness,
Though it is as though we have always belonged
To each other across the ages in a sacred sense.

Coffee kisses, pasta lunches, candlelit dinners,
Shared moments of togetherness well-cherished
The perfect wine that we tasted last and so deep,
Not first love nor the first riot of purple passions.

There might have been others before you and me
Countless love-stories that taught us heartbreaks;
The many roles that you and I played across lives,
The sense of having known each other all along.

But I do remember us walking around the holy fire
Quietly chanting mantras of eternal togetherness.

@perfectmatch

Musically Yours: Le Paponist

It has happened to me more than once that a song gets really stuck in my head that I hum it constantly (which is called an earworm ) much to my own annoyance. Then after listening to it a countless number of times doing various chores- household, academic and blogger- I get struck by the fact that I can really identify the singer's voice. So, I discover to my surprise that just like my accidentally discovered later turned favourite songs by Atif Aslam, Mohit Chauhan, AR Rehman, Arijit Singh and KK, my current playlist has many songs by the Assamese singer Papon. 

Papon is the nickname of Angarag Mahanta, the lead singer and founder of the folk-fusion band called Papon and The East India Company. He  is famous for the unique fusion of Assamese songs and new generation electronica. Be it the playfulness of "Kyon" (Barfi), the absolute magic of "Kaun Mera" (Special 26), the pathos of "Jiyein Kyun' (Dum Maro Dum), the yearning of "Humnava" (Hamari Adhuri Kahani) or the desire of "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" (‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha), his soulful rendering makes listening to them an uplifting experience. 

My favourite is his Coke Studio version of Kaun Mera and I find myself on cloud nine when listening to it just like he sings in : 

Ho Gaya Hoon Tera Jabse, Mein Hawa Mein Hoon, Tera Asar Hain
( Since I became yours, I am in the air; it's your effect)

So this year, just by the number of times, I have listened to this song, I need to be called a Paponist! 

Artistry

Life, she draws with a deft and careful hand;

In slow measures, planning out minute details,

The tiniest bit in its place, never a line random,

A devotion that brought to fruition a first love.  

She chooses her words with much precision,

She measures out words, deeds and memories,

In her hands, the wheat and the chaff separate,

In her mouth, the words come out in harmony.

From the dark kajal that she draws on her eyes

From the neat drapes of her elegant clothing,

From a hand that never has to strike out words

She is a perfect artist in whatever she touches.

What makes her so is getting what she wants;

Her artistry is of keeping careful what she gets.

Tiny Feet

May your tiny feet walk beside our big ones,

May your tiny, rosy, tender, toes learn to love the touch of earth,

May you know the night and the sunshine,

May you know your own darkness and light

May you hear the music of rain pitter-pattering on the roof,

May you believe in fairy-tales and epics, dreams and God,

May your eyes, bright and wild shine with laughter as kisses rain on you.

May you touch the tender velvet of flowers,

May you learn simplicity with grace,

May you bask in the beauty of your own souls.

May you learn to love the word and use it to heal all wounds,

May your light shine in our lives and make it lovelier than before,

May you love God as lovingly as you love your father.

May you spread the joy of life in everyone you commune with,

May your eyes be deep and discerning to know the world around you,

May your laughter and smiles be the sunshine in our homes,

May Lord bless you in every step, every dream, every moment of your life,

May you learn the art of transforming thoughts into action.

May you connect with goodness in every dimension,

May you love knowledge and use it with wisdom and serve.

May your heart be lifted by simple joys,

May you sing cheerfully and dance to the music,

May you heart be filled with love for God and others,

May you accept all blessings with gratitude,

May you value time and its passage.

May your thoughts flow in a clear stream of purity,

May you face the world with courage and love,

May your presence be a delight, your love a guide,

May you see change as a rule of life,

May you recognise the good in the rude and the shrewd in the nice.

May the fire of love burn bright in your heart,

May your dreams touch the sky,

May you heart bounce with joy at the sight of a bright blue sky,

May your soul move in unison with the winds, the waves and the orbits of planets,

May your being listen to sweet music sung by the tender moonlit night.

May you live by your own thoughts and dreams,

May you see the inner light in another's eyes,

May you trust in Providence for helping you every moment,

May you love beauty and create for yourself a beautiful life,

May the memory of lullabies bring comfort later in life.

May you value the lessons of life; its sudden turns and tides,

May the seasons teach you lessons of life,

May nature teach you the symbols and signs,

May spring bring you fresh flowers of joy,

May summer teach you courage and endurance,

May autumn talk with you about moving on,

May winter tell you hidden secrets of rebirth.

May you protect the earth from destruction and contamination,

May your life be spotless and pure, may your actions be wise and guided,

May your heart swirl in joy and weep in pain,

May you be courageous enough to weep and show your affection.

May you be kind, considerate, truthful and loyal in your dealings.

May you know life as a tough race as well as a beautiful day in the woods,

May you know its calm flow as well as its torrents,

May you learn the paradoxes and extremes,and find your own balance,

May you use humour to takethe dreariness out of tough times,

May you learn to love deeply, purely and passionately,

May you know our own strengths and weaknesses and strive to see them in balance,

May you learn what to love and what to hate,

What to choose and what to discard,

May you read with a smile all the blessings that a fond soul wishes for you!

@writtenforgodchild2006

The Hats

When you work everyday
Wear this little white hat
The one with a cute feather
That makes you look good. 

When you read with me
Wear your dark red hat
For all the future visions
That life may bring to us.

When there is eternal strife
Wear your strong jade hat
That will give you the caution
Of the snakes, for your dove.

When you are down dear
Wear that pretty yellow hat
Which will bring to you 
Some bright lovely sunshine. 

When you feel really stuck
Wear our olive green hat
It can freewheel your mind
Into new pathways unknown. 

When you go out of control
Wear a blue hat and chair
Then you can come back
Straight into the green hat. 

If you have not noticed, 
We shift between all hats
Every single day of life
Don't ever wait for one. 



 

The Queen

“I have named you queen.
There are taller than you, taller.
There are purer than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.
But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
No one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
At the carpet of red gold
That you tread as you pass,
The nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
All the rivers sound
In my body, bells
Shake the sky,
And a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
Only you and I, my love,
Listen to it.”

Pablo Neruda

The Invention of Wings

There were several books that I read last year but the most memorable among them is Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings published in 2014. The book, which was was selected for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0,  is set against the background of nineteenth century Charleston in North Carolina and deals with the story of the Grimke sisters who fought against slavery not just in writing but in practice as well. 

The two sisters Sarah Grimké and Angelina Grimké were famous for their abolitionist thinking to slavery as well as for their fight for women’s rights. In the history of the United States, Sarah Grimké was famous as the first woman to have written a comprehensive feminist manifesto Letters on the Equality of the Sexes published in 1837 and Angelina was the first woman to have spoken before a legislative body. Moreover, they wrote together the pamphlet American Slavery As It Is , which was an anti-slavery bestseller until Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. 

The Grimké sisters spoke extensively in public against slavery and Sarah even taught her slave to read. However, these women had to struggle hard because they were much ahead of their times in their ideas of racial equality and gender equality. They faced plenty of opposition in the society that they lived in. Sarah even taught her slave Hetty to read and for this both of them were severely punished. 

The novel The Invention of Wings opens with Hetty Handful’s mother telling that “there was a time in Africa the people could fly”. She tells Hetty that this was how they had lived in Africa but lost their magic once they moved away from their homeland. She explains to Hetty pointing out her shoulder blades that these are what is left of the wings that she once had and that some day she will get back her wings.  Through her stories and her cleverness, Hetty’s mother Charlotte , who is a seamstress for the Grimkés instills in young Hetty’s mind, the desire to find her wings. 

The novel alternates between the narrative voices of Sarah Grimké and Hetty Handful. Sarah gets Hetty as a slave when she is twelve years and they bond quickly. Sarah is educated and wants to become the first female jurist but her dreams are dismissed as nonsense as she is a girl. In her childhood, she had a witnessed a slave being maimed and this leads to a speech problem in her. She is banished from Charleston and when she comes on a visit to her mother, she helps both Hetty and her sister Sky escape from slavery. Though it takes her many years, Sarah helps Hetty to find her wings. 

Pensiamento Fantastico: My River Green

The River Green always looks like a sheet of green glass, flowing majestically and serenely. It was in a small town beside this river Pamba that I grew up fighting with my brother and playing in its waters.

My memories associated with the river are innumerable.Every evening we, along with my aunt or grandmother and cousins would walk to the river and play in the water for an hour. Every day was fun, with us staying in the water for at least an hour, though both of us never learned how to swim, splashing and shouting, while the sun set and it grew dark.

In the still waters, near the banks, people washed clothes and for bathing or swimming they walked to where the flowing water was. It was an adventure to stand in the flowing currents without falling. It required considerable practice. 

Once we rescued a plaintain trunk from the currents and gave it to a neighbour who raised cows. It was a big adventure, something that brought a "we" feeling between my brother and me, who were like Tom and Jerry throughout childhood.

Then there are boat-rides across the river, holidays during floods (once we had 10 days of holidays) Onam and the Aranmula boatrace, when the decorated snakeboats travel across the river to the beat of the boatsongs. It can be heard from a distance and we would run to the riverbank on hearing the boatsong from the distance, abandoning our sadyas.

On the night of Thiruvonam, belief has that Lord Mahabali comes to see his subjects on his boat called Thiruvonathoni. After midnight, people wait on the banks of the river with lighted torches and lamps for the well-lighted Thiruvonathoni. This was one adventure for we, children to boast about. The ones who had slept that night had nothing to talk about and felt ashamed the next day.

Now the river has changed. It is no longer clean. Clean water exists in the middle of the river and it is a long walk. You need to wade through muddy waters to take bath in clean water and then after bath, through muddy waters again. 

Despite of many changes, this is one of the sacred spaces, I can reach in an instant, travelling in thoughts, to where I like to stand, on that mound of rocks taking in the entire view of the river looking like a large sheet of green glass.

I guess as a child, I viewed everything in relation to the river. Once during family dinner, when I was six or seven, I told my grandfather that the sky ended at the other side of the river. He roared with laughter and asked me:"Really?" 

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can  apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.