Glad to be back!!!!!

After a brief hiatus from the blog world, I am back again!!!!! This time with some Hindi poetry by yours truly....




Haath hamare utthe dua mein,


Kisine hum se poocha,


Khuda se kya apne liye khushi maangi?

Humne kaha, haan,


Humne unke hothon ki hansi maangi...


Translation:


My hands went up in prayer,
And someone asked me,
"Did you ask the lord for your happiness?"
I said, "Yes, I asked him
That a smile always rest on my loved one's lips."





Ae khuda, humein lambi umr ki kaamna nahi,

Bas itni tamanna hai,

Ki kuch lamhe aise hon


Jinme zindagi samayi ho.....



Translation:

O Lord, I do not desire for a long life,
But I have one small wish,
Just give me a few moments
Which are full of life.....

Another excerpt from Coelho

I am back with Coelho again! Can't seem to help it! :-) This is one of his best articles in the book "Like the flowing river". Many must have already read it before, but it is something that I would like to preserve and read again and again. Hence this post. Here goes:

The Story of the Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter.
At one point, he asked:
‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is
it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said
to her grandson:
‘I am writing about you, actually, but more important
than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you
will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t
seem very special.

‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five
qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will
make you a person who is always at peace with the
world.

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but
you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your
steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us
according to His will.

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing
and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a
little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too,
must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because
they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an
eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting
something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it
helps to keep us on the road to justice.

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not
its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always
pay attention to what is happening inside you.

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a
mark. In just the same way, you should know that
everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be
conscious of that in your every action.’

An excerpt from Coelho

This is an excerpt from Coelho's famous book 'Like the flowing river' that I think I would like to remember for ever. So I am typing it out. It is from the article 'The Art Of Trying'. I know my blog is looking like a Coelho book of late, but I can't help it. His writing is captivating and thought-provoking, at the same time being simple and understandable. I can truly relate to his philosophy. I read this piece and I could only say 'Wow'! Here goes:

When we decide to act, some excesses may occur. An old culinary adage says : "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs." It is also natural that unexpected conflicts should arise, and it is natural that wounds may be inflicted during those conflicts. The wounds pass, and only the scars remain.

This is a blessing. These scars stay with us throughout our life and are very helpful. If, at some point - simply because it would make our life easier, or for whatever other reason - the desire to return to the past becomes very great, we need only look at those scars. They are the marks left by our handcuffs, and will remind us of the horrors of prison, and we will keep walking straight ahead.

So, relax. Let the universe move around you and discover the joy of surprising yourself. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise," says St. Paul.

A warrior of light often finds that certain moments repeat themselves. He is often faced by the same problems and situations and, seeing these difficult situations return, he grows depressed, thinking that he is incapable of making progress in life.

"I've been through all this before," he says to his heart.

"Yes, you've been through all this before," replies his heart. "But you have never been beyond it."

Then the warrior realises that these repeated experiences have but one aim : to teach him what he has not yet learned. He always finds a different solution for each repeated battle, and he does not consider his failures to be mistakes but, rather, as steps along the path to a meeting with himself.

Realisations

My arms feel heavy,
My legs feel leaden,
My eyes feel weary,
My heart feels wooden,
There is an emptiness
Where there should be happiness,
I feel unfulfilled
In the midst of plenty;

I look around me
And find
I have been carrying
The carcass of my dreams
For too long,
I have not mourned
The death of my hopes
For too long,
I have been existing
Without living
For too long,
I have not allowed my eyes
To cleanse my heart
For too long....

A fable on love

I read this beautiful fable in "Like the flowing river" by Paulo Coelho. I found very sweet and touching, so I am posting it on my blog:


The Cloud and the sand dune

A young cloud was born in the midst of a great storm over the Mediterranean Sea, but he did not even have time to grow up there, for a strong wind pushed all the clouds over towards Africa.


As soon as the clouds reached the continent, the climate changed. A bright sun was shining in the sky and, stretched out between them, lay the golden sands of the Sahara. Since it almost never rains in the desert, the wind continued pushing the clouds towards the forests in the south.





Meanwhile, as it happens with young humans too, the young cloud decided to leave his parents and his older friends in order to discover the world.



"What are you doing?," cried the wind. "The desert's the same all over. Rejoin the other clouds, and we'll go to Central Africa where there are amazing mountains and trees!"



But the young cloud, a natural rebel, refused to obey, and, gradually, he dropped down until he found a gentle, generous breeze that allowed him to hover over the golden sands. After much toing and froing, he noticed that one of the dunes was smiling at him.



He saw that the dune was also young, newly formed by the wind that had just passed over. He
fell in love with her golden hair right there and then.

"Good morning," he said. "What's life like down there?"

"I have the company of the other dunes, of the sun and the wind, and of the caravans that occasionally pass through here. Sometimes it's really hot, but it's still bearable. What's life like up there?"


"We have the sun and wind too, but the good thing is that I can travel across the sky and see more things."


"For me," said the dune, "life is short. When the wind returns from the forests, I will disappear."


"And does that make you sad?"


"It makes me feel that I have no purpose in life."


"I feel the same. As soon as another wind comes along, I'll go south and be transformed into rain; but that is my destiny."


The dune hesitated for a moment, then said:


"Did you know that here in the desert, we call the rain paradise?"


"I had no idea I could ever be that important," said the cloud proudly.

"I've heard that older dunes tell stories about the rain. They say that, after the rain, we are all covered with grass and flowers. But I'll never experience that, because in the desert it rains so rarely."

It was the cloud's turn to hesitate now. Then he smiled broadly and said:


"If you like, I could rain on you now. I know I've only just got here, but I love you, and I'd like to stay here for ever."

"When I first saw you up in the sky, I fell in love with you too," said the dune. "But if you transform your lovely white hair into rain, you will die."


"Love never dies," said the dune. "It is transformed, and, besides, I want to show you what paradise is like."


And he began to caress the dune with little drops of rain, so that they could stay together for longer, until a rainbow appeared.


The following day, the little dune was covered in flowers. Other clouds that passed over, heading for Africa, thought that it must be part of the forest they were looking for and scattered more rain. Twenty years later, the dune had been transformed into an oasis that refreshed travellers with the shade of its trees.

And, all because, one day, a cloud fell in love, and was not afraid to give his life for that love.


A beautiful way of expressing that true love is selfless and it transforms....

True friendship

A beautiful quote on friendship that I came across on the net. How true this is! A true friend is one with whom you can discuss anything, with complete trust and ease. Without fear that you will be misinterpreted. One with whom you can be your true self, without wearing a mask. And yet be sure that you are loved...

The K world

This post is about the K world, the oh-so-famous world of Ektaa Kapoor's K serials. Well, I've never had the privilege (?) of watching these sagas of emotions that are world-famous and that go on for years and years together. I just sometimes happen to catch a glimpse of these dramas, as the home manager and her other companions in the family watch them on a regular basis. I must say, coming up with a number of K titles is an innovative task. However, some things never change in these serials. My humble observations on the working of the K world:

1) Generations may come and generations may go, but the grand old lady of the house goes on for ever. Would love to know the secret of her long life!!!!!!!!

2) The hero and the heroine do not like each other, but it is always circumstances that cause them to get married. And after marriage, they discover that they are soulmates.

3) The heroine's past lover always enters her happy married life. And he always finds a way to befriend the heroine's husband and comes to live with them in their house.

4) However middle class a family might be, the heroine always has money to spend on clothes of the latest fashion and matching jewellery.

5) The ladies will always be perfectly made up, irrespective of sickness or grief. Even when the heroine is in hospital, she will have eyeliner and lipstick and rouge on. She goes to bed looking pretty and wakes up looking pretty. Not even her lipstick is smudged.

6) Most of the people have their own signature style of dressing. They are always found dressed in that style. Heard of Shanti bindi, Kashish salwar kameez and so on?

7) You can know that a certain person is the bad guy/girl by the eerie music playing in the background when he/she makes an entry. The bad girl can also be identified on the basis of her makeup. She is the one with long nails painted in scarlet and garish, silvery eyeshadow.

8) Any little occasion in the house and it is time for a grand party!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9) When a person grows older, there is no change in his/her skin or posture. A few patches of grey appear in the hair and spectacles are added.

10) Bollywood film songs can play in the background at any time, any place!!!!!!!!

11) A lady can have 2-3 kids and still slim, trim and beautiful!

12) Each single festival and each single Pooja has to be celebrated lavishly in the family!

Certain scenes and dialogues in these serials are such that one cannot help but LOL! But, Ektaa Kapoor does rock in a majority of the homes in India. So, for now, the sagas continue........

Waiting for liberation

O Lord of the Universe,

Hear my plea,

I have no one to turn to

But for thee,

My soul is weary,

Liberate me,

It pains my heart to see

The pain of my sisters,

Little, cherubic angels

Abandoned in the cold world,

To fight it alone,

Left in the wide, wide world

To fend for themselves,

Little angels like me

Snuffed out in their mother's womb,

Denied a life which is but their due right,

Disallowed to see the light of day,

My sisters ill treated,

Abused, scorned,

Forced to strip

To show their grief,

O great Lord of the Universe,

This I ask of thee,

Lord, sow the seeds of compassion

In people's minds,

Lord, let there be justice,

Let there be light,

Lord, let there be a smile

On the faces of all angels,

Lord, let there be true liberation

For the girl child.

It is really painful to see the society still bound by old traditions, customs and beliefs in these modern times when everything is changing. It is painful to hear about the plight of some young girls and ladies even today, whose only fault was that they were born a girl.

Read this and this and this.

Dearly beloved

Pata nahi kyon, kuch kuch dard sa hai,

Shayad unhe kahin thokar lagi hai....

Happy moments!

A lazy, dull Sunday afternoon. One of those days when you feel like doing nothing at all. Absolutely nothing. When you are bored out of your mind.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings and a few of your relatives drop in. They have decided to pay you a surprise visit. A short time later, a few of your friends also drop in.

In a few moments, voices fill the bleak confines of the home. Idle chit chat and laughter drift in the air. Everyone wants to share in the fun. No one wants to be left out. Everyone congregates at the same place and everybody says something. There is an uproar, but no one complains. Everyone shouts at a higher pitch to be heard above the din.

A kid starts crying. There is a lot of cooing and cuddling. A feeding bottle is prepared instantly.

Someone switches on the TV. Patti's 'Sunday Samayal' continues in the backdrop along with the discussions on various subjects.

Cups of tea are made and shared. Packets of snacks pass on from one hand to another.

Old family snapshots are brought out and there is much laughter and excitement. Statements like 'Oh! How cute!' and 'Where am I at the time of your wedding, amma?' are heard among the din.

Marriage ceremony CDs are played and everyone huddles together to watch the couple being united in the holy bond of matrimony on the computer screen for the umpteenth time. Again, there is a lot of oohing and aahing.

The house is in the state of pleasant confusion. The house that is usually spic and span is all in chaos. A shoe here, a sock there. A teether here, a ball there. Someone's purse lying on the bed. Someone's cell and keys lying on the table.

There is a lot of hullabaloo all around. But the house is very much alive. And happy. The normally silent walls of the house seem to be smiling too!

Connecting with myself

My mind full of questions,
My world full of chaos,
Whom do I turn to?
What do I ask?

Then I recall
‘All lies within me',
And I turn to myself
To guide me on the right path.

I drop away from my surroundings
Am surrounded by peace,
I listen to what my soul has to say
And connect with a power higher than me.

I am lost to the world,
Nothing, nobody now exists,
I can hear
Only my inner voice.

Some quiet time passes by
I mull over what I want,
What troubles me?
What will make me happy?

Slowly, one by one,
All answers come to me,
My mind is now less clouded,
The path I need to walk much clearer…

Conveying death

The Gujaratis have the habit of saying ‘off ho gaye’ ('off thai gaya' in Gujarati) when someone passes away, meaning that the person went off, similar to the action of a light being switched off. Like when someone’s grandmother passes away, the person will say, ‘dadima off ho gaye’, that is ‘grandma went off’. I find it a strange way of expression. A light switch flicked off by God, never to be switched on again? I just hope the process of death could be as painless and effortless as the process of a light being switched off…

Fond memories

Alone she was and smiling,

Her eyes said she was lost

In a faraway land,

Someone asked her,

"Why are you smiling alone?,"

And she replied,

With shyness and love in her voice,

Sweeter than a thousand silver bells,

As only a woman in love can say,

"I have my beloved in my heart

And thoughts of him

In my mind,

Where am I alone?"

My first tag

I have been tagged for the first time in my blogger-life by Niths.

Incidentally, this is my 75th post! So double bonanza dhan! :-)

The topic of the tag is 'books'. So here goes:

Books that changed my life

Most of the Enid Blyton books and 'Gokulam' that I used to read when I was a kid a long, long time ago. These books sowed the seed of creative writing in me and in a way 'changed my life'.

The other books that touched me were Chicken Soup for the Soul and Who Moved My Cheese. These books always inspire me.

One other book that I could truly relate to was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I had expected a mind-blowing complicated book, but what I found was a simple story that depicted the profound truths of life. I could relate to the central character of the story, Santiago, very well. This book touched me a lot.

Well, 'changed my life' would be an exxageration, all these were books that inspired and touched me in one way or the other.

Books that I have read more than once

The Collection of Classic short stories from Readers' Digest
Chicken Soup for the Soul
All it takes is family by Sharon De Vita
Bride of my heart by Rebecca Winters
The Fraudulent Fiancee by Muriel Jensen

The last three are Mills & Boons' that I loved :-)

A book that I would take to a desert island

The Fraudulent Fiancee again! :-) On second thoughts, I would rather take something like 'How to survive alone on a desert island' ! :-)

Books that made you laugh

Tintin books
Hot Water by PG Wodehouse

Books that made you cry

Undoubtedly, it has got to be Chicken Soup for the Soul. Other books that made me emotional were The Fraudulent Fiancee and All It takes is family.

A book you wish had been written

A book on the life of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Books that you wish had never been written

Love Story by Eric Segal. It was a bestseller, yes, but somehow, failed to touch me. Dunno why!
When the stars shine down by Sidney Sheldon

Books you are currently reading

The Painter of signs by RK Narayan
Excerpts from Gitanjali by Tagore

Books you've been meaning to read

This is one long list. Dunno when, how and if I will do it, but I have been meaning to read these books:
1) Like the flowing river by Paulo Coelho
2) Veronika decides to die by Paulo Coelho
3) By the river Piedra I sat and wept by Paulo Coelho
4) The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
5) How Opal Mehta got kissed, got wild and got a life by Kavya Vishwanathan
6) A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks
7) The curious incident of the dog in the night time by Mark Haddon
8) The God of small things by Arundhati Roy
9) The works of O' Henry
10) The works of William Somerset Maugham
11) If tomorrow never comes by Sidney Sheldon
12) Swamy and friends by RK Narayan
13) The Bible (or atleast excerpts)
14) The Quoran (or atleast excerpts)
15) The Bhagwad Geeta (or atleast excerpts)
16) I moved your cheese
17) Simple steps to impossible dreams by Steven Scott
18) My experiments with truth by MK Gandhi
19) One night at the call centre by Chetan Bhagat
20) Harry Potter
21) Alice in Wonderland
22) The Wizard of Oz
23) Arabian nights
24) The wishing chair, I think it was by Enid Blyton, am not sure. Read it long, long ago.
The last few are kiddo books, but I would love to read them all the same. :-)

Now, I hereby tag Karthik. :-)

Thanks, Niths. Enjoyed doing this! :-)

The old tree

I was a lush tree once,
Beautiful to look at,
With green, green leaves
And strong boughs,
The birds used to nest in me
And sing me beautiful songs,
My heart was filled
With gaiety and cheer.


Today I am all dried up,
My beauty all gone,
I cannot bear the sun's heat
And my dry limbs are cracking,
My trunk is turning hollow
My leaves are yellowing
And falling off
One by one.


The birds no longer
Perch atop my branches,
They no longer talk to me
As they used to,
My heart is filled
With loneliness,
My only companions being
Other withered trees like me.


Many a storms
I have weathered,
But now my roots are weak,
I can weather no more,
I await desperately
That one big storm
That will fell me
To the earth...