Where we stand today

                                                                                 Monterey-2013

When the stars turn black

And the life gives no choice

When nothing is seen

Through the mad maze of time

When the moments make

The best of companion

Walking one day, one step in wait

To be back, where we stand today

With face away.

 

Beyond the ordinary

                                         Six nationalities at Jashn, Bangalore-2014.

                                                                       

As a child I would kill

Anyone who did oppose

I could stay, adamant

As long as I wished

Win all my battles

Because I believed I did,

But to grow up, to learn

To know, this is the world

My world, your world and everyone’s

This is the world

Waiting to be searched, with

Famous, more famous and the very best,

To find that one day

Of happiness, that moment

Of belief, in you and me

In celebration, in family

In company, in solitary

That would go, beyond the ordinary.

You and me

My first Karva-Chauth (actually 34th), Oct. 22, 2013, Bangalore

When the highs and lows subside
When the stare turns blank
When the time and dates
No longer appear, to be
The titles from the front page
When most is forgotten
Or forgiven, or handed over
To further on
When the counting stops
And the writings are lost
When the fabric is old
And the colours no longer hold
The days just stay, and the time waits
Fear shows its face
In dark, and in shade
Through the journey
Through all friendships, and agony
You remain, here, with me
Still as the morning air
From noon until dark
Watching the evening fall
With glamour, and in perfection
The heart calls
It could not be

In this life, but you and me.

When the home did not exist

                                         Diwali at baba-ma's place, Kolkata, 2013.

She came swooping down

To great astonishment of all

Onto a busy road, among the buses

Cars, two-wheelers and what not

A spectacle of inner struggle

Of a troubled soul

Trampling the senses underneath, a life of love

A kite’s distress was on the show, 

Shadows moved, one breath at a time

And the dreams lay, awake

As the dreary night refused to go

Playing ghosts and spirits, dancing as they wished

A mockery of the fine intellect

With their senseless acts

It was a dreary deed that the fate played

With no hope and no destiny, even

The home did not exist.

A morning full of joy

                                                   Carmel-2013

A morning full of joy

When Marigold fields rise

All of a sudden

All at a time,

On a winter day

When the fog disappears

As slow and as late

As the faces that appear,

Complete and content

When the doors need not open

For they come

Out of the fog,

That clears by now

With rays of hope

For all high and low

Elated and not so,

From far inside

From another life

To hold and keep

The moment’s beauty within.

Thinking of you

                          From the longest bridge on Brahmaputra river, Nov 2013.

With no words

Time passes

The life continues

And the moment waits

Just thinking of you

On a restful day

At peace within.

 

(Written for my friend who lost her husband on this day 5 years back)

When Ganga turned red

                                      At the Ganges on Kali Puja day, Kolkata-Nov 2, 2013

Ganga flowed at dawn

And at dusk

Taking with it

Lives that will never be heard

Prayers by its side

Continued in spite

Bringing immortal hope

And solace to aging minds

As the sun strolled

Turning it red

Sinking all underneath

All that had survived

Of a lonely house

A dim lit corner

Where the gods had slept

On starry nights.

In union

                                                             Trivendrum, October-2013

Sky was dotted black in no time

And streaked red like fire

Bringing desires back to life

Making the inevitable stare harder;

Yet all felt peaceful

The traffic, the noises and the intolerance

Even the unruly youth

Melting away the future, in union with the past.

The final decoration

                                              May 8, 2010 at Strasbourg (31st marriage anniversary)

The woman at the busy corner

And the just arrived Durga’s idol

Are they different?

Both abandoned

Both begging, for attention

Giver and the given,

By the crowd

Of little consequence

Until the final decoration.

Through the panes

Through the cracks

Is little use

Through the panes

Will feel the same

Round the walls

How much of it

The stillness and the flight

The silent mind

Let go of

What is not meant to be?




Castle near Strasbourg- year 2010.

If the dead were to rise

If the dead were to rise

Will they find
Love, hate or the place
Gone, without a trace;

The evening sky at prey
Darkness dipped farther
As if to hide
The deeds, prided in;

To bury all within
The music playing, stealthily
By the flying wings
Now at rest in those very trees;

No, the ghosts are not dead
They do not sing
They hear, they see them play
These very tunes.

Giverny, France- year 2010.

Far under

                                                        Ruins of Sutro Baths, Lands End, San Francisco

He had died
We heard later
In his sleep
As the workers feel
With no family near
To cry
Or wonder
What had he said
And what could it be
He might have
All the words
Spoken and not so
Must remain
Buried, far under.

Birthday reflections

A house vacant, yet in peace

Prayers answered silently

Walking through dark

And lighted streets;

A moment’s essence, breathed

Into life’s obsessions, today

And on all birthdays

Let the divine lead.

Saying it with the roses

There isn’t a higher life
There aren’t no little things
But for the real life, with
Beauty and joy in it;
Saying it with the roses
Or giving a make-up of champagne
Making its point
Through the infinite names; 

The silent mind, going back in time
The smile, cloudy and faint
To find a crow, in distance
Through the cracked window panes;
Follow me through, the wet and dark
For the reasons unknown and small
Hold with your body warmth
And never ever, leave again.

 

Reunion

First
It does not complete
And when it does,
It is not the same;

Letting the time
Mark an end
To its satisfaction
Or, discontent.

My garden

                                                                DQ-20, IISc Bangalore

Conversations flowed
So smooth
About houses, finances and food
I forgot, when and where
I was lost, before I knew;

The landscapes flew
One after the other
Fast and faster
Deep and darker
Near and farther;

A beautiful imagery
Until it drew
My garden
Somewhere there
That waits, too.

Making friends

                                        At Fort Funston- (dog beach in San francisco)

She sat there, always
For the doors to open,
And when they did

She could jump

Only a little

before resting again;

Anticipation was a joy

Not only to her,

It made up for

Others life as well,
A relationship as simple

Of wait and assurance. 

A journey

                                         Twin peaks, San Francisco- July 2013.

Today, a journey
Is after a week,
Next, tomorrow-
And then,
It is past;

So it is with life.

A quiet morning

                                                       Blue winged birds on Stevens Creek trail

A quiet morning unfolds

With rain drops

Losing their identity

To the confident sun,

Children wake up to cry

In their cosy homes

Men busy about

As if to take over the reins,

The skies smile

Yet another day

Getting ready to play

This never ending game.

I used to be here

                                                        From Turtle Hill- San francisco

I used to be here

It was quiet then,

We could see us

In the hanging mist,

Where many faces wait

Today, with questions,

The very existence

Of meditative silence.

Images come by

                                       Driving on 280 from Mountain View to San Francisco

Words transform

Into images

And do not leave

Until you begin to read,

Once again;

The sound of gramophone

Becomes hoarse, slowly

Until the owner can no more hurry

To wind for melody

To play;

Images come by

Form and dissolve

At regular intervals

As if in

Seek and hide; 

Everything arises and passes away

Above sorrow,

To be shining, in silence.

An empty mind

                             Bay bridge and San francisco as seen from Treasure island

If I could

Hide my face

Like the Brahmo-Kamal  at day,

If I could

Make others sins mine

Like a holy dip of Ganges,

If only

I could, empty my mind

For the inner eye to open,

Leaving it all

As if it was

Just a recollection, short of binding.

What we want

                                Near Sleeper Ave on Stevens Creek Trail (Mountain view)

I can hear the familiar

Breathing heart

Of the unborn

As I walk

For fitness and warmth

Once a youthful jog

A gift no matter

How we hold or let it go;

Shifting horizons

And twinkling lights

Without people

Or maybe not

The hard gets harder

With the unexpected

Sometimes from under

And sometimes from far;

The chocolates we eat

Thinking of the boy

Down the street

Horned every morning

To move out of his play

Smells of wild

And flowers on ground

Sprayed by early showers

Is what we want.

Memories are dead

                                                              View from Twin Peaks- San francisco

Curtain flew in
Bringing someone close
Like the stillness of patterns
Lying on the road
Unnoticed by the butterflies
Striving no more
To walk out of the frame
To be carried along
And preserved, though
Need they not be dead.

That time of the year

                                                       View from Uppsala guest house

It is that time of the year

Could turn all lands barren

So sudden

All follies look right

And boons become curses;

It is that time of the year

Could we remember ever

Without despair

With colours turning red

And brightness all around;

When Silence reigns

Over all thoughts

When gratitude prevails

Over complaints

It is that time of the year

We cannot live without.

Sunrises and sunsets

                                                           Arc de Triomphe, Paris- Year 2012.

Birthday blessings

                                                       At Louvre museum in Paris, Year 2012.

What will happen?

                                          IIT Kanpur- 35th year reunion for class-of-77

What will happen

If I sat on a mountain

With eyes closed

And screamed,

If I floated, or sank

In winters, in summers

Under a flowing stream,

If I thought of you

Or didn’t;

If I took care

To be different

Or lived like everyone,

If I left behind a treasure

Or chose to be poor,

If my tales were heard

If I had lied or remained truthful,

If I found happiness

Or stayed, without;  

The sun will rise

Red, round and bright,

The children will gather

The brides will dress

The music will play

For the families to hear

When they have supper together

And I will miss,

Being there.  

Elusion

                                                               Slovenian Cave

The street was on fire

And the sky radiated red  

It was beauty or power

One could not tell

It was a force irresistible

A reality turning elusive  

An image that does not fade

Follows until home, and then stays. 

In the end it was me

It must end

Like the kalpavasis

Romancing the unknown

And the world

With the face

Of a postman

Visible from the window

Handing an envelope

All so official

When the clouds hang

Far too low

Threatening to burst

Just around the evening

Driving the pigeons

Out of control

The trees and flowers

Breaking into silence

I wonder, is it for me

I have not held

For long a cover

Delivered at the door

With sealed mystery

Anticipation building

In the end it is for me;    

A painted childhood

On broken glasses

Tree trunk scrapings

And the bulbs

That could not be lighted

The angry bursts

Running wild to explore

Only to finish safe and secure

Around the warm Angeethi

Just to hold

Paper and pen

And let flow the ink

The numbers and synonyms

That could not be finished

Music of sorts

Fashions that did not last

In search of what

Accepted by heart

Of a superior mind

 Fiery relationships

Emerging losses

One-sided confidences

Unmediated consequences

And an escaped life;  

Fortunes change

Moderations begin

Achievements show

Above all careless dreams

Hoisting pride

In its course

Building families

Decorated homes

In troubled times

Relying on one’s own

Meticulous workings

And happy friends

Peaceful nights, busy days

Browsing through

A thousand photos

In the cupboard

Neatly placed

And all those pages

Among the yellowed newspapers

That had charmed

Over and over

Sitting back

Rocking the chair

In the end;  

It was me.

Wild fire

                                                           Near Uppsala- Year 2012

Fire raged

Wild and red

Right in face

Of many onlookers;

Can he be

One among us

To cause it so

Untimely of nature;

For he may not sleep

Lest in peace

Death does turn

His fearful dreams.

 

(On the day of Boston Marathon blasts.)

A song of hope

                                                              Kolkata- Nov.25, 2012

A song of hope

It sang

All by herself

It sang

Leaving in wonder

All walkers by

How could it be

So happy;

The morning rays

Breathing fresh

Inciting freedom

It sang

A song of dance

I wished to perform

To make you cry

And be by my side; 

With the lone journey inwards.

My lost family

                                                                Valentine's Day- Year 2013   

The winter sun

In the courtyard

Changing shades

As evening passed;

I cannot go back

To walk the wet grass

And wait at the fest

To hear that last song;

And how I feel

Frail for tomorrow

The hot sun pains

Unlike before;

The young smiles

No longer assure

I just want to be

Where everyone is;

 With my lost family.

 

Crystalline ghosts

                                                     At mid night- by Akash (Year 2006)

The tall & short all of white

At mid night

When the full moon shone bright

Sat besides

My bed in the lonely room;

With no courage to ask

To breathe

Curtains drawn only partially

I prayed for

Why and whom did they seek;

With all the lights bright

Shiver inside

And silence framed

No one moved

Until morning broke through;

In hope to befriend on

Another night  

I braved the flight

Of stairs for a virtuous sight

And a clear conscience;

They did not come, even in dreams

As if saddened

By my earthly whims

Not to know

Who were the two, friendly ghosts.