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.  

Remembering Banu

                                                                                DQ 20, IISc- 2012

She was dark and small

With rustic energy

And full of charm

For all who remember

A fiery bat with her,

A dream that never ended

As the children waited

To try the impossible

Mighty, silent and the shy

All alike, she could so drive,

On this women’s day

I choose to remember

A coach, a friend

As I can picture her

To whom every child was special;

 

RIP Banu.

(Shamshad Banu was a TT champion from Andhra Pradesh and coached children in Bangalore. She accompanied the Bangalore zone TT group of KV, which included Atish-Anish and her daughter in the year 1998. She also coached Akash at Guru Nanak Bhavan in the later years.)

Garlanding the great

                                                                   Stockholm- Year 2012

Celebration is in the air

Purposefully busy people

Quiet onlookers all around

A woman photographer

Balancing the wall

For a better view

From behind the statue

Adjusting her lenses not to miss

The subtleness, the tradition

Of garlanding Sir Tata, the great;

 

It took five people

To go up the ladder

With a Pink garland

Shiny and silvery woven through

Propped and pushed

Past the head somehow

The relief of success and

Completing duties

Before the arrival of dignitaries

A new beginning of the year; 

 

I cherish the day

That third March has been

Very special

And will always be

In unrushed today 

I can remember

What times have meant

For us and for all

When they no longer are

As they used to be.