la di da of life

papaadeedada...la di da...
the music of life
would you look at me twice
nay, don't you look behind
i'm right in front of you!
don't you crane your neck
i'm right in front of you
even if you turn left or right
i'm in front of youuuuuu...

Aching espirit

most of us know what homesickness is
we have a word for it in English
but do we have a word for that feeling....
the feeling where the spirit craves to explore the unknown
to set off on a journey, meet new folks, hear another tongue
the feeling of disorientation, when you return from a long journey,
the unsatiated spirit yearns for more.....
whats that word?? the closest dictionary word is 'wanderlust'..
the word derived from the Anglo- Saxon roots
but the word they did'nt borrow from the Germans
the word that carries the true essence of the feeling,
an aching espirit and itching feet... is 'fernweh'

The Bombay Comedy

As I cross the length and breadth of the city of Mumbai,
I am starkly reminded of Dante's Divine Comedy
I feel at once in hell, purgatory and heaven
hell seems to have broken loose as I see
mangroves laced with polythenes, standing amidst the toxic waters of murdered rivers
the stench of urinated n paan stained walls
the slimy mucous drops on railway platforms
gives the feeling ur not living in a city but a mucous membrane
we have seemed to have entered purgatory - the road between heaven and hell-
with the local municipal corp taking many corrective steps
encouraging arty youngsters to come out with paint brushes to paint the city walls
projects such as the metro , the cleaning of the Mithi river
clearing the railway quarters for more fruitful development
the sea link project on in top gear
the flamingoes still flock the Sewri wetlands
the leopards still trapse the encroached natural park
the skeletal Bombay mills still stand tall,
craving for attention
the lost caves of Kanheri and Mahakali battling for survival
im not sure if 'Mumbai''s destiny is to be another shanghai
but with the culture and flora and fauna much more diverse
we deserve nothing less than 'Paradise'

Divine Submission

Over the years I had seen my 'nani' diminishing in size
she had truly become nani (puny in Gujarati)
while she took her last few breaths
my mother and i placed our hands in hers
I felt the texture of the rough lifelines etched onto the old palms
the only visible line (as per palmistry) stood for a strong independant character
I looked at the vanishing line once again and
realised that this pulsating line would live through my mother and further down through me
I looked at nani in admiration and I was thankful to God for having united us
and we knew we would keep her spirit alive
the pyramid of three hands to me,
represented three generations of gritty women- and many more to come....

Butterfly Kiss

With fuscia pink and bright orange hues
she flutters around, spreading her wings
lands on my cheek, bats her eyelashes
and gives me a butterfly kiss

The Body Work-Shop

They say to reconnect with your soul you need to feel hollow and empty
you gain this level of consciousness through meditation, rigourous yoga
however there is another form of consciousness that you reach
when you have to reconnect with your body-
and all the tissues and cells of your body-
when your body craves for attention, the mind and the soul have to comply and make the sacrifice.
the blood in your veins rush in hysteria to be bonded with those you love
at this moment you are encompassed by your closest inner circle
you are almost knitted into a tiny clutch bag
weft and woven perfectly until you're ready once again to be shown off to the world outside.

Batman begins

In the dark hours of the night
when u try to take a wink or a shut eye
the mind plays the nocturnal bird
it looks for a prey
and sings aloud
it flies across from one branch to another
then after circling in the sky
snoozes like an owl when the morning alarm rings