Yesterday at the dinner table was one of those moments when I have felt a great sense of injustice meted out to a few of us without any faults of our own. The girl in front of me was having her dinner quiet peacefully. She touched each and every thing put out on her plate before eating. It was when she touched the cucumber cube to eat that a deep anguish grew within me. I so much wanted her to not only feel what she ate but also see what it looks like, the colour of it. Unfortunately, she might not be able to have a sight of her food items ever. She is visually challenged.

At the very same moment, image of freshly made donuts with sparkling chocolate sauce over it flashed in my head. A few days ago, I had such a craving to have these donuts that LOOK so tempting. I wondered how much the girl has been missing onto in life without her asking for it. Certainly people like her are endowed with other senses : they feel, they taste but alas they can't see.

Merely having a sight of delicious food cheers up spirits sometimes. Today, while having my breakfast, I had a detailed look at my plate. I examined each and every item with its colour, texture, size. And I thanked God not only for giving me food but also for this lovely sight. But it would be so much interesting if everyone of us had beautiful eyes to be able to savour visually the food but the entire world we live in. However, I believe, they have the power of imagination just like Anne of Green Gables. Life is such a gift to us. Let's cherish each and every moment.

I waited for you for a fortnight. Now you have come back . I don't like this hide and seek that you play. But I wonder if you were all the time with me, would I still have the same feelings for you. I know you would remain quite distant from me. This ,however, does not stop me to think about you.

The pleasure that I derive while basking in your company is incomparable. You make me smile when I feel low. Just a glimpse would cheer up my spirit. Such is your strength and such is your spell on me.

When I was young, I thought you followed me everywhere. I would wonder how do you find me where ever I go. But I never got annoyed for even a bit. I liked you as a kid and I like you still and this would remain forever.

I am not jealous while I know you have thousands and millions of admirers. I am sure they are not too. A glance at me and I know we have a special relationship that others might be having with you as well.

O Moon, unimaginable is my life without you!!!

Overcoming fear reveals its beauty !!!

There are so many things we fear in life. They say it's all in your mind. If you let fear creep within, no one else can help you get rid of it. And how true these words are. But they also say, it is better said than done. Well, with me, I can be certain that it would really take a huge effort to overcome my fear. And yet at some point, I can make up my mind so quickly to confront what I fear.

The story begins with a walk towards the east gate of the campus today. I am with a friend. He challenges that it would start raining within 10 minutes. I am not quite convinced with what he thinks. There are grey clouds of lighter hues, coming in from all direction. The breeze has just stopped short of blowing. Every single leaf has stopped its movement. The yellow flowers of the Amaltas trees lay unmoved. And suddenly, the darkest of grey clouds one could have seen, appear above us. The wind starts blowing and the yellow flowers start showering themselves on us. And this is the moment when I feel the small droplets of water on myself. They are intermittent in the beginning. Eventually they come down heavily on us. The much awaited heavy showers in Delhi have finally made their way.

And at once, the mood changes. Everyone around appears so elated. No one is in a hurry to get under a shelter. They are enjoying the rain, so are we. We are getting all drenched under the sky. The drops are more pronounced by now. They are getting into our eyes making it difficult to keep them open. It has been long since I have enjoyed myself under the natural shower. The moment overpowers me. My heart knows no boundaries of ecstasy. I am completely overwhelmed. At this moment, I remember the town I grew up. How beautiful it looked when it rained. Back then, I would enjoy myself watching the rain from my balcony. Such a pleasure it had been during those days and such a delight it is today.

The story does not end here. As I haven't mentioned about the fear I have. I fear lightning. When I was young, it would scare me so much that I would run into the comforting arms of my mom or my sisters . And now that I have grown up, it still scared me until today. Though completely drenched, my friend and I have managed to find a shelter and regard it better to watch the rains from beneath a roof. While it stops raining, we can see some lightning every now and then. At every moment of lightning, my friend admires them, telling me they are just so beautiful. I don't see them as beautiful. It appears that the rain has now stopped. My friend goes out to check if it really has and calls me to join. I go to my friend. We are standing looking upwards to the sky. There is huge ray of light that shots in the sky, I react to it the same way I have done till now in life. A little while later, I tell myself to stop fearing it and face it with calm and courage. I am lucky!! The next time, there is lightning, it is in its full glory. I don't waver. I have kept my calm and it is because of this overcoming of my fear that I can truly admire the glorious lightning that I just saw. It was really BEAUTIFUL!! And I know, next time there is no more fear of lightning but admiration!!

And the dry spell ends!!

All these days, I had no urge to write. Not a single moment moved me and stirred my mind to pen down my thoughts. The dry spell, I hope, has now taken a backseat and what better day than today when Delhi had its first share of heavy rains after such a hot , scorching dry spell. 

My mind had almost become like a dry, parched land with the sun sapping all the creative juices that flowed through it. But the first drop of rains, that seeped and touched every cell of the body, has rejuvenated the dry spirit within. Oh how much we love the rains!

And when the rains settle over for quite sometime, this love tends to take a U turn. We begin to complain how it has been raining cats and dogs. We start praying to God to stop the showers for a while. How we tend to miss our very own Mr Sun whom we had despised a little while ago for unleashing his wrath and now crave for a little glimpse of him. And then, there are the uninvited guests in our rooms all the time. The insects we would have never seen before would make themselves comfortable around us. My God! It's just a beginning and I have already started thinking of all the possibilities that we would be coming across in this season. How much love to complain!!

In summers, oh it's so hot, is the common refrain. When the rains quench our thirst, we get bored of them and look forward to some dry spell. And the phase moves on..

Well, I really love the rains sans the uninvited guests in my room. Today, it was amazing when the heavy downpours drenched the entire city and broke this dry spell. 

Life is a series of events both good and bad, happy and sad, pleasant and grim. This is the ultimate pattern followed in anyone's life. No one state can be eternal. Happiness can't be forever. Same goes with sorrow, it cannot take shelter in one's life infinitely. It is these events and moments that make memories. When you look back at your life, the treasure trove of memories smile at you, the only possession that you inherit.

When I was a kid, an idea, quaint some might call it, used to knock at the door of my mind. I would wonder why God did not have some kind of a video recorder. With this device's aid, we could have access to our past actions, events and moments. On request, at any point of time in our lives, we could avail the facility of watching ourselves, our behaviour towards others, the beautiful moments spent with our loved ones, the bitter experiences. Well, I was really young, so I never thought of man making any kind of a similar device.

After so many years, I still have the same idea finding its way back to my mind. I wonder, if we could register our whole lives' actions in one CD, DVD, or whichever medium, so as to keep them alive. I am certain that there cannot be a recorded version of each and every moment passed, however, people have found out ways to keep afresh their memories through Diaries, Photos, a few videos.

Whatever medium you bring to your use, it is bound to make you happy if after a long time you stumble upon your memories. A smile would not leave your face until you want to stop thinking about it. How I still wish to ask for this service from God, so that I could rewind and relive the moments. 

I open my eyes to a world full of mirth.

Laughter and merriment make their way through.

Get ensconced in that little corner of my heart,

Snug and comfortable.

I close my eyes and 

How I wish they stay forever!

Melancholy and despair

Come next to my heart,

Without even knocking,

They drift their foes apart.

Oh, how quickly they have

Settled down for what seems to be eternity.

Could I not entertain them

And show them their way

I know they are not yet

Ready to call it a day.

My heart is eager more than ever

to have its guests who could stay forever.

Melancholy, despair, mirth and merriment,

All know their ways in and out

If one stays the other has to leave

Though my heart would never believe

How it juggles while

                                                               Emotions varied. 

And when you thought

you had set all things right

a whiff of air

from nowhere

took on you and

subverted your might.

Don't be afraid

of these twists and turns

for they are the ones

that make you churn

deep within and

elicit strength.

Right ahead

is the coveted way

Take it or leave

but make a choice

for this decides

what in the future lay