My heart goes out to you,

                   When you look deeper into my eyes.

                   A thousand suns, the tidal waves

                   Within me, they rise.

                   I look up to your slightest touch,

                   Frozen heart it melts,

                   The thousand suns rise again,

                   Secret longing, it swells.

                   I take your hand into mine,

                   The thousand suns subside,

                   For we walk along in the moonlit night.

                   As beautiful as a bride.

Delhi Daredevils

Don't go by the title. I am least interested in the IPL team of Delhi, neither am I a great fan of cricket. This story is of all those anonymous daredevils I have seen every time I step out on the streets. Delhi's roads offer them so much space to show their daredevilry.

I am a student. I don't have a car or any vehicle. Thus, I need to take the various forms of public transports. I seldom take buses. I prefer taking metro, however, to reach a metro station, I have no option but to take an autorickshaw and from thereon starts my ordeal on the Delhi roads full of superheroes.

Don't mistake these superheroes for ones who would save your life. They would rather endanger it along with their own. They come in all kinds of machines; cars, autos, buses, trucks, scooters, etc. You imagine a machine and they will be right there in front of you.

Once on the road, they feel they have a complete right to do whatever they have in their heads. Since they are 'super' heroes, which means right above the heroes, beyond any comparison with the lesser mortals like me, they assume they are even above the traffic rules. Or let's just say, no one ever told them about the rules. Or even better, they have their own set of rules.

Rule no 1 : Keep your speed ahead of others. Delhi's heavy traffic jams try to slow them down a bit. But once on a clear road, they move with meteoric speed regardless of whatever the maximum speed limit might be.

Rule no 2 : Keep changing your lanes. No one has ever learned in Delhi to remain in one's own lane. (the minority who have are being overshadowed by these higher beings) It seems, the superheroes have got so much busy in their superheroic deeds that they need to reach instantly to their destinations, that first they speed up and second, they would not mind changing lanes every now and then to the point of being heedless to brush with a vehicle. It does not matter to them anyhow. If in case they do touch someone else's car, they have a knack of overpowering the other by bad mouthing them.

Rule no 3 : Keep a distance of a needle with the previous car while stopping at the traffic lights. Once arriving at the traffic lights, beware of these people. They might be ahead or behind you. They believe in proximity and so they would stop right behind the car in front of them without any space. ( when I was young, while travelling I used to see words like "Don't honk and Keep distance' written on trucks, I think they were at fault, They always meant " Honk and don't keep distance") They might even hit your car from behind. You would obviously remain unaware of these heroes until hit by them.

Rule no 4 : Since each superhero film has an awesome background score, these heroes think that they need to create some music as well. Though what it turns out to be is blatant cacophony. They would annoy you by honking incessantly sometimes, a few times it just pleases to their ears and yet some other times even when not needed, they would oblige you.

Whenever I come on the streets, to be honest, I feel scared by these daredevils who pay no heed to others who are also there on the roads. They would speed up as if they are F1 racers, come as close as crushing your vehicle, change lanes unnecessarily and honk till death. Is there any way out for a commonner , not of a superhero origin like me to feel secured and safe in such a chaos that is DeLHI with its streets?

હું ગમે છે

Travelling is such a delight. More so when you travel to various states of the country. Our country is huge and so is the range of diversity. Each state has something different to offer in terms of culture which is an all inclusive term in itself. This time round, I got a chance to visit Gujarat again. They say it is at its best during Navratri. I had been harbouring this desire for quite a while and at last my wish was fulfilled. Not only did I experience Gujarat's rich culture but I also had an opportunity to relive my past, that is to say, I had a chance to meet my best friend whom I hadn't seen for long. 

Navratri was just an excuse to reminisce about the good old past that we had shared together. Meeting friends does mean a lot of old stories being retold. While all these years have passed by, there are a lot of things that have changed in her and in me but the thing that remains intact even after this time gap is our ability to laugh at anything and everything. Getting together with my friend is always accompanied by bouts of laughter and uncontrollable giggles. She is now almost completely transformed into a Gujarati, at least the way she speaks, no one can deny that she does not hail from the state. 

My friend introduced me to a Gujarati dish mainly eaten on Dussehra. If on the day of Dussehra, you happen to miss the effigy burning of Ravan, it wouldn't affect the Gujaratis as much as missing the typical Fafda Jalebi. No Fafda Jalebi means no Dussehra, so I have been told. One thing I became fond of during my stay is the variation one gets in food items in Gujarati cuisine especially in snacks known as Farsan. Even the variety of Sweet Paan that you would find here is unimaginable. 

It is really fascinating to hear Gujarati language. My friend used to tell me it sounds very desi. After listening to it, I would agree with her completely. It does have a desi feel about it. Being a hindiphone, I did not find it difficult to understand the language except for a few situations where I might have missed out the meanings. Even the script is not that complicated to read.

Food and language were the principal features of my visit. But wait! How can I take the liberty of not mentioning the mesmerizing ambiance of Garba. Navratri is the nine day celebration where people dancebGarba to the tunes of Gujarati songs. Even if you are not on the dance grounds, you would see people all dressed up for the Garba nights on the road. This is enough to give a feel of what it is like to be in Gujarat. In the eveneing, the whole city turns out to be participating in a fancy dress competition or in a costume party. After having roamed around in the streets, if you get a chance to go to the Garba venues, you would remain ecstatic through out. People dancing in groups with their fancy costumes on. A veritable delight is to watch the boys dance with fervour. They dress up in the traditional attire, not all of them, however. They dance on the rhythm of the songs played, enjoying themselves to the core, matching up with the dances steps of the group.    

Once you happen to visit Gujarat during Navratri, you are bound to get addicted to come back again and again for the celebration. It had been amazing fun with my friend, food, fancy dress and foreign to me but a desi language.

                                                      હું ગમે છે

Anne of Green Gables

How did I take so long to meet Anne? But at least now I can lay claims to have met her. She is just so adorable. In the beginning I thought she talked a bit too much and never stopped short of breath. Eventually all the blabbering turned out to be amusing and interesting and that it came from an 11 years old made it all the more enjoyable.

Anne with an 'e' at the end is so full of life. Her vivid imagination is the best that I liked about her. Not a single moment can she remain without drifting away in her dreams and imageries. She has her way with words. At her age, she uses such "big " phrases that keep most of us delighted and pleased with her. 

However, she has her odd ways too. She cannot come clean at anything she does. There has to be some fault committed on her part. Though she claims not to commit any of her errors twice which seems to be so positive that she takes lessons from her past errors. She ,however, never fails to stop committing any. But this is her charm. Even if she has her sets of mistakes, you just can't stop loving her for what she is for she never has any ill intention.

She has found many kindred spirits along her life at Green Gables. After having met her, I had a similar feeling towards her. She enthuses life by her mere presence. She is by far the most cute girl I have ever seen. 

I wonder if I had met her when I was as young as her, would have I liked her then? I feel positive. There is surely something about this Anne-girl!! 

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!!