Happiness

Smile at the strange bystander
Feed the stray dog which wags the tail at you
Help the blind man across the road
Show the way to a lost person
Buy the beggar boy some food
And tell your friends you love them
Thou shall hate none
And give every shaken soul the comfort it needs
Let there be no fights over worldly belongings
Share your successes
And take others' troubles
Thou shall find eternal peace
And the happiness long lost
For reasons long forgotten
This is the satisfaction you always wanted
This is your happiness

Angry Young Man

I am a naturally angry man. I do things the way I want. The anger never comes out. That is my USP.

My anger remains inside me and is manipulated the way I want it. I can either convert it into vengeance and shower it upon my arch rival or just let it evaporate. I can convert it into something productive by competing with the people I am angry at. More importantly for me, I can remain angry deep within but still put up a smiling face. I am diplomatic, I guess.

But, for you my sweet friend, I display my anger and so does my love. I don't hide my emotions because I want you to understand me. I know that how much ever we fight, we will remain thick friends. I know that you will want my presence in your life for eternity. And I know I will be there for you too. I am sorry for hurting you. But it will happen till friendship dies. And since it will never end, I guess you will have to tolerate me. And this ,my friend, is my new year gift for you. Thank you for being my friend.

An Apology

I am insensitive my friend, I am. I had always wanted myself that way. I molded myself for your sake and for my sake. I can't waste a life on broken dreams.I can't see a future where I spend time for people lost, love lost and for all the times I got hurt.

I want to see a life beyond mediocrity, which we planned together-a life where our dreams take wings and fly so far that we get lost in the euphoria. I want to weave it in such a way as to fulfill every wish of yours. And without you being around? I want to be everything you wanted me to be. Huh, what a useless life? What a senseless ambition?

I want to be everything you wanted me to be. I am still yours, without wanting you. I try to show I am selfish, that I live for myself and for none. I convince myself that I left you for my convenience. I live in a life of lies. My happiness is itself a farce. It is nothing but a mask to hide my inner self. There's a lot missing there. But let it be that way. Because I rejoice in a comfortable ecstasy there. I enjoy the feeling of believing that I can't get hurt. That I can control my heart.

And so my friend, I apologize for being insensitive. I apologize for the inconvenience I created. I hope you can forgive me one day.

Confessions of a Confused Soul

Software engineering life taught me that sundays are for fun, movies and friends. As I sit in my lab after finishing off my part of the marketing assignment waiting for others to get together to integrate the stuff, I lament that I missed a chance to be on a movie with my friends. But then, when I sit and think, I find that I am no longer with them. I have to grow and try to be with myself, find time for my career, grow and mature. There is no time to think about things you miss, people who left, friends who don't have time, home which you rarely visit. Umpteen other issues which play on your mind and tell you that you are the person with the most troublesome life on earth.

But then, if I sit down and think for a while, why should I lament? Am I the most pathetic soul on earth? There is only one answer- a definite 'no'. Aren't there people around who don't have the most frugal of meals. What about the beggars who sleep on the streets in the cold night, what about the stray animals which beg for food and get beaten up badly because a sick person wants to show his superiority. Aren't there lakhs of orphans who want someone to show them a whiff of love, while my dad and mom call me up every day. How can I call myself unfortunate when there are a million handicapped folks around the world who may not have a healthy body , but may spread warmth with the healthy mind.

Why should I worry about trivial matters, when there are people around me who remain happy even with the gravest of tragedies in their life? They do so because they chose their life to be the way they want it. There is no life without issues and there are no issues in life without a solution. There is always a choice of accepting that there is a problem and worrying over it ,or ignoring the issue. The choices we make may not be simple, but they help us be ourselves. I can redefine my life by saying there is no issue or by solving it. I emerge stronger when I do either of these. But when you retrospect over you miseries, you lose out.

So , my friend let us think about a bright tomorrow. Let us not fear unknown fears. Let us go to places unexplored. Let the mind be free to think about the world and its beautiful people than you and your issues. Expand th window of your perception and change your tomorrow. Because, as the poet said, there are miles to go before I sleep.

Where are you?

A particular friend of mine tried to teach me her way of friendship. She was a dreamer(I hope she still is), a lot more than I was, am or ever would be. Nutty or not(she's the only one who supports this side), she had a different views about how things are. If a few of my Infosys friends remember, the most famous one was that you could also serve in shuttle badminton by throwing it up in the air. There were many a discussions running into hours and turning really nasty. The temper getting lost and the foul smell of fights permeating. We disagreed, among many others ,particularly on one topic, of how people should treat their friends. I always was the more expressive one trying to keep in touch ,reassure my love and my support. She, on the other hand, believed it should all be in the heart and needn't be expressed. With other sweet people around we thrived more on our friendship than on our differences and had a great time together. As all friendships lose their strength with a separation ours too did, a rather expressive one, contrary to what she believed. I still remember the sadness on her face when we saw her off at Bangalore on our way to Chennai(should I mention that you cried?).

Life moves on, we find new friends and survive but the friendship still remains. We kept in touch and continued our fights over phone. And then came the day every girl would be looking forward. She found her hero and moved with him out of the country. New life, new people, new place. It has been months since I heard from her. There would always be new reasons to keep yourself busy. But there is no reason for not being in touch. Your friend misses you. Where are you?

A Foot Note:My dear friend, if you ever read this. There are no excuses for not telling me your number or where you are.

The Silver Steed Returns

He was with the prince all the time, the faithful one who accompanies him for all ventures.Good or bad, evil or divine, he stood up by his master faithfully. He never once failed to take him to the destination, he never ever gave up and he always raised the level. Then came a day when the master had to leave and travel far to seek his destiny. He lay in the stables unattended. But after sometime the call comes. He flees the stables to rejoin his master. Master travels to another pompous city, the faithful servant accompanies. He plays a wonderful role in the master's life by accompanying him far and wide. Master goes back home for a short break and leaves his ride there. He comes back to the city to the world of knowledge. He misses his steed again and again. Finally he decides to bring him back with him, be what ever the cost. And now the faithful servant is back in duty. The old faithful servant roars in the city. He's back with his master for the neverending adventures. The journey of the "Silver Steed"continues...

Read as: My bike is back in Chennai

Land,At Last!!!

The traveller enjoys every bit of his journey, fights the storm, makes friends with the dolphins, evades the sharks. He anchors his ship at different ports, meets new people, enjoy the experience, learns new things. Richer with the knowledge , he moves on. Fights new storms, evades the tricky ice-bergs, escapes the pirates and his "Destiny" ship moves on. He meets more people does the same things and adds on to his knowledge.

Down the line he misses something. There is a pain in the heart that he doesn't have something that he wants. He thinks and ponders. He probes all the events that happened. But his questions are unanswered. And then he reaches the port which aroused memories that were hidden deep in his mind. It erased all the questions in mind. He gets out and moves along the crowd , sees the old market, the shops and the people and recognise the fact- "this is the place I started from. This is what I was seeking. This is where I want to be back. I am free, calm and rejuvenished. Now I have the energy that I lost somewhere along the trip. This is the land I seeked".

With the energy that he regained from the homeland he moves on ,replenished and rejuvenished, to new and more challenging quests of knowledge. He continues his journey-the constant traveller, the nomad.

I am going home.....

Hurray!!!

I remember you all!!!

As the flavor of the first exams at IITM is felt, I have started enjoying thoroughly this new way of life.This is a place where i always wanted to be-the trees, the animals, the smiling faces, sincere friends and what not.

Life is a journey where you learn new things from new people, remember the good times you had with people you met at different turns. It makes you think about those who have made a difference in your life. Then you start missing them. But there is no pain in the heart. Just the feeling of numbness created by the void. A vacuum where where all you cries are lost and only the numbness remains. This makes you realise how love never leaves with the loved ones. They just stay in the tiny corner of your memory where days, events and the things they have left with you rejuvenates the moments you had with them. Those were beautiful small moments which you never thought will be important in your life when you experienced them, but they play such an important part in reminding you how dear the friend was.

There are promises that you would never be forgotten, but life always dilutes the emotions. You get so involved with people and activities around you that you forget there was this beautiful friend somewhere down the memory lane whom you used to be with all the time, talk about silly things, fight over small arguements ,make up so fast that you forgot you fought and laugh your stomachs over stupid jokes. The very same people say they are too busy to keep in touch. I am so sorry to admit I am one of them. But then that's how life is. You move on. You find new people, new friends, new partners. But one thing everyone would have in common is the way you cherish the memory of people who were with you, who stood by you and gave you all they can.

There's this beautiful lines from one of the best movies ever made, Shawshank Redemption, which goes like "I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend." Yes my friend, I do miss you. I know it'd have been a lot better for me if you were around. But I also understand how happy you are with your life away from me.

I understand there are things that you want in life, but you'll never get. There are people who come and go, and you can never demand them to be with you. To assimilate this you need great wisdom. The wisdom of a saint who is devoid of any worldly needs.

I bow to your friendship and to the good times we had ,my dear friend. I remember you.

I lived the day

There were days when you sat down and pondered on the worthiness of your existence. There were days when you met hapless souls with lesser or no means of existence and you ignored them completely. There were days indeed when you really wanted to help them but you felt so helpless and so useless. I remember the picture of a wealthy man's kid with a candy in hand walking through a street full of urchins who had little means to protect them. I always used to be that kid with the candy, who never cared to find out how to help.

Then there came this day, this function, where there were a bunch of ebullient blind girls who conquered the audience with their bhajans. I had to tell my friend who sang a bit earlier, "you lost your limelight to the energy and spirit of those girls". Her nod gave the answer. At their lunch I was encouraging these girls to finish off their meals. There was one particular girl who asked me in her refined english where I was from. When she got her answer she said "Kerala is a beautiful place,sir", and she went on to finish off her friend's ice-cream. That was the simplest way to put a smile on someone's face. Most people wouldn't know that. But she knew. Therein lies her greatness. And then there was the ceremonial farewell, where my friend told me we'd get a 'bye' in a chorus. And we did get it.

This was the moment of immense gratification. I rediscovered freedom on the 61st independence day. The sense of fulfilment is beyond words.I lived the day where I found joy.

I do see

I cannot see the rain
Nor the birds on the tree
I cannot see a smile
Nor the beauty of your face
But I can smell the freshness of the rain
And hear the songs of the birds
I sense the joy in your smile
And I cherish the glow of your face
I do see you and your beauty
Through your love for me.

Dreams

Waiting for my turn, I stood there

the storm blew against me from nowhere

the rain drenched me all over

And then the sun burnt me inside out

But I stood there, waiting for you

Because I know you'll be there one day

the day we'll talk from the sun set

We will talk all the night

And holding each other's hands

we'll wink at the shining stars

and shoo the silent naughty moon

who peeps into our privacy

Sitting in the meadows

Staring at the starry black sky

holding each other

we wait for the sun

To wake us up

And part us from our lovely bliss

And then you won't be there for me

because you're just a dream

No Promises

There are miles to go before I sleep
Mountains to climb and rivers to cross
Dense forest to traverse and meadows to sweep
A life to waste for what reasons gross

And there is a partner by the side
who walked a step behind
Who walks a walk to keep my woes aside
A partner by the side for soothing the mind

And she said," I give no promises"

"I give no words,but i'll love you forever"
Love or no love, i have to cover the distances
Move i must,though the mind is not so clear
Through the heavy rains and the gusty winds

Till the sun sets and the birds flee to their nest
Till the tired legs gives up and darkness crept
Move i must through the sand and the dust
Oh, how light is life ,when there are no promises to be kept!

Ranjith

As time flies by

As time flies by
As time flies by i realise
I've done some things wrong
I've done some things right
But i do not understand why
I've not done the right thing
At the right time?
This world is dirty
It is bad and it is cruel
The god is the kingmaker here
And we mortals, the pawns
He puts us in the throne today
And throws us into the pit the next day
He gives us the best of friends
And makes them our worst enemies in days
He gives us someone to love
And takes them away ,for hitherto reasons unknown
As time flies by, I contemplate
As to why so much of cruelty to me?
And then i understand
That all these make me stronger, taller ,bigger
I learn, I grow, I evolve
Into the perfect mortal
As time flies by
And when I go to his garden of eternity
I get the throne of immortality

Black beauty

The day I brought her home
she had no particular form
she was a small black fur ball.
My sis thought she was a doll
took it in her hands only to feel the warmth
the love we gave her, there was no dearth
she ate and grew & ate and grew
damaged things quite a few
she came and when she left
everything was in a mess
she barked and she fought
she chased the cats around
she begged for food
and always got the best share
she was not the best guard for sure
but she made sure none got near
she had her way with everyone
and got a pat from near and dear
lovely thing that she is
I would want her there all my life
though the poor thing doesn’t know
her's is so short
but I know she'd make my life worth it
every moment that she spends for me
that's my pet
my black beauty
my very own sweet doggy- mickie.

It rained that day...

I waited in the park for long
She wanted me to be there
I watched the cranes fly back
even they wanted to get home before it is dark
As for me, i could wait the whole night for her
and then ,from the shadows of a dark evening
she emerged ,as lovely as ever
i checked the red rose inside my jacket's pocket
it was as alive and fragrant as it was before
she approached me with that ever beautiful smile
and asked me whether she was late
i lied to her that she was right on time
better late than never, right?
i looked into her lovely brown eyes
the naughty glitter was always there
i zipped my jacket down half way through
took the bloody red rose in my hand
leaned towards her extending it to her.
i said "For u, in the name of my love"
She took it in her hands
i had my eyes fixed on hers
she looked at me and said"yes ,I do love u"
A single tear appeared in my eye
the skies grew darker.
was it the dusk or the clouds?
we had our eyes locked
broken by a abrupt loud thunder
and then the heavens showered on us
their wishes and their tears
Yes, it rained that day!!!
we ran for the covers
our hands locked in a clasp
we got under the tree
we waited there for the skies to pour off
the grip never getting any loose
she looked at me
her eyes telling me, it is getting late
i told her i'd walk her home.
by then the downpour turned into a drizzle
we walked hand in hand along the roadside
how romantic, it rained that day!!!
And then playing spoilsport
the alarm started ringing
with my roommate screaming at me to shut it down
I got up from my slumber
scampered for my mobile and shutdown the alarm
I looked out of the windows
wishing the dream would be true
The sky was dark and it started pouring
dejavu!!!,and it is raining today too
Yes,it was a dream too good to be true
but, it rained that day...

Ranjith

Why so much of hatred?

This is the third day after the serial blasts rocked Mumbai. 7/11 another date to follow the twin towers of US, the december attack of Indian Parliament, the London railway attacks to be engraved into history books ,of course not with ink, but with blood.
As I sit here in the chair reading forwards of the Mumbai spirit being held high, of life resuming as normal as ever the next day, i feel a lot of respect towards the people there.But i also see photographs in my newspaper ,of mutilate bodies, mangled compartments, of wives and mothers and children mourning over their losses,I contemplate... Will life be as normal as ever for them?will time heal the wounds?Will there be someone who will take the places of the lost ones. No, time won't heal the wounds, it will only reduce the pain , make feelings numb, make people accept the inevitable and live their new lives, without the loved ones, as Raj Kapoor said in his famous movie-"the show must go on".
There are a lot of things that need to be pondered over.This can be the 5th major attack on the country's security in 13 years, starting with the mumbai serial blasts and then the Akshardham,the Kaargil, the parliament.There are countless others ,which, fortunately didn't take as many lives .How well have the government controlled these forces.Are they helpless, tied up?
If we have a look at the other countries that have been affected by terrorism, The US ,UK, Israel...., they have all launched outright offensives, with the slightest ever provocation, on the so called perpetrators of terrorism.As in the case of India, our country has got sufficient evidence of where this dirtiness emanates from. Then ,why don't we take a proactive approach towards solving this?
Why does India look so helpless in the international scene.May be the country might've felt that being the leader of the sub-continent it should be the flagholder of peace in the region. If being what it has been till now has helped the country's cause in anyway I think the government should continue this.Being no great enthusiast or close watcher of the policy of the government I am not in an authoritative position to say this, but I should say this for the sake of billions of people of this country-Its time for retrospection and the government better do it soon.
Let's not divert from the topic discussing futile government policies which I know very less, nevertheless I know they've failed.
Hatred-that's why i started the discussion.This single act of hatred had disrupted the otherwise normal and mostly happy lives of hundreds of people.Knowing that their life has been disarrayed by people who never knew them, people whom they never knew to even get hated by them is a feeling that is irritating and even more than that its a helpless situation.You don't know whom to blame.You start blaming the religion, the region of the people.It is strange, it is unexplainable...
Yes human life is like that, love hatred and remorse are emotions that fill their life.And as the theory of balanced forces says , everything should have a negative alter ego to balance it.Like darkness for light, satan for god, hell for heaven there should be hatred to show the worthiness of love in this world.
Brought up in a civilized environment,I might not have gone through what these so called terrorists, who are fighting a jihad against the non believers, against people who have taken over their land unjustly, against people who have done injustice to their fellow muslim brothers, might've gone through,but i certainly know and advocate that violence and hatred is not a solution, its only a slow method to end everything.
I haven't read the Holy Khuran.But with all due respect to the holy book , which I have heard from a muslim friend of mine as a guideline to respectful living, the wordings of which hav been contorted and twisted by men of different ages to their advantage.The emerging Islam extremism is just another evil interpretation of the ideas expressed in the book.
Coming back to hatred, yes someone who has lived his whole life without knowing love, bearing hatred and renounciation in every single stage of his life,its hard for him not to turn up into an extremist.Yes he's supposed to hate and despise everything that gave him a life like that.He feels he needs to terminate and hamper anything that put him in such a situation.But why does he think negatively?Why does he try to make the life of more people, who may be innocent, who may have done him ,not even wished him any harm, miserable?
Life is such a short beautiful gift from god.Why couldn't he make life better for one person rather than bring wrath upon hundreds?Instead of spreading the hatred among hundred why doesn't he make life easy for a bunch, he would get even greater happiness being a perpertrator of happiness than the harbinger of death and hatred.By helping one person and by making his life better he would not only be saving himself from the crime of killing many ,but also groom a generation with the sweet memories of love and not on the sourness of hatred that seems to spread everywhere.
Being brought up in a calm and quiet environment which had education as the chief priority and where there was no shortage of love or happiness, may be I am not qualified enough to talk about the minute nuances of terrorism and its effects and solution for it. But all the while ,I think I am eligeble to say that all this hatred wouldn't do the world any good.Evilness and hatred can never bring love and peace to the people who are looking for solutions for their problem.These haphazard actions are a series of blunders, that would only breed hatred and more hatred and nothing more.
I have always learnt to love , never to hate ,not even my enemy. Life hadn't brought to me all the hardships that might've been inflicted on many of the hapless victims of terrorism. But I feel for them ,their losses are like my losses. I appeal to the world to learn to love to live and let live. Let this world be ruled by love and compassion to the fellow beings in the years to come.I would be elated if my write up changed the life of atleast one person , who was in the path of destruction and hatred. Praying before the god for a better future to the world and bigger heart for the terrorists, I close my pen.

Waiting for you

You told you'd always be with me
but i wanted you to be there just for me
you promised me a consoling word for my sagged spirit
but i wanted a lap to rest my heavy head on it
To get near you,i tried many a way
but you always go slipping away
though you were a dream that never got any nearer
haven't I told u ,there was none any dearer
You told me you wouldn't love me any less
all the while i was waiting for that immortal kiss
Waiting for your consent, my days go by
waiting will I be ,for eternity
waiting for you, my dear
waiting for you, forever...

Tears from Heaven

In the garden of flowers, I stood

Dumbstruck by the colors of the flora

I felt as fresh as a kid

The scenic beauty lured me, so did the nature's aura

The sky got darker and the clouds saturated

The heavens broke loose with the mightiest roar ever heard

And then, unannounced, the first drop arrived

It splashed on my forehead and trickled down my facade

The feeling was never ever this divinely refreshing

The wind blew, bearing the sweet smell of wet earth

There never was a perfume with a fragrance more intoxicating

Than the eternal mixture earth and rain brings forth

There is no music ever more enticing

Than the water drops thumping on the leaves and puddles

And in such a beautiful weather, what can be more exciting

Than to sit with your loved one in cuddles...

Lost!!!

Thousand clocks ticked inside me
The day I revealed to you my love.
I feared the worst in your riposte
Oh please don't decline, please don't refuse
The dreams I wove are incomplete without you
Just like a painting sans color, but a few.
Accept me, quench my thirst with that obsessive smile
Give me the joy, live in my dreams for a while
Lost are my aims, drowned are my ambitions
Without you in the equations
Lost is my desire to enjoy life, to live;
Without you there to stand by me.
Lost, will I be forever and forever
Lost in this garden of life without you, my flower.

Infatuation?

That day, I would never forget

the day I saw those eyes ,so beautifully lit

the naughty breeze played with her lovely short tresses

her sweet smile would rid you of all your stresses

what more do I say? cupid's arrow had pierced my heart

it took my life apart

And what? I thought it was just infatuation.

like the dying fire on a hearth ,waiting resurrection

winters, summers, springs and autumns did their part

but the love was never adrift

the little fire is waiting right there for its day

where upon it would rise from the ashes and come to fray...