Pitaji

Who always taught us that what matters most
Is how good a human being you are…

Who often went around
In tattered chappals,
So that he could give us
The best possible education…

Who taught us to dream,
And to dream big!
And, to never be afraid,
Of making mistakes…

Who imbibed in us all, a ‘Never say Die’ spirit,
By his favourite lines:
‘Girate hain Shah-sawar hi maidan-e-Jang me,
Wo tifl kya gire, jo ki ghutnon ke bal chale’!!!

MAA

Who gave up her dreams,
So that we could all dream…

Who taught us all the virtue
of forgiveness
And forgave me,
Even when I’d broken her trust…

Who taught us all, how to keep our cool,
By keeping her cool, even when she had a massive attack.
Calmly, she told Dad to take her to a Heart Specialist,
And not a General Practitioner!!!

Who- at this ripe age, still does her Yoga
and Pranayaam regularly, and meticulously.
So that she can be there
When her children need her!!!

Republic Day Musings

Yet another year, of broken dreams, and unfulfilled promises …
“These politicians…. Blah blah blah”; déjà vu anyone?
True, the scoundrels deserve the blame,
But then, aren’t we also to blame?

Time for a reality check: How many of us care to vote?
How many of us turn(ed) up for the Flag-hoisting?
How many of us raise our voices,
when we see someone being wronged?

Let’s look inward, and do some soul searching,
Forwarding SMSes or wearing ‘Che’ T-shirts is just not enough!
‘Do you then have the answers?’- did I hear someone ask?
Sadly, I don’t! But I do know that we all need to do much more!

‘Coz our great nation deserves much better,
And a billion plus Indians deserve much better!!!

Paheli

Isn’t it so strange that at times
Some persons exert
a magnetic pull
Without even saying a word?!!!

They affect you in myriad different ways:
At times by just being around,
At times by appearing out of the blue
And by disappearing as quickly as they come!!!

One cannot but speculate about the intensity of their emotions
and the felicity of their silent expressions.
Reading between the lines/images does tell you a lot,
Yet, the enigmatic aura continues to perplex…

Perhaps it’s an unsaid code
Waiting to be deciphered?

Of Elusive Birds

This one is extraordinarily elusive!
Often, it takes ages to spot it.
And yes. One has to be patient to do so.
(And lucky too!)

Yesterday was one such rare sighting.
At noon silently the bird descended,
To capture an image in its eye.
(and immortalize it by its golden touch.)

One moment it was visible,
Another, it was gone!!!
Was it for real?
Or a mirage in red?

The enigma that it is
it always leaves behind more questions than answers…

And Kartika lives on…….

The Hindu.3rd November 2008. Hyd. Edition-Page Three
No. Don't make a mistake.
It's not the 'Page Three' News you are looking for.
Neither is it about "Fashion'.
Nor about Obama's lead.
No. It's not about Jumbo's walk into the sunset either……

It's a news item by M. Sai Gopal
that shook most of us who read it that day.
It's about Kartika- the favourite child of Dabilpura.
Who died of End-stage brain tumour.
She was getting ready for school
When she collapsed abruptly……

However what made her immortal was
her father's decision.
Shell-shocked to be told
that his daughter's end was imminent
He decided to donate her kidneys, liver and
Her eyes….

For a few hours Dabilpura came to a standstill.
Not a word was uttered and
not a person moved
All stunned by the swiftness of the end.
"The village lost its favourite daughter"
(Nagara Gopal's photo says it all.)

Grief was written large on her parents' faces
but deep down there was also contentment
That Kartika would live on…
And Kartika lives on…
Thank you Kartika's brave father
for redeeming our collective faith in humanity!