The Stranger

A stranger walked into my life, 

I was told she would become my wife, 

This scared me to the core, 

Because there was something I wanted more, 

I was asked to meet her once, 

And I decided to steal a glance. 

That one glance was sufficient to mesmerize me. 

And something unpredictable happened to me. 

I agreed to tie the knot,

And about that little something I completely forgot. 

Now I begin a new phase of life. 

With the stranger as my wife. 

But she is not a stranger anymore. 

She is my soulmate forevermore.

Baby Rhyme

As another year comes to an end,

With just a more days to spend,

Let me tell you about  my new friend,

 A small, pink and round godsend.

A bundle of joy and happiness,

That ended a phase of.madness.

A miracle sent by the gods above,

A baby boy to care for and love.

His tiny hand curls around my finger,

Leaving no space for doubts to linger,

That life is never going to be the same,

With sleepless nights, music and game.

Every time I look at the cherubic face,

I forget all about life's daily rat race.

It is not money and success that I yearn,

Your gibberish is all I need to learn.

With your lively eyes and your loving hug,

You have made us dance the jitterbug.

Baby just to see your smile,

I am ready to walk a mile.

Baby I will be with you forever,

With this promise this rhyme is over.

The Perfect House

Raindrops fall on the thatched roof,

Sounding like beats of a drummer,

The clouds blanket the  horizon,

As if hiding secrets within them,

The pines tower beside the edifice,

Standing like guards of honour.

A face watches from the windows,

Looking across the landscape,

Taking in all the colours and beauty,

Staring into the eyes of nature.

Happiness flows through the eyes,

And the furry tail wags in rhythm. 

The house at the end of the street,

With  a view of the mountains, 

The one with the flowered parapet,

With red windows  and a green roof,

The house I always painted as a kid,

The Perfect  House with a dog's  woof.

Musings

An eerie silence has engulfed the city,

A shadow looms above us all,

The siren breaks the solemn silence,

Striking fear in hearts of all.

The moon hides behind the clouds,

The night is filed with gloom,

The garden is no longer colourful,

The flowers refuse to bloom.

Darkness is all that is left,

Not a glimmer of light,

Crushing the hopes of all,

Draining the will  to fight.

But not everything  is lost yet,

There is still some  hope,

Courageous  deeds of some ,

Teach us how to cope.

The sun will shine again,

The flowers will also bloom,

And bring  an end to this,

Era of darkness and gloom.

Pic courtesy: Akansha Saxena

A small conversation

Have you ever discussed a book for weeks after you have read it? I am sure you have, if you have read Harry Potter. The world is full of Harry Potter junkies.The same can be said for books written by Dan Brwn, George R Martin, Rick Riordan, Khaled Hossieni and sometimes even Chetan Bhagat. Last night I got into one such discussion with a "close friend" about a recent book I read. "Sleeping with Jupiter" by Anuradha Roy. 

For those who aren't familiar with the name of the author or the book, let me tell you this book had made it to the long-list of The Man Booker Prize 2015. And I have not made a spelling mistake. It is Anuradha roy and not Arundhati Roy. Please don't get confused.

The book has been deftly crafted and is very compact. Another noteworthy thing is the use of very simple English. Not many 13-lettered words to be specific. I am not going to review the book here. It certainly deserves a separate post.

I will come back to the conversation I had with my friend. I recommended this book to him but there wasn't much interest generated. I will quote a line from the conversation "If the book is any good they will make a movie based on it soon. I'll watch it". I retorted that many good books have been ruined by their movie adaptations. 

There was another remark about "Indian authors not being very good". And as an example the name of Chetan Bhagat was thrown in.

This is something I find really irritating. Chetan Bhagat is a very ordinary writer. In fact I doubt that his books can be called literature. But funnily enough he is the most read Indian author in the country. His books have done one good thing at least. They have bought reading books back in fashion. 

However, this conversation has inspired me to share a few of my thoughts about Chetan Bhagat books.

If you prefer reading books while travelling you have probably met a few of the below mentioned idiots

1) Idiots who have never read a single book, but will still comment on the lack of quality Indian Literature

2) Idiots who have read only Chetan Bhagat books, loved them, and are now self-proclaimed literature scholars.

3) Idiots who have read Chetan Bhagat books and other similar crappy love stories by various forgettable authors and profess their love for books and how reading is their passion.

4) Idiots who claim Chetan Bhagat's books are pathetic because of poor English.

5) Idiots who keep commenting on how they can't even read 20 pages at a time and wonder how you can read an entire novel at one go.

6) Idiots who actually have read a lot, but will never appreciate a book unless it is written by a foreigner. This particular breed of Idiots actually has a small population.

If you belong to any of the above mentioned categories please feel free to get offended.

PS:

1) To: "He who must not be named" : This is what you asked for dear friend :)

2) I am not a fan of Chetan Bhagat but I did like "Five point someone" & "Two states". His recent books may be disasters but that is because of bad content and not bad English. Lastly, he must be credited for generating interest for reading books among many.

   

Darkness..

The darkness creeped in surreptitiously,

And engulfed my dreams within it's dark recesses.

It left me stranded at the end of an ocean,

The ocean of woes and miseries of a lifetime.

As the light faded away,

A silhouette appeared in the horizon.

Moving slowly against the fading light,

Like a nemesis coming to serve retribution.

Fear had made its home in my heart

And I was running wildly towards the beacon.

In the hope of escaping the darkness.

Which was crawling menacingly towards me.

As I reached the end of the road,

I made a silent promise to myself

I will not be consumed by my fears

I will not let the darkness erase me.

Always & Forever

Far away across these miles,

There is this beautiful place,

Where no voices make any sound,

And nothing haunts the dreams,

Where there are no nightmares,

And there is no Heartbreak,

Where nothing clouds the mind,

And nothing ails the heart.

Far away across these miles,

I want to take you with me,

Where there is no one around us,

Just you and me walking along,

Where there are no choices,

Just you and me for each other,

Where there are no time constraints,

Just you and me together forever.