Language They Speak

At home,

I hear -

“People are walking
Each one from the other
The space expanding each day
Behind the drapes
Emptiness fills up all the space
The whines of silence resonating
Beyond the breathing space”

I’d like to translate –
The whole house into some other language.

“Soft music of love
Dancing laughter
Funny coziness of togetherness
Distance dissolves with
Nestling shadows
Empathizes the heat of strings”

On the street,
I hear –

Words, no it’s noise,
Wait, I hear sound, sound of words
Strange words, a new language

I’d like to translate –
(A challenge to my interpreter skill)

“Hunger and thirst
Love and Hate
Peace and massacre
Rich and Poor
They debate on its real truths
Each a serious expounding of principles”

At office-

“Dirty linen translated
into the dialect of flowing water.
That pail full of soapywater
adapted to the melodious raga – Corporate language”!

Ever since I started to translate
I could read a message
even in the most obscure of languages
where will I find this language?

Now here! I turned into my own infinite emptiness

I want to translate to some other language

I stand still and think
Looking for a language,
When I quit translating.

Merry Christmas !

I went into the street,
Night’s on the move,
Lights all vibrant and bright,
Fizzing wine, tossing, sparkling beer,
Festive cheers in laughs,
Night wrapped in dark,
Studded with crystal stars,
Jingling bells,
Making into the great space,
They greet, ‘Merry Christmas’!

I turned around the corner,
Where the secret lives -
Of this migrated city –
Grown tired of its streets,
Hidden under the roofs,
Shadows without sound stay,
Just piles of poor pride -
Wring out the ringing bells,
Blue lights blown off,
And no one knows it exists.

A silent singer dashed in merry clothes,
A splendid heart,
Whose secret sounding,
Resonates, in spite of her hidden strings.
Oh! Thanks for the gifts,
For the money you gave,
When I was hungry,
For the shoulder you had,
When I felt so heavy,
For the ears that listened,
I wish you a ‘Merry Christmas’!

Silence finds peace,
In this open night,
Under the wings of the dark sky,
Looks for space to stretch out the night.
The flights of certain shadows -
They speak without words, to hear
Snowflakes falling,
Has darkness robed in black?
Or is it naked?
Its emptiness stares.

Sometimes it’s nice to be invisible
Between solitude, and crowds
Getting lost in streets,
Under snow, in buses and trains -

Quite suddenly, I discovered
A secret rose and a door,
Open out of the dark.
Men and women danced,
Glued to one another,
Amidst wine, tobacco, conversations,
Crude laughs of drunks,
I left them to their merriment.

Sometimes it’s nice to be invisible
Between crowds, and solitude,
The life, and the death…
To all that I say and see
I wish all a ‘Merry Christmas’!
Because, all these confirm my very existence.

Mind – Yo, Mind to do a check?

To tell you,

Ardor is beautiful
Zeal is stunning
Passion lights a fire
It chews you from within
Gushes out the digested secretion
Bees gather to carry it afar
I tell you its sweet like honey
Keeps you young and handsome for ever!

To remind you,

Calmness is comatose
Passionless is a graveyard
When rage is fumed out
even smile is death
Losing fury is adultery,
Apathy stings of rotten flesh of a lover,
Who was young and handsome once.

Hey yo!
Now stop day dreaming
Snatch your weapon
Break those glass panes
Let your mirrors shatter
For it showed fake image
Glare your egoistical man
Even slap on his face.

Let you fall into the canyon
Lift with tint, scent and buds.
May you know that it blossomed,
Not just on water or manure,
But on tears and sweats,
That even flooded the rain
Let your bland memories
Blaze into lightening rainbow
That umbrella a new blooming gorge!!

Adieu

Drenched cheeks,
Blood gushed lips,
Opened just to let in air,
Half closed eyelids,
Right enough for the drops
To roll down
The fair skin toned to
Earthy hue
Reflect the rain clouds
That cuddles the inner blues
**
Silence swallowed the body
Senseless cold spread the flesh
Eyelids closed, like cork of champagne bottle
Lips so tight, like a zipper bag
Face so blank, like a black stone
You walk into the unknown
Your shadow waned into darkness
Just the meat, covered with white cloth
**
Social status, what does that mean?
Money is just paper
Knowledge if ever you had,
Is forgotten along with you,
Remain with others, if you had passed…
Power couldn’t call you back,
Nor did it make you come …
Ego, mans induced emotion
What has it to do?
In this emotionless world…
Everything is same,
Like a snow covered plane
You are no more an individual…
**
Friends, partner, and soul mate I salute thee…
Brothers, Sisters take my adieu
Father, Mother I kneel upon you,
And the last, you – I part thee for ever!!
**

To You I Promise

When silence became a lonely song-
Echoes through my inner walls
Another sound mingled with mine
I am sure you hear them too!
I leaned, o’er the priceless book
Oft I hold close to my heart

Amidst its rich pages I saw -
Frames of you my soul holds
Your words loud, so loud
My clouds become quite
You tuned my silence happy
Our music couldn’t hide

When you cheered I smiled
When you cried I wept
And I walked while you fly
And I stayed while you leave
When you breathe I felt
Your silence I listened

Amidst the tussle for our own lives
When our paths first met
Matched the rhythms so well
Together we defined our emotions
Shared our choices, and reasons to breathe
Devotions redefined, together we mend

When my silence became a solo -
Echoes the walls of my heart
I am sure you hear them too!
“Give me a chance more I deserve
And make no mistake life preserve
For you are my love and not my fault”!

“Don't go. but stay whenever I feel you
I will make sure that you are never bare
Don’t look back, for its gone for ever
I will make sure that you are never alone
Don’t stop your dreams, let them soar
I promise I follow every path you take”!

When Silent Found a Tongue

When Silent found a tongue
Talked me to the past -
Critter Clatter down that road
Jitter jotted memoirs found
Tickler tackled thumbtack days
Better fetter drives I made...

Fetter deterred all my dreams
Thinner metered all my hopes
Slimmer reared all my pucks
Deeper dotted all my luck
Pitter pattered all my roars
Clutter cluttered all my doors

With -
Wider spread my tugs
Minor feared my guts
Minor tired my aim
Minor dared my acts
Minor dried my gist
Minor cared my slips

Still-
Wider flared my thoughts
Broader fared my mind
Wider spread my wings
Longer droved my wish
Stronger made my way
Winner made my days

Begining of a Retreat

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." (Helen Keller)

Helen Keller, her life and words has always fascinated me since my school days. We had a chapter about her for English. I still remember as it happened now, it was the first period on that day, and after the teacher took that lesson, I didn’t concentrate much on rest of the class. I was eagerly waiting to get back home. I was so impatient, to meet my father, for the first time in my life!! I had to wait till midnight to see him back from work. Still I waited at the gate and as soon as he reached near by, I asked him to get me a book on life of Helen Keller next day itself. As usual he agreed, though he was surprised by my act. He asked a lot of questions, “why Helen Keller” “What do you want to know about her”. For every question I had only one answer, I want to know more of her. Anyways it took a week for me to get hold of a book about her. And all those days saw a very impatient me. Everyone at home found it strange to see me impatient, something which I was never used to till that day. When I got the book, I read the whole book in one go, sitting in one place. For which I got scolding from my grandmother who was the most influential lady in my life, who gave a valuable advice that day-“To achieve something, you need to be patient”.

Those days I had the habit of collecting quotes or sayings which touch my heart or which makes me think as soon as I read it, something which my father encouraged me to do as a hobby along with idioms. The above quote is one such, which I wondered as a child. I didn’t understand the true meaning of it at that time. I wondered – ‘what would life mean? What would be the lessons it gives?’. I had always wondered about life as a child, and to confess I still do wonder about life. Each time I wander wondering about life, more passionate I become about it. This has continued from those days of childhood to this day. Each time I come out of my wonder world, I find life as a beautiful something which I am yet to see, something close enough for me to see, something at an arms stretch and still I do not know life.

Even now life is something-

“Kannethum doorethenkillum, kandeella
Kaiyethum doorethenkillum, arinjeella”

Life for me changes every time I wonder about it.Now after living half the life, now I think, I truly understand the meaning of this beautiful phrase of Helen Keller. It took me these many years to understand this single phrase. Yes, I have learned valuable lessons in life. And these lessons make the life I lived, and is the light over the new life I am yet to see, that shadows my memories. And I am assured again and again that this light and shadow make a beautiful snap of me.

It tells me that life is very unique to each individual, irrespective to a person’s social status. I find life becomes sweeter after I finish living it, like food you know the taste only after you have eaten. When you come to know about it, it is over!! Like when the taste is good, you don’t mind eating more; you crave for life, when you realize the sweetness of life. But there is a difference here. Each time you eat the same food, it tastes almost the same. Each time, though you try to live the same life, it tastes different. You are provided with the same ingredients everyday by the universe and you need to make the right proportion of it. Though the ingredients are always same, the proportions vary. They are never the same!! This is something so unique and amazing about life!! This makes me wild and urges me to go after it again and again. And what I learned over years is, I need to master the proportions and not to worry on ingredients, so that life taste amazing each time, though I know I am never given the same measure of ingredients. While I make my broth, I knowingly or unknowingly learn the lessons of proportions, mix and matches required for an amazing life.

I think its time I put down some of those proportions I learned...