The Last March of the Lion

Head held high, eyes narrowed in concentration,

Not a hint of fear- it’s been already conquered,

He looks up from his diary, the tiny hint of a mocking grimace playing on his lips,

With a gaze so stern it smolders the victorious look from his jailor’s face,

He arises proudly from his narrow cell, ready for his one last rendezvous.

The name of the Motherland on his lips,

With a grim satisfaction that his purpose had been achieved,

He marches on with long strides, echoing in those corridors which reek of death.

With pride and sorrow in their eyes, his fellow comrades watches him stride forth,

One last time, they egged themselves on to watch their hero,

One last time, they egged themselves on through their tears,

Never had anyone walked so purposefully towards the gallows,

A silent, poignant look he gave them; of reassurance, hope and purpose;

Reminding them of honour and duty and everything worth living for,

He marches on with long strides, echoing in those corridors which reek of death.

The air was deathly still; his captors flinched at the sight of his proud,unassuming bearing,

They tried to comprehend his demeanor; was it pride or suppressed anger?

They found no fear, not even a hint of dread on the face of their nemesis,

Shackled, though he might be; none could even hope to chain his spirit,

An all-conquering love for ‘Azadi’; a love for his beloved Motherland,

Led him forth through thick and thin, through paths unimaginable for lesser men;

Infusing hope and patriotism in his comrades, instilling belief and give them direction,

He walked through those doors of death, climbed those wooden steps, to the gallows,

            He stood proudly on the creaky platform and stared at his captors,

            Stubborn was he to the last moment, breaking their advances to get him to speak,

            The wind caressed his handsome, gaunt face one last time as the noose was placed,

            He felt the tension in the unsteady hands of the executioner as it was tightened,

            Silently, he thanked the Almighty for giving him the chance to serve his motherland,

            For one last time he looked up to the skies and shouted ‘Inquilab Zindabad’

            As the cruel order was passed, his captors cringed in awe of his glory,

            Nature, bereft of her true son shed tears of raindrops on them all,

            As the world echoed in the mournful thunderclaps, which rang as a death knell,

In solemn remembrance of his supreme sacrifice.

(Dedicated in loving memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, who inspired    millions to fight   against all odds.)          

Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!

     

Words are shallow to bring out the multitude of emotions which I am experiencing at this particular moment. It is a mishmash of a pinch of happiness, a tinge of sadness, a dash of naughtiness, a trace of jealousy but mainly an over-riding, comforting sense of Contentment- an overwhelming sense of Gratitude.  It is a  poignant  occasion, wherein I could experience a fresh perspective towards living - to look at the beautiful, wide world around me and to shout out loud to the Heavens that ‘Life is beautiful’.
          What makes Life such a beautiful spectacle? I feel the answer is Happiness. This ultimate Bliss is such a lucky affair which only a handful of the populace actually experience. The Magic Formula for Happiness is Contentment and Gratitude.  We Should also ensure that we open up to the grand celebration called Life, blend into that elaborate carnival, let joy and love become a component of our being, allow the Supreme Consciousness to evoke  His magic upon us and take relief in knowing the fact that each of us are being taken care of every single waking moment.

Being lucky enough to be given this wondrous life is a reason big enough to stop worrying about all the negatives and concentrating more on the positives while gradually working on our mistakes. Ultimately, Life will turn out good…That’s what I have seen in my tryst with existence until now.

Yeah, I know it’s a pretty lame take on the Essence of Happiness and The Secret of Being Always Happy. But that’s the whole point of this post- its simply a 24-year old IITK Survivor alias Grad students’ take on life. 

Cheers to Life!!

Tempestuous Times

The calm breeze which caresses me on sultry evenings is amiss,

The humid, lethargic summer heat is spreading its wrinkled wings all around me,

Over-powering me; drowning me in a swirl of darkness.

Annoyed and irritable, I seek the reason for my discomfort.

The feel of the cool breeze, which wakes an ocean of serenity in me, is amiss

That undying spirit, that unbreakable confidence which has propelled me onwards,

Is it being suddenly taken away from me?

The tempestuous waves comes crashing down upon me,

In a cold infernal storm, like the doors of Hades have opened up,

Unleashing feral, nameless terrors upon me.

Irate restlessness; rising to a fever pitch crescendo,

I feel distraught and lost; the rage within me is unquenchable.




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Love-Ye Most Beautiful Feeling of ‘em all

Can you ever define how much you can Love a person? 

Can you limit it with boundaries, constrain it within fences or count it with your fingers?

            Limitless, boundless, entire, whole and perfect-That’s what love is for me and that’s what it could become. It is a feeling that washes away the last vestiges of doubt, eclipses the ego-the feeling of ‘me’ being above ‘us’ and ‘you’, and overtops you with a sense of fullness that encompasses your entire being. A sense of belongingness and a feeling of pride develop in you, coupled with tremendous warmth and respect towards that person. They say Love happens, but Love blossoms. Love grows like a sapling-tend to it with time, water it with smiles and laughter, trim out those little quarrels and lies, and you could pluck delectably sweet fruits from it (the hugs and kisses :)]. Jokes apart, it is a feeling worth living for. The knowledge that there is someone out there ever-willing to sacrifice anything and everything for you, to pray for you when your hopes are down, to prod you onward if you stutter to a stop, to give you a comforting hug or a reviving word when you need some support, to be your greatest fan and full-time admirer, to have someone to pull your ears when you are naughty- God, it’s the most beautiful feeling. No, it’s much subtler than just a feeling, it could be an emotion but it isn’t that either and if we delve deep it’s something that connects with our true self, something that touches a chord with our inner being. If we give it our all and immerse ourselves completely in this divine feeling, we can see that the whole world around us is part of a great big symphony and every tiny speck of nature around becomes the grandest of spectacle. What I came to understand is that we are essentially tuned to love and this very basic fact becomes crystal clear when THE PERSON graces you by entering your life. Once this happens, all we need to do is just open your eyes and just let go- feel the magic just sweeping you off you feet, see everything around you with renewed clarity, observe life in a different perspective, an abundance of Creativity outflows (start writing, reading poetry and learning guitar specifically in my case ) and life becomes so much worth living for and gives the rudderless ship a stern direction.

             In any case be rest assured that life as you knew it will change for good. Cos, hey! It’s not just anything that we are talking about- Its LOVE, the most beautiful feeling of ‘em all!!

And from personal experience –IT’S MAGICAL :)

A Sweet Pain..

I miss her like the hard baked earth yearns for the sparkling rain,

To stroke his worn face and smoothen away the pain,

I miss her tinkling laughter and pouty lips,

Which makes me want to hug her and smother her with my kiss.

I miss the love-light in her eyes,

Her innocent, dewy, sun-drops, wherein my whole life lies.

But she’s a free bird, with her own heights to reach, her own barriers to transcend,

And I never want to cage her, never ever again.

Let her fly, rise above the clouds and glide,

And I’ll watch her from below with love and pride,

‘Cos I know, my love, when it’s time to roost,

You‘ll come to me to nestle under my cosy wings.

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Sunny Shores

  Travelling the churning sea, traversing the distant corners,

Journeying through fog and mist and sprightly tides,

The milky waves champing and chafing with infinite recklessness,

Rocking me, swaying me, tipping me overboard…

But I hung on, in clear hope and endless faith.

There has to be that distant shore.

At the very horizon of this chaos,

A sunny shore, with happy people

Who live in bountiful happiness and overflowing joy,

Where the splendid colors hold us spell-bound,

And melodious music quenches our thirst,

Where the enchantment of love is not forgotten and loving smiles are universal;

And I hung on and fought the tide,

With a stern heart and a stony resolve.

To work the magic that comes from within me,

And to beat the sea and sail onwards,

Onwards, inch by inch and push beyond my endurance,

And reach those hallowed shores.

A Rush of Romance..

The rainy month of June always had a special place in his heart since he was a kid. He could keep looking at the falling raindrops for hours and listen to them whispering sweet nothings to him while sipping hot, steamy cups of Coffee. Life had been such a raucous, boisterous party for him until that point when a breeze of fresh life wafted into his life.

It was a carefree, monsoon evening like any, but it turned out to be the greatest gift that the wonderful journey called life bestowed upon him. After-hours  at his beloved Alma Mater was his favourite time to wander listlessly and bask in the profound stillness that reverberates from the deep confines of his college. Maybe, it was this ethereal beauty of his quaint campus that he loved so dearly.

The sound of a peppy Indian song coming from behind the closed doors of the activity room in the main building, was an aberration to his perfect sojourn. Curious, he just peeked inside and saw the college dance team practising for an upcoming cult fest.

Then he saw her as if for the first time. Well, not exactly for the first time. You see they had been in the same class for like 2 years until that point but were miles apart in their hang-out groups. But Destiny is such a Naughty Kid-She just mixes up the most seemingly-different persons’ together and waits from the side-lines to see how their lives would pan out.

However, for him that was THE MOMENT. A wondrous moment when the whole wide world stood still- there were violins in the air (really there were) and butterflies in the stomach. The first moment when he looked into her wonderful eyes-it was THE MOMENT when he lost all his cool and confidence and he bumbled about like a baby and asked her something really out-of-context  to which she simply smiled.

That one smile was only a prelude to what would pan out in the following years. That one smile which took his breath away, those shining, big, innocent eyes- the overwhelming feel of consideration and caring that he feels whenever he looks into those deep, pearly orbs;  the nonchalance and the graceful elegance with which her body danced to the music-(Poetry in motion!); the healing  quality of the base notes of her mystical voice which could portray the essence of a thousand feelings, the melancholic disposition which makes him want to change the whole world and wage a war against whomsoever is responsible for her tears; those clear, sparkling, tinkling little giggles which are like the rush of a mountain spring.

Every single waking moment he wants to love her more. .And even More...

And The Wannabe has started Blogging!!!...

Let’s see…What should I write about first? What fancy words should initiate me into this wonderful world-Blogosphere?? Confused, am I?? Hmm!! That is not something new..I was and always will be a confused person. Confused about everything around me, confused about why something happened and why it didn’t. You get the picture right???  Bloody Confused!

But for once I’ve set my mind into doing something which I had really wanted to do for quite some time-START A BLOG!! I am no Rushdie or Tolkein, for that matter when it comes to penning  down whatever musings that I have, but that urge to jot down those random thoughts that flit through my mind’s eye and all those funny things that I perceive around me, I believe would make it an interesting read for other crazies like me was always there, itching to turn up at the right moment.

And to answer the question as to why I should suddenly join this bandwagon of self proclaimed philosophers and satirists on blogosphere-It’s a very common, ancient human trait- Green-eyed Jealosy..I just happened to read my Best Friend’s/Sister/Whiner-in-arms Deepa’s Blog. Man, it was a stupendous effort from a lazy bone like her to come up with such a piece of artistry. Reading this post made the wheels in my head churn with questions and self doubts.”Can I do a piece like that or can I not?” –“To Blog or not to Blog, That was the question!”

Then realization came upon me, that beautiful moment when a guy feels like he has attained a clear idea about what he has to do-enlightenment, they call it” Hell! It’s only a write-up dude, Not the Bloody N-Deal! Just get in front of the Lappie and Type away to your heart’s content!!”

           So that’s that. The Story of How this Blog of mine came into being. This could well be my First and my last post at the same time. But I am pretty happy that I had the Self-control and the will-power to sit and type something like this without any pressure from anyone because you see I am a representative of the typical lazy bum of my generation who needs constant pushing and motivation to keep my drive going.

P.S. I don’t expect myself to come up with some creative masterpiece or satirical comedy. This is only an attempt to satiate the Wannabe (Yeah! I mean it when I use it) writer in me. And Before I bore the pants off you I am cutting the crap. Ciao!!

CREDITS: Deepa and Deepak. You guys gave me the writer’s bug. Take this as my Gurudakshina!