MY GRANDMOTHER - THE INFINITE MOUNTAIN

The mountain stands still

Calm and serene

Her head held aloft

Yet unheard, and almost unseen

She seems to go on and on

Like the infinite

Standing beside me, with me

Day and night

She begins with pure white

At the top

Her body follows thereafter

Like a pearly frock

O, my! She is not pretty

No, not in the least

Not with the wrinkled Earth she bears,

Nor the wild bushes she so lovingly cares,

No, what stands out is her beauty

Unmatched, by any animate soul

That walks the planet,

Till its deepest bowl

She’s not even inanimate

Yet, beyond the living

She is with me all the time

She is tender and giving

For, when I feel tired, worn out

Her warmth is what comforts me

More than any patting, her cradle I desire

The lap above her knee

She is not perfect,

No.

Thus, I rave at her sometimes, for her imperfection

Yet, on Doomsday,

I see my true reflection

And realize,

She provides me so much essential for existence

Yet makes no sound about it

Remains silent, and just does sit

I regret angering her.

I feel really sorry

When she displays her landslides, her rules, her norms,

I take her for granted

Till, at last, she storms

Oh, so royal!

And I think-

What would life be without her?

Close to nothing,

I want her to be with me,

All day, all night

And shudder when I fantasize

What would it all have been like

Had she not have been

Infinite…

Love you, Nani!!

RISE UP TO CHALLENGES

Thousands of years ago

The Sun stared at all below

“I am the King of all beings,

Before me you’ll bow”.

With this he stood tall

And became as hot as hell,

A soul did not survive thereafter

Not a creature on Earth did dwell.

Heaven above was disturbed

To see such fury,

Deciding something had to be done

He chose to act jury.

Succumbing under the hot sun

Tears fell from His eye,

And drops of rain were first felt

From the azure sky.

“Ha! This is what you send, O Lord,

To defeat Earth’s royalty?!

Why, a thing made of drops,

How could it possibly overcome me?”

No doubt a tough call ‘twas

To look up to the sun,

But something had to be done for sure

The battle had to be won.

A tiny droplet opened its eyes

“A challenge did I hear?”

“Oh, get back, you fool,” did the ocean sigh,

“Aware are you what you’ll have to bear?”

“Yes, sir, aware I am,

That I’ll exist no more,

But does that make me sit back,

Is that the true cure?”

“Go on, then,” roared the ocean,

“We’ll see what you get,

And when you break in agony

Don’t you dare fret!”

“So then, so long! Fare thee well!”

The tone was unusually grave,

“For time will tell, and you’ll learn

How fortune favours the brave!”

And so he dared to see eye to eye

With the Heat above,

Who said, “You’ll soon be gone, you proud twit,

Go remember the ones you love!”

Escaping ocean was one thing

But what about the rest?

The newly hatched never knew

What lay beyond the nest!

The sun glared down upon the drop

Lo behold! It turned into a wisp,

“Yes! Come forward to challenge me,

And I’ll deal you a death kiss!”

At the sight of the vapour drop

The ocean booed and sniggered galore

The failure pierced the tiny heart

Right through the core.

“Am I a fool really,

To dream beyond the infinite?

Can there really be no match

For the sun’s might?”

In the sad eyes reflected

The wicked looks of all,

Fire and ice together

Were determined for his fall.

The condensed drop was charged again

To prove ‘em all wrong,

For faith he had in God,

“He won’t make me wait so long!”

This time he aimed for the ray

That needled him so,

“Die, if I must, I shall,

But I will defeat my foe!”

So he went to touch the sun above

To see himself win

What happened? He got lost,

The yellow sun within!

A moment of silence,

Not a whisper, not a word,

And then it spread into the sky

Like the wings of a bird!

Together, they watched awestruck

As the beauty unfolded before

A white light split into the magnificent colours

Of the rainbow!

“So there! Yes, friends,

What I have done, you could've too, long ago,

Go rise, at least try,

Don’t lie so low!”

  

And since time immemorial

This practice began,

Reminding us of the tiny drop

That dared to say, “I can!”

So, rise up and take the challenge

You won’t be you, for sure

Try, as much as you fail,

Rise up, and dare to dare,

And you will be much more!!

Caged

It’s pelting down outside
I look out of my home
I see a creature trapped; I'm moved by its plight
The beast is a miserable sight.

Its eyes are confused and scared
It doesn't seem to know how it ended up caged
Tears of worry, fear and dread well up
Its whimpers plead with me to set it free,
It looks at my world with envy.

I think it’s cursing its milieu
That thrives on survival instinct, where might is right,
Where one animal devours the other mercilessly, and
Cages and clouds of darkness and sorrow are, sometimes, impossible to fight

Who must be so cruel, as to cage the helpless soul?
Why must it be caged, while I walk free?
So I take a step towards it
I want to help it escape,
But they tell me it’s a bad idea

“That beast has ruined our homeland”, they tell me,
“Our peace, our children, our shelter are in peril.
It deserves what it got; it brought this onto itself,
The Earth can survive only by rejecting that devil.”

“But, to err is human,” I feel for the soul!
They say -
“Ah! But the error of being a human is grave!
That thing has always frowned upon us, as creatures so base!
Now it looks to us for help, the knave!

Nature chose it to discern right from wrong
So it mistook itself for the mightiest of all.
It prides on its spine, and struts proud and tall,
I've never seen a more spineless creature,
But son, the higher you rise, the harder you fall!

The divisions it created to satisfy its ends
Backfired; its atrocities ghettoed it, without a care!
Bar after bar, the prison closed in,
The entrapped soul was forced to drink its own poison,
Do you still think it’s unfair?”

So I acquiesce, and walk back to my den
I turn my back on the perfidious beast; it looks outraged
I walk back, free, with my pals – the birds and the animals,
While the human sits there, unhappy and caged.

OPTIMISM

Happy moments of life are like dew

Precious and rare, they are far and few

When your glass seems half empty; when it’s really half full

Yet you feel your life needs a pull,

Then listen to me, lend me your ears!

For I’ve a solution for all your fears

Sometimes, life’s coarse; it’s not always silk

But there’s no use crying over spilt milk

Think deep and you’ll find

If Winter comes, then Spring’s not far behind*

When things get too hard to cope

Just two forces urge you- faith and hope

To go on, just as nothing’s happened

And everything’s bright, none is dampened

So cheer up, and stop whining

For every cloud has a silver lining

Your ‘fall’, besides, is really one

When you don’t wish to get up to get it all undone

And while the sun shines, do make hay

‘Cause life’s too short for worrying away

And this is the time to prove them wrong

Who tried to weaken you when you were strong

So rebuild yourself with those worn-out tools**

And don’t care what they say, those foolish mules!

When life’s not straight, it’s full of curves

It’s he who wins who keeps his nerves.

* "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?", from Ode to the West Wind by P. B. Shelley

** "And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools", from If by Rudyard Kipling

DON'T BREAK THE CONNECTION

Today I stand tall and proud; I face the world

Evolved from mere cell to a complete life form

9 crucial months of toil make an independent being

Dependent on Her womb, safe and warm

Today I stand a big man; how can I afford to not look back?

This wouldn't be, but for the tube I stuck to,

Through which I was fed;

When Nature chooses to bind us to our roots

Who am I to break the thread?

Brother, what’s before you will seem interesting

The unseen will intrigue you even more

But your past holds value too; don’t let go, hold on

Before it has closed its doors.

For it reminds you of where you started

All the hard work that brought you here

And reminds you that those you contempt today

Can rise and be your greatest fear

Your past urges you to climb, but not so high

That what's below becomes a blur,

Yet prevents you from stooping so low

Lest the ground beneath should stir.

So don't pull so hard the string snaps

And you're blown away by the winds of change

Your soul keeps you in place, it's your conscience,

Don't let your mind leave it estranged

Wagging tongues swayed by the glitz and glamour; living speaking puppets

Are dumb, for there is no inner voice

Awestruck eyes that stare at the lights are blind

To all reason, truth, integrity, honesty they once rejoiced.

Fairly judge your rights and wrongs

Don’t let jealousy consume and devour you,

Don’t harbour hatred and loathing

You know you don’t need to

For you know you’re not a block of ice, that

Can’t find warmth even among your own

You’re not yet so isolated, that

You can’t find a shoulder to lean and cry on

Dark clouds envelope all lives; you aren’t immune

So don’t hesitate to help the needy, where smile and glow are rare;

Do, because you feel, and not to enhance your CV

And yet don’t please the world so much that you ignore your near and dear

Don’t underestimate the power of love and the morals She taught you

Don’t dismiss them as old wives’ tales

Their prayers and blessings come to your rescue

When everything else fails

Life’s a bed of roses from above, but

Much awaits the keen eye, if you look under

Stalks, leading pretty petals down to their low, brown roots

Thorns, for the careless and prone to blunder

So don’t stand so stiff

That you break if you bend,

Be ready to apologize. Fall and rise

Admit your mistakes and learn from them

And yet, don’t fall so deep, that getting up again seems away

March forward, slowly and steadily; take one step at a time.

Don’t always rush, silence strikes gold

Introspection requires time, it doesn't happen overnight.

Cleanse your soul, make it your natural self

But preserve your dignity all the while

Don’t be a silent tongue to abuse, speak up against injustice

Today I stand tall, But am not vile! But am not docile!

All I say preserves one essence

To grow – into a better person, a better place

And this will definitely ensure your success.

They link to heaven. Don’t fear, feel the God within you, He is always present.

Take a few moments off. Stop.

And hear His voice. In peace.

And see, See that your string is so taut!

Please don’t let it strain!

The thread breaks, and you will feel the pain.

Don’t change so much that you cannot recognize yourself in the mirror.

So, don’t lose the touch, don’t withdraw the affection.

Spare a second, look at what you’re doing

Don’t ever break the connection.