Random_Thoughts

Sipping hot coffee on a rainy day in the monsoons of 2030, I plan to organize my folders in the computers. Tomorrow is the big day for me as I will retire after 30 years of dedicated service to the teaching profession. I recreate nostalgic memories in moments. In this emotional journey as a teacher, I read the mails in my inbox, to re-experience these fruitful years. My mail box had the maximum mails on e-learning, webinar invites, e- certificates and virtual world. Yes!   It was the year 2020, which made many of us tech savvy. Yes, the year of Covid-19 pandemic, an altogether different year which taught human kind more than desired. Clouds of gloom had gathered in the horizon of our minds. Everything halted and it seemed normalcy would not ever return. Lockdown, social distancing, curfew and quarantine was the novel convention. Acceptance to the new norms was the only way out. Normality was a far-fetched dream. Tuning is the basic human trait and we all had learnt it fast. R...

  Sadness, the closest comrade You know me back and forth Like a shadow you change spot and size Hide and seek we play many a times In solitude you gift me silence In cram and jam you handout turbulence You switch roles as a bright artist Blot out, hush up or conceal Such and such you be Thrilled sadness in populous places Bemused I with your guises Evermore mine with akin faces

Oh, my mind! You never get bushed You take me to myriads Like Japan Bullet Train, we zoom to Villages, Towns, Metropolitans and Cosmopolitans From Supersonic to hypersonic speed We locomote continents and oceans Drizzle and mizzle to the crunch of leaves Snow peaked pallor to amber and lemon Oh, my mind! Seasons sensed swiftly Wedding and mourning instantaneously Welcome to sendoff, Cheers to RIP From the ICU to the food court Meditating to melody Reading to snoozing Chop-chop from Tumult to tranquil Oh, my mind!   Accord me to concord Rest I seek, give some peace

                                                   Learning the lessons of life I stumbled many a times This time it was exploring happiness Ah! Was it the Alchemy of life?   Invested in folks and kin Return was rifts, muddles and hubbubs Botched in getting that magic potion Happiness, the dose for contentment   Dazzling Virtual world of likes Leaning on fancy websites Envy, vying and oblivion Unreached pursuit to joy     Material appeal in branded bags and shoes Apparels, cosmetics and ornaments Cluttered and decluttered Discontented contentment clocked in   Astrology, Tarot and Oracles Transient trust in Intransient Soothing words of solace Failed in attaining the pill labelled happiness     Holy Scriptures, Vedas and Mantras Memorizing chants and carols Vague Know- how and Insights Delved into the thin acumen     Vainly perceived destination Trudged the sketchy path Bubbleheaded I was till the bubble burst Ani...

Unvoiced words with inner voiced quizzies Speak incalculable thoughts Conscious and unconscious conflicts Wrongs accomplished rightly Rights executed wrongly Faking the faked identities  Mix ups of feats or misdeeds Hullabaloo and bang a rang Resonating unanswered answers Silence silences easing the quandary

                                                                       Pedaling and endlessly ringing the cycle bell. Beating the metal door instead of door- bell. Twice a day, around 12 noon and then again 4 pm. That was the postman of the village, Ram Prakash. His advent brought a smile on many faces. Ram Prakash, the postman had touched so many lives in the vicinity. Celebrating the festivals and consoling during difficult times, though wasn’t a part of his profession, yet this trait made him a member of the zone.   Raksha Bandhan, a festival of bonding between brother and sister is very popular in North India. Sisters would eagerly wait for...

  Solitary in the chamber Wistful journey to the gates of past Unbolted the gateway Eyed the wall with colours of life     Each an index of travel travelled by Tinge of glossy and matt Symbolising ebb and flow of life Rainbow, reviving splashy times Elations, exploits, excitements and ecstasy Black, white and shades of gray Dirge, discomfort, deceit and dejection   Tyrant time dim lustred the wall Hazy memories and moments Flashback to full and empty Coloured the uncoloured wall

Infinite doubts & reasons Seeking answers to Unfulfilled dreams Duplicity in promises Silent commitments Distrust in judgement Unexpected expectations Doubt in relations Aggrieved spirits Vague Sentiments Untold lies Untrodden tracks Agitated observance Vacuumed links   A loud roar to deaf ears Contemplation and perception Stimulus to the soul Silence speaks deafeningly Master key to the numbness of Unanswered questions and Unquestioned answers    

He left... A legacy of unanswered questions Empty- handed and yours bursting with burden of qualms. Unspoken and you speak filtering your findings. His Sprightful spirit with free soul Yours Spiteful spirit with shelter of flesh Besmeared in the web of life in quest of answers A satchel of sins bestowed for your deeds You judge with judgemental eyes The empty baggage he left... A gust of wind, gale and gush of water Tranquillity there and chaos here

  Unaccountable and uncounted sins Cartel of the human race Nepotism shares the status place Gender parity primes the race Race prejudice ancestries the antiquity Everlasting flaws and felonies Period! Old wine in a new bottle

Skin and blister, my sister by blood and friend by choice We entered the world at nearly the same time We were sisters not by choice but by chance Played Ludo, carrom, cards & ping-pong Settled the games with giant fights Pulling hair, kicking, scratching & bellowing   In the blink of an eye, we set off as lassies I envied you for your loveliness & logic Chucklesome I and solemn you Two swords in a sheath textured Motley moods- Sullen, irked and in high dungeon   In a flash, three decades we completed A new world within a world we experienced Sisterhood was the only relation unspoken till then New-fangled roles of a wife, mother, daughter-in-law and auntie Played well to zip the judgmental eyes   Double-quick the years passed, covering the fourth decade of sorority A day late and a dollar short, it was not We understood we were companions not by chance but by choice Mickey Mouse tiffs on brands and squander a chunk...

  One Hundred days back, I sussed out into the glossaries Browsed in the print, google and twitter Insight into the onerous spelled word ‘Quarantine’ Ah! I have to isolate in body with so called social distancing Protocol of No to meetings, malls, theatres and offices Curbed to the four walls each minute, hour and day Blue I was with the Novel Corona Updates My free mind steered to hunt for companionship Plants my new-fangled pals in this trek Dew drops on the leaves merry my heart A bud, a new leaf makes me sunny Pigeons and sparrows perch on window sill Feeding Grains and water drive me cherry Chirruping with sunrise and fading with sunset Bright yellow to orange sun shade Brilliant blue twinkling sky with crescent moon Thunderbolt, firebolt and floating clouds Pitter-pattering on the roof Rainbow; Oh! A double rainbow I owe to the new company I never ever had Nearness to nature seals the void Of people, places and sights

  We squad together from first light to twilight In different sizes- Petite, elongated and slight Guiding to the illuminated light Yet not illuminated by the light Unbiased to Cohorts of Blacks, Browns and Whites My Inseparable shadow in Black

Romeo amid the birds He woos his darling With intelligence, essence and esteem Tirelessly works to sway her Not with gestures but toil Picks spot near or over water To break free the invaders Easily weaves the leaves Mixt roles-A seasoned architect, Interior decorator and Civil Engineer Lovelorn, trying to build his Hawa Mahal Designs a tunnel, bulging at the top Face down for entry and exit Plans family well beforehand Makes a special knot to lay eggs Lady love visits multiple nests of the colony   For the Swayamvara, the name for match making Awe-struck with the quality of the nest Affirms to her soul mate The launch of the lasting love story She gets set to lay eggs Her kindred soul toils to work for nest and nestling Singing to the tunes of his beloved Baya weaver clinched the hand-picked nest!  

  Journey from Guru to Madam, Miss & Sir Vedic Educator to a Computer Wizard Yes, we have upgraded to teach this & that Teaching from slate to stylus Experimenting from Annual Board exams To Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation Teachers have nailed in all the tests Front liners are we not in the pandemic times! Sailed through workshops & seminars to webinars Kindergarten to high school teachers Learning the novel so-called skill dubbed online classes Roles have reformed; we teach in phones & computers Power point presentations & switching softwares Gritty to be taught while teaching others Paper pen test to online viva & assessments Humanly touch still persists; not in the campus but from our gadgets Teaching creatively with fruits, vegetables & ingredients We are blood and flesh; not the robots Yet connecting with the students day in & day out All and sundry wait for life to flinch Schools will resume; we...

  Sprouting from the seas, oceans, rivers & lakes Commences the journey to the sky   Floats and wanders in unalike outlines and forms Lightning and thundering in uncaring ways kow-tows to its creator Returns back in the semblance of rain Rallies back from where it initiated   Earth or sky; it pours its benevolence Bounces its identity; in the unison of the universe  

  Wild humans or feral fellows Suggest a name that relates you!   Many a times, you have fiddled With our carnal and poignant self Praying the mud clay and the idols You worship our icons in holy places Offer milk, rose- petals and fruits Show tenderness not to earthen but to earthly   Foeticide is a common repeat You kill ten to bring the one to revel his birth Oblivious many of you are to such demeanor These are the laws of your jungle Animals, as you call us Seldom are a part of these narrow bulwarks   We fine-tune and become all yours With the dear and repair We come in your selfless service Gluttony, wariness and torment, none we care Tenderness, goodness and amenity, we share You humans misconstrued us   For you hunting labels royalty You indulge in Bird, Bait or Recreational hunting Many names for the sadist instinct Trading us for your curiosity For ages you labored and battered Never had you realized the hurt offered ...

The ringing of the morning bell Rushing to catch the school bus Hastening to make a reason To go to the restroom                                                    Seizing buddies' tiffin Running to meet friends At the hour of dispersion Waiting for the past to be the present.   The ringing of the morning bell Blub blurp blup blup from the boiling water Whistling of the pressure cooker Chopping, Grating, Peeling                                        The clink of the spoons and plates Rinsing and washing the dishes Packing the luncheon and bottles Waiting for the past to be the present.   The ringing of the morning bell Gag, Gargle, Glug-glug and pitter-patter sound The singer in the bathroom shower Ch-Ch of the Colgate and Pepsodent                      Tiffs over the queue outside the bathroom Dashing back to turn off the shower Spreading out   the towels and doing   laundry Waiting for the past to be the present.     Th...

Last page of the diary I have reached Introspect ions and revelations Am I in a maze? I turned back the pages of diary One by one To get the answers of the unanswered Left in the race of life At twenty, I trod into the inequitable world I was mentored to learn the trick To befool the gullible with impudence Decades of praxis I accrued monies, assets and junks Billionaire walled by folks Made many acquaintances Some to please others; others to please some Like a new bud in the bloom Touched the sense of love Trekked to seek truth and sanities of life Was contented fleetingly; stroked the pains and joys concurrently Addition, subtraction, division & multiplication Learnt these principles of relations; At half a century, Late it wasn’t; Nay! It was just the unveiling Empathy, compassion, sympathy Fury, avarice, odium Sundry sack of sweet and sour virtues Gain or loss; Sand draining through an hourglass It’s the finishing pag...