This time. Last year.

Belongings of a quarter century, displaced!
To be moved to happier quarters, post –marriage kind!
I wondered how to pack!
Moving on with things, wedged in my mind!

In rare moments of precious aloneness,
I struggled to become clear.
All I could hear was “to-dos”
Memories and impressions I had to swing over.

Now, I go back to the “has-been” room.
To the room I feel isn’t warm.
Glowing hopes, blazing thoughts,
Me! All are gone!

I look around the unkempt house,
And the two people left there.
I found my place under my sun!

My room is stripped bare!

Dont worry home! M Basking in the sunshine :)

J

WAndERing, But Not LOSt!

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.
Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.
Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine Cavafy

To you Bougainvillea

I wonder what took me so long to write about it. Its been the simplest thing i have ever fallen in love with. I would be standing at the doors, waiting for the train to move out of Thane station when i would glance at it, my eyes refusing to move. I would admire its unconditional bloom. It was generous, full, and unlooked after. It was, i concluded, the most beautiful thing adorning that ugly place. I spotted it later on road dividers on the eastern express highway, on the expressway on my way to Pune. I remember spotting it on my way to the British council library, right next to Starters and More, on the first floor balcony of a quaint building. That was the first time i saw it blooming within the confines of a clay pot. Unconditionally blooming even then!

Then came the realization that it came in myriad colors. Pink, light pink, orange, red, golden yellow, mango yellow, white, lemon yellow....and i still have not seen all its hues! I fall in love with it more and more each day, as i see it blooming without anyone tending to it, coming in colors unimaginable:) This is to you Bougainvillea. When i have a bigger place, i shall bring all of you together.......under one roof:) And ye shall bloom, unconditionally.

I imagine a bouquet, of Bougainvilleas, of all colors. I would sacrifice all the red roses in the world for a bouquet of Bougainvilleas:) Bloom!

The ZAhir

As qouted from The Zahir by Paulo Coelho "According to the writer Jorge Luis Borges, the idea of the Zahir comes from Islamic tradition and is thought to have arisen at some point in the eighteenth century. ZAhir, in Arabic, means visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. It is something which, once, we have come into contact with them or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. This can be considered either a state of holiness or of madness.