The Romance...Costly yet Sweet!!

The attic in my house is a bit larger than what people generally mean and understand by the word.Since we have a window built there it is an easy access for cats and rain drops to slid into the room,if the window is carelessly left open.Though sometimes heated words are exchanged for the idea of building the attic,but I realise it's not that much a 'bad idea'.The words are exchanged only when the the carnation floral printed bed sheet gets wet by few droplets of rain or a piece of rohu is gobbled by the vagabond kitten.But the scene of drizzling rain and the pots of our neighbours getting drenched and sometimes swaying to the accompanying cool breeze is a treat to watch from the attic's window.The school leaving girl talking animatedly over phone under the umbrella,the old lady sipping tea,the middle aged lady running to gather the dried clothes on terrace,the college going boy braving the drops and cycling..can lacs be spent to draw up such a beautiful landscape on canvas??Perhaps no.

          It was such a day when rains decided to cheer the community with their arrival after a long stretch of extreme hot and humid weather.The grey clouds had hovered and specks of icy drops had already trickled down my left arm's skin.The kisses of rain drops had  aroused the potted plant leaves from their droopy states.I was seating with the hot cup of tea and was leafing through the new psycho- thriller novel  which was delivered that day.The blue glass cut ceramic vase with freesia flowers were adorning my study table.The buds tilted a bit towards the window as if to get rain -kissed.The rain drops in an attempt trying to please the buds unintentionally were damping the cherry print table cloth.I only had a smile lingering on my lips with this fleeting romance of rain drops.

           Crash...I looked up from the book.I was into the fictional world when something crashed in the real world.Shreds of blue glass strewn on floor and bunch of freesia lying at far end of the table's leg.No doubt,no guesses...the vase has crashed to the floor.Tears pooled in my eyes.Not because the vase was broken but because there was a wounded victim.It was not the victim only rather the culprit too.A kitten.It was just practising hopping from one window parapet to other.It had surely kicked the vase and the aftermath was disastrous.

          The victim cum culprit kitten with wounded paw was trying to reach the flowers.Kittens attracted to flowers?? I doubted.No they are not kids to get attracted to flowers like the other day when a naughty lad plucked a handful of buds of mogra,because of its enchanting fragrance.Family members reached the spot.Obviously the crashing vase had created a great deal of noise to wake up my parents down the first floor.While mother frowned at the loss of the expensive vase ,father,being an animal lover picked the wounded kitten and tended to its wound while I cleared away the mess.

           Rain had stopped by then completely letting the mother earth to revel in joy.I still had the question lingering..why did it kick the vase?? While arranging the freesia bunch in another steel hammered oval vase I noticed a mint leaf stalk on the table.Perhaps it had flown from broken pot of Mukherjee uncle.Yes.Cats are attracted towards the mint plants.I threw the stalk  outside the window but the wind made it sit on the sill of window.

             I didn't care to attempt to throw it once again.I returned back to my bookmarked page.After around fifteen minutes I rose from my seat to search for the mobile phone to make a call.I peeped outside the window to check if it was raining again.The sight astounded me.It was drizzling and the kitten was on the sill.Seating and kissing the mint leaf.Casting me a sideways glance it continued its romance.I could only give a sigh and smile.The romance did cost me high but it was adventurous and sweet.I remembered a line of Ruskin Bond--

                                     ''Romance lurks in the most unlikely places.''

A tribute to Ruskin Bond on his birthday.Long live legend and keep mesmerizing us with your hills and trains.

N.B.:.The characters,scene and the story are purely based on true life experiences.

Photo courtesy( The photo with quote): A.Bharti (Scoopwhoop.com)

The Yellow Leaf..

Dusk falls and so do noises..
yet the yellow leaf,
hangs on to the cliff;
the twig of the broad bough.

The fall would mark the last
from a life saver to trash
photosynthesis to pedestals
life changes colours...

With a free fall life alters
yet the colour shines in glory,
yellow seems darker than green
old age is full of delight.

Some  say this yellow leaf
led Great Buddha to enlightenment,
yet the gardener scrunches nose
in disgust and torpidity.

The yellow leaf lands now
at the feet of  the pedestal,
which reads ''Smt.Indira Gandhi''.
The leaf now clings to
the muddy patch of pedestal stone.

Clinging on to sapling,peduncles,
florets,flowers and tree,
the journey has been wearisome.
The black patches evident
of failed nutrition and proper care.

When the sun has set past horizon
now the night has taken control.
The yellow leaf awaits for final
journey with the cool breeze flowing.

The journey of the fallen
yellow leaf doesn't stop here,
because it has  to travel now into
darkness of ruminant tract;
at far to nearer
a famished cow is approaching.

Responsibility Educates

Recently I celebrated my birthday.I was glad that out of at lest one hundred and fifty people who know me,recognize me and most importantly have conversed with me nearly fifty people wished me in their best ways.I am thankful to 'Facebook' that people could atlest made remember that certain people have birthdays and that to on which date.I felt that these fifty people despatched their responsibility for a friend or fellow human being whole heartedly.I too felt responsible for all of them.
 Now coming to the reason why I came up with this aspect of our mental make up is that People forget their 'responsibilities'.Not seldom but often.Excuses have become the forte of many people.None is ready to lead,make mistakes and take responsibility.Have we become truly the ''Hollow Men'' of T.S.Eliot?? Yes we have.People no more want to think in deep and analyse,shoulder their responsibilities and figure a sorry face.Basically today's youth is running and escaping sole duties and responsibilities.
   I have learnt in my life ''With love comes responsibilities.''Whatever has been done and spoken is out of concern and responsibility only.And above all because of love for the dear one.The pretence of duties and galore of lies and plasticity have indeed taken a toll on our relationships .
          Being a part of this society we can't help without being responsible for ourselves and others.We have responsibilities for our parents,for siblings ,for friends and for environment.How we behave,how we drive and how we lead our life --everything has a 'responsibility' embedded in it.We simply can't drive at high speed and enjoy the ride hurting the co riders. We can't enjoy our happiness vanquishing happiness of parents.Never.
    Responsibility educates.With responsibility we learn to take lead,cut down on our flaws,improve social skills and forbid excuses.
   ''Excuses are a time thief.Have a goal,accept responsibility and take action''-Steve Maraboli.

The Sweet Little Cravings..

The word'craving' is often used for citing either mood swings or digestive ailments.But I am not here to discuss the cravings we all irrespective of age and boundaries experience at midnight.This sweet little cravings are the few sweet joys and playfulness of life which we miss out in confirming to chaos of standardisation in recent times.Recently I  witnessed an incident which compelled to pour my heart out here.A small boy aged around 8-9 years was returning from school.I remember while I was in school I used to play games like word games and some others,I remember discussing with my friends the new household work they have learnt like sweeping,tiding the study table,applying cover on textbooks or at best washing own uniform while returning from school.Our innocence was not marred by the advanced technological gadgets and chaotic hectic life.I found the child operating something with speed on the mobile screen.He was not aware of his surroundings.The blooming flowers didn't attract him neither the crowd amazed him,he was lost in the world of videos and images.I remembered the times when my friends would compete for picking pebbles and throwing them in trajectory to see how far it goes.I have seen the scoff in my class teacher's eyes when we all got drenched in drizzling rains on one afternoon.She was angry but she took up a towel and wiped all of us clean.The small joys of childhood are visibly missing in today's international branded schools and aristocracy.No doubt times are changing yet the values we learnt as children are severely missing in today's tiny tots.Its wise to change in keeping rapport with the time yet we should n't forget our roots.The sweet little cravings of dancing again to tunes afloating in air from a far away reception party,sheltering under a tree to saviour road side eatery,riding a cycle and enjoying the morning hues of nature still linger.But we are unfortunately caught in cob webs of modern life.We have trampled the cravings being confirmists.Is this the real value of our life? Does our life revolve around the vicious circle of routine-work/studies-connecting with people via media-sleep?Answers are bound to vary.Yet we should all no matter what squeeze out few minutes and spend in fulfilling out sweet little cravings irrespective of what people around us say or how they react.Life is like a bubble and we don't know if 'Kal Ho Na Ho'.So let's derive the maximum pleasure from the smallest cravings of our lives.

The Freedom We Claim

Before plunging,probing,dissecting and criticising the post I would like the readers to forget temporarily the cliched quotes and ideas on freedom.Its not about the freedom of human beings only rather about animals also.Few days before I went to the Nandankanan  Zoological Gardens,Bhubaneswar.I was near the enclosure of  lions I heard a co visitor complaining about the lost freedom of lions.Some others agreed with him.But a question prodded me for too long.Are the animals not happy with the amenities provided to them? An animal is definitely entitled to freedom.Each one of us is.Its our birth right.But if our freedom is exchanged in for some good expenses which are beneficial for us only would we hold grudge against the institution? In my opinion NEVER.Let's visualise a certain thing.We are in a room well maintained and well ventilated.Yet we have no freedom to go outside some barriers.Provided barriers ensure our safety only.Crossing the barrier means danger to our life only.We are provided with sumptuous meals as per our requirements.A doctor is available round the clock.Would anyone of us break free from the room and its set barriers and claim freedom jumping over the barriers' boundaries.That would be real folly if anyone does the same.Like wise no one can claim that we are free.We are bound by rules of authorities and institutions.We are shackled by set barriers of community/society.
       Similarly zoo is an institution with its own set of rules.The animals are not only kept in the zoo for amusement or recreation.A heap amount of money are spent for them to cater to their needs.The animals behind the enclosures feel safe from predators,unfavourable atmospheric conditions,loss of habitat,fear of poachers,loss of herd/group and even mates and finally the unavailability of food.Perhaps Zoos have all been painted with a darker shade by people.While children enjoy watching the royal bengal tiger yawning and the Siamese crocodile basking in the sun dipping its snout in the water adults let out snorts of disgust with the idea of keeping animals in captive.Are we not being a bit too judgemental about the freedom in the zoo that the animals enjoy? I asked a few of my friends to write an essay on zoo,and I was shocked that all of them have mentioned it as a place which deprives animals of their own habitat and ''freedom''.A place of research,breeding and amusement is what I define a zoo as.If we think a little out of box we can visualise ourselves in a zoo too.Are we not in an enclosure of  materialistic comforts,friends and partners,lavish living and  fulfilled desires? Yes we are.Who is free in this world? None.When our own planet Earth is not free from the rule of rotating and revolving around its axis and around the sun in its specified orbit then how can we crib about our and the animals' lost freedom.
        Freedom is not breaking away from rules,regulations and shackles that bind us.Freedom is never physical its always psychological.We break rules claiming it as breaking free then...we meet with accidents and lose our dear lives.What is that freedom which endangers our very existence.I prefer  living in a safe enclosure than roaming in freedom and getting attacked by predator or poacher.If being a human with a thinking mind I choose safety over freedom then why an animal will not opt for safety.At the end of the day we all dearly care for our precious lives.Be it animals or we...There is no difference.

P.S.:The opinion expressed are personal views of the writer.Constructive criticism for the post is allowed and welcomed.
Creative Courtesy:
                               Yann Martel's 'Life of Pi"

The Reckoning Wait

Life moves on
turning at some points
sharp,uneasy and ruthless
leaving  us to bleed,whimper.
Scream pain and pool tears.

I awaited at infinite stretch
for one who promised
who left with out a spare glance
the wait became reckoning.

The wait is never over
nor it would ever be.
For he is my favourite mistake
I am still awaiting....

Who Is Divine?

It was the time of Nabakalebara  Rath Yatra.I went for the divine 'darshan' of the divine lords.Indeed I was excited to be one among the lakhs to go to the holy city of Puri.The weather was apt for the journey.The sky was hovered with grey clouds creating a possible situation of rains.While we were standing in the crowd awaiting for the turns of our small gathering to enter the temple premises my eyes fell upon a little baby.She was in her mother's arms and her mother was finding it difficult to manage her in the sprawling crowd.I could see a tinge of helplessness in the baby's doe shaped eyes.Though she was n't my kin I felt a strong tug in my heart for her.I asked her mother the reason she had got the baby who is hardly some months old in the crowd.Her reply shocked me.She replied that Nabakalebara Rath Yatra would again be after 19 years so she does n't want her daughter to miss the view of Lords on Aadap Mandap  this year.The occassion is very divine and hence she should have 'darshan' of divine lords to get divine blessings,so that she could excel in her life.I was shocked with the explanation.I could n't understand the psychology that a child who has n't uttered a complete meaningful sentence,how could she be able understand the meaning of divine view of lords.I doubt if she could have recognized that at far the seated statues are the Lords.Even before she has seek her education she is being expected to excel in her life.Strange are the dreams and fantasies of people.A child is considered to be the most divine form of God.A child is an epitome of divinely innocence.What could be the more divine than the sparkle of smile on a child's face.The smiles and laughter of a child is the most coveted view.I don't understand why people run in search of divine inspirations when their own soul is the Temple and the conscience is the God.The Parents are the living deities and the child is the divine blessing in disguise.
Hope people understand the truth and realities of Life and withdraw their blind views about certain ways of living and leading life.
P.S.The opinions expressed are the personal opinions of the author based on true life experiences.