Mom and her

No ostentation. But she ogled about everything ethnic. That makes her chic. Now what, she isn't the heartthrob really, yet certain to get heads turn around at her. She wouldn't wear exposing attire, yet her eyes steal the show instantaneously, almost always! Her smile captivating, her voice mildly husky, her figure not model-like, yet has her curves right. Basically, everything that would bloody attract attention. Oh yes, and her talking was no less than sweet- no exaggeration. Fan following to her had equal number of men, boys, women and girls. Yet things weren't just as hunky-dory for her. There were enough clouds amidst multiple streaks of silver lining. More often misunderstood she was, for all her bundle of niceties- just like her mother. She found herself beginning to acquire her mom's traits, so much so that she was advancing in age, only to become like her mom, fully: perhaps because she could never get enough of her mom, at various points in time...she was turning out to be her mom, personified.

Inside the cupboard

Her place of worship was the cupboard- no rituals- devoid of inhibitions- devoid of even clothes at times- devoid of anything ostentatious- just her God and her. He stood inside, with multiple dispositions- sometimes smiling, sometimes grumpy and long-faced, sometimes laughing! At every point during a given day, she had one of the doors of the cupboard open- just to take a peek and check Him out- as though it was her boyfriend who stood there all day. Sometimes, child-like delight ensued, sometimes no reaction at all- just an innate sense of assurance that He is around, right there for her. 

Of late, something quaint had been happening quite often though- She saw her God smile at her each time she stood teary-eyed before Him; and each time she was excited- She saw Him sulking and looking disinterested. Until she got a friendly response from her God, she would hang around there- What's more, she even put a mirror right in front of her God and watched herself romance with The Lord, her Krishna.

A rabbit inside the moon

Sultry nights got cousins and I to the terrace to sleep every night

As kids we enjoyed the time together

Watching the sky 

Connecting every cloud to a country or a continent!

Lying down, we'd tell each other:

Hey look, this one resembles India

Kashmir to Kanyakumari-

The geography is just right!

And that one, slightly wide with a tapering end-

Is totally like North America...!

Just before we shut our eyes,

One peek towards the moon-

And we spot a rabbit inside it!

Sensing cliffs and craters could be what everyone else does

But as a child, I always saw a rabbit, perched on the surface of the moon

Years have passed by, I have evolved with time,

So have states in India increased in number 

Yet the rabbit still remains- perched- 

I can see its long ear lobes

Against the background of the whitish-grey backdrop:

The moon- with a rabbit inside!

Blinded by Love

Blinded by love
She forgot the people who helped her
Stood for her...
Her virtual love just remained as an existence
Not once did she bother to check if there was life ticking on the other end- The actual sound of a heart beat when you place your ear hard, against the chest. 
She delightfully strutted around, without care
She listened to no fret
Her eyes just met the virtual him all the while
Until one day she realised, she was just used. Plain and simple - just used...
The words of her 'actual' friend then just echoed- so loud 
That a sense of regret brought a gush of tears
Trickling down her cheeks
Tasting the salt of the tear drops,
She said: How could I have not taken notice of you, my dear friend?
You were there all the while...
After all, I spoke to you more often than I did to the 'insignificant' other...
Thank you, she whispered- teary-eyed.

The Emotional Icon

A compliment coming your way...you so want to acknowledge it, yet don't want to really fall for it, a smiley or emoticon in return would just do the right trick. It is simple and safe. Saves  all the trouble of having to put together the right words and yet being judged for the way you speak. 

Emoticons have invariably become a way of communicating. An animated smiley that just new how to smile ; to begin with : Nothing, but a plain wide smile, which still is pleasing to the eye and mind. Since then, the way smileys have evolved and influenced our conversations is a gratifying experience. 

The thumbs up sign is a classic example of a life saver- almost always. When you don't really desire to continue with the length of the conversation- The thumbs up emoticon pops out as an emphatic symbol of agreement... The veritable 'y' in braces (like this- (y)) instantly sticks out in the timelines and windows of Facebook; so much so that you sometimes just wish that you could extend the same to Microsoft Outlook too; just when you are in conversation with your bosses or colleagues!

A birthday or an anniversary wish for that matter- what would otherwise look plain and undressed- when peppered with some flowers, party hats and balloons...makes the wish look animated and zestful.  With the world of social media witnessing convenient entrants by the hour, EMOTICON, derived from the portmanteau words of English- emotion+icon, is certainly a virtual blessing!

From symbols that express love, anger, dismay, good luck, to symbols that represent coffee, flowers, fruits, sandwiches, virtually just about everything that is part of verbal communication gets covered without a single word being uttered! Whoa..! Just a variation of sign language this looks like...! What's more, we have more stickers on Facebook that are much quirkier than their watsap counterparts. The recent Chumbak and kitten cartoons make for some interesting conversations with these characters popping out with a  cute animation!

Come to think of it, we've actually been innocuously using these symbols for most part of our lives. Remember those cartoony images that come to you in the form of stickers? Haven't we done a whole lot of our letter writing using these stickers?! And of course a host of designs that come as freebies with biscuits, energy drinks, bubble gums and what not! Especially, back in school days, when you'd want to impress that secret pen friend of yours... we would have the best of stickers saved up for that precious, handwritten letter! 

It is amazing the way communication goes through so much transformation- in every sense and now, even the manner in which one emotes! There is so much accentuation with these little punctuation marks and alphabets- ; , : ) :P ... Perhaps, this is what I'd call the rich text!!

Death bed

Having the luxury of choosing one's death bed

Is a definite gem that one could treasure

While knowing the reason for death lends a certain sense of freedom,

Knowing where one would die, is even more liberating.

Unlike sifting through what restaurant I want to dine at,

Or even where I want to shop for clothes,

A cessation of breath if pre-decided, lest it's a suicide,

Brings in a gush of internal satisfaction.

Knowing where I'd die?

Ah! that will help me live life- enjoying every nuance;

Making way for happenstance moments all the while;

Until I die, and even after...

A song in memory of every dear one

A song in memory of every dear one
Could there be such a thing?
Yes, why not?
Would it not be liberating?
Reminiscing and remembering,
One at a time,
Enjoying freedom with the memory of just one;
Yet being able to switch over,
As though wired with switches!