Goodbye

What happens when you love someone

And then you have to leave

Your heart with anguish heaves

And you feel yourself come undone

What happens when you walk away

And he will not be there on a rainy day

When you both know you can't stay

And without him things always go astray

What happens when it finally hits you

And you trudge alone down the lonely lane

Your love stands the test true

Of time and distance, yet again

I know what happens when hope fades

And numbness engulfs me

Tears and pain, like a waterfall cascade

And you feel cold, colder than the deepest sea

Untitled

This is a poem I'd written a while ago when trees were burnt down near my house. I'd recently read 'The trees are down' by Charlotte Mew, and I guess the two together are what inspired this poem

The air fills with death
Your last sound, a crackle
An unfair fight with demons
With blazing hands of red

The air fills with white
The colour of purity
The colour of death
And you are both

Is it an honour
Or a pity instead
That death for you
Is unlike the human?

You will not be buried
Nor cremated with anguish
Nor ashes floated in holy water
But swept by the wind instead

You give them life
And they, you, death
Yet useless you die
In an unfair death

The Lie

I’d write you a song
To tell you how I feel
But why waste the words
When you already know
And everything that I
And nothing that you
Will say is true

We would talk about us
And I would tell you that
I love you,
You would say the same
But everything that I
And nothing that you
Say is true

I’d remind you of
The promises we had made
The ones we had promised
Not to break
But everything that I
And nothing that you
Said was true

And even as you read this
With a grimace on your face
I know that
Everything that I
And nothing that you
Felt was true

The lost heart

Sick and tired
She rests under the stars
Tears spent
She has no more

Her eyes open
And she breathes deep
A vow
She'll hurt no more

She loves him
Hopes he does too
Leave him
That she'll never do

Hugs and kisses
She does not need
It's love
For which she pleads

Impossible he says
Breaks her even more
Stay strong
That's now her goal

She cannot speak
But she does write
To convey
What she feels right

One more time
She tries to plead
And will
Till he sees
That they are meant to be
That she will not leave

Wake up...it's time

Why do you give up hope, when there is much left in the world of men? Why do you only see battles raging between the government and people? Why do you think it's the end of humanity because a man gunned down children? Because a woman was raped?

We insult our species by even considering these acts to be human, therefore symbolizing the "end" of humanity. And how dare you eve say they behave like animals, and highly insult animals? Maybe the Mayans were right. Maybe the world  might end in 5 minutes. But the world will not end because of 7 people.

No. The world, when it does, will end because of the 7 billion people on planet Earth. 6 men raped an innocent woman. 1 shot innocent children down. What are we, the remaining 6999999993, doing? Posting pictures on Facebook about how we want men castrated. 

Why do you not see that a young woman risked her life to save the lives of her students? Why do you not see the millions of people wanting to help, but not knowing how to?

Stop saying what you want done to those b******s. Start thinking about how you'll ensure that no man thinks that way, forget does. Because no amount of regret,  marching, shouting, protesting is going to help the families of those innocent children gunned down, or the innocent woman. Instead what they would appreciate that no one else went through the same ordeal.

 

Pandora did not just let evil out into the world, she also let out hope. Hope that keeps the world running. The same way, humans do not just let out sick deeds, and torture. They also let good shine out. Don't let the world fool you. Keep believing.

Mysore - in 2 days

Mysore, the city of palaces and gardens. I actually spent 4 days there, but the weekend was my favorite. It started with meeting Sayed, the magician. Find him when you're in Mysore. If you're lucky you'll find him outside the lobby of the hotel Regaalis, and if not then ask the doorman for him. Sayed is a traditional magician, and comes from a family where each generation teaches the next magic.

The Mysore zoo had been strongly recommended to me, and so on Saturday I dragged a friend of mine, who unbelieveably had stayed there for an year without visiting the zoo. It's a big big place, and I had the time of my life. I loved the monkeys and apes (as always), and saw an otter in real life for the first time! :)

The second day is what I'd love to rattle on about. We headed to Coorg in a superb Inova. But better than the town of Coorg is what's on the way. My favorite was the "Golden temple", which is actually the Buddhist Nyingmapa Monastery. This place is a perfect example of don't judge a book by it's cover. A modest entrance, leads to a magnificent steeple, which had my mouth dropping open literally. But that was still nothing. An unassuming doorway with a curtain of beads opens into a huge room where there is a celebration of colours and peace. Whoever would have imagined that red could be peaceful? The tall statues, the paintings and the monks with their calm voices and prayers which commanded attention. I could have sat there for the entire day and maybe a couple of more. The gift shop there is the best! It's full of little trinkets like good luck charms, fans and even tea sets (I bought a cute little green one), all at very very low rates.

After the temple, which I reluctantly left we went on to Cauveri Nisargadham.This was a very typical touristy spot, with the main attractions being the deer park and elephant rides.
The deer were friendly and eating cucumbers right out of the hands of tourists. The mahouts were pretty mean and constantly hitting the elephant on the head with a stick, so that made my first elephant ride not so enjoyable. But the best part for me was the hanging bridge over the Cauveri river, which had a great view, which was also spoiled thanks to too many people chattering.

The Akki falls did not really impress, but maybe that was because you could hardly hear the water over voices. However the "churmuri" a simple snack consisting of puffed rice, tomatoes, onions, coriander and spices is a must try! Lunch in Madikeri also recommended.





However what I'd love to do is go back to the monastery and sit and sketch every single picture there. I guess a year's sabbatical would be enough for that!

Random acts of kindness

Inspired by recent acts of kindness by strangers, I have decided to start a bi-monthly column just for this.
However, the success of this column depends on you, my readers. This is going to be an open column, featuring mostly
(I hope) readers' works. So readers, please feel free to write in your experiences to me at ritealot@gmail.com.

Here's mine to start off with.

One balmy afternoon, a friend, my mother and I started off towards the railway station. My friend was lugging
an enormous bag, which he stubbornly refused to let either of us help him with. After much persuasion, he agreed
to share the load and we each carried one strap of the bag.

All this while we were looking out for rickshaws, and as luck would have it there were none. We started up the road,
a winding one, slightly uphill. A rickshaw came around a bend, and I flagged it, but it was occupied. Surprisingly it
stopped in front of us. A lady got out, holding a toddler close to her.
With a friendly smile she said some of the kindest words I had heard for a while, "Take the auto, my house is right here. I can
walk."

To this day we owe the lady, not just for giving us the auto, but for making out day by this selfless gesture.

So readers, pay silent tributes to strangers, family, friends and maybe yourselves. Write in to me at ritealot@gmail.com...