Play – Do you play now?

While I was a kid there were many friends to play with and a huge open area to play as we wish.

We used to play many games. The evenings started with games involving lots of running and moving around. With that we would be drenched in sweat and while we are near exhaustion, we will shift to games played by sitting around.

So whatever our energy level, we played and played, till we were dragged to our homes by our parents.

And the level of animosity between neighbours was far less. We could knock any door of the neighborhood for a glass of water and they would also care for all of us.

There were few houses who let us play full time in their home. There was an aunty, who always has some craft or something to keep us engaged during the sunny hours. She also lovingly made popcorn and sometimes noodles for all of us.

There was an uncle who was living in a sparsely furnished portion. And he had set no limits for playing anywhere in the house and he would also join us playing hide and seek. He always entertained with some interesting conversation where he taught us something new in a playful way.

Life is beautiful when people interact with people, face to face, rather than when everyone finds their temporary deluded moment of happiness, within a small pixelated window!

Nights on terrace

One of the happiest memory of childhood is the time spent on terrace after dinner. Sometimes even for dinner!

And those night outs require some prep work done by evening. We have to splatter water so that it is not so hot for relaxing later on. This is one of the favorite chore on the summer vacation. As we get to play with water, while we also get some work done.

Regressing, I wonder how our well was up to its maximum capacity even during summer and the idea of water scarcity was not even so remote in the ideas. Also, the water comes from well, that is self replenishing, whereas the water waste from bath and kitchen goes to water the plants and trees of the garden.

Still, I think I might not be watering the terrace just for cooling effect, while the water is becoming much more precious day to day..

Anyway, twenty years back, that’s the only source for cooling as air conditioners are not so common and also the electricity can’t be trusted at all times for fans.

I’m moving away from the main idea. Getting back to it…

Those night time gatherings are so great memories, for that’s the time the entire family gathered together and shared much more than stories. That’s where the creativity is kindled with riddles. That’s where the knowledge is passed on through generations. That’s where we counted stars and believed we could finish it some day. That’s where we learnt stories of our parents as kids and it was always a pleasure to see the parents be kiddish, which makes them more likable even if they reprimand us for our pranks.

So that’s where life was at is jest, happiness breezed along, cheerfulness lingering like the distant train’s passing, and smiles were abundant, while making the childhood best of times!

Time and Tide

The past is the wave withdrawn,
The present is the wave beneath your legs,
The future is the wave little away, yet in sight..

Though we might distinguish differently,
They all together makes the ocean..

So does our life..
We are result of past,
Which tints the present and
Which also paints the future..

Though we might believe,
The wave left us to join back the ocean,
It never ceases to come back to you..

The ocean of today,
Holds within beautiful pearls,
As well as waste and dirt..

It presents you either with
A rare precious conch shell,
Or a dirty torn single shoe..

Don’t frown on shoe
Nor grin on the shell..

For it’s just a matter of time..
To reverse itself
Again
Again and
Again..

The tides keep flowing
Just as life keeps growing..

Lose yourself
In the vastness
And beauty of sea and life..

Don’t fret over anything..
Because,
The passed tide and
The ticked time
Could never be brought back,
For all the treasure of
The world and beyond..

Yet, they always give hope,
For a best conch shell
And a mind blowing event,
For the rest of our lives
To treasure and cherish..

Remember to cherish
And cherish to remember…

---

A throwback post – Inspired from the post of Darshith’s “From time to time” Thanks for the wonderful post Darshith!! And for the last two lines of this post.. 😉

Magic!

Magic isn’t just
From another world..
It is something as simple as
An innocent word,
Uttered at the right time,
By the right person,
For the right reason..
And it has the power of magic,
To transport you into
Another parallel universe,
While still living in this world..
To let you fly into
Cloud nine and beyond,
With firmly planted feet on earth..
To let you dive amidst
Exotic coral reefs and exquisite fish,
Without moving an inch of your body..

Create magic and feel awesome!

Fate of dreams!

He was waiting
To live a dream,
In the dream castle,
With her as the queen..

She was waiting
To move through another day,
Wondering whether her dream
May or may not come true..

They met!
He couldn’t describe
The castle-to-be-built..
She couldn’t believe, yet,
Whether the dream becomes reality..

A leap of faith..
From both of them..
Into eternity..

The all-knowing time
Still laughs and waits
To reveal only when it intends..
Without even a nice hint!

Where to, next?!

Does the path decide the journey?
Does the journey decide the path?

While the whole world
Keeps racing towards..
Same goal for the herds..
Unique goals to unique persons..

One was revolving
In the same spot for ages
With the belief
That’s the destination..

A butterfly flapped its wings
The impact was on the revolving..
The spinning at one point
Wasn’t enough anymore!

The stagnant pool stirred
Started to dribble,
it flew through and over
The stumbling stones..

As it kept flowing through
valleys and mountains,
It nourished few and
Demolished few too..

Yet, it kept it’s course..
When the paths ceased,
It was baffled and doubtful
Of where to, next..

The energy was bubbling..
Couldn’t be contained..
Hence it continued to flow..
And a new path was created!

Does the path decide the journey?
Does the journey decide the path?

Dare or Drift?!

It is said that some come for a season
While some come for a reason..

Whether you like it or not,
They come, stay and love..

You could neither
Drag them in to come,
Bribe them enough to stay nor
Kick them out to leave!

All that is possible is
Hold on with belief
That future would reveal
the reasons for the happenings..

Or dare enough to change,
By stopping to drift with the flow
And start swimming against the tides..

The current may be fierce,
The barriers might be many,

Yet you would know..
The destination you have set,
The distance crossed for that and
The struggles overcome on the way..

The destination is made beautiful
by the search and struggle
For the beauty is in seeking!

So even when the reason fades,
and the season changes,
do hold on to who / what is yours!

The butterfly effect!

Yet another day..
Yet another week..
Yet another life..

Life keeps going on..
With the same routine..
With the same mundane chores..

But exactly that much time ago,
In that particular place,
Between those two moments,

A butterfly flips its wings,
A flower glides across,
Yet, the pollen shatters!

And a slight variation happens,
A tiny shift in the plates,
Within the layers of earth!

The old shells are shattered..
The rusty thoughts are scattered..
A better version is the barter!

The caterpillar has grown wings..
The food, the shelter and the self
Almost everything changed!

The core of the heart lived..
Beneath layers of growth
And unnoticeable to the casual eyes..

It need not just crawl..
Now it could fly..
To soar new heights!

New horizons!
New wings!
New me!

Thanks to that butterfly
For the flip of its wings
And for all the ripples it caused..

Which shattered my world..
And along with it,
The obsolete cocoon!

Now each day is anew..
Each moment brimming with life..
Each flip with new ripples..

The old and the new butterfly
Continues flipping their wings..
So what happens next?!

Any more shattering?
Any more shaping up?
Or just a beautiful flight?!

The spin of life!

Life keeps handing you the tokens..
With happiness and sadness..
It spins it and the face up
Becomes the emotion of that moment..

Eventually, the coin is flipped..
And when you are lucky,
The coin flips back to happiness..
I’m indeed lucky right now.. 😉

Who’s dragging?

Does life drag you?
Or
Do you drag life?

Isn’t it easy to be dragged along?
Isn’t it content to be dragging along?

Isn’t it the path of anywhere and nowhere?
Isn’t it the path of somewhere and now here?

Aren’t you the victim to be dragged?
Aren’t you the leader to drag?

Isn’t it hard to resist?
Isn’t it tough to drag?

Isn’t it a drugged state to follow?
Isn’t it euphoria to be followed?

Does life drag you?
Or
Do you drag life?

The sweetest melody!

குறள் 66
குழலினி தியாழினி தென்பதம் மக்கள்
மழலைச்சொல் கேளா தவர் (66)

Kuzhal Inidhu Yaazhinidhu Enpadham Makkal
Mazhalaichchol Kelaa Thavar

‘The pipe is sweet,’ ‘the lute is sweet,’ by them’t will be averred,
Who music of their infants’ lisping lips have never heard [Couplet 66]

The innocence of kids is such a beauty.
The sweetest of the music is indeed the voice of their own kids, as mentioned in the above couplet.

But the voice of other kids is no less..

I have the fortune of being the favorite person for a cute little kid. In a conversation with his mother, I said, how long is he going to be this affectionate, it would eventually fade and when he grows up, he might not even remember me this well..

The reaction of the kid was priceless as he literally closed his eyes in a peculiar way and turned away with anger.

When I felt sorry and said sorry to him, he replied in a sweet way. It’s okay for you to say this once, but never again repeat it!

I was speechless with the sincerity and innocent beauty of it. And here it is recorded for eons to come and I selfishly wish that we stay so for that long.. 😉

Vicious wish!

I neither have the heart to wish life
Nor the courage to face death!
Hence life rolls on!

Revival of a Life!

She was losing hope on everything.
She was losing faith in everything.
She was losing interest in life itself.
She was losing her happiness.
She was losing her smile, even to fake.
She was losing life in every way.

He came into her life.

She revived everything in her life.

Not because he brought life to her.
But because, she wanted to add life,
To his soulless life, he was holding to.

Not always you need happiness
To infuse hope and life
Into the mere survival!

Lost and Found

Have you ever felt lost?

No, Not the kind, where you are stranded in a place, where they speak a different language or you don’t know how to reach a specific address kind..

But, standing amidst a group of people, who know details more than your name and who you are and in few cases much more than what you want them to, yet, feel like being lost..

Have you ever felt so even with people, whom you used to call as friends, or worse, best friends?

If you answer it as yes, I am terribly sorry for you. But the next question is just for you.

Have you ever gotten back to being best friends after a gap of being strangers??

Yes?! That is the heavenly feel I am talking about..

The falling apart is so gradual that you don’t even feel the pain of parting, but it comes down as a crash someday, when you both are sitting next to each other like old times, but nothing else is like old times.

The silences are no more comfortable, and leaves both of you wondering, what did I do wrong?
The easy conversations lack the flow and they are revolving just around common topics..
Talks about the nuances of the workings of things beyond the stars are just history..
Finishing the line happens, only to prove how opposite the thoughts are..
What we think as what the other likes, are not right anymore..
The sync which was existing in the thought levels has vanished like a vapour and even the spoken conversations doesn’t make any sense anymore..

With all such differences existing, the factor is surprisingly not visible and the differences doesn’t keep you at end of daggers either.. It is just the time and the environment playing its role, as a by-product of leading our lives to our own destinies.

As life keeps you separated in space and thoughts for a long while, the good old times, come back as the admonishing granny, keeping the toddler in control, from eating way too many sweets. The granny, throws away all the time and space and arranges for a chance meeting on an unexpected spot, at a totally unexpected place.. Yet, the need of the hour for one of them.

The unplanned meeting makes you forget the awkwardness and you both get back into sync as if there were no deviations and no gaps ever in the friendship.

And there’s a little more beauty to it, when just the meeting of the dear old friend, has lifted the spirits of both and has reminded each other of their own strength. For few people could boost your morality, just by their mere presence and even without uttering a single word!

Have you ever experienced such boost to yourself? Do let me know with your comments..

The Leap or Weep of a frog!

This is just a hypothetical story!

Take a pan of plain water filled half way. Drop a live frog into it. Let it be there for a while to get it settled. Now keep the pan on stove with the frog for heating. Let the heat rise slowly. The frog will still be settled in and not suspecting of your murderous plan. As the heat level increases, very slowly, the frog begins to realize and it will still find ways to be within the pan and start to adapt to the mild heat. At some point, it would even get cozy and well settled. As the heat builds higher and higher, the dumb lazy frog still wriggle and stay in. Only when it becomes totally unbearable, it starts to leap out. But the heat had already taken its toll from the frog and the strength to leap has evaporated!

I stop my story there, so you could either let the poor frog live or let the water to boil further and watch it die.

The following is not so hypothetical!!

What has made the frog suffer?
Did I hear your mind voice saying, the cruel heating the pan with the frog?
Oh, dear friend, why would you blame yourself?
It was an open pan and there were no other restraints on the frog. Let you wash off that non-existent guilt.
So what is the reason then?
The frog had the opportunity to jump off, when you started to heat it. It relished and relaxed in it. It never foresee the trouble nor doubt its ability to jump. It is the sheer miscalculation of the situation and self.

Since I hear your mind voice accepting to this fact, let’s move on to the final part.

The frog in the water or Cat on the wall?

Now we are gonna role play.

The pan accepted to be the comfort zone.
The water is to play the pressures of wealth, health, physical and otherwise.
While the heat graciously accepted to be the time factor along with situational changes.
Now we need a player for the frog.
Since you have been reading through this story looking for something or just killing your time, you are unanimously chosen to be the frog.

Dear chosen one, now it’s you in the pan and the water is heating up. Are you gonna relish the gradual change while ignoring the threat, or gonna leap out of the pan before your strength becomes your weakness?

Dear frog, go leap now,
Out of the comfort zone
And achieve your dreams,
Rather than weep later
Losing the strengths!

Hallows and horcruxes of muggles

Every Tom, John and Harry does certain things.. But not every Tom becomes to be the Voldemort and not every Harry becomes to be the Harry Potter.. Yet it’s surprising that each and every one of us has a bit of Voldemort and Harry Potter within us..

I’m going to shock you further that each of us has our own Horcruxes and the Deathly Hallows.. Yes, just not one, but many.. Wondering how? Read on further..

First, what is a Horcrux?
It is created by splitting one’s soul into fragments and securing them in objects or living things outside one’s self.. As long as there is a live Horcrux, the person can never die..

Fine, How is it created?
As mentioned in the Harry Potter series, it’s created by killing with vengeance or pure hatred..

Oooh.. Then how come we do have multiple Horcruxes? ?

This Horcrux I mention is a bit different and is not caused by vengeance or hatred.. And the Horcrux I mean is mostly persons, rather than objects..

Hmmmm.. So how’s it created?
With every heart felt, tummy aching, teary eyed laughter..

When you do share such happiness with someone, they become your best friend and your Horcrux.. As long as there is one such best friend, your soul could never ever die.. You do live upon forever in their memories..

Further more important is that, when your life seems to be in a complete mess in a dark hole, where there is not a single ray of hope, this Horcrux helps you survive the toughest of time.. It won’t throw light and make you whole again, yet it let’s you survive..

So, what makes you uplift from the darkest of time and gives you a happy immortal life? The Deathly Hallows

What are the Deathly Hallows?
It’s the collection of three objects that could cheat death.. The Elder wand, The Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak..

That sounds too magical to lay down on day-to-day life.. Yet it’s just out there, at some distance, that could be very easily reached out..

The Elder wand
This has the ultimate power and could do anything, the master commands it to..
It’s nothing but our own mind.. It’s always at your command awaiting to shape your future as you will it to be..

The Resurrection stone
This resurrects the dead back to life..
So does our memories.. A moment of joy lingering in the mind, does splatter at least a tiny smile, with every hint of the memory..

The Invisibility cloak
This shields the wearer from other’s vision..
Is that not just another mask? Wear up a smiling mask and thus you have successfully covered up your inner turmoil..

If one gathers all the three Hallows, he becomes powerful enough to overpower death..
If one could gather the three Hallows of our muggle world, one would eventually become the master of life..

Go search for your Hallows, and let your soul be surviving and thriving with the Horcruxes..

Keep Smiling and keep eating chocolates, to ward off the weariness of anxiety and restlessness of the daily chaos called life..

Happy living!! 😀

Who Am I?

I was the leaf,
The sign of new life..

Happy to belong
To a tree..
Thinking that,
Belonging is my destiny..

I was the last leaf*,
Giving hope to a dying soul..
Just by being myself,
And yet saving a life..

A storm blew,
The tree dint bend..
So it broke..
And couldn’t hold on
To this tiny leaf..

Now,
I’m a leaf,
Drifting in water..
Trusting the water,
To take me somewhere..

Hoping with faith,
That somewhere is
A good destination
And it might even be
A good foundation..

But am I drifting
Down a stream?
To a garden
Where I could
Bloom again?

Or am I swirling
Within a whirlpool?
Into the vortex
To be shattered
And torn to pieces?

Am I going to be
Picked up,
Adored
Treasured and
Preserved
For years to come?

Am I going to be
The life support
Of another drifter
A tiny ant
And help it
Reach shore safe?

Time answers all questions..
But the question is,
Will I be there
To hear the answer?

Dear time,
Who are you gonna answer?
When are you gonna answer?
And most of all
Would you eventually answer?

*The last leaf of O.Henry

Saving the savior..

When you are in the depth of drowning world, there comes a ray of hope with the help..

That ray keeps growing and glowing till it consumes you entirely, then comes the real trouble..

The life of past becomes a distant dream, a scarcely remembered, and makes you think, was that your life?

This ray of hope had always been a friend to me, irrespective of the mess or depths I had been pushed to..

I had said my thanks and had not forgot them, yet I feel that’s insufficient expression of my gratitude…

I would like to pass on that favor of being that ray for someone else, hence I go in search..

This search yields me lots n lots of insights on so many things.. A change in perspective tumbles me..

Hence I stop and just listen to the cries of needs..

They are
so subtle,
So scary,
So desperate,
so silent,
sometimes non-existent,
Yet so loud..

My rays reach out and cover a scarce ground for now..

In spite of being the ray, a darkness still resides inside..

Which keeps reminding me of the darkness and the struggle of being there..

Though my ray proves as a proof, that the past was a passing cloud..
It is the same ray that encompasses the still unlit darkness, the remaining residue of the past..

Now I could let the bygones be bygones..

But I just keep wondering, why none of the ray never warned me…
That the ray is not only hope..
It also absorbs a part of the darkness..
Being ray has its own darker side..
The darkness never ceases..

Yet do I warn?
Can I warn?
Will I warn?
I guess,
It is a big no…

Am I removing darkness of others?
Am I removing my own darkness?

I knew I buried myself in darkness in past,
Am I burying myself again?
In the rays of hope?
If so, let it be..

This is lot more fun..
For I presume,
I’m a savior,
Rather than
A victim..

Let me be the savior of you and hence save myself.. 🙂