Miracle of the dawn

My contribution to Cafe Writing Option #4 - Poetry

“In silence and movement you can show the reflection of people.”
— Marcel Marceau

Days and months pass by
with speed of light,
a blink is all it takes
No time to stop by,
to reflect and ponder
an hour is all it needs

Eyes wide open from
a deep distant slumber,
The dark sky and the calm street
the fiery red ball
about to embark on it's daily routine
A tranquil awakening of the senses

Thoughts wandering,
yet crystal clear
conscious deep breaths
inhaling positive vibes
battering eyelids close,
opening a whole new world

A meditative state
a slowing heart beat
immerse in mellifluous chants
experience the silence
the serenity of the dawn
the soul moves, the body still

A shining star

Very few films make a deep impact. Even after coming out of the movie hall, you tend to be in a state of rigorous thinking and pondering over the message broadcasted by the storyline. I happened to watch one such incredible movie last night. People have written excellent reviews about "Taare Zameen Par" in the past one month. Having been a big fan of Aamir Khan from my childhood, how could I afford to miss his first directorial venture!

TZP will make you laugh, cry, reminisce childhood memories, go back to school life, think about our class mates, the irritating everyday grind named homework and much more. The storyline portrays the pressures faced by kids and how they miss out on having fun in the most important phase of life called childhood. Blame it on the parents, teachers, education system, competition or whatever! The pressure is only on the increasing side and no wonder, kids also face the symptoms of stress and depression.

The protogonist Ishaan displays different shades of emotions - be it having fun with himself bunking class and roaming on the roads alone, utter sadness when his parents leave him in a boarding school, withdrawal from all activities and crying to come out of this hell. The characters played by Ishaan's parents bring about the typical middle class mentality where a kid has to succeed at any cost. The screenplay paves the way for some interesting scenes - for instance, when Aamir visits Ishaan's parents, when Aamir gets angry about Ishaan's father's attitude, the painting contest. The mind blowing music plays a very important role in this sensitive plot. Colorful picturization and the amazing paintings are a visual treat.

The tagline "every child is special" sums up everything the story is all about. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you are missing out on a rare phenomenon these days called "a sensible movie". I'll definitely go for a second watch.

Tiny Giant

My contribution to Cafe Writing -Option three : Can you picture that?

I'm amazed by the clear blue skies, the vast oceans, the huge mountains, the planets and the distant galaxies. When compared to this entire spectrum of evolution or God's creation, whichever way you prefer to take it, how tiny and miniscule we, human beings are! But the one nature that makes us think that we are the biggest in the whole world is a small 3-letter word "EGO". It is an inherent nature to be egoistic, just that the magnitude of this nature varies from person to person. I get to observe this nature in many people on the roads these days - "How can a Santro overtake me? Let me show the power of my Mercedes", an example of a 4-wheeler driver's pride or ego. "How can that guy drive on the pavement and bypass the traffic? I have every right to do it", a motorbike zooms past, proving his ego. Rushing through every minute, the working professional thinks that the 9 AM conference call is more important than the old lady crossing the road and cursing her for her slow speed of walking. These are some examples of incidents that I observe every morning which makes me feel disgusted about this whole egoistic attitude shown by us.

Our ego and pride makes us feel bigger than others. But there are other such issues called as "problems and worries" which magnifies and portrays a larger-than-life image. We become smaller in front of those issues and start to believe that we could no way tackle them or get past them. Eventually we become the slaves of these constant worries and our lives are dictated by these issues.

Contradicting in nature, ego and worries can make us feel bigger or smaller. When we realize that we are "tiny giants", then we would be humbled by those huge planets and galaxies and face those problems and worries with confidence and guts.

"The" date

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings - #93 "The Date"

A normal start
nothing unusual,
I pack my luggage
for my weekend travel

Work fills me up
the entire day
sipping coffee
at my decorated bay

Couldn't wait
to spend time with you
those precious 2 hours
for the next 4 days

the sparkles unrealized
the words untold
we play our favorite game
the game of kings and queens

A master of chess
You defeat me in no time,
A sheepish grin
Our fun at its prime

the moment unexpected,
the feelings unexpressed
my hands in your palms
our journey has begun

the perfect proposal,
no words to embellish
this special day,
forever I'll cherish

Over the horizon

My contribution to Writer's Island - Over the horizon

Pondering over the possible outcomes
At times adventurous, at times scary
over the horizon, in the days to come
hoping for the better, yet not ready

inevitable changes in the path of life
embrace the thorns, not just the roses
scholars say so; pains induced vary
a drop of blood or a permanent wound

praying for a canvas of colors
let the brightness spread joy,
looking for the purpose of existence
let the peace empower the progeny

no more inhibitions and fears
the horizon is to be faced,
giving shape for a much larger horizon
A cyclic process, yet not predictable