The selfie

For almost a month, the rains kept pouring. The sun peaked for the first time in a long while and I met her for a brief period. My joy captured in this poem. 

Today after a month,

she came back.

I know not if she smiled, or frowned

Or just stared at me,

But I was happy.

I looked up at the sky.

I knew this would be brief.

I had missed her, delighted to see her,

My companion, my partner.

Then before I could have a word,

Slowly she started to blur,

And faded away into nothingness,

As a big black cloud appeared.

It was dreary again.

And all she left for me was this selfie;

This new generation you see.

“Keep this she said”, for company.

My gastric Pune vacation

I had made a list of new joints

from every corner of the city.

From fusion foods to tandoori chai,

novel options for this non-resident desi.

My flight landed

My list was ready,

My gut was geared for the ultimate gluttony

But first came breakfast at Vaishali,

cause I missed their sambar the most.

And Darshan followed soon,

for their Baked beans on toast.

And then I pictured the oozing sauce,

from Marzorin’s cheese roll.

So that and Burger King (the original),

were tick marked in one stroll.

Bedekar had to be done,

for that bothersome misal craving.

And for the Maharshtrian Thali,

Shreyas came calling.

With home cooked maa (and sasu maa) ke haath ka khana,

and cousins and friends hosting dinners,

the taste buds were thriving,

and the waist wasn’t getting any thinner.

Yet, I managed to squeeze a visit,

to Ganesh Bhel for the masala puri.

And an evening round at Vaishali (again)

for the pending SPDP. (c’mmon banta hain!)

The rain wasn’t helping

Todos became ‘if time permits’

And gradually my rumbling tummy

Was calling it quits.

Alas in the end my new list

was untouched you see.

Just happy, nostalgic tick marks

by the ‘assal’ Puneri in me.

Pending is the boondi cheesecake,

pending are the liquid nitrogen shots.

And as I sit here drooling about food in Pune

the sambar returns to my thoughts.

Damn, there we go again!

Broken (not shattered)

The force inside was growing stronger,

Would she be able to hold any longer?

Her thoughts were gripped with the thoughts of ‘beyond’,

Betrayed; longing to break the sacred bond.

Leaving familiar land when outside seemed bleak,

Nervously wiping the tears on her bruised left cheek.

She mustered the courage to break free,

With a bleeding hand, ready to flee.

The barrier broke, the wind gently blew.

And behold outside, was a beautiful view.

It wasn’t so hard after all, she thought,

To say good bye and untie the knot.

She had always been tough, fit and strong

But her heart had been frail, for a little too long.

But the day her resolve turned firm, and she made up her mind,

Was the day she was free and had left all behind.

Somber wishes

Penned this on my daughter's 9th birthday. 

I hid the newspaper today,

and switched off the TV too,

I assured you and myself again

That schools and planes were safe for you.

An engineer, a fashion designer maybe,

I worry not what you grow up to be,

I worry how I can make you strong,

To face the world that you don’t see.

Yet!

I worry for how long I can shield you,

“Should I let your beautiful world shake?”

Terrorists, rapists, useless laws,

“How much dear, are you ready to take?”

Talking about the birds and bees,

is not something I ever dreaded.

But how do I explain oh little one,

How one man’s fantasy left another dead.

On your 9th birthday I wish for you,

To be big and strong and tall.

And gift you the courage to face the real world,

And me the mettle to tell you all.

-Mumma

Battles

Pushing through a thousand clouds,

the sun still shone bright.

Haughtily the rays emerged,

proving their sovereign might. 

"No one dare compete," it said,

"against my supreme power.

Look at you standing all day.

Bow to me, king of the hour!"

The lamp post stood still,

patient, turning a deaf ear.

"Let's wait past seven," it mused,

"and then see who's still here."

And so, in life too you see,

you need to pick your  battles.

The ones that light the churches, forget not,

are but the timid candles. 

The old stay-at-home mom

She cooks, she cleans, she counsels, she teaches

without an appraisal or a promotion.

She picks up the lego and the crayons on the floor,

And pieces of a heart that’s been broken.

The degrees sit idle in a corner,

Gathering a layer of dust.

And her unused brain feels heavier,

What with a kilogram of rust.

As days come and pass by,

Nothing seems to change so much.                                                                           

And every day she goes to bed tired,

Wondering just what to pack for lunch.

She says not that worth comes only with a nine to five,

a monthly cheque or a medal won!

It comes as you lie tired in pajamas on the couch

And a loved one pats and says “Well done!”

…. but that is not to happen..

The new stay-at-home mom

It’s the middle of my lunch,

The little one needs to pee,

My head zooms back to quiet times,

To my ol’ days with HTTP.

How I’ve moved from the world of code!

HTML, AJAX,JS and jQuery.

“GET me a Lego set, and some Shopkins”,            

Are the new REQUESTS for this mommy!

Taking the kids to birthday parties,

Are the only FUNCTION calls.

And the only TARGET I have to hit,

Is the one in the corner mall!

HADOOP is out and so is SCRUM,

KUMON is the new word in ma town,

CLOUDS are drawn on card paper here,

Not discussed with Amazon.

The only OBJECTS are the ones on the floor,

Lying around waiting to be picked up,

And the only SPRINT I need to make,

Is when the son gestures a throw up!

I miss the work, I miss the fun,

But there’s no remorse with a “WHY?”

“But it’s always hard when you have to choose”, don’t you think?

I end it with a sigh!

Hope

The sea spread to the horizon.

Her sorrows knew no bounds.

The sea shore was empty.

Not a single sound.

She stood there arms open wide,

As the sea caressed her feet gently

“Come oh beloved,” it lured,

Forget the sand castles and break free.”

But her feet remained buried,

Only the sand slipped through.

“Who are you and why don’t you let me go?”

“How can I dear one, they came HOPE!”