The Joys of Reading

This one won be a prize at the Book Lovers contest at my work place.

Reading itself is a joy! At times it transports you to a world where you have never been before; you can visit a new city, live in a house by the sea, bathe in the warm afternoon sun even while you are sipping your cup of tea or while you are traveling. You lose your sense of the presence and jump with joy when the book's lead character has found his/her dream person or you can play a detective and see a murder mystery unfold.

Books show you life and times you would otherwise never know! You could travel back to the Victorian era and learn about the intricacies of dressing or you could travel to the future and live on capsules instead of food. Books help you overcome fear by reading about people who have captured all obstacles and made their mark in human history, books tell you how wars started over petty matters, books show you how some mothers have sacrificed for the sake of their children and books tell you how many a cruel heart has been purified by a little gesture of love.

Books are your friends on whom you can rely any day, they can fit into your smallest of bags and they give you company where others have failed. No matter what stress or tension in life you are going through, you just need to open the right book and your answers will come to you and your tensions will cease. Books as they say, are indeed treasure we need to keep!

Friend once...

Shocked and surprised! So what If I have not been in touch with Paromita since Class X; that's many many years now! But the news of her death has brought back all those memories alive of how we came back from school together, how we spent many winter afternoons gobbling oranges at the backyard of her house or mine, how we spent the Durga Puja days and many more.It has been many many years now and life's other business did not give me much time to remember all these very often and partly because she and her family moved to Guwahati just after our 10th I guess and she never said a formal goodbye before leaving. We both walked on different paths and I don't know if ever she remembered me and felt the need to talk but whatever has been her life like in these years, I wish her peace now.Never once did I try to search her on FB but now that I have heard of the unfortunate end I want to go and look for her and see how she looked like now but there is no point, just no point.Again wondering at the uncertainities of life...in some pain and sadness...

Baba

If mom's been love, dad's been tough
If mom's been angry, dad brought laughter
Holding hands, he led us to school
Riding us on his back, he led us to play
He is the summer sun of my life, he has been the winter's cool
He stays and listens to all my tales
He laughs and jokes when I act silly
He takes pride when I win
He loves seeing me smile
He silently weeps when I am sad
He is the bright star of my life
He is the sun of my mom's life
He's strict on days, he's lenient at heart
He is my doctor, he is my friend
He is my guide
He's my direction

There is a bit of pride in me
There is a bit of pride that i need
Tell me fair when I cross  the line and I shall see from where you stand
I shall erase any bit of ego
But I can't be you, for I am I
What am I if I have to be you?

My best Christmas memory

My best Christmas memory….... Years ago when I was in Bangalore I met Br Joshy and Br Jobby from my alma mater St Anthony’s college by chance; we hardly used emails then and FB groups didn’t exist! They were finishing their theology course in Kristu Jyoti.  They invited me one Christmas to accompany them to a nearby village where they used to teach. The occasion was Christmas and the event was a talent show for the kids.  I was to judge a dance competition and I was quite at a loss with  myself since I wasn’t born with any artistic skills whatsoever nor did I cultivate any ever!  I cannot forget the reception I received there. Throngs of children in bright toothy smiles gathering to see me. They wanted to know how to address me and Br Jobby quickly said ‘Sister’. So all around I could hear sounds of Hi Sister, Hello Sister, Welcome Sister. When the actual show began, there was no need to judge. I was fascinated by the children and their simplicity. Their dance simply left me enthralled and I wished big  time to join them. But I was a judge! And a Sister!  I scribbled the score each time a new contestant took the stage! I just could not decide who was the best! But I gave 10 on 10 to a girl of 4 or 5 years who came and stood still and smiled till her teeth ached! Br Jobby or Joshi smiled at me and said ‘But she did nothing?’ I said ‘But I am the judge!’

Speechless

Life is just so unpredictable. I woke up this morning with a resolve to give the best to the world. I made an early start to work as well, reading an inspirational message to have a clear vision on the way to any destination. So was I  all enthusiasm, listening to some music, working, was on track and just knew what I needed to do today. But this was not to last as one of my colleagues let me know the piece of news which disturbed for the whole day. Omji Shukla, a team mate left us for some other abode on Sunday night and we had not known it till Wednesday afternoon almost! He has left behind all the hustle bustle, the mad race, the deadlines, the pressure, the joy, the laughter and all of us. Much it pains my heart to think what his family must be going through at this moment to have lost their young son who I hear was supposed to get married in Feb next year. He use to sit just across my desk and I don’t know how many times I have crossed his desk while getting myself a cup of tea. It is empty now and I still I can’t believe that a man who was there till last Saturday is gone forever! The team was shaken and though we are keeping the show running, there is a strange feeling inside that cannot be expressed in words!  I may or may not remember him forever but I can only imagine the void it has left on the life of family and friends. The person who has his desk next to him  must be taking days to accept this bitter truth.  Here was a healthy person, young man who had much to see and do, gone! Gone! Cannot do anything but ask the Dear Creator to teach his family to live without him!

Unknown...

This road is what I tread everyday but why does it seem so new today?
May be I am alone on the road and cannot hear your little whispers...
May be the rustling of the leaves is not so clear without the dash of our laughter
May be the fragrance of the wild flower is lost without your smile
This road does seem long as there are no footsteps to match!
I keep walking and it seems so long
I keep walking and it seems so dark
I keep wondering if you were the one who lit the path
I keep wondering if you were the one made time go by
I keep walking till as far as I can go
There will be some light across the path very soon I am sure...