Four Eyes and Two Lenses

  "Most of your friends will leave you eventually, will get busy in their lives, and you will be on your own." I was furious when the campus mentor at the Infosys Mysore campus said these lines. I was in my early 20s and was not able to digest the fact that my friends, who were sitting beside me, with whom I just came back from celebrating my birthday party, will eventually leave me or maybe I will never be able to see them again in my life, let alone celebrate my birthday with them. It was not that I had not heard this sentence before in my life from several other people on several other occasions. I was angry with her because she was saying something that my then state of mind - which was euphoric , my then life events – which was like utopic , my then understanding of human affairs – which was naively unrealistic , did not allow me to take it inside of my conscious mind. I stood up and started walking out of the seminar hall as I could not take her words anymore, lea...

मैं आज़ाद हूँ आज ज़माने के उस बोझ से जिसने कभी मुझें चलना सिखाया आज कह रहा कदम को ठहरने मेरे जिसने कभी मुझें बोलना सिखाया आज कह रहा ज़ुबा को बांधने मेरे जिसने कभी मुझें हसना सिखाया आज कह रहा आँसुओ को पोछने मेरे बंदिशों में नहीं जीना है अब मुझें चिड़ियों की राह को तलाशना है अब मुझें ख़ुद की इज़्ज़त को बचाने ख़ुद की राह बानाने आवाज़ को बुलंद करना है अब मुझें मेरी बहनों के साथ हुईं जो इंतेहाई हिमाक़त उसका बदला लेना है अब मुझें हक़ की बात तो हुईं है कहाँ अब तो बस उसे छीनना है मुझें मेरे बालों से हुईं थीं शुरुआत ख़त्म अब उनके ख़ून से होगी ये बात क्योंकि बंदिशों में नहीं जीना है अब मुझें चिड़ियों की राह को तलाशना है अब मुझें मैं आज़ाद हूँ आज ज़माने के उस बोझ से ... The above poem was inspired by the recent event that happened in Iran. Take a look at the picture below. I feel this is the (most) strongest picture I have seen in recent times. Note: I have always thought, throughout my life, that I could never think of writing a poem let alone writing an actual one. This is my second attempt at it. If you feel ...

You know, yesterday I went on a road trip to nowhere. I woke up early in the morning to the birds chirping at my window. Freshened up, I packed all the essentials for the trip, smiling, thinking of the pleasant uncertainties lying ahead. My bike was shined & ready to glide on the highway as I tied the backpack onto the pillion seat. The first sunlight of the day rushed to caress my face as I put the throttle to roll. I had nothing planned for this trip, no destination, no stoppings, no expectations, nothing but experience, as it may come. As I hit the highway, my eyes witnessed nature doing its morning chores while bathing itself in the golden spread of the sun. Birds, up above, raced with me as they beautifully flocked together creating a mesmerizing skyscape with cotton clouds in the background. While below, moving straight, I was trying hard to confine my brain within, but couldn't hold it to spread its wings to explore the forbidden terrains of the Subconscious. When ventur...

That small shop When she was a small kid, there was a small shop by an old man near her house. She used to see him sitting in that small shop of his own every single day while going to her school. She used to buy chocolates from him while hopping back to her house. She was joyful when, sometimes, he generously gave her sweet candies for free. As time went by, she grew up and moved to different cities for studies and jobs, but whenever she used to visit her hometown she always saw him sitting in that very shop. They exchanged smiles few a times. This time when she visited her hometown, that small shop was closed for several days.