The Seeker

Everywhere he goes, he tries to find,
a kindred soul and a smile, sweet and kind.
He goes wandering place to place,
He searches every hooded, bearded, muddy face.

When he sees the kindred soul,
He stops to stay  and tries to form a whole.
His weary soul looks to heal,
he smiles, dines, discusses what existence and life is meant to be.

He takes a job and makes a friend,
around the town he goes, trying to fit in and pretend.
 It goes on and on until he realizes the time is past,
his soul is no longer engaged and he must leave and fast.

He says a hearty goodbye and promises to stay in touch,
His friend waves a teary goodbye, missing him very much.
But the weary traveler does not look back,
he travel tall hills, deep seas and the desert sand,
 looking to find something, even his restless heart can't understand.

He writes a diary wherever he goes,
People are awestruck when they come to know,
That this weary man has traveled most of the world,
understanding people and mysteries as they unfurled.

He is old now but none the wiser
He is rich, has many homes, but is still an outsider.
He loved many woman and has tasted many a cuisine,
All natural wonders and amazing cities, he has seen.

But his soul is still seeking and searching restlessly.
He reaches a snowy mountain with a beautiful waterfall and lake.
it is not yet dawn and the air is cold and his hands shake,
As he reaches to drink from the pristine lake, he sees,
His reflection, with his father's eyes, his mother's chin and cheeks,
He remembers his siblings,his family and suddenly his knees go weak.

His wished for his father's approval and his mother's embrace,
Their love, laughter and their affection and grace.
He left home to find more of something he already had,
A happy family, stable family, oh! he must have been mad.

So, at the break of dawn, he was homeward bound,
yes, the prodigal son was to return, what his soul has lost, it had found.
When he reached, his father was ill and very old,
He was dying, he was told.

But the two soul reunited and were finally one,
not age, not time, not space could replace the lost son.
They embrace and cried and laughed and smiled, until the old farmer died.
 the farmer's son untied his boots and his travelling hat,
he wore his father's shoe and took his father's place on earth.
Ploughing, reaping, sowing, smiling with his family, his soul full of mirth.

What he was seeking, he finally found,
But really, it was after one really long round.

The Ty party

In a city named Serendipity, known for its civility and diversity, there lived two friends Honesty and Dignity who were sitting in the restaurant named ‘The Liberty’, which was becoming empty. “You in love!?”, exclaimed Honesty with alacrity. “Yes”, replied Dignity with certainty. “Which is nothing short of a calamity, as she is feisty, lacks modesty or subtlety”. He sighed –“But she has vitality and is really pretty. Her name is Vanity, oh what do I do Honesty?”. Replied Honesty, “Well, just tell her”. “But how??”, wailed Dignity, “I will lose my identity, if she refuses”. Honesty said “I can understand your difficulty and I can tell you with authority that truth has the power of infallibility, so state with clarity what you want to say. I’m sure you have the ability”. “But yes, it is indeed cruelty, but make your choice according to your priority”. Dignity thought for a long time and said with finality, “Thank you Honesty, I will tell her”, and then he left ‘The Liberty’. Honesty sighed. He was in love with Infinity. The problem was she was a celebrity and he was a generality. “Ah, the futility”, he said and followed his friend into the city.

Infinity was meanwhile being wooed by Suavity who had this infinite capacity to be haughty and the same time witty. Towards him, Infinity was filled with animosity but out of civility, she tolerated him. He was saying- “Even the gusty wind in the trees on a full moon would writhe with shame when it sees you and the sun---”. “Whatever!” thought Infinity with immunity, and was filled with gaiety, when her deputy and secretary named Ms. Unity interrupted- “I’m sorry madam, but the producer Mr. Majesty called, and said that if you want the part which will earn you immortality, you must meet him now.” “But it is so late”, exclaimed Infinity with asperity. “May I! “, said Sauvity with magnanimity, “it is my duty to escort you my lady to the fatty’s residence”. “No please!”, Infinity replied with insobriety, “It has been years since I traveled in the city with anonymity, and if u have any sensitivity to my seeming irrationality you will leave me alone”, she finished with irascibility and stormed off in her dainty attire into the city night..

Infinity then shivered at the absurdity of the actuality. The full moon night was misty and she had long lost her ability to find her way around the city. Hearing raucous laughter laced with crudity and fearing for her own safety she fled into a back alley and rammed into Honesty who was looking at her with curiosity.

Meanwhile, Dignity had sought Vanity who was sitting on her stairway looking down at him with docility. The very fidgety Dignity finally proclaimed with exemplarity, “Oh Vanity, I know very well, the egocentricity which is a part of your heredity, I know you are haughty and lack humilty. But unlike others I see in you divinity, a certain frailty and hilarity, and I want to be with you until I’m ninety. I’ll love you for all eternity. If you say no, I’ll lose my individuality and throw myself onto gravity. Say u love me too”.

Vanity looked at him with impassivity but when she spoke her voice was frosty, “You dare question the nobility of my dynasty! you sure are guilty of immaturity, but alas“, she added “It is my inability to resist your surrender to inevitability gladdens me..”, in a tone filled with joviality “And that I am your destiny”. And so they sat in an empty lane and filled it with festivity.

At the same time Suavity was comforted by Serenity who was a friend of Duality, who was the cousin of Unity. Suavity crumbled to self pity and heartbreak was on the verge of insanity when Serenity in all her purity cured him with words and gestures of a calming quality.

Curiosity changed to incredulity as Honesty beheld her beauty and frailty. He said, “Miss Infinity, I am well accustomed to the poverty of the city, I shall lead you back to your suite” ,“you mean back to captivity”, said Infinity taken in by his simplicity and charity. “I no longer want to go to work for Mr Majesty, I don’t want to be a cinema deity. I just want to see and experience the world” . “Will you show me around now, for at night time conspicuity abandons me”, and so Honesty wearing morality and cordiality as a shining armor understood the enormity and feasibility of the situation and took her through commonality.

A year later, jaunty Vanity and a full of stability Dignity, hearty Suavity and a picture of tranquility Serenity and velvety Infinty with the wonderful Honesty met at “The Vicinity Club” to discuss with avidity the abstrusity of reality over tea.

Just FYI: Self-Published

If you are reading this, then you have either unwittingly stumbled upon it while exploring the vast wilderness of the internet or you sometimes follow my blog. I usually write poems for light reading and I like to read them a few years later and even better, like to hear from people who liked reading them. There is nothing more gratifying to the amateur blogger than a comment either from a total stranger or from a dear friend.

I am happy to say that I have written a book. I wrote it a long time back, when I was pregnant. I wrote it for me and for the baby, so that we can be in writer's heaven instead of a chaotic commute to work for that 40 minutes in the morning, everyday. I fell in love with my characters, all 12 year old boys and the book literally wrote itself.

Now, after almost 3 years, I self-published it. Why? because I couldn't let go and I wanted to introduce the story to the world. Because the few publications I sent it to did not reply back and because every person needs to celebrate their passion.

If you have the time, money and interest, please do try to read and review it :)

https://www.amazon.in/Heroes-Hill-Banyan-tree-Brotherhood/dp/1643242903/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528041860&sr=8-1&keywords=heroes+of+the+hill+s.malar

Chennai Times

It's summer time and blazing hot,
there are mirages on roads and 'easy', life is not.
 We try to avoid going out in the sun,
But we still end up having fun.

Eating ice-creams and biryani,
and sitting by the hot blue sea.
I think a lot of my weight,
making diets and marking dates.

I think I must eat lightly,
and be sweat free and slim and sprightly.
Until I end up having sweet tea,
or I end up eating biryani.

We talk about corruption with anger and hate,
while we inch toward the toll gate.
We pay GST reluctantly,
and watch political drama unfold on TV.

We try to catch the IPL match and support CSK,
and discuss it like we discuss rains, on this summer day.
We hate the TV serials and wait for movies instead,
We walk aimlessly in the malls until we are ready to drop dead.

 We earn and spend almost equally,
We fret about retirement continuously.
until we go out and order biryani.

There are many types of biryani you see,
basmati, jeera samba, bamboo and hyderabadi.
we discuss the flavour of spices and taste at length,
comparing shops and prices and taking more time than we meant.

According to the Oxford dictionary,
Biryani is highly seasoned dish of rice, meat and served with gravy,
It is a Asian delicacy, improved over generations, for you and me.

My mouth waters as I write,
I wonder if I can manage to have a biryani tonight.
I know it makes me fat and reduces my life expectancy.
But why live without having biryani.

Though I crib and cry,
about things I cannot control and sigh,
I do not control my urge you see,
when it comes to eating, sleeping or having biryani.