The Bridge

The cars sped over the bridge on the canal, sparing neither the bridge nor the canal a thought. That's not true, there was just one thought, to cross it before the stink overwhelmed them.

And yet, there were a few who walked or cycled on it. They had learned to ignore the stink.

The Reality of the Burden

On my head

I carried the weight

of guilt and regrets

In my heart

I carried the rock

of pain and hurt

The Extras

What is the plot?
Who are the actors?
What is the scene?
What is our character?

The Journey of Grit

It had grit. No, wait, it was grit. A tiny speck, one among a million, but only one in a million. 

It didn't know where it came from or where it will go. Nor did it care. It lived surrounded by family and friends and needed nothing else. When the breeze blew gently, it played with its friends, rising up, jumping high and then falling to the earth. It was thrilling, exciting and a break from routine.

The Mind Game

I had often wondered as a young girl, why the Vedic Indians who were far ahead in understanding the world, the cosmos, mathematics, and physics did nothing for human psychology. The tying up of mentally ill patients in temples, the neem treatment or just being resigned to fate when people in the family were afflicted with mental ailments hardly seems evolved and, in fact, it seems insensitive and crude.

Why All This Haste?

"When will it be 9 months!"
The family exclaimed.
Eager for the baby,
They counted the days.

Words on Words

The first one
Was a blessing
Much longed for
And very thrilling 

The second and third
Eagerly awaited
Slowly they tumbled
Giving joy unabated

The trickle gains force
Words come together
Into paras and sentences
With no stops or brakes

Every event described
Every emotion examined
Stretching every thought
Keep busy the little mind 

And then like an avalanche
There is no stopping the word blast
A trap that feeds on itself
Exploring future, present and past

From a pleasing rain
It becomes a deluge
But wonder of wonders
Everyone takes in them refuge!

Being pelted always
Words from without and within!
Fill the world with noise
Till one just stops hearing

Silence scares some
Even when alone 
So they plug their ears
And hear a constant drone

Music, yes pleasing
Elevating, ennobling
But try silence to dive deeper
And experience a power liberating

Find your own song
Hum as you walk along
Only for your ears, it is
Cutting you off from the throngs

A smile then always lingers
Turning the lips up
The mind that always complained
Learns to shut up.