He, the one whose birthday it is

'Today is his birthday', said Joe, the doe to Sue, the sow.
'So, you planning to bake a cake?', asked Sue.
'Hahaha, and eat it all by myself?', Joe asked back sarcastically.
'Wouldn't he like a cake baked on his birthday?', Sue didn't care but still asked.
'He would.', Joe dreamt of that last birthday together.
'Then why dont you?', Sue persisted.
'Bake a Cake?', Joe was not listening I suppose.
'Aha?', Sue liked Joe's cakes at times.
'What's the use?', Joe looked faaaaaaraway.
'You, him.... and me, we could have a little feast!?', Sue ensured her share.
'Him?', asked Joe, of whom I wonder.
'Him yeah...', Sue thinking for the first time there's something wrong with Joe.
'.... He's not here.', Joe replied.
'But I... ', started Sue, and then realised all of a sudden that he was not him.

Snow Song

How much longer will
You open these boxes
Of empty surprises?

Instead lay down on
This snowfield -
Cool, pure, untouched
Let the sun
Beat against your skin
And wash these shadows away.

Somber is not how
I meant to write the snow song
But out of this tune that's played
I'd be if somber not.

The wedding shoes not bought

It was late. Mommmy Giraffe was rushing them into the car. But Gif had to run back and take one last look before the shutters rolled down on the windows at the shoe store. Hmm... that white sparkling pump shoe would do good for her wedding and with that white gown she would wear at her wedding it would do marvelously! Little Gif dreamt of a wedding with white gown just like they did in the fairy tales, just like the barbie her friend had from Dubai and just like the cartoons on television and she vowed to buy her wedding shoes from the shoe store. Whenever she passed the shoe store, she would check out the models, the glitterring ones and finalise one for her wedding. It was funny, but she did that finalising each time she passed the store, like she were getting married within the following one month. But for now she eyed that tiny white boot with pink dots on it.


Ten years later. Tif and Gif were rushing to be on time at home for mommy Giraffe's birthday party. They have the gift in hand and must be at home as soon as possible when Gif notices the shoe store alongside. She stops at once and glances slowly through the models displayed. Tif is surprised, jokes about the power of window shopping on Gif and tries to get her back to rushing back. But Gif has to complete the task. Finally she decides on a silverish sandal. She is older now and no longer dreams of fairy tale weddings. She now dreams of a knight in shining armour. Well not really, but thats just cliched-ly putting to you the dreams of a dreamy sixteen year old! She dreams of marrying this tallish, thinnish, sauvish, smartish, humourous, moustached Man! No matter what, the wedding shoes must be bought from the shoe store. And maybe if Tif didn't hurry her just as much as he was, she would actually step in and buy that branded floater all her friends wore.


Ten more years later. Gef and Gif were walking down munching popcorn after sitting through a very stupid movie about robots. She didn't really care, she just wanted time with Gef, with Gef next to her. And suddenly she realised the shoe store is alongside. The temptation of years has not worn off. She must decide on her wedding shoes from here. Hmm yes, that sleek red stoned slipper would do just perfect especially with that Red saree she planned on buying for her wedding. She now dreamt of marrying Gef and noone else. So the lack of heels on that slipper would make more sense given the lack of height difference between them. Hmm... she just hoped that the slipper would be available 4 months later as well, when she planned to begin her wedding shopping.


Ten months later. Gif and Gef are laughing about a terribly inconsequential thing and walking down the street, behaving not very different from how they did before they got married. And suddenly Gif spots the shoe store along side. She stops laughing and something just hits her with a huge thudddddd. She had not bought her wedding shoes from the shoe store!!! After all these years!!!

Silk, roses and streams

Every scenery painted
With roses decorated.
Straws handpicked then
Braided into a nest of silk.

The last picture was hung yesterday
With it lay complete a
Home of silk, roses and streams
Eyes shut, birds sung.

And yet we walk these empty streets....??

Is the way to a man's heart through his stomach?

Nobody ever told her this, nobody had ever written it, noone even discussed it today. She wondered how she got to it in the first place. Nope, no movie ever revolved about this idea and no novel could be conceived about it. No religion preached it and no book after 'Life's-little-instructions' carried anything at all on it. As a kid, playing 'kitchen-kitchen' with little ducks and pigs, she was sure she would grow upto it. All through her past she had been confident that she would be the best at it. Though today she wondered why she wanted it so badly and whatever had caused the idea to grow so ingrained in her mind. Gif believed she must cook better than Gef and sadly she didn't.

Hejrat

Ba soghoote dastaye ma
Dar tanam cheezy foroo reekht

Fasli ke man ba tho ma shod
Fasle sabze khaheshe barg

Fasli ke be tho man shod
fasle khakestariye man

Be tho bayad, be tho bayad
tha nafas daram bebaram

Cheshme tho ba hegh heghe man
Ba shekastan aashena neest

Een shekastan beeseda bood
har sedayi ke seda neest

ey rafeeghe nakhosheeha
Een khoshi bayad bemeerad

Joz tho hamrahi nadamaram
tha shab az man pas begeere

Ba tho bedrood ey mosapher
Hejrate tho be khatar baad

Por thapesh bashe deli ke
khoon be raghaye thanam daad

Fasli ki man ba tho ma shod
Fasle sabze khaheshe barg

Fasli ke be tho man shod
fasle khakestariye man.....

Prayer

She turns my dreams into songs
Then, in a quiet moment
When all those words lie
Unspoken, less betrayed
She softens my heart
A path is cleared in my misty mind
And these songs become a prayer.

Rinii's pet ant bites

She didn't know when it started or how it started. She saw it first as she rolled up her ballet socks on her front left leg. She didn't feel good about it so before beginning her lessons that day Rinii gave it a scratch. It turned red and hot. She decided to forget about it.

But it wasn't easy. She was distracted all through her ballet lessons and her ballet teacher thought that pretty Rinii the deer was losing interest in ballet. She missed steps, fell in wrongly with the beats and she skipped parahs standing still trying to think how it might have started. It irked her and frustrated her when after lunch she tried to scartch it off again and found that it had grown bigger and redder and hotter. Towards evening she was exhausted in worry and wanted to find a remedy to heal it off at once.She decided to try something cool. Maybe that ointment that is supposed to soothe and heal wounds. Thats the first thing she did on reaching home. Rolled down her ballet socks, took ample amounts of that ointment and spread it on it. It was big and red and hot still but she hoped that ointment would do the soothing trick. Then she lay back on her sofa and thought back, why had her pet ant had come out on her and bitten her on her leg.

Strangely it felt exactly similar to sitting on the sofa and wondering, a few months back, after her first fight with Remo her husband. The initial cluelessness of when and how the issue began, the forceful brushing it aside as nothing and then scratching or irritating each other till the fight was stoked to really hot and big proportions and the final remedy of surprising him with iced lemon tea and wondering alond and working it out why this happened. Rinii smiled, closed her eyes and hoped her ant bite would be all cleaned up just like how their fight was after the lemon tea.

Gef and Gif, go on this trip...

Early one morning Gif and Gef set out on their moon trip. After a short fly and a train ride and a jeep drive, they reached the town closest to Kanchenjunga, the second tallest peak of the world. Gangtok was full of cheeky people who had slitty eyes and puggy noses but dressed remarkably despite the chill. All the girls had the most shining hair in the country, Gif and Gef together watched them while they walked about with shining hair and high heels. Their culture was funny, not the stupid kind of funny, but more like the fun-type of funny... I doubt you'd get what am trying to say, but thats just it, their culture was funny. Take for instance the way they greeted Gif and Gef. They wound cream silk scarves round their necks and gave them yummy red wine to drink. So you see it was funny and a lot of fun!

Gif and Gef took lots of photos at the monasteries and took in buddhist ideas of spiritualism and mystery. Buddhism as a religion in itself seemed surreal to them. The stories seemed well quite a story, tough to believe. And yet here were scores praying with utmost trust and belief in those very stories. Gif and Gef pondered on that deeply while they took the ropeway ride across the town. The ropeways seemed to be message bodies being exchanged between the mighty mountains. The ropes were thankfully strong enough to not lose the message deep down into the valley.

Gif and Gef went to the border. Now this was no silly border though the concept seemed infinitely so to the mighty mountains surrounding the border. It was the border respected and nurtured by the yellowed skinned men and women on one side and the brown skinned men and women on the other. While Gif and Gef shook hands and exchanged chocolates with both the brown skinned men gaurding the border and the yellow skinned ones, Gef developed a silly kind of neckish-fever. Neckish because it all started with a vague stiffening of the neck and then temperature increasing all over his body. Gif poked jokes hoping that by their descent he'd be swell again. But the neckish fever took to Gef for the rest of the day :( So when they went on that Yak ride by the frozen Tsangu lake atop the Himalayas, Gif half-giggled in mirth and half-worried to death for Gef and Gef barely sat clutching his wife!

Gif and Gef went on long walks by the view points and tried to click the sunrise in motion against the Kanchenjunga. They had silly fights by the coffee shop at Tashi. They snuggled tightly by the fireplace in Nor-Khill. They confessed to extreme stupidities and prided in their achievements. They ate like they possessed rubber stomachs and drank like there was no tomorrow. They sang and they danced while the snow fell about them. They revelled in each other's company and celebrated love, finally :)

Fine seperations

Ten speak and one listens,
One speaks we all listen.
Reels move as I watch
These fine seperations between us.

One cries, another consoles
One dies, the other grows old.
The mind weaves a colored net
Before it starts a second game.

Scars form though I never bled.
I scream, not a sound is heard.
Time moves, leaves Jill behind.
Let's roll the die again.

Simple Things

Walking, watching
Laughing, writing,
Talking, smiling,
Meeting strangers,
Friends, drinking,
Sleeping, listening.
Singing into foggy
Midnights screaming
Silent dreaming
Waking sunshine,
Waiting, hiding but
Mostly missing you.

Obituary

To our dearest Sierra,

We will not forget you,
Nor the hard times you went through
Among angels you'll live
Where silence is replaced by peace,
Solitude by bliss,
Shadows with streams,
Nightmares with dreams
Tears only of Joy
And pain no more.

Twisted Leonard

Purposeful frown,
Lost blue eyes,
Cheeks sunk
Into a pale background.

Lean being
Stretched across a distorted dream,
Left to weave the
Missing parts of his reality.

Twisted is the protagonist of this song.