The lyrics…

My loved ones formed the octave..my fingers stumbled upon..

At first it was a cacophony, till the notes fell in place..

The ups and downs created a hue and cry..

The new rhythms were applauded in standing ovation..

But then some keys fell silent and some real loud..

Just as I stood dumbstruck, what to make of it…

I realised the new melodies that took birth, mesmerizing my ears..

And thus I play my piano, all my notes in place…

Beauty I create from eccentric notes, that was not meant to be..

And on and on I play my band, my music sweet and loud…

Till the keys and my fingers a bond shall share..

Regret not if my fingers are stilled, for the keys still shall play…

The music I had instilled in them for aeons and aeons..

Whisper of the woods..

The trail was long and strewn with leaves…

The whispers of the woods reached my ears…

An eerie stillness filled the air…and a heaviness engulfed me…

For a moment I feared the loneliness..

But the kind eyes of the sambar deer eased the anguish…

The deer sprinted crushing the leaves in its trail..

Leaving me alone to explore the truths the woods spelt…

Far from the madding crowd, far from the entangled thoughts…

I realised the blurring of lines between the right and wrong…

How easy it was to love and how difficult to hate..

The cicadas and crickets competed in the concert..

Leaving the onlookers no wiser than before..

The woody smells and champa flowers filled ones lung with glee..

As I walk beneath towering trees, I realise how insignificant I am..

So my thoughts and my dreams are mine alone to savour..

Farewell dear friend, a day shall come, when I shall be back..

As a breeze I shall blow into you and rustle your leaves in mirth..

The final bell…

She reclined in her arm chair, the spectacles hanging precariously..

The drapes hung loosely on her drooping shoulders and hips..

The long pendulous strikes of the grandfather clock, set in motion, a flash back..

And she traveled unwittingly into the maze of memories of the yonder..

The charm and poise with which she stood, commanded respect from all..

Decisions were balanced and crisp to core, naysayers went up in thin air..

Stolen glances and hushed comments always beckoned to the child in her..

The sprawling lawns and teenage hues kindled the desire in her..

Many a time she wished to step out of the cloak of honour, she was bestowed..

To laugh and guffaw and to shout and whistle..to her heart’s content..

To run wide in glee, with arms outstretched, into the horizon afar..

To love without inhibitions and to care without forethought…

But neither did the bells tire not did the weary assistant to remind of her pending tasks..

With a do or die spirit, she marched along, nevertheless…

But now as the silence looms large filling the crevices and the vacuum..

She pines long for the long lost romances, the vanishing fragrance and the whispers of hope…

As the bell strikes the final toll, the spectacles fall off the limp frame…

Finally the soul can love uninhibited, laugh in mirth and rock the moon to sleep..

Ode to the great ladies in my life…

The stories behind the sighs, were long and arduous..

Tears flowed relentlessly, and no effort was made to stall…

I stood in awe at the magnificent form that stood firm amidst darts from the enemies…

No amount of torture and fortitude could dent the curve of her smile..

No wickedness or treachery could mar the purity of heart…

No amount of deadlines or threats could deter her from her goals..

She was soft, bold, brave, pure and magnanimous, all at the same time…

Her stories served as lessons to unwitting successors…

She emboldened, cajoled and ushered them to the vast ocean that awaited..

All the while, her able sword would break the tsunami that arose..

So that the little warriors swam in stealth and reached their purpose..

And when the goal is reached, they shall revere, the great hearts, who sacrificed their lives for them..

When love won…

I looked greedily at the delicacies, laid out in silverware..

The sting was followed by flooding with saliva..

The skin deep beauty gave me the raptures..and held me in a trance..

The curve of the brow and bend of the nose carved a niche in the hollow of my mind..

A sudden flood of hormones left me feeling weird..

The serene composed girl was, no longer one to reckon..

A cuddle and an embrace, the chilled wind made my heart pine..

The sensual delights threw my horses into a frenzy never before..

The full moon and the cool breeze soothed the burns in me..

And when the torrents of downpour died down to a drizzle…

The mud began to settle, the surface unperturbed…

Slowly and steadily the flame glowed in a perfect spindle…

The love surpassed all and sundry and lust abandoned with glee…

Ecstasy..

The tiara glittered and the bangles clinked..

As she twirled around, the mirrors on her skirt, shone like a thousand suns..

The myrrh wafted deep into the nostrils, uninvited in some…

With half closed eyes and graceful moves, she swayed with the beats..

The coloured beads on her full bosom shimmering in the light..

Just like the riot of colours that she displayed..

A riot of conflicting thoughts engulfed the onlookers..

Oblivious to the havoc, she swayed in vibrant moves…

The graceful curves and flawless looks embodied a gem..

A silent thread she spun around entwining all the souls…

For right or wrong nothing mattered in the spur of the moment..

An ecstasy it wrought so deep, in the hearts of her audience..

Nods and claps and tapping toes, accompanied the addictive beats…

At the end of the charm when the trance did break, the lone sane one smiled in enigma…

The voice within…

It all began in the years of the plaits..

Hundreds of voices advised me ever..

Torn between indecision and frustration I plodded down my path..

With envy I oft looked at the diligent trail of ants..

The plethora of emotions seemed non existent in them..

Not one decision, ever pleased the cosmos cause diversity reined the helm..

And fear of wrongdoing, kept me knotted in my knees..

Oft many a soul came along, veiled with empathy…

Dim witted, I fell often, to the honey cladded words…

And when the soul doth awake, the vails were loud and deep in the vacuum…

And hate wound, it’s stealthy coils around the trunk of guilt..

From the black hole, when I emerge, the soft voice whispers loud..

Trust not, but thy intuition, and the chime of your heart…

For when the soul is light and warm, the path treaded is right..

And in thy path, the soft breeze shall whisk away the doubts..

And fears that the doubts bringeth shall no longer hold strong…

I choose to love…

I knew not to love less, I knew not to speak soft..

I knew not to guard my actions and knew not to hush my fears..

Years of cajoling had kept me in a shroud…

And a false sense of security was my castle of cards..

So brutally on one day nay many a day, the wind blew ’em all..

And left me shivering in my naked soul…

Walked through embers and paths hitherto unknown…

Saw in vain and disbelief, several sheep in wolves clothing,

Some one had to decide, it was now or never, and hence now I am.

So love I shall with full passion, the blooms carefully chosen..

And tread I shall with full caution, the paths carefully chosen..

For mine is but one life, I choose to live unbridled…

Come what may, the quiver is well armed, and the soul no longer naked..

Fuming embers..

The ancient doors creaked open, the aura held so strong…

A fragrance so sweet and intense, lingered in my senses..

Of wretched souls and blood stained orbs, the dreams were one and all..

The passion and the warm glow, lit the hollow ablaze..

After weary trails and fruitless struggles with ego and the guilt..

I looked forth in the canopy for the clearing that would come…

I refuse to be a smooth pebble chiseled by the rough water…

Through naysayers and sooth sayers, I seek a middle path…

A challenge I await, in my wake, sharpening the edge of my sword…

So when the bell does toll, the strike shall fall sure and hard…

Bespectacled dreams…

Those days when the endoderm and the ectoderm of the cotyledon seemed to merge ….

The frequent misspelt words, the red circles and wrongs…

My science teacher sought a reason beyond my numbed looks…

Then began my world, behind the large spectacles, from 7 years of inception …

Almirahs seemed to bulge and bullies extra rude, when behind the lens..

Once I abhored, then I felt low and slowly it became my companion for life…

For the dew drops, the tender buds and the beauty of the dawn…

Seemed more beautiful and real behind the lens..

The blur of the world without my friend has given me the shivers many a day…

So I clasp tight the legs and fit them hard to home, lest they fall off.. blinding me…

Many a year had passed and so did my collection of ’em in various shapes and sizes…grow..

One special friend I cherished lies today buried by sand under the waters of Hoganakkal…

A little fidgety, a little unsure and a little introvert I remain…

As my world is complete only with you my friend…

But together we have miles to go, stay close and leave me not when the plunge I take…