This time ...I believe

 Those little diamonds

Fall from sky; melt as they touch

Your beautiful soul

Inside the warmth of

Fire; my heart yearns for you love

Two mugs sit prettily

The winter silence

Whispers ‘make your dreams come true’

I smile and believe

Wait until the spring

When the dreams shall fly their wings

Open in the sky 

                                

P.S: Feels lovely to come back at haiku heights. Hope you all had a great Xmas.:) Wishing you a fabulous 2013 too:) 

Prompt: Snow

Xmas and More...

To an adventurous 2012....

2012….No I won’t complain. Today is a day of blessings, smiles, hopes, lights, and thank God for all the wonderful things that came our way.

 

I happened to visit many places this year. The year started with a fantastic New Year’s party in Bangalore. In my second visit in January and third visit in June, I left a part of me in that city of gardens....( Blore you listening??) 

I travelled to Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ahmadabad, Somnath Temple in Gujarat, and the serene islands of Daman and Diu.

Most importantly I finished my Masters, attended the convocation ceremonies of my Undergrad and Postgrad! Yes, they were lovely and beautiful!

My recent visit included a week’s fabulous trip to the land of Elephants: Sri Lanka ( A work and pleasure one ). On my trip I visited one of the world’s gorgeous universities: University of Perediniya with its lush green and pristine campus. I visited the 7 floor Library which was home to the most classic works you could ask in any field! Kandy was a lovely hilly area with the sun that sparkled at the top. From Kandy I headed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sigiriya: Singh ( Lion) + Giriya ( foot). Since it is only the lion’s foot that remains of the massive palace that King Kashyapa had built, it’s called Sigiriya. It’s an adventure in itself to climb the huge rock. 

Sigiriya, as it looks from the entrance 

Behind me on the wall: Fiascos, paintings made by
King Kashyapa

The best deal of climbing the rock is : Every step is worth it. Then I headed to Colombo, a little city with a radius of max 5 kms. So yes, you can cover the place on foot. I however, was busy travelling in a bus and auto!:P The autowalahs are experts at cheating u! So as a traveller one needs to be careful! 

Photo frames

I shopped and shopped from one of the loveliest and not to mention expensive places in Colombo. Here are pictures from Odel, the shopping store: 

wrapping papers and gift boxes

 

My year was nothing less than ad adventure. Oh! Yes a long roller coaster ride loaded with little and some big pleasant surprises on the way. Of course there jerks, good ones too, but well it all turns out good in the end!

So here’s a toast to the smiles, the love, the flowers, the sunshine, the starry sky, the chirping birds, the people who love us no matter how mad we act or how insane we get, the warm lanterns, the blessings and the optimism……..

It’s good to live in the present J A gift!

A delightful December, Merry Xmas and a Great Year ahead to all of you!:) 

Me and my Mum in a mall, Colombo

Taj Samudra, Colombo, all lit for Xmas!

And yes my fav pic.....Have a warm winter......:)

Exotic, Inviting and XMassy all at the same time;)

STOP RAPE NOW!: NO MEANS NO!

I’m enraged beyond any measures. As I seethe with anger, I shudder at the recent incident of a 23 year old girl, a girl of my age, who was pursuing physiotherapy and was gangraped by men to the extent that they ripped her body with blunt tools making it impossible for her to live. The brutality tells me that these men should be penalised with nothing less than a death sentence.

Here I was, till yesterday, cribbing and shedding tears for, now apparently “silly” aspects of life. The fury and the anger on Saumya’s blog at that time didn't make too much of a difference; yet at the same time I could connect. My mind said to me “She has voiced my thoughts. Every word there echoes the rage all us women carry within us over the rampant cases of sexual molestation and rape in Delhi". I say what Government of India has done to make us women feel secure?

In times like these there are two things that happen. One, that your mind erupts like a volcano blasting of the magma to great heights waiting to kill the victim with your own hands or better still hang them openly in front of the millions of Indian women, some who themselves have been a victim of some kind of sexual assault yet stayed mum and others who are ready to fight back for the freedom they completely deserve as a citizen of India. The other thing that you can experience is 'being numb'. Its like the defense of denial. You are hurt, shocked to the extent that no matter how much you want to detest something or scream at, your brain does not responds for 'it is in shock'. I could not help but write my fury for the cause it stood for.

I apologise if my written English does not follow the norms for my sentences are too long and not neatly packaged as the rules of grammar may prescribe. That’s not the point though.

Few weeks back I found saying to myself “It’s better that I don’t step out of home at late nights, considering the way rape cases are happening in Delhi”. Today, I believe and question “why should we women be forced to stay at home because of some sick minded people who are out on the Delhi street, roaming around like wild hounds, waiting to catch a piece of meat and tear it apart till they reach satiety?” 

We women need that safety and security that many across the world have. What Delhi has done is crumple this ‘sense of freedom’ to the extent that many of us for a number of years had taken ‘unsafe Delhi’ as a fate and something that could not be changed. As I write this today, it hurts to think how I would hide the fact from my postcrosser friends about Delhi being a ‘rape capital’ in the world ( even as I would admire the rich cultural and historical heritage of the city). Of course, as a citizen of the country, the escalating (many under the wraps) statistics on cases of sexual assaults, molestation and rape (for both Indian and foreign women) only encourage foreigners to explore countries that richer, most importantly safer.

I have to say something at this point. I recently visited Sri lanka. It’s a gorgeous country with spectacular landscapes. However what is most dazzling about the city Colombo and other parts of the country is the way men act towards women. I will comment only on the visible, for that is what I came across. No boy or man in the city ogled at a girl. Whether it was a foreigner roaming around in hot pants and spaghetti or a Sri Lankan girl wearing a dress! No lewd remarks made! While there was an instance when two young boys did look for a while at me, the stare was not bad. All it felt was two guys checking on a girl sweetly ( Ha! how it contrasts with men here in Delhi!). This makes me question if this aspect can be attributed to the 100% literacy rate in Sri Lanka or something else? I mean if India were to achieve these statistics, would men become more civilised or still act like ‘filth’?

What’s wrong with Indian men? I wonder if this question is rightly put. A country which for centuries has been venerated for its values, is that what we come down to? How hypocrite can a nation be which prides itself in the so called ‘Indian’ values on one hand and sees a massive rise in torturous cases against women in its own capital city?

I’m done with reading daily incidents of girls and women becoming a victim of rape. I thought of the girl’s boyfriend who still lives with the trauma of the incident. He is unable to empty himself of the guilt for it was he who suggested her to take the bus. The rest as we all know was a ghastly incident.

No, I don’t say all men think cheap. It’s always a few bad apples in the basket which spoil the lot that is good! It’s time we Indians adjured the Government of India to make the country a safer place for women and create measures to make the penalty for rape cases nothing less than a death punishment. The culprits need to be hanged for that is what they deserve!

I have signed the petition “Union Home Ministry, Delhi government: Set up fast-track courts to hear rape/ gangrape cases." with change.org. I urge you to do the same, if you too feel strongly about it!

It’s time we brought a change in our own country!

Lost something

I have been wanting to write something profound for a while. Sigh….it feels that all the creative energies have got lost faded with time.

This year and the months gone by have taught me a great deal about time.

It can take your breath away as much as it can wash your pain away

It can blossom like a flower in a day, as much as it can make a dead leaf glide away

It smashes like a wind, as much as it becomes soft wet sand

Hand in the water and there it goes

It makes you wonder about the self ‘that was’

And makes you wonder of the self ‘you’ve lost’

In all this and between you perplexed ask

“How do they still have me, the reason, the cause?”

As the people step up in life,

You stand there numb

The flushes that would lit your cheeks a while back

Have gone missing, perhaps drained away

Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home

Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
'Cause time comes slow and it goes so fast

Well you see your dream when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
'Cause you are not the same and you dive too deep

Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Apologies for sounding like this…..

The sun comes by, blesses and then goes back too

 And I’m here, trying to rise and encapsulate the rays, shiny and true.

To you and to perseverance

The clouds have drenched off their tears

The garden is wet and green

The droplets from the wire

Show me what I have seen

The birds seek a shelter

As the trees swing heavily

Yes the breeze is cold and chilly

A day when weather goes silly

As I sit here in my blanket

Feeling cold from within

The words you offer, a cup of coffee

My heart hears you, as you are giving

And now I’m warm and soft

Like the dessert we both love

You said all you want is my smile

Here, love, I shall surely offer

Yes, I’m blessed in this life

Blessed shall be the days to come

I shall do all I can this time

Believing in my run

Knowing you are there to cheer

There to hear me loud and out

I shall keep the sacred power

And rejoice happy and loud!

Love

Aakriti