Monday, April 14, 2008

As I look back!


Namrata looked longingly at the young man behind the counter. It had been a few hours since she had eaten anything. Her stomach was rumbling along and she knew for sure her daughter, Anagha's would too. Anagha was seated next to her, lost in her own fairytale world. She looked away knowing she couldnt afford it at all. She would just have to wait for the meal they'd provide on the flight.

Her thoughts wandered back to her squeeky clean kitchen she had left behind that morning, on Sommerset drive, Jersey. The announcements being made in the terminal were jarring and clashing with her thoughts. Her thoughts of another flight, another journey she had made 15 years ago, nervous just as any newly wed bride would be.

Hands crisscrossed with the red henna patterns, clutching her brand new suitcase, her neck caressed by the unfamiliarity of her new mangalsutra, she had embarked on her journey into matrimony. A flight that had taken her to faraway shores, latticed with promices of happy, bright, adventurous paths, far away from parental security. She had held his hands in nervous fervour, one she had entrusted her future into.

Now as she looked around the terminal , she tried to quell her nauseous thoughts. The painful memories of deciet, infidelity, abuse-physical and emotional had worn her thin. She dwelled on the choices she had made- a lucrative job, her warm circle of colleagues, her house,her daughter's world: she had to give them all up in search of one precious gift, her freedom. After he had wiped out her bank accounts, she had snapped. Now while she waited for her flight to be called, she shuddered at the thought of her future. But she knew she wanted to leave the place that held volcanic nightmares. She hadnt deserved to be treated the way she had, and she had taken a bit too long before coming to this decision. Now there was no turning back. She had a right to freedom and she was going to get it. A silent calm settled into her.

Was it her flights of fantasy that had held her back when she could have confided in someone? She had thought he would change if she did. Now she knew she was just clutching at a melting piece of ice. She smiled. She had made her choice and she felt happier. All she had to look forward to, once her flight was called and she bent down to lift her bags and hold her daughter's small hands.
This time her she was embarking a flight that was less unknown and she ,less nervous.


This piece was written in response to the prompt at writer's island.



Friday, April 4, 2008

Boiled beans!



Namma BengaLooru


By two coffee, filter kapi,
Steaming idlis soaked in divine chutney
SLV's , Darshini's, teeming with harried citizenry
Temples and rock shows ,rustling along

Pub hopping, or salsa dancing
Stroll down memory lanes
Sidewalks disappearing, yet gives way to green

Peaceful, hospitable, pensioner's paradise
Tags of era gone by
It city, pub city, silicon yet no identity
Floundering along far away.

Language barrier broken into
Smiles aplenty for me or you.
Wide roads, mud roads, narrow streets
Lalbagh, Cubbon park, landmarks giving lung space




Gulmohars, Tabebuia, and not to forget the brilliant Jacaranda
BMTC roars along, while the lesser mortals cruise past
Give way to the majestic Autos, traffic is stairway to hell
Weather so pleasant you forget moments were dull.


Warm welcome to one and all
'City of boiled beans', isn't that what she was called
Bangalore to BengaLooru
Does it matter?
Our hearts still remain open to all




In response to Totally optional prompts in the regional category.

Life!

Mysterious calls
late into the night
Silent words,
unfinished tasks
Springly bounce
to the joyous feet.
Parallel lives
Words left unsaid.


My first time at 3WW. Would love to hear what you'll have to say.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Gambling in torrid sands...


Endless steppes and torrid deserts, high mountains covered with eternal glaciers and valleys filled with fragrances of grasses and flowers. So said the ad.


Thats where they were headed
She glanced askance, and saw him engrossed.
Deep within the pages of a moth eaten novel.
He was devouring it like a parched traveller.
She shuffled her feet, he lifted his weary eyes.
He knew it was time to leave


Saw that she had packed her bags,
some more than she could carry
But then she was made strong
And so there was no need to worry.


He left his post with a gloom on his face
Knew not whether he would get such a taste
He had gambled away his heart
and now he must not make haste.


So pensive in his thoughts, he trudged along
She waddling by his side
Reached the scorching sands
And hid beneath the burrowed bands


Made sure no flying eagle caught their sight
Scurrying along shadows
They both hurried, knowing their plight
Reached safe haven, and hi fi'd

"Yo! heady ant, I the termite, take thee as my lawfully wedded wife.
Written in response to writer's island prompt

Is it sunshine yet?


Morning greyness

toothpaste sweetness

Is the faucet fading away?


Struggle with the footsteps

seat myself on the first step

But where are the rest of the treads?


Mother brings a bowl

Swirling crispies on a roll

But did the sugar crystals melt away?


Into the shower she howls

As if the water's crying foul?

But listen I must or else she'll yowl.


Morning has broken

Isn't that a song?

Wonder what Cat was thinking


Nights seems to wander

Into a snooze

Left me behind

while it went chasing the starry moons.