The Hindsight

The best thing about life is the “moment”. It’s what defines you, what makes you who you are. No matter how much you plan, built or construct, it’s in that one moment that things happen, lives change. You realize that nothing is ever perfect, or even close to it. One moment in life can transform the façade of your expectations from life and make it the most epic fiction you've ever come across. Things we never thought would happen to us, things we swore we’ll never do, people we promised we’ll stay forever with, love, faith, guilt, desires, hopes – all that we ever owned, shaken – for good or for bad, is a matter of perspective.

 

We meet people, we bind them in expectations, we fall in love, we make promises and we hope to hold on to them forever. Life, as they say, was never served on a platter.  The irony of reality is it’s unpredictability. The minute you start settling with the lemons life gave you, peaches begin to grow. We all have that one moment we regret, one moment that makes us proud, one moment that gives us the strength, one moment that tells us that life, goes on... Yet we trust, we expect and all this just to savour disappointment. I might be too young to understand how people make all the difference in one's life, but I am perhaps too old to not realize that you become what you choose.

Taking The Blame

In pain I breath, I loath, I bleed, counting each second as it pass... It's a sweet lullaby, a perfect alibi, for the ever tormented heart... And so I wait, at the eternal gate, hoping for it to fade away... But it holds on to me, hideous and unseen, like a pious wisher's pray...

The Story of Us...

I walked a road I did not name,
now I hide somewhere inside.
And for you, I took the blame,
agony begins to rise...

Looking back in time I see us play,
the games we seek no more.
Then love took us and lift our days,
when our hearts were damp and sore...

My Tears Wish Me Goodnight... (Revised)

As I pull the strings the pages fall,

I see my past unfold.

The broken pieces burn within,

and to love I shut my door…

I keep inside my broken self,

faking yet another smile.

Hiding the ashes of the burnt,

for yet another while…

The love I shared hasn’t paid it’s price,

and its all going in vain!

The loneliness that haunts within,

now drives me insane!

It Opens at The Close

Tracing back to all that I have ever read, written, experienced, shared and encountered this one line has always been a cozy fit. If Harry Potter books gave me anything in life, it was a lesson on how to live. Some of you might strongly agree. Going through my book shelf this one set in particular makes me feel at school again. Hogwarts was just as real to me as my own skin. Call me a kid avoiding puberty, or a fairy tale child but Hogwarts was one place who taught me what friends are and how much humility matters. It gave me the whole concept of being more than what people expect you to be, and also how, you need not have a hand to guide you through the tough paths in life. The reasoning lies within.

I have always believed in one thing if not anything else (reminding, I am partially an atheist) that, neither pure good nor pure darkness can prevail in a man's heart. The sooner we accept this, the better we live and let others live too. Every act of a man has a reason, and anything with a reason cannot be dusted away. "You shall get what you seek." Look for absurd facts you'll get them, you'll probably get a million reasons as to cry over and disregard the very fact that life balances good and bad. When you look back in life you might take out all instances which makes your life worthless, or worse, meaningless. But then, it'll all in the eye. I can either choose to whine when the rains spoil my game, or, simply spend an evening with myself (In your case maybe your friends/family. I prefer solitude.) over a cup of tea and some evening snacks. There is nothing better than being able to sit alone and smile back to all that you once thought would be forgotten, like your first ever poem, your first bicycle ride, a cute guy's compliment which at that time felt awkward, gossips, night outs or something as simple as when someone told you, that they love you! It's always worth a recall...

A Confession to Make

I don't know if this is the right time to write, I don't know if I should even write about this... But sometimes you need to do what you feel like doing, reasons can take their back seats and so can the rights and wrongs.

Childhood is probably the most fragile part of any human alive, and for that matter, dead. It's the time where you learn living, where you learn the meaning of life. And somewhere in this phase of time we all make mistakes. Some small, some big, some foolish and some, well, which change your life forever. I am not propagating that mistakes are good or bad, they just are. And the sad part is that you can practically do nothing about it. Here starts my confession.

A Warrior in Deception - A Writer...

They once said something about a pen, they said it could change the world, they said it could change history, they said it was mightier than the sword,  they said it could mar you to the core...

Whatever they said I respect as I know, when they said these things they knew that one day constitutions would be written, beliefs would be made, laws would be laid, stories would be told & change would be brought in place. All this would be done, through the medium of a pen.

An Eye for an Eye – But the Question is ‘Why?’

Hope, they say, can see the invisible, touch the intangible and do the impossible. It’s the one word that gives you strength when all other lights go out, it’s the hand that helps the lost, the touch that concretes the weak and the word to help the dying, revive. But every such boon has had a dark side of its own. Mankind over these years has mastered the game of depend and blame, in which he sees no shame. It’s a sad reality that we all try to ignore, alas; it will hunt us down in the end. We first created for our benefit, then we divided for our benefit, we gave birth for our benefit and then murdered for the same. A mean game that has been played for ages now.

The Touch I Long For...

I slowly get up from the bed, it’s a slow day I am so sure. As of what I remember even the dark blinds of my room could not stop the sun from casting its magic, but today was the day it probably lost the battle. It was dark. The face of my clock showed a reasonably believable 7am but the unusual silence was bothering. So I, hesitantly, walked towards the blind and touched its string. Ah! Cold… I don’t remember it being a December morning, it was probably June, but then, I can never be sure. It was long back you know, too long, too painful.

Being a Mentor: A Road Least Taken...

“Some say they are born, some say they are made. What we believe might not matter, but the truth is, they believe, hence, they are!”

-          Tulika Singh

Every day begins with a rising sun, and so does our cycle of life. In this journey we fall, we fight, we defend the wrong and right, we strive for peace, we get hurt, we make mistakes, but amongst all this if there is something constant, it’s the process of learning. Our learning, when encountered for a period of time, becomes experience. And we all know, experience is our best mentor in life. It has a typical style of teaching. It first gives us the test and then the lesson! But then, why do we need a mentor? Why can we not depend entirely on our and others' experiences? What makes a mentor, so special?

Life In A Gray-scale!

Of what human does to the world, least realize the pain induced in others' lives, flora and fauna alike. I wake up each morning wondering what atrocities I will come across today. Alas, my wondering is never washed in vain! Each day, brings along with it an episode, some sad, some joyous, some painful and some which you want to embrace for a lifetime. A collection of such episodes creates a season we call life! If you try and integrate your life with others you would realize how beautiful the world can be. Alone is a tiring ride. But it also teaches you the “don’ts” of life, shows you a reality you would have otherwise loved to ignore, and tell you in your face how brutal your race is! As I previously said nothing is pancakes and roses!

Pancakes and Roses!

A strong gush of wind wakes me up as I feel the breeze tingling in my ears, and brings to me the sound of early morning prayers, chirping and bells. I dare not look into my clock’s eye for it just might spoil the mood so I keep lying down enjoying the moment of tranquility. A beautiful good morning it indeed is! The blanket fur soothes like nothing else in early winter mornings and the bed consumes you. The last thing you want to do is deceive them and walk out. Disguised selfishness.

This morning tells us so much about us and our lives. We spend an eternity hunting for peace and love, we wander like stranded leaves maneuvering the plains of life, but all we gather is a “mirage”, an illusion that assures you happiness but laughs at your back once you are not looking. Why? Life is the wine of our souls that tastes best when left alone with time. For those who do nothing but whine over all that is lost or never received, life is a short joke, but for others, a melody of loud and soft, fast and slow! Savor each tune, so what if it’s drenched in pain and grief, it’s another colour of your life.

Yellow Journalism: A Tarnished Country's Vision

Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. When was the last time you tuned into a piece of news and got something that made you feel a bit more informed than your informal evening group discussions? Well, the answer seems vague for most of the people… When on actual grounds this was asked to people many interesting opinions wriggled out. One of them answered “Oh well I heard something was going on between Saif and Bebo while he was out for his shoot, he hid his phone right?” – That’s some really important crack sir; I wonder how our nation will survive without such sensations! 98% of normal population remembers Prince, the small boy who was struck underground and army dug all their way down to save the kid… When there were bomb blasts in USA at the same time news channels thought it was “better” to show the story of the Prince, who lived!

Corruption: A Curse or A Boon?

In the light of truth, facts and understanding of “xyz” concepts we derive the chart of pros and cons in most situations. But what if for once I deceive your morals and ask you to confront the good side of something you’ve always considered bizarre? As insane as it sounds, let us try to offend AND defend corruption and try to understand if it actually makes or mars our country - India!

In a lecture today at class (after all I am just a student) we were confronted with the most thoughtful topic I have come across till date. Can we actually shake hands with corruption? I’ve been reading this beautiful book called “The Secret of The Nagas” – Amish Tripathi and hence, I began to correlate this philosophy to the most basic of all truths, something that justifies the facts. Lord Shiva once said, “Greater the good, greater the evil.” And it all makes sense now! Let us see how twisting the tail can help us turn the tables.

When we drop down to define corruption, we can only do it in domestic boundaries. Why? Well, the Chinese economy believes in “If they can, we can!” resulting in BlueBerry, Gulsar, Shijingshan Amusement Park, Seayahi Cofee etc. whereas if you look into Indian premises patent rights rule the market restrictions. So the underlying fact is, what is corruption for us, is a way of living for the other. So, the reason number one is, not having a proper setup to define what exactly corruption is. Another interesting concept that came up was the difference between crime and corruption. But let’s first stick to defining corruption.

It's A Promoter's World!

“Out of Sight is Out of Mind”

In this world of complete market orientation “jo dikhta hai, wo bikta hai”. And to accomplish this it becomes imperative that we understand how promotional techniques rule the market places today. Believing the business adage, "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door," might lead to your ultimate failure. You may have the best product in on the market, but if no one knows about it, you will be doomed. Follow basic principles for promoting your product to improve your business' long-term success. Where classic movies like Raincoat  get a flop at hands, movies like jhoom barabar jhoom who cater to no strong story line hits the first day box office, all by the way of aggressive advertisement. Business branding and promotion has now entered the 21st century and what the 21st century market demands is often more than just free gifts, cut price costs and cheaper deals.

The Whispering Autumn!

You sit beneath the autumn tree,

and witness the pain you had never seen!

The scar you hid at the bottom, dwells,

the wetness beneath your eyes now tell…

Your hair is how now all tangled and thin,

at the hands of angry, raging, rising winds…

I see you struggle, I see you wince,

like an immortal bird with lifeless wings…

The world in your eyes is a skeptic view,

all you can see are, whites & grey, and, pales & blues!

You seem to me as withering with time,

a hope of death, a sinful crime!

You live your life seldom in grief,

like the fading charm of the autumn leaf!