Random Musings

Re posted from Archives...April 2020.  I was in my mid 20s when this happened. One day, I came to know that a young pilot who lived in the neighbourhood had died in a chopper crash that day. Bad news tends to travel like wildfire and the palpable gloom that enveloped the community was evident. I remained confined to the house with my toddler when a friend came up and rang the bell. Aren't you coming to visit Mrs. S to offer condolences? she asked. I don't know her, I mumbled. It would be odd to visit her for the first time given the circumstances. She will be surrounded by friends and family, it would be very awkward and what would I say, I muttered feebly with diffidence. It is to express solidarity, she said. It doesn't matter that you don't know her, it doesn't matter that you don't know what to say, just come and be there. In times of grief and crisis all that matters is that people, even strangers stand together to offer comfort to the person, my friend ins...

  That is how Time tells its stories of us Leaving its mark on us Each moment etched into the landscape of our lives Every phase-the dark and the dreary,  The bright and the peaceful, A few scars remain Some deep and dark, some barely a sliver Holding every moment for eternity That is how Time tells its stories of us

In the midst of happy memories  The tears arrive unbidden As if joy has learnt to live through tears Is that why we have rainbows To teach that everything coexists The Storms and the Sun share the same sky The happiness of shared memories And the sadness of loss All live in the same heart Is that why the smiles and tears come all at once To show us that Nothing whole remains unbroken  And nothing broken is ever lost Grief and Love are the same  Just in different forms  One is, so the other is Tears and Smiles...Love and Grief The Rainbows in our lives

The Heavens open up, Finally... As if they can no longer hold back As if they know They held back way too long Now there's no relenting They pour as if that's all they can do Sometimes, a steady downpour, Sometimes, a quiet drizzle  Stopping now and then to catch a breath The Earth parched and thirsty  Takes it all in...Life depends on it  The thick black clouds hover and linger  Dark. Brooding. Contemplating. Lightning and Thunder withdraw  The Sun and Moon step back too Letting the Clouds have their way The Heavens open up like never before As if they know They held back way too long The waters fall and stumble  Sometimes harming all that stands in their way Sometimes cooling all that simmered once Some good, some bad...some raging on They must learn to flow... To flow gently... Carving new crevices and paths  The waters learn to flow...to flow quietly  Life learns to flow too...to flow quietly.

Moments, Small, countless moments Each on its own Each complete by itself Moments,  All full of memories Traversing distance and space Countless moments and infinite space Moments, Time and Space All merging  Into Silence Stillness

The Flags,  How proudly they dance on the poles The wind gently caressing them Lifting them up  Light as a feather They Flutter, they Float, they Fly, High above the ground, Billowing with pride Towering above all else  As people look up and salute them With pride, joy and happiness.  Flags... But The Flags that come home Are cruelly heavy Ask the wife, Ask the children,  Ask the parents,  Ask the siblings Ask the friends who carried them They bear testimony To the weight of these Flags The Flags that come home Are Cruelly heavy And remain heavy  For lifetimes 

Stories The stories we share The stories that remain within The stories that slip between the spaces  Stories The stories that make us The stories that break us The stories we tell others The stories we tell ourselves Stories It's all the art of storytelling That's how we weave our Life Deciphering  Looking for patterns Searching for meaning Trying to make sense Stories Life is all stories  Just stories

And there we thought, A great visionary A stellar Leader Political ideologies Economic growth Peace This, that, and everything... All these or some of these Would unite us Would lead us Would guide us Would lift us into a better World And today, here we are Looking at that lonely monkey Longing for Love Longing to Love Longing to be Loved And here we are Realizing  As Truth finally dawns Through that little monkey  All that truly matters  All that ever matters is To Love and Be Loved 

That lone Penguin On that desolate snowy path Making that Choice, that day Doing what felt right to her Doing what felt true to her spirit Choosing the Silent mountains above all else Was she  choosing  Solitude    Was she choosing  Aloneness Was it angst that drove her Was it Liberation that she sought Who ever truly knows anyone's  Whys? Today, we who have stumbled on her And connect with that lone soul Each on our lonesome journey  Never truly a part of all that is around us That lone Penguin and  Us Driven by Choices The Choices we make The Choices Life makes for us The Choices that Life pushes us to make Do we ever realize their true impact... 

In Life's long journey, amidst myriad experiences, we tend to forget who we were at different phases of our Lives…versions of us that we may not even remember anymore…especially when the Present is overwhelming. I get a call from a college friend who gently walks me down the memory lane of bunked classes, cafeteria visits, movies we watched, professors, classmates, our judgmental nick names, peppering the conversation with bursts of laughter and slivers of joy that break through my grief. One friend visits and reminds me of my confident driving skills...something, I have all but forgotten and confidence be thrown out the window. To think, that deep down somewhere there does exist that confident version of me, seems almost unbelievable.  As we recount difficult life experiences, I am reminded of the strong and fearless versions of me, I now have no strength to recall. Another friend visits, reminiscing about my almost epically comic attempts at cooking, the adventurous holidays we u...

From Nothingness to Infinity From Infinity to Nothingness  Atoms traverse the Way Some caught in the Cyclical web Some breaking free  Becoming One with Infinity  Becoming One with Nothingness  Infinity And Nothingness  Infinity Or Nothingness  Infinity Is Nothingness  Nothingness is Infinity  Non dual...Not different Advaita

Do the Dots ever really connect Or is it just an Illusion  To let them live in ignorance  Each orbiting in their own thoughts Each believing they are interlinked Are the spaces in between a Separation Or are the spaces a Conduit  Linking everything Yet keeping them apart What is Real What is Illusion It's all in the Eye Everything Is...Nothing Is too

  The icy winds don't spare The Tree stands forlorn Bereft of all it's leaves Bereft of all that defines it Just a stump and some bare limbs A sad version of what it once was Now, nothing remains the same The icy winds blow No leaves left to cast away The musical  Wind Chimes ring The Leaves are all aground Slowly  Nourishing the roots as they merge The Leaves become the Roots Slowly The Tree will sprout green again The  Wind Chimes ring Reminding the tree Nothing ever really Leaves Everything Remains Just in a different way

The lines One no different from the other One just like the other All  seemingly inconsequential  Each on its own trajectory Each on its own journey Yet Each making a difference  Not ever knowing  Together they build The design forms The image sharpens The picture breathes    

The stark blankness sits forlorn The bold lines strive to fill the void The emptiness just becomes starker Is it the loud lines or The quiet spaces that make the picture Neither  Neither can do it alone Only the two entwined make it  Whole Only the two entwined exist as One

The Moon whispers to the Sea The Clouds whisper to the Sky  The Stars twinkle knowingly Nothing is the same tomorrow  Does the Moon know it's doing All that it takes away in the guise of its beauty Does it knowingly ensure Nothing remains the same tomorrow  Everything is but a whisper on the sands of time