Soup, Specs and Stars

I was woken with a jerk as the bus pulled over at the bus station. I hadn't realised when I had fallen asleep but I sure wasn't happy to be woken up. It's hard to sleep in a rickety old bus that has to travel for 6 hours and stop at every point to pick up people. I didn't mind the bus company making its living but flooding every inch of the bus with human kind wasn't my idea of making profit. Anyway, my legs were all cramped up and I had to move out of this temporary prison of mine. Descending down the steps, the cold caught hold of me and went straight to my nose resulting in a loud sneeze. Achoooooo !!! I sneezed, cursing the cold. Wiping off what was left of my sneeze by my sleeve, I proceeded on to the bus station (or what was left of it) in search for food,warmth and a place to pick up that much awaited long distance call of nature. With a stretch of the neck to the left and a quick glance to the right, I found myself right where I was with nothing. The cold was getting to my throat and more importantly, on my nerves. Comfort was what I was looking for in the middle of nowhere and I was just getting poked by the spring of the sofa.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the glance of something rising up to the air and vanishing into the dark sky. The view drew me closer and closer like a moth to light and when I was finally there, I saw this man wrapped up in everything he owned, peering out to the crowd with the only opening in his ' attire '. His eyes seemed to be old even though he seemed to be much younger. And there he was, serving tomato soup for a meagre 10 Rs. Tempted by the thought to help him and the more tempting thought of savouring soup. As I took the glass from his woolen glove, I let out a slight 'Thanks' and left him with a brand new 10 ruppee note, just to give that extra happiness that may give him warmth on this cold night.

As I blew on the soup as lightly as possible making sure sure not to spill any, I tilted my head upwards and stared into the night sky. Many a times I would do this without any reason or purpose, always search throught the deep dark voids for something. Not a UFO or an undiscovered planet, but just for soemthing, maybe I searched for myself. I could see only a handful of stars and always wished to have a telescope to uncover this blanket of darkness and reveal the cosmos to my eyes.

At that moment I realised that I had something with me, my new pair of specs that my mom had insistently made for me. I hated them the moment I put them on and swore never to wear them while I can see the number of fingers on my hand. I took them out of the case anyway and put them on. There werent any giggly girls or nosy bullies to mock me, it was just me and the night, embarrasment was a milestone far far away that said " Far far away 0 km"

As I took a sip from the hot soup and looked up into the night sky, an emotion came to life in me that started from the tip of my fingers to the tip of my nose. It was mixed with the tangy taste of the soup and the sight of watching thousands of stars so clear and alive for the first time in my life. It was like little white dots had sprung up out of nowhere and even though they were millions of light years away from me, I felt like i could pluck from the sky and place them on my cheek as glitter. I gazed and gazed and gazed a little more, it was a wonderful sight to see and wondered if anyone else ever tried this while at this bus station. It was an amazing feeling to be out there in the cold and yet be radiating with warmth that came not only from the soup, but from every cell in my body.

I stood there till the bus sounded its horn for us to depart and get on with the journey that lay ahead. As the wheels of the bus went round and round, I closed my eyes (still laden with my specs) with the image of the stars pasted in my mind and the taste of the soup hovering over my semi-burnt tongue.I enjoyed the rest of the bus ride happily ever after.

A Father's Day

Dear Son

How have you been ? Hope you are in the best of health and are taking care of your mother. Do fill me on the details of her condition. I am very proud in the effort that you have been making in taking care of your mother despite how grave her situation is. Just have faith and pray to the almighty that she starts to feel better soon.

As for me, I have been reassigned to a post known as Ghungar Pass, it is a post that has undergone a lot of heavy firing from the enemy territory. It is much colder than my previous posting and life is a lot more tedious. The nights are the worst when all you have with you are your clothings and a thin sheet that hardly proves to provide any comfort. I wish no person has to ever endure this torture. The facilities are really poor and for food, all we are given is a mixture of rotten milk and stale wheat. Sorry, I didn't ask about the food at your end. I hope you are able to purchase enough with the money I send you. I don't know why I am writing such a letter to you son but I have no one else here to talk to except the snow and the dead trees. I suppose fathers are supposed to be an inspiration and a role model to their children but today as I write this letter, I myself seem to feel out of place and am looking for reasons to feel proud and love my life.

I hope you are able to cover your studies well and are attending school regularly. Education is a very important part in one's life and I regret not giving it that much attention in my own. I want you to be the man I could never be son. As for this war that I have been entangled in, I have no idea how long it will last. Last night, I heard from the senior corporal that it might take months. I feel like I'm living an endless night where there is no peace, no sleep, no sweet dreams, no moon and no stars... just absolute darkness and I feel the shadows creeping in closer with each passing day.

I do not know when I shall be able to send you another letter but always remember son, never lose hope in yourself, one can always make something of himself in no matter what state he/she has been put in. Just remember to keep that hope alive in yourself. Live your life to the fullest son. I fear that I may never be able to share your first beer with you or give you the keys of your first bike. But promise me that you will never forget who you are and remember that I will always love you and be there for you. Maybe in your prayers or in your dreams, I shall be watching over you. Whether I return at our house's doorstep engulfed in happiness or wrapped in a flag, embrace me like you never have and welcome your father back.

Take care son

Your Loving Father

Good Night

Let me into your arms and feel my warm breath as it caresses ur bosom, let me lose myself in the sea of your fire and take me deep into the passion of ur desires. Every day my longing for you becomes more and every night I wish for it to be ours when I can run my fingers over that skin as the heavenly body that is yours, basks in the moonlight. Let me be your goose pimples rising with each kiss that i give you and let me be the sweat dancing on your palms as we become one. As the candle burns through the night, I will fill the air with sounds of your pleasure and delight. Let no worry come to you for you are in safe hands my love. I shall make love to you with the utmost tender and care. I will tickle your feet as you giggle and squirm and and cuddle with you till you wiggle like a worm. Whispering in your ear a word or two, I'll tell you my secrets and u tell me a few. Hold my hands and entwine your fingers around me, lost in each other's eyes as if under a spell. Tender, sweet and yet passionate love shall be made on this night like there is no tomorrow. For tonight I shall make you happy and remove all sorrow

The Lone Ranger

Through the dark alleys and silent parks
I wander to places where the stray dog barks
Wrapped in a shawl with a stick in my hand
I dwell in the shadows of this strange land
Rubbing my hands through the cold nights
I leave my mark under the street lights
The silence slowly creeps up my back
Dreading the thoughts of a blow or attack
But this is my job and my daily bread.
Even if one day I might end up dead.
Sometimes I try to befriend the stars
Or admire the color of the shiny cars.
Anything and everything to kill some time.
As I save the day/night by fighting crime.
Maybe one fine day, I'll face that crook.
And hope he doesn't see the fear in my look.
I hope he runs at the sight of my face.
And never hopes to return to this place.
I'm happy in the alleys and the silent parks
Wandering to places where the stray dog barks.

Random Philosophy

relationships are like a cloud

at first, it gives you shade and you enjoy it with bliss

and as the cloud grows bigger

you tend to like it even more and more and more

but then comes a stage when the cloud darkens, and it grows bigger

youre still ok with it till....

it pours

and pours

it pours and pours and pours cats and dogs a lil more

and all u can do is stand in the rain and wait for it stop

in very rare cases does it actually stop

and while we wait for it to stop, we don’t realize how wet we get in this tumultuous rain of sorrow

and then as the cloud begins to move away

there are two choices left with the person

either follow that cloud and the pour, wanting and waiting for it to become white yet again

and put ur own self in a state of misery

OR

stay where u are and let the sun shine its way through and dry u up

the drying process will take time

and the more you stand in one place and not look at the cloud

the better

in the end, youll realise how much you missed the sun shining on your face and giving you the warmth that was absent in the shade of the cloud

and enjoy every moment of it

its a very hard move to detach urself from the cloud

but it always is the better option

TADA !

The Martyr

There he was kneeling in despair,
Brushing his hands in his hair.

The thoughts in his mind were rushing fast
Trying to look at the times in the past.

He tried to remember something that was real
Something, that could help him heal

For he was in the midst of a war
A war, that everyone were waiting for.

The sound of bullets, he could hear them well.
The air so harmful, yet he had to smell.

He heard the soldiers shouting aloud.
Giving up their lives to make their land proud.

The enemy he knew, was drawing near.
His hands and legs were shaking with fear.

He mustered up his courage, he took his gun.
He laughed aloud, he was ready to have fun.

He finally came out, through the barbed wire.
His eyes were burning red, as if on fire.

There he was in the war’s battlefield.
He was all alone, he had no shield.

Suddenly, he heard a noise nearby.
He knew what it was, up in the sky.

The armored birds had begun to shoot,
He ran hard, with the strength in his boot.

But it was too late, he had been hit.
He lost his balance and fell into a pit.

His shoulder was wounded very bad.
He was screaming aloud, as if he were mad.


The pain was unbearable he did not succumb.
He looked at his shoulder, which now as numb.

He slowly clambered out of the hole.
It was enough, he had to reach his goal.

Luckily he found an enemy base.
He ran towards it, with all his pace.

He ended up shooting some of the men.
But he was outnumbered, one to ten.

He took out a grenade, pulled the pin.
The soldiers ran hard, to save their skin.

The soldier laughed, the bomb blew.
Out of the base, bodies flew.

The war had ended, over now.
But why did it happen ? and how ?

The soldier had died in madness.
His death was news to bring sadness.

This is what happens in every nation
War is bad, a bad creation.

Shipwrecked

DAY 1 : I woke up with the sun in my eyes and a dozen flies all over my face, my lips were parched and there was sand all around me, I had no idea how long i had lain there and where I was. All i knew that I was not at home and I was not at work. Something wrong had happened, something very wrong.

DAY2: Making myself aware of my surroundings, I realised that I had somehow managed to land myself on an island that had not yet fallen under the eyes of the common man hellbent on searching, discovering and then destroying everything and anything. I was the first man to set foot on this land.

DAY3:My hunger started to get the better of me and my search for food became desperate. Watching all those shows and movies on TV, i tried to gather whatever i could swallow and digest but it was harder than i thought it to be. The trees were way too high for me to reach for fruits and I had chosen to let go of the fishes. Yes, I was a vegetarian and Yes, I was too slow to get even near them.

DAY4: Still having found nothing to eat and only salt water to drink, I decided to get my mind off food and try exploring this island. This was an island much smaller than I imagined, it was only the size of 2 football fields altogether. As I stared into the endless horizon, using all of my power to make a ship magically appear out of nowhere, I wondered if I would ever be rescued, I wonder how long it would take for my movie to end, with a glorious escape back to civilization. It all seemed too unreal.

DAY5: The day was a hot one, the sun was beating down hard on me and I chose to spend the entire day under the shade of a tree and laze around. It felt good to be away from the city life and the pressures and strains that man had put on my back. I was a beast but not of burden.

DAY6:Clouds began to gather, it was a glorious respite from the torrential heat of the sun, I had managed to pick up a couple of berries from the nearby shrub and swallow them. Fortunately, they weren't poisonous and I was able to live on them for the rest of my days here.

DAY7:It started to rain, it started off with a light drizzle that quickly developed into a tumultuous outburst. The seas grew violent and waves were getting bigger by the minute. The wind too picked up and before i knew it, I was in the midst of the biggest storm that had been witnessed in a century. I ran with all the might to seek cover but there was water, water everywhere. I thought this was the end of the world and mine too. I latched onto a tree to avoid myself from getting washed away but the current was too strong. Before i knew it, the waves had carried the tree and I too with it. The water was over me and below me, it was in my ears, my nose my hair my mouth. I and the water had become one. I gasped for air and moved my hands and feet just to stay afloat. I finally chose to give up and let the sea swallow me up.

I knew that nobody in the world knew where I was and what was happening to me. They had probably forgotten me by now and were back to their own work and their own lives. My end would be an unfortunate one but I was pitying those who died everyday in their cubicles,dancing to their master's tunes. Who cried over their miseries everyday and committed a thousand sins to make up for one good deed. They were rats in a gutter who scavenged on anything and followed the piper to die in the sea, they were not humans anymore. Sure, I could have chosen to give up my life like every other news headline, but I would never have been able to do it. God brought me to this world a free man and now He was taking me away as a free man. I threw up my arms with a smile and all the glee in my heart,thanked Him and went down below into the depths of the sea.

The next thing I remember is seeing a bright white light and the heavy voice of a man calling my name. It was then I realised that I was in Heaven and God was calling my name out loud. I replied " I am here father" and smiled heartily. Soon a face emerged in front of me and said, " Congratulations" and I was too happy to say anything so I just smiled. The next thing that followed were the words, " You've been saved."

Suddenly, the light faded and there I was lying in a hospital bed with only my God, who turned out to be my doctor, standing beside me and looking at me as if he was about to kiss me. It was then that something inside of me fell from a 100 feet and broke into small and tiny bits of pieces.