Spirited Away!

A celestial being,

She is like no other,

An enigma, a burning passion,

A maimed lover, but a tough rudder,

A beautiful story rewritten,

A lovely verse sang again,

Walk the path of thorns,

To reach the blooming flower,

Bleed each time, toughen your heart,

Love every time, to find the right one,

Tears are the debt of another life,

Pay the toll, inherit the divine,

Maybe in another life,

You'll suffer no sin,

Walk the earth proud,

Decorated with your scars,

No one can take away your sunshine,

That you deliver morning,noon and to the moonlight,

Trust the power that you have,

Trust your enchanting reveries,

Trust the seductress in you,

Trust the haven that you furnish,

Pity the fools who thought they killed you,

Charge ahead little heart,

You're finally a woman someone will be ready to die for,

You'll finally be the woman who inspires you,

You know what hurts, so you will hurt no one,

You know what you feel, so you'll comfort someone how they need,

You know how to heal, since your wounds have healed,

You'll know that in life all lessons are meant to heed,

So, walk ahead in life,

Bid your goodbyes,

Mourn the love you had or never did,

All the hurt and struggles you survived,

Let the river of your tears bathe the people gone astray,

For you are more than enough,

For you are love and no less,

For you are a healer and a delight,

It's not a loss for you but them alright,

Atleast you never gave up the fight,

Maybe this is peace once again,

To know your heart is free and ready to be claimed with all its might. 

Happiness comes in Small Packages Indeed!

Okay OMG…I thought I’d grown out it but I still love surprises. So picture this, you are walking into your office after the daily post lunch walk and discussions about life bla bla bla and there it is,a surprise packet waiting just for you.  A little box of happiness…It’s such a thoughtful gesture from someone. A gift is just that, it lets you know that hey, that person was thinking of you. They know what you might like; they go out of their way to plan it. Even keep their game face on so that they don’t mess with the surprise. And the sweetest person award goes to that someone. A sweet thought that literally brought tears to my eyes.

These are the little moments of joy that make life worth living and that adds one more superb memory to cherish. It makes you just take a minute and realize the fact that you’re blessed to have people around you who truly care for you. Just a random act of thoughtfulness, consideration or just a simple token of affection for no specific purpose that brings you the utmost joy and pleasure in that moment, that's what life is all about. Like they say it’s the little things that matter. These little gestures that make you happy because you know someone is thinking about you and cares for your happiness, it’s just not in their words but they show it in their actions too.

A Retreat for the Soul

It often so happens that you get to walk on a path that is destined for you. Even though it might be a bit rough, but you still have to walk it because it's your own. Introspection is the hardest thing one has to do. To choose, accept and walk a certain path is actually quite a journey. Someone very special arranged for me to experience a Sufi retreat. A while back I went back to Sufism and had healthy discussions over it. For a person and their journey, Sufism does light the path sometimes. 

A day's retreat, which in reality helped me calm and focus on my path really helped me in acknowledging the steps one needs to take. It helped in guiding me onto a mystic path wherein you derive wisdom from ancient philosophy concerning the heart and soul. For people broken by traditions, religion, society, people it helps shine light on the path of love. There are so many resources on Sufism wisdom, poetry, music and teachings. We were lucky to attend a session by some renowned names in the field, followed by some really beautiful poetry reading and music that brought tears to my eyes. 

As Sufism is limited to music and poetry for many, there we were presented with so many case studies about how people experienced enlightening. Cosmology of Sufi left me a little heavy in the head, too much information which made me hungry for more, so more on that later. But the knowledge of the doctrines that Sufi offers, very closely resemble the various religions and will only share that the best information was the tantric association of it. The levels of reality that manifest as stratified and in comparison to the five levels of consciousness, never did I imagine I would get to hear it conceptualized so.

I always loved whirling as a child, it was just something that I always used to do.  In fact, I manage to beat one of the performers in Dubai Desert Safari and I never knew that Sufi Sema (Sufi Whirling) was a form of meditation, to let yourself focus on music and God. Inspired by Rumi, I’ve got to say the trainers were surprised to see me perform Sema but nonetheless I got some tips to improve myself, I never knew I was a Semazen. The many levels of Sema which particularly help in elevation of the mind are fantastic. When you whirl, you focus your attention towards your inner center and as you go around and around, you get centered towards you and God. Not really sure about Zikr but it was definitely an experience which will resonate within me for the longest of times to come.

The best part for me personally was the musical concert and the poetry reading session. To gather, share and express via music and dance becomes a language in itself. Rumi may be the soul of a poet but I did end up debating Hafiz (popularly known as the heart of a poet), he is my favourite after all. There isn’t any superiority claim to it but perhaps that Rumi had mastered the inner self but Hafiz lets you experience the outer world. Again, to each his own!

A day isn’t really enough but the just the exposure to get acquainted with various aspects of Sufism left me enlightened and in a state of utter joy. It was truly one of the best experiences that I’ve had, something which is invaluable and I know I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Rainbow in the Hearts!

Every year, a riot of colours bursts into the air and there you have it, instant happiness. To see the world through a vibrant kaleidoscope, scattering beautiful positive aura all around, who wouldn't want to be a part of this. Holi is one of my favourite of Indian festivals for very obvious reasons. People hugging, playing, sharing, caring and smiling bright just as the sunshine.

A lot of people consider Holi a festival of menace, but come on, which festival of ours isn’t. The celebrations usually start a day or two before (sometimes even more). Prepping and the shopping, people going about in a frenzy. From choosing the right colours, plotting and scheming, to perfecting the aim for that one shot of the water balloon. Ok ok I confess, i’ve had my share of plotting, aiming and spreading good (water) cheer around but hey live while you’re young right. If you don't enjoy Holi, you aren't giving the inner child in you a chance to relive. And what's there to not love? 

Everyone of us have some amazing stories when it comes to Holi. I remember going to Holi Raas Leela at the Talkatora Stadium as a kid. Beautiful dance performance ending in playing Holi with flowers. The way the artists used to heave the flowers up in the air, creating a whirlpool, you definitely want to get lost in it. The sight of it was something that left you in awe. When I started college, it was more about having fun with friends. We played the dirtiest of Holi then. Drenched in eggs, mud and beer and somethings I don't even want to mention. Now, it's about tradition and family. Friends do come somewhere in there though, to go out with and get sloshed with. The Holi bash, now there are some stories you can’t blog about :p

Holi usually begins by prepping stuff for Holika Dehan. This is primary for all the spiritual beings out there, where in you burn your evils (some we totally want to keep).  Followed by Day 2 of hello, absolute fun and games. There is madness in the air, madness I tell you. We go into the battlefield au naturale and come out in vivid colours. A day that begins with the sweetest of messages, some that make you tingle and some make you giggle with delight. The roads so empty, you feel like a bloody F1 racer. Holi is always fun. A festival where warm wishes are spread. A festival where the people who love you ensure that you end up with at least 2 kgs more, like you don’t have enough already, but that’s love.

It’s not enough that your parents can’t recognize you from the line up. But even though every part of your body is hurting, cold and coloured well this time – Teal, you still end up dancing the entire day. The bhaang helps ofcourse but it really is a day you enjoy to your hearts content. Your jaw literally hurts by the end of the day but it totally is worth it. So, cheers to another day full of happiness, love and colourful blessings!

That Everyday Hero!

“You are a soul and you have a body.”

We often forget the worth of certain people when we are suffering within. We are so involved in our own misery, our own disposition that we forget to notice all the modest gestures that someone does for you. Quintessence time is lost as you count the minutes reliving something that haunts you. You enumerate all the details that you want to undo, all the things that you meant to say but are stuck between the precarious decision to say it or not, for it to even matter. There comes your cheerer, who texts you just at the right time when you are low, who senses the fact that you may be feeling gloomy in place of smiling. Sometimes, when you get so weary of all the drama around you, that forgotten every day hero, arrives to rescue you.

It's miraculous how someone is around you, whom you can count on, who have been with you through your bad times, taking care of you in aspects you value inherently but you only realize it when someone else does not do them. They support what’s important to you; they comfort you, give you a shoulder to cry on, a hand that wipes your tears, or just are the ear that listens to you endlessly with a smile on their face and eyes locked in on you. Just when you are feeling downhearted, that someone calls you to check up on you. Maybe a text 20 times a day to make sure you are smiling. Tell you about what makes you wonderful and when they sense that you are feeling blue, take out time from their busy life, to just to make sure you feel better by their presence, so that for that night you’ll feel better, you’ll feel normal. Just to jest and make you feel a little lighter. To know how instantly music elevates you and swirl you around. To make sure you are fed, no wait, over fed, and having the time of your life. Getting happily high with you and then holding your hair back while you puke your guts out. To make sure that you are you are safe and protected. To go out of their way to drive you home, stop in between to check up on you, just to see you're better and keep talking to you so you don't fall silent even for a bit and to give you the warmest of hugs to make sure that you know how extraordinary you are. 

So, cherish that hero for the joy they bring, without any expectations, to make up for all the people who have hurt you.

Requiem!

I sustained my heart, left it open to all,

Alluring, earnest and so scarlet it was,

Bursting with verve, mirth and ardour,

But now I know I was wrong,

Now when it lies broken apart,

Why is it that we believe the iniquitous ones?

Thinking they would look out for it,

Like it was theirs and not yours to begin with.

It’s hard now to find the pieces,

The flash took them far away,

In each a different corner,

Scattered like there is no tomorrow,

Someone promises me that they will find it,

Take a pledge to reignite it,

To mend it and make it divine,

But how do I break the myth,

For the only one who could,

Had lit the fire below it.

All those years of dismissal,

Leave me with no solace,

Every one is the same,

Now my heart is scared to trust again,

Unkind to the others tale,

Blind to others plight,

The life within it, seems to die,

Just a living dead man now,

I think maybe one day,

When my heart tuned to stone,

Maybe that day, I hope love will bring no pain,

But the petrified heart demands it,

Questioning if this hurt will ever subside?

Will it ever be free from this predicament?

To give the right one a chance, one in a million.

Those eyes were so illusory,

I thought I knew what they were witnessing,

The wound is still sodden as it bleeds,

Still the hurt persists; I smile all the way,

Knowing that this too shall pass away.

A Wonder that is a Woman!

“Every man needs a woman when his life is a mess, because just like the game of chess – the queen protects her king.”

They say Woman’s day is a day to celebrate womanhood. I say, it's a day to remind yourself that you are a power house. Today is one of those days, where you are reminded of your power, strength, vitality, duties, weaknesses and who you are as a person.

You are the source of life. You are the big bang. You are a muse. You are creativity incarnate. You are the beginning and the end. You're the timeless time. An exquisite woman who tugs vigor from your quandaries. Who beams during anguish and becomes indestructible with every prayer and hope. You are the guiding light, a solace and a haven from the storms of life. You are a daughter who loves, who serves and begets happiness. A sister who protects and pampers. A mother who bestows life, who instills care and patience, who teaches sacrifice. A friend who shows compassion, who becomes a comrade, bequeaths friendship and trust. You present a portrait of dignity, of métier, benevolence and elegance. A warrior who knows where you want to go and will keep at it till you reach your destination. A pillar of thoughtfulness, providing a word of support, the one who brings joy to others by just being who you are. A lady who can kill and be a saviour at the same time. A lover who loves fiercely. A woman who does what she does with grace.

What is it like being a woman? Some woman know, some women wonder and men hundred percent wonder. Have you ever wondered who you are? Are you a goddess or a servant? A powerful force not to reckon with or a damsel in distress? Do you seek pleasure or become a giver? Are you a temptress or piety? But do you know that she is the one who smiles always even when her life is slipping away through the cracks of her hands. She acts like everything is okay, when in reality; she bears the world on her shoulder. Every day is her day, even when she is willing to listen to your bad days. Even when she has lost her way but she guides you to your path, patiently. Even when she gives you the strength to support yourself, gives her heart to care for you and to just be there. She is you, she is me! 

Bleeding Art!