non nobis solum nati sumus. not for ourselves alone are we born. ~~~ marcus tullius cicero ~~~ fairy lights glimmered. the sound of shehnai floated through the halls and corridors and reached the lawns outside. there were people everywhere. sheesh mahal glowed and shone in the dusk. anjali and doctor verma had wanted a simple registration followed by a private blessing ceremony. khushi had felt a little let down by that. it meant there would be no sangeet,…
then even nothingness was not, nor existence, there was no air then, nor the heavens beyond it. what covered it? where was it? in whose keeping was there then cosmic water, in depths unfathomed? ~~~ nasadiya sukta, rig veda~~~ he stood outside the room, unable to look in through the glass panel set in the door frame. blue door, white walls, a skirting of pale grey oil paint along the wall almost three feet high. an eerie silence all around.…
nainam chindanti shastrani nainam dahati pavakah na chainam kledayanty apo na sosayati marutah” the soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. ~~~ bhagwat gita: chapter two verse 23 ~~~ khushi was standing at the poolside, amma had just spoken to rahim chacha, khushi could feel her mother’s tears still and the silent sorrow in the bent shoulders of the frail, elderly servant of…
should the pillars of memory topple out of my reach, i must remake the air, the steam and the soil and the leaves ~~~ pablo neruda, from “memory” ~~~ millions of stars seemed to be rushing up at her. they twinkled blue, grey, yellow, red… which constellation was this? where were they going? khushi breathed in sharply. her cool sudden breath seemed to travel down to the base of her throat and stop, caught…the stars blinked. she closed her eyes…
ami chitrangada, ami rajendranandini nohi devi, nohi samanya nari pujakori more rakhibe urddhe shey nohi, nohi hela kori more rakhibe piche, shey nohi nohi jadi parshe rakho more, sankate sampade sammati dao jadi kothin brate sahay hote, pabe tumi chinite more i’m chitrangada, the daughter of the king not a godess, nor an ordinary woman… that you should worship me and hold me above i’m not she, not she that you’ll demean me and keep me behind, i am not…
“let’s frighten the dragons,” i said to pooh. “that’s right,” said pooh to me. “i’m not afraid,” i said to pooh, and i held his paw and i shouted “shoo! silly old dragons!” … and off they flew. “i wasn’t afraid,” said pooh, said he, “i’m never afraid with you.” ~~~ a a milne ~~~ his profile looked set, chiseled. yet something moved and glittered in the dim light. the faint rays of the early morning sun, still struggling to…
her wrist felt tiny in his grip. and for a fraction of a moment he had the overpowering urge to stop right there, turn around and pull her into his arms. to hold her against him and feel her yield, adhere. to bury his face in her hair, to softly stroke her skin, to tuck back that always errant curl on her forehead, to brush his lips tenderly on her forehead and say, “shh… shh… don’t worry, i am here.…
i am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty and wish to see you with a hundred eyes my heart has burned with passion and has searched forever for this wondrous beauty that I now behold ~~~ rumi, looking for your face ~~~ why did the oil look so dazzling? khushi frowned slightly. then the tear dropped from her eye and her vision cleared. “no, it is not dazzling, it was just my tear,” khushi thought blankly and held her…
tyger! tyger! burning bright in the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye dare frame thy fearful symmetry? ~~~ william blake ~~~ the room was dark when khushi woke up suddenly. she was thirsty she realised, but the darkness all around made her a little dizzy. it frightened her. where was she? why were there no lights? had amma switched off the little lamp she left on every night in the corner of the room? khushi’s breathing started…
love is a place & through this place of love move (with brightness of peace) all places yes is a world & in this world of yes live (skilfully curled) all worlds ~~~ ee cummings ~~~ he stood at the doorway watching her. her eyes were dreamy yet they sparkled with merriment, or was it mischief, every now and then. but then back they went to another world where likely fairies and fauns lived and also rajkumars and their princesses.…