I will live

     He couldn’t count his last breaths. He was tired. Physically but not mentally. His loved ones formed a protective shield. Love, sympathy, prayers and food overflowed. He didn’t have the stamina to tell them that he was “okay”. So, along with his age he gracefully accepted everything that came his way. “Is there anything that you would want us to do grandpa?” questioned Hari. “Ah, I wish I had few of you with me before. I want one good story to be told for the rest of my life and beyond. Take that pen and note down the title please”. “Sure” said Hari. “Words don’t die”. Hari wrote it down and looked at his smiling grandpa who said “and I will live”. He lived, died and lived gracefully.

Book O' Wine

The smell of books
As divine as wine’s
a step closer to addiction
with every droplet of word
Unlocking the shelves
flings dust of gold
I tell you my friend
It’s always better when its old!

- Inspired by Omar Khayyam

Intelligent Donkey!

“Stay away from me” brayed Montu. “No wonder you are stupid. You don’t associate with intelligent people. How will you grow if you don’t learn? You adamant donkey!” said Mr. Chathurnath. Braying continues and suddenly Mr. Chathurnath realized that Montu was actually laughing. The most shocking part was that Montu was laughing at Mr. Chathurnath. “What’s so funny Mr. Lazy ass” mocked Mr. Chathurnath. “I am adamant. I am lazy. I may be dumb. I don’t want to grow as I have grown to the best or worst already. But it’s a shame” brayed Montu. “Finally you are ashamed” smiled Mr. Chathurnath. “No. It’s a shame that all these years you thought I was a donkey but never realized that I am actually a Mule. You fool!” and the braying continued, happily ever after.

Birthdays Never Die!

She stopped celebrating her birthday. To her it was just another day. It was her birthday and she wanted to spend it alone. Well, if controlling thoughts was as easy as it is shown in the yoga videos she would have definitely spent her day alone floating in air. She couldn't do that and slowly drifted into her past. Right from her childhood she had seen various ways of celebrating birthdays and getting hurt. House parties, surprise parties, midnight parties, parties at an expensive restaurant, parties in the middle of the road, parties with alcohol and music, parties with plethora of gifts and more. Strangely her memory played the nasty trick of remembering things that she should have forgotten and vice-versa. She started thinking about her 5^th birthday. Excitement and expectations were built by her family and friends. So many friends were there accompanied by their parents. Her mother had bought her a cute yellow frock. Her father had bought her a cake that resembled a baby girl’s face. “Make a wish, Make a wish” shouted her friends when she overheard someone say “Why is the face in the cake white? It should be black to look like her”. Part of the crowd laughed out and it was embarrassment that hurt her more than discrimination. She very well remembered her 10^th birthday. The usual excitement and expectations were built by her family and new set of friends. Her mother bought her a new dress. Father bought her a small vanilla cake. No face this time. “Make a wish, Make a wish” shouted her friends when she overheard someone in the group say “The dress doesn't fit her that well, may be her mother should have bought her a better dress”. That day she didn't make a wish but picked a fight with her mother. Her memory took her to her 20^th birthday. Life had changed. Expectations had changed. She had spent many birthdays without her parents by now. This time she wanted to spend it with her first love. She had ignored all her friends and had waited eagerly for one phone-call from that special someone. It was 12:00 am. She waited. It was 12:05 am. She waited. It was 12:30 am. She waited. 1:00 am. She cried for the next whole week and waited for many more months. That special someone neither called nor returned but life moved on. Excitement, expectations, infatuations, disappointments and hurt made her very afraid. Not afraid of anything else but celebrating birthdays. She did manage to spend her birthday without celebrating this time. Though there were cakes, laughter and wine it had no meaning as she considered it to be just another get together with friends. She missed calls as she decided to sleep throughout her birthday. Next day morning her husband’s phone call woke her up with a wide smile. “Good morning sweetheart” whispered her husband. “Good morning” she smiled. “Finally you managed to spend your birthday without celebrating” said her husband. She didn't have the courage to share the reason and was uncertain if her emotions will be understood in the right way. She wasn't happy about not celebrating her first birthday with her husband. So many thoughts had haunted her that pushed her to celebrate her birthday alone “How can I fake a smile? How can I celebrate my birthday without thinking about my past? How can I see my husband get hurt? What if I lose him? Every birthday had brought some disappointment, what’s the surety that it won’t happen again this time?” She was devastated. “I understand that you don’t consider your birthday to be a special occasion but to me it is. After all it was my wife’s birthday yesterday! I wanted to make you feel special. I just want you to be happy” said her husband. In a second her past vanished. She made a promise to herself that she would celebrate her birthdays with her husband. All these years there were only expectations but from that second she had a reason. A reason to celebrate birthdays and a very strong reason to celebrate life. The phone conversation ended and she said to herself “Belated birthday wishes Maya!”