Opulent buildings towering over all else,
with windows betraying empty offices,
A constant parade of expensive cars,
incongruous with the dilapidated roads,
Creator of ever so many millionaires,
now on the verge of bankruptcy,
The guardian of the citizens,
incapable of keeping it's promise,
The historic picture of prosperity,
is tainted by menacing debt,
The sea of opportunities,
is cautiously shrinking,

I hope
the heart to embrace cultures,
the passion to innovate,
the spirit of independence,
the dignity of labour,
the obsession to defend freedom,
live on untarnished..

To defeat the army of insecurity, 

To spring back after the hiatus, 

and reinstate this land as the destination of dreams!

Struck by an avalanche of thoughts,
But the preoccupied mind lets them roll away,
Flooded by a tsunami of emotions,
But the impermeable mind absorbs not a drop,
The deluge of activity,
Strangely numbs my senses,

Perhaps when I can
Clear the palette to identify different colors,
Untwine the interlocked threads to appreciate each one,
Hear the musical notes above the din,
I can better hoard the moments,
That slip away unnoticed...

9000 miles away from home,
Surrounded by change in every form,
Like a little child taking her first steps,
I tread the unknown paths,
Resolving to conquer my inertia and fear,
Celebrating every little achievement,
Excited about what my next step would unravel

But the enthusiasm to grasp the freshness,
Succumbs to a familiar blanket of worries,
Winter makes way for Spring, Spring for Summer,
But the persistent anxiety paints an opaque gray
over the colourful canvass.

It dawned on me that the real battle was not external,
It had little to do with place, people or environment.
To fight the obsession
that forces a one dimensional view to life,
To lift the curtain that hides the window to the rest of the world,
It takes time and strength.
The battle is on and I am not giving up.

A void..

The empty chair in the hall way,
The absent phone calls,
The missing debates and conversations,
The garlanded photograph on the table,
The melancholy spirit and eerie silence,
The stream of condolences,
Were registered by my senses,
But ignored by my mind,
Which refused to interpret the situation..

I continued to cling onto memories,
Blending the past into the present,
Believing that nothing had changed...
But time shattered the mirage,
Making evident the distinction,
Revealing the baggage of unexpressed feelings,
Which I will carry forever.
I tread on,
Perceiving his demise,
As an irreparable failure in the communication link between us.
Recognizing that he has moved on,
Leaving behind a void which will never be filled..

When belief turns into obsession,
When hatred defeats reason,
When might ascertains right,
When anger numbs all emotion,
When the blinding lustre of success,
dims the importance of the means to attain it,
As the wronged fight for justice,
The mayhem that ensues,
will taint the purest of causes,
The victory will be blood stained,
The casualty totally unjustified.
There will be new victims,
avenging, gathering the critical mass,
to begin yet another crusade,
with the victim turning inflicter.

Reflections

Credit for this lovely photograph goes to Harsha Honnappa

The sky with its many hues,
Painting a unique picture everyday,
Not governed by norms or bound by rhythm,
But an epitome of free will.
Casting its refection on the lucid waters,
Lending its hue and coloring the sea,
Whose incessant waves personify periodicity.
Much like the unpredictable circumstances,
Which color our routine lives in such a way,
That we know not monotony!

No wine for me please, just Harsha!

Many thousand miles and continents apart,
In different time zones and climates,
Submerged in different routines,
We live this wonderfully connected life,
Exchanging thoughts that synchronize perfectly,
an orchestra without a conductor,
yet without chaos.
sharing every significant moment of ours,
to each experience dual lives,
yet without schizophrenia,
Constantly figuring out the puzzle called life,
challenging and engaging each other,
to create an irrefutable solution.
Love is a surreal experience,
that will keep me intoxicated for life..