An Anniversary Wish...

How cherished is the moment when marriage first starts...

An exchange of vows and a giving of hearts.

Many a beautiful joy lying in store,

As each passing day brings a promise of more.

How treasured are the years when a marriage grows strong,

Love and faith and commitment guide it along.

The warmth of a home - with sharing and laughter and fun,

Gently, tenderly, two lives become one.

How euphoric it is! When your dream love-life come true,

For a wonderful couple as special as you!

Scripting new chapters in life, are the two of ye,

Where "us" and "we" replace "you" and "me"...

---

Dedicated to two very special people;  my brother and sister-in-law... :)

Yes, I still exist

Hola, Greetings, Salut, Salaam-Namaste...

Remember this fellow? 

Yes, you can assume that I am back. Restricted access or not, I guess I have finally figured out a way to continue blogging. You bet I can't wait to get one of those USB wireless internet products. But the problem is, I have to wait for a while... Ah well, I have to stay content with the fact that I can blog now. At long last. It's been a solid month since I made my last post. 

So, what have I been up to..? 

First up, I ditched the prospective offer I had upon graduating. And now I can proudly say I am NOT with Messrs. HCL Technologies. If at all it matters, I was with them for ten frustrating months. Of course, one can put the blame on the forbidden *R* word, but I chose to look elsewhere, juxtaposing my search for other opportunities with their darned training programme. 

Otherwise, I have been getting to terms with this place. All I can say is - so far, so good. One thing though - it does feel rather odd carrying a small leather case as opposed to a fat study material!

So what have you folks been up to? Trust things have been going smooth at your end. I will catch up with your recent blog posts in the coming days.

Many thanks for all those kind comments/emails/scraps/wall-posts. I cherish them. 

And yes, I did miss ALL of you. (Need I say that?) Nothing short of euphoria, now that I am back.

Peace. Stay blessed. 

Love,

Kartz.

Destiny calls

Away I go, 

To make my life,

As whispers of change are upon me,

The time is nigh,

I brace the strife,

And fly in the face of destiny!

- - -

Please excuse my absence for a few weeks. Destiny (read - employment) beckons. :)

Ad Majorem *Mater* Gloriam

To have me, she willed to bleed.

I ne'er pay her words much heed,

Yet, she is *the One* I shall always need!

The first face to grace my eyes,

She answered all my infant cries,

She has filled my life with many a sweet surprise.

She taught me how to stand and walk,

She helped turn my incomprehensible babble to talk,

She made me listen to the tick-tock clock.

She made me aware of voice and sound,

She placed my wobbly feet firmly on the ground,

And I feel so safe when she is around.

She taught me what was wrong and right,

She would supervise my lessons with all her might,

She sought to prevent me from many a fight.

So how can I ever cease to be

Affectionate and kind to Thee,

O Thou, who art *a Mother* to me!

(An afterword - to Mother Nature)

Despite our imbecile, insolent greed,

She continues to nurture us and feed.

And what does humanity do? Happily gorge and breed.

- - -

Mother's Day greetings to Mothers everywhere! 
Ad majorem Mater gloriam.

"BANG!" and a life lived...

*a deafening BOOM!*

*dust settling*

Throat parched, eyes blinded, ears shrill, his life flashed past...

**Aged 4**

"Bang! Die, bad men! Bang!"
 
"Amrit, now will you please put away your gun and have your lunch!"

"Mumma, I want to become an army-man when I grow up! No enemies! Only friends!" *beams the endearingly darnest of smiles that only kids can flash*

**Army training**

"Listen up lilly-livered layabout green-horns! This is a rifle! *holds it up* Not one of those musical guns you held as a brat!"

**Reality**

Men shrieking in pain,
It is war, he can't explain,
And as he lay, on the field, bleeding,
"Will I live to see all this ending..?"
He prayed, tears in eyes,
He breathes, just once. Dies.

- - -

A classic case of what started as a 55Fiction, ended up as a Drabble. A drabble, by the way, is very similar to a 55Fiction; the only difference being the word limit, which is a hundred or less. Discounting the scene descriptions (content between the asterisks), this composition runs to 99 words.

A flower in the wind

There was a flower, the wind once knew,

That spread the fragrance of love.

With her around, time - but rapidly - flew,

For she was a gift, from above.

There was a flower, the wind once knew,

Vibrantly bright, yet plain.

Dissipating freshness and happiness anew,

She smelled of the Earth-drenching rain.

There was a flower, the wind once knew,

Distinctly apart from the rest!

His liking for her but immensely grew,

Ah! How cruel Fate doth jest!

She left without notice; no trace or clue,

The time he wish'd for, ne'er came.

There was a flower, the wind once knew,

Alas, he would ne'er know her name.

---

Yin... Yang... Yearn

An eternity between meetings, 

And an instant of togetherness. 

Periods of no touch, 

With a chain of thoughts about your closeness and dearness, 

Pining for your warmth and tenderness, 

Yearning for those calling arms and luscious lips. 

The quintessential, whole life;

Soul and body fuse in unison, 

With no alpha or omega, 

Where everything is unfathomable and clear. 

My half thirsts for your half, 

Yang awaits Yin,

To combine. Unity.

---

Food for thought

Nightshade, in despair,

Tenaciously clings to the 

Melancholic rose.

Entering this world, 

Bald headed and round bellied,

We leave the same way.

---

An Award...

Thank you Sandeep ; good to have you back! Up for grabs, my cool readers! Feel free to put it up on your cool blogs, too! :)

And blog updated - 11th April (title - Food for Thought) .

An ode, A promise...

Momentary bliss with you 'round,

Nature - you are beauty profound!

Soulful colours, your own splendour,

Sights to behold - "How!?", I wonder...

Nature - you are beauty profound!

With curves, certified to astound;

A grand feast for those truly bless't,

How enchantingly art thou drest!

Soulful colours, your own splendour,

Blinding rage, tears you asunder!

The rising tide, the spewing flame,

Ne'er shall you be the human's game!

Sights to behold - "How!?", I wonder...

Beseech thee - pardon our blunder.

One Earth, we inhabit and share,

We promise, O Gaea - we care.

---

Notice something different..? 

That was my first attempt at a style known as the retourne. Like so many other French forms, the retourne (from the French word, retourner - to return) is all about repetition. 

A retourne is comprised of four quatrains (four-line stanzas), and each line has eight syllables. The pattern goes like this - the second line of the first stanza must be the first line of the second stanza. The third line of the first stanza should be the first line of the third stanza. Likewise, the fourth line of the first stanza must be the first line of the fourth stanza.

Retournes need not rhyme. But considering my penchant for rhymes, I ensured this one did. :)

Of Shadows and Light...

So long that I am turned away from light,

I see a spectre, my own shadow - 

My darkness, lying beside something bright,

Like a gloomy, veiled widow.

I turn to the light, my shadow takes flight,

I face the source of my eternal glow.

The shadow exists, but is out of sight,

And stretched ahead of me is a divine meadow.

I turn my sight away from that source,

Shadowy spectres still outline my course,

But when I fix my gaze upon what is right,

Undeterred by shadows, I see light.

---

Mr. Anil Sawan links his composition - Dark Could Signify Life 

An award...

Gratias, Kajal. All right populi, up for grabs! Display this token on your blog - proudly so! :)

And blog updated - 11th April (title - Food for Thought) .

Sea Fever

I needed this break! Here is a poem that sums up the past week. Read this way back in '94 - '95.

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

- John Masefield (1878 - 1967)

An Unborn's Plea...

Staying in your nurturing cradle,

Counting away to daylight,

I feel a poke so cold, so... fatal,

Embryonic dreams would never take flight.

A Princess from the fable, I would grow to be,

As the doctor went about his work,

Longing for a Prince to set me free-

I was numbed by a surgical dirk...

There is no room, for me, it seems-

The unfortunate result of sin.

Gaia's breasts, but with life, teems...

Yet, I am decreed: a has-been.

A future undone, a mother's strife...

A Freedom that never covered me.

"Please protect an unborn life"

This is my humble, dying plea...

(Afterword-)

"Alone on the cold table, silence cries...

Snatched in haste from a mother's womb,

It will be discarded once it dies.

The trash can will make-do as it's tomb."

---

Will be away from Blogsville for a week, populi. Au revoir.

Peace.

The beauty that is, Friendship...

Life is long... It’s all our own; but when we are with friends, ‘estranged’ will be a word never to be heard. Time is the number of moments we find, and it fills our lives with joy and happiness. But when we part from friends, time will no longer seem what it used to be. We never know what the future has in store, yet  the  thoughts of  friendship  and  the bonds we  share will bring us much needed  solace. They  say  time heals; nevertheless the moment of estrangement will be hard to heal.

The shadows of life will grow longer

Some days will be happy, some sad,

Yet the fiendship you’ve made will grow stronger

As you think of the good times you’ve had.

A sincere friend is a precious possession,

Whose value increases with years;

Suffering may come to assail you...

Empathetic friends can allay all of your fears.

The days that are gone will leave memories,

And memories are precious to keep;

They bring solace to life like pleasant melodies 

That charm you and lull you to sleep.

Our days gather speed in their passing

With multiplied ills that attend...

Yet, you’ll weather safely each hurdle

When you feel the embrace of a loyal friend.
---

Did someone say 25..?

UPDATE (04 March 2009)- If your blogroll/dashboard directed you to this post, please go here for the latest post

(Pasted from Facebook)

These tags irritate me. My Blogger friend Gauri needs a life. If anyone has an overdose of it, please lend. Good karma will return to you.

25 random things about moi... Geronimo!

1. I am an unabashed egotist and a hot-head. *You know it? Didn't take Einstein, did it? :P* But I maintain that I am level-headed and patient.

2. I refer to God with an upper-case *G*, and I also refer to myself with an upper-case *I* (I leave it to you folks to draw analogies, dissect or, worst case, leave it. :P )

3. I am my worst critic.

4. I do *not* believe in having ONE *best* friend. For that matter, I do *not* believe in the concept of having *best* friends. 

5. I have friends. I do not discriminate among them. They make my life count. They know it. *tips his hat* Cannot thank you folks enough.

6. I say I am a good singer. Listener's loss. Not mine. Ha! I am pretty good with the keyboard/piano too. Well, I used to be! Long time since I ventured near one...

7. My handwriting is indeed that *damn* good. My notes have had the darned (read: blessed) fortune of spending helluva lotta time in the women's hostel. No, I said "my class notes". Not "me".

8. I am pragmatic and an ambivert.

9. I do not like sweets. Gulab jamun, Kaaju kathli, Mysore Pak and Twix (yes, that chocolate) are exceptions though.

10. I maintain a childhood rivalry - which is prolly 20 yrs old and counting. I *hate* Australia. Restricted to cricket, of course. And I hate it when that friend of mine calls me up every time those YELLOW-OCHRE (yes, I am racist. Sue me.) creeps win a tournament. 

11. There are times when I border on over-confidence. That is probably one of those things I am learning to overcome. 

12. I love to be alone. Or, with a small group of friends.

13. I am told I am good at comforting people. But I needn't be told that I am good at irritating people. Especially the fairer, and more garrulous sex. ;P

14. Back in 3rd Standard, I realized I was Shakespeare-cum-some-looney-Prophet reborn. Reason? I came up with this - 

Eashwar and Allah went to a mall;

Where Christ and Nanak were sitting on a wall.

The four of them became best of friends,

And will stay on till the world ends.

15. I love to philosophise. I love to think and engage people in discussions. Topics like God/Religion/Life/Death are my favourite. 

16. Point 15. owes to the fact that I, a Hindu Brahmin, had an Anglo-Indian, Methodist Christian upbringing (albeit, till seventh standard) in what was a pretty Islamic area in the city. Yes, I can chant/recite the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms (especially 23 and 121), the Vishnu Sahasranam, the Kalima Tayyab and a number of other religious verses with equal fervour. 

17. Science - the concept of Time and Creation, to be more specific - fascinates me. 

18. I love pooches... They are blessed creatures. Very.

19. I am a cleanliness-and-orderliness-freak.

20. The English language has been my *only* passion all these years. That said, I have taken a particular disliking for the American influence on the language. But yes, I do use the word *dude*, quite often. 

21. History (Ancient & Medieval) and Mythology vie for the top-spot in my list of interests. And oh yes, I do have a number of *weird* interests that include researching on Astral Travel, NDEs, OBEs (no, el stupido, not Order of the British Empire!), the Paranormal, SHC... 

22. Going to the cinema, or even watching one at home isn't my thing. And yes, I do not see any sort of blasphemy in not having watched "the Titanic", et cetra. Of course, I am never tired of watching "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly", "The Illusionist" and "The Great Escape". The last one, courtesy my good friend Rituparna. 

23. I have cut down on my reading habit... However, I am concentrating on my writing and I am trying to ensure that my reading doesn't have much (or any) influence on my writing. 

24. To some of you, this will be like opening a can of worms - I am not a particular *fan* of Gandhism. The only thing I liked about the great man is that he was for the *truth*. But, I do not quite understand why he stuck with non-violence. And I may never know, either. That said though, in no way do I imply that I harbour any feeling of disrespect for him.

25. Last, but not the least - I believe in the usage of basic courtesies like "Please." and "Thank you.". 

---

Got anything to say about me? Feel free to add.