In such a night as this !

In such a night as this,

Did I walk barefoot on the moist sand;

And felt the sea washing it away.

With tides in front of my eyes and an ocean in my mind,

I had walked the walk of time.

In such a night as this,

Singing to myself, a hymn.

Amongst illusions I walk and shattered I fall;

In such a night as this;

So close, I feel, to God!

-Copyright @ Pie

तुझा चेहरा

डोले मिटूनी बघितले मानत,

दिसला तुझा चेहरा.

रात्रीच्या आकाशात, 

चन्द्र तुझा चेहरा.

सृष्टीच्या आवार्नातिल,

 गुलाब तुझ्या चेहरा,

मावे न हृदयत ही 

असा विशाल तुझा चेहरा.

 - Copyright 2011 @ Pie

Life like The Orange Lanterns

Have you ever observed the orange lanterns on a dark festive night, swinging in the winds? Amidst utmost silence, the wind teases its streamers and there goes the lantern flying high. Its as if the dark night romances the bright orange lantern, trying to make it dance with all the heart and soul. And the lantern - on a high, so much in love with the night that it leaves the night powerless, losing its darkness and shine up to embrace the air within itself and fill it up with immense warmth. Looking at it, I can't escape my desire to fly up in the sky, over the mountain tops. I nearly feel the chills within me, with the winds penetrating through each of my senses. They look mesmerizing - beauty at its best. But, to me they are like messengers from the heaven. They always make it a point to teach me something, every time I look at them. I'm in an awe of their beauty and their companionship.

I never thought of really compromising in my life because I grew up with an idea that I shall get all that I deserve and that I shall always get what I want, without realizing the fact that these two situations weren't actually possible in real life. Dreaming was my favourite hobby and to be honest, it still is. Taking life so lightly at every given point of time, has made me learn a lot, that apparently no person would have been able to teach. But, every time I thought I was winning, I had actually lost; so badly that, it took ages for me to recover my losses. Despite that, the one thing that kept me going was a voice that said, “C’mon you are my best kid and I’m sure you can do better”. And then, I actually did.

As years passed by and I grew by one stage in life after another, I constantly got stronger enough than before; more powerful, confident, helpful, understanding and a little more arrogant as well. As I came across different kinds of people on my way, I learnt new things from them. But, each unhappy episode in my life made me more and more reluctant towards human feelings, affection, relations and above all humanity. I slowly started becoming ruthless.

While running a 100 meter race, we begin very enthusiastically, looking around us to see how others started and who among our known people have turned up to cheer us. After the first 20 meters, we realize that the people who came with us were actually looking at other runners and not us. At this stage, we deny to agree that they aren't looking at us out of lack of interest and comfortably believe that they are observing the others out of sheer competition, just to find out how well we will be able to manage to win over them. In the other 20 meters, we experience the actualization of the fact that they were not looking at us for even a while and had ended up cheering the other runners. That's when our heart sinks and we can't figure out the reason behind it. "Had they not come with us? Aren't they supposed to cheer us?". Very unknowingly, by this time, we have covered 40 meters of the race and there are only 60 more to go. The race at this time is at its peak and all the runners are totally charged up (though they also must have gone through the same kind of emotions that we did). From here on we begin to get emotionally stronger and try our best to focus on the target that is set, "our ultimate goal - the finish line". It takes a lot of effort, initially, but we successfully manage to avoid all the sounds that exist in the background and attain silence in the mind. Our mind is then set to focus completely on the "finish line". This struggle to attain focus in the race helps us cover the distance of next 20 meters, taking us to 60 meters. This is then followed by the real successful run, the run for life. Those 20 meters take us to a mark of 80 and we realize that we are then leading the race. We are now so damn close to winning the race. And you actually do. But, you know what, the last 20 meters run takes you back to the square one, which is a serious emotional state of mind. 


In the last bit, you run at a speed your mind cannot measure. Its just the momentum that has been generated in your body and your mind holds no record of it, at all. For you, that time runs in a slow motion when your soul is right outside your actual self looking at you winning the race. But, that's not all. You also see your self alone in the front, followed by only those who want you to lose so that they can win. Thanks to your "trained mind", you have by now detached yourself from the rest of the world and do not hear anyone cheer you or call you by your name. You take no notice of who are with you ready to clap as you run through the ribbon on the finish line. Here, your heart doesn't sink or feel heavy. It just ruins you from within. You realize that all that you did to win the race was in wain because you let go off the people you loved and got so busy in winning that you did not see when they actually turned to you with a magnanimously happy heart to give you a warm hug on your victory and tell you that, "I'm proud of you". 


Such is life.


Even I ran the race and experienced the same things. But, right before the finish life I looked back and saw all that I had given up in the process and wanted it back. I couldn't manage to let the most important people and possessions of my life go away in a wink, just for the sake of winning a race. At that point of time, all I needed was a warm hug, a kiss on my forehead and eyes that told me, "Well done. Are you alright?". 


I won, I got my hug and swore that I shall never let it go away from me, no matter what.


Honestly, I still don't compromise in life. But, I have learnt to value the people who have made me what I am, people who held my hand every time I needed to walk, who ran themselves to teach me how to run, who laughed in their pain if I got scared and above all, who spent their selfless life just to see me smile.


They are so like the orange lanterns lit in a dark festive night, fluttering in the wind. Bright, beautiful, calm and so full of love. Yet, powerful enough to take you through the toughest times in your life, giving you a brilliance of festivity in the darkest of nights. They make me gaze at them for hours, singing, "these are the few of my favourite things".


- Copyright @ Pie 

The City of Blinding Lights

I have, not often, thought about how much I like or love this city. But whenever I did, I got lost in the glam and glory of its hustle-bustle. The life that everyone here loves and still cribs about, is basically what all really long for, only so long as they don’t have it. I am no exception to it. But despite the hypocrisy that we live in, we end up truly falling in love with the city. It has the power and the charisma to attract you. You don’t realise when and where and why and how, you love it so much that even after having longed for leaving it for a better life ahead, you retain your being here and give away yourself to it, no matter in whichever way it may be.

As a kid, I never thought about it seriously. But I was always an advocate of the brilliance of this city, not knowing what it contained. I had always been in an awe of its lifestyle, the colours, the music it possessed and above all the varied fragrances it spread out in different climates. I could feel the winds change their directions, the birds singing out to me their songs of nature and all the colours of the skies during twilight. They somehow mesmerised me. I still have no reasons or explanations as to how I feel about all of these. But, I know I love it from the bottom of my heart.

This city has intense warmth within itself that leaves a soft and moist wrap around your mind. You can peacefully stretch up your arms and wake up to take in the fragrance of sand from the beach during low tide and rub your eyes through watching the tides turn and slowly get out of the bed and say, “Good Morning, God!” You then, like always, fall prey to the rush hour that doesn’t really end until midnight. You don’t really see the sun growing brighter with each passing hour, getting warmer by the day and then slowly setting down once again into the vast expanse of the sea. But despite this, you still carry the ambition to become the “10 O’clock Sun” that gives all worlds the light and energy it most requires and deserves as well.

The art of living in this city is not to get tired, not because you don’t have the time to but because life actually begins when everyone else is busy getting lazy. Yes, lazy; that’s what we call the people who more often get tired. When the bright and warm sun has set, our hearts start racing through the empty roads to fight the strong, cold breeze with our faces right there having fun; all smiles. We are hungry for having fun, sleeping is such a waste of time. It’s the city that makes us feel like being in love always; it’s just that we don’t know who we are in love with because if we stand for a moment and look around, we don’t find anyone there by the side. We are a huge bunch of fun loving people, always seen enjoying, partying, playing and claiming to be the coolest folks on this earth; yet alone deep within ourselves. It is the other side of mid-night, as one of the titles of Mr William Shakespeare’s work reads.

Copyright @ Pie 2011

This city contains within itself a million hues of smiles; some happy, some shy, some funny and sweet and some darker than the nights.Some smiles; in fact most of them are really cute, ugly but bearable, in true sense. Their innocence, shyness and charm are more a reflection of their incomplete desires and want for one warm hug that would say, “I’m right here for you”. We grow up as kids and then never get to really grow up. The kid in us is hardly allowed to grow into a complete youth that we deserve to. Before we can get to know the world and fly our own ways, we get into the entrapment of the traits of the city and get hooked to its traditions. We all have innumerable dreams when we open our eyes, but conveniently forget all of them once the city begins its majestic ride of valour.

We love this, don’t we? But with all the disagreements that we may have with the kind of things we see around us and the kind of people we move with, we enjoy the life here so much that we can go gaga about it all around the world. We float in the drapes of fashion and blush with our flaunting flairs. Serving the main course full of pride with a bit of lust as accompaniment, we serve the darkest of chocolates as desert in my city of blinding lights.

Story of a pen…!

It worked in days,

It worked in nights,

It wrote of lands and deep blue skies.

It spoke of wars,

It spoke of fights,

It wrote of all dead archer knights.

It cried for kings,

It cried for castles,

It shouted loud to help solve all our hassles.

It built, it broke

Corporates with tact.

It helped us all unveil the fact.

The pen as it ran on the paper,

Wrote each word as a legend!

- Copyright 2011, Pie

An Acquaintance with Life !

I met a kid, who did not really know what he wanted, but was so full of life that even the happiest man on this Earth would envy him. I was amazed at how well had he described what he wanted in his life. But, despite that, when asked, he was unclear of his ambitions. His desires did not really match with his reality. But his eyes had a sparkle that could give light to someone who needed it most. “How can I decide if I want something, unless I try it?”, that’s what he said. It may be true in some matters but how can someone live a life of trial and error? He actually did. 


He not just believed in trying most of the things himself, but also made sure that he encouraged others to do the same. He had the power to inspire and make you do things despite you not wanting to. He almost ended up asking me a million questions and linked together everything I liked and then called me “multi-talented”. Honestly, whether I believed it or not, I liked it. His tiny eyes had innumerable dreams that needed fulfillment. But he had a spark in him that raised him above all. When he looked at the expanse of the sea, he looked like a dreamer, a lover, a giver....! Someone who had the heart to give more than what he wanted. 


I wonder, how many of us really have the courage to actually try all that we like or get fascinated by? Very few, I guess. But these few people are the happiest folks you may find and are indeed the most admired ones as well. Not because they know a lot, but, because they can show you a lot. 


I always thought and followed the idea, that people need to be taught what they don't know. It gave me pleasure to see them smile back with the pleasure of having learnt something new from me. I loved seeing people turn more knowledgeable and skilled; and felt proud of myself for having been a reason behind it, though not a significant one. But, I had forgotten that each person is born with some or the other talent that they may not have realized yet. And that this talent, if reminded could turn into a miracle. I saw this in him. How easily had he reminded me of all the things I was missing, in the wake of being busy; my Guitar, my dance, my sketches, colours, paintings,... just about everything. 
I cleaned my Guitar that day, after months. :)


We must love ourselves first, to be capable of giving love to others. But, do we actually follow the thought, having said that? He did not have any such well drawn principals in his life, but lived by most of those. Each passing moment made me feel the splendor of his thoughts.


That evening, the sun had set in a blaze of glory and I had an acquaintance with life.




- Pie

Someday...In life

If you cannot talk to me,

I shall not utter a word.

If you cannot look at me,

I shall not catch your sight.

If I come in your way,

I shall change my path.

But once in this life I know I shall,

Want you by my side;

And sing to me, a song.

Someday...in life;

Once before I'm gone.

- Copyright 2011, Pie

Prithee

In the darkest of nights

When a fire is lit.

A heart burns in scarlet desires

Like dried leaves in heaps of flames.

Across; I see thy eyes deeply drowned in mine

So full of love, luster and smile

As if to read each bit in my mind.

A wave of silence, so sharply comes

As a shaft pushing me down on shale.

Like a silver bullet; it hurts.

But, thy smile again pacifies me.

I sit back and look close into thee.

To me, thou came as the divine Pan.

Thou art the prithee of my heart !

- Copyright 2011. Pie  

Meanings:

1. Prithee - It is a short of "Pray thee"; here used as "prayer"

2. Shaft - Sharp sphere like weapon

3. Shale - Rock

4. Pan - The ancient Greek GOD of forests & pastures

Success

Can you please help me define "success"? Well, I had been thinking of it for long now. Many a times, I was trapped with the thought as to what exactly should be termed as success. Is it the monetary value of your achievements, your qualifications, your position / designation or something else all-together? And each time I started thinking on this aspect, I got a different reply from my very own mind. Each person I asked, gave me a different meaning and each situation I came across added different hues to it. I couldn't really figure out the exact meaning of the word, "Success".

When I think about the 2 and a half years I spent in my profession, I remember to have changed my thinking in terms of what I expect from it, a number of times. Initially, I only needed a job that could pay for my education and that read as "Research". I did not really know what all it involved. But, as time passed by, I fell in love with it. So much that I did not want anything more than that in my life. Without my notice, my profession had become my "Food for Life". I love it a bit too much, I guess.

Soon after I was well acquainted with Research, I wanted more out of it, God knows what. I knew that I needed more money but that was not all. I also wanted to be "Someone", known to people and spoken about. My greed had increased, though gradually. I was no longer satisfied by the 15 people in my office knowing me. I needed more. And as the luck may have it, I became the Senior Analyst and an Assistant to our CIO. I started going to a number of analyst meets and began interacting with the top management of various companies. I had stepped into a larger set of "known people".

So often we do not realize that the things we go chasing for may not be the ones we need or want. When we run, we can feel the momentum of the things that rush past us. But, we cannot see what went along, that we might have so badly longed for. With a cake in my hand, I had forgotten to learn how to make it. What if the cake got over? A thought. And I stopped running. For a moment, I felt lost. Like a whirlpool, everything started to turn in and around me. I sat back and begun to know the recipe and started with the most important ingredient of the cake- "Knowledge". I knew now for sure, what I was seeking.

Sometimes, to get something good out of life you have to let go off what you have gotten yourself addicted to or something that you have almost started to love. That's what I was about to put myself to. "A test of time". Seriously thinking, I am still confused as to how shall I define "Success". But, I know for sure that it is something that puts you on a higher level compared to yourself, each time you desire to grow up. The only thing that can hold your hand and drive you to that goal of yours, is your own courage and focus. 

If you are able to define what you want out of your life, Success will define itself.

Cheers to Life !

Had destiny not planned the plan before
Of the life that seems so smart.
I would have missed the fun or rocks
And the thrill in driving a cart.

-Payal Pandya 

When ever I think about my life, I always want to make it big. Bigger than that of anyone else. But I never seem to have known the right way. The only thing I can do is, evaluate each moment as it comes, live it to the fullest and try to make it different in some or the other way, no matter how small it may be. This is another attempt to do something that can make people remember me.

On this blog I shall keep posting my poems, new and old; my articles and short stories; some informative stuff that may be rare and at times some financial gyan as well. Please let me know your opinions and suggestions, as this is my first attempt to put forward my writings to everyone.