Sisterhood

26 November 2017

Separated by distance but in each other’s hearts,

a sister is a shadow of yours;

Surrender yourself in her arms,

she is the best judge as she has seen all four seasons of the past.

The touch which is soothing as a balm;

the screams that are loud as if sitting

in a roller coaster that goes round and round;

A sister is strong when you are weak,

she wipes your tears when no one speaks.

PC - Avnish

Kodia Forest Kanatal,Uttarakhand

Womanhood

24.2.2018

Taj Mahotsav, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

This is Archana Jha, 32, a Madhubani Painting artist. She is painting since childhood. Her art exhibition at Taj Mahotsav Agra is a delight. She hails from Jitwarpur, Madhubani District, Bihar. This is her first commercial exhibition. I wish her all the luck and happiness in the world. Contact www.madhubanikala.com for online shopping for her paintings. You can directly call Archana too at 6200972437 for orders. 

Let’s celebrate womanhood and support each other to grow together.

Tree of Life

The curvy tree of life

 asks to take everything in your stride. 

The wind of ordeals would hit,

fight till the end arrives.

The trunk and naked branches 

devoid of flowers and leaves;

The brownish, rough and sturdy bark 

asks to stay strong at every hit of the hammer

till the last.

December afternoon

22.12.2017

This picture was taken today by my friend Mehr at a local nursery. The hues of the flowers, the shape of the leaves, the green of the grass and the soft touch of the petals made me grin from ear to ear. I laughed at the joys of the natural beauty and wondered at the mesmerising beauty of this little wonderland at the corner of the city.

Nature has always been an inspiration to me ever since. It teaches me to be bright and colourful even the darkness of the night of life.

19.12.2017

Harda

हम देखते ही रह गए इस अजूबे को

बाहरी रूप से सुंदर प्रतीत हो रहा 

पर अंदर ही अंदर मर रहा है यह पेड़।

#words #roadtolifeisbeautiful #life #people #lookbeyondtheexterior #lookwithin #poetry #poetrycommunity #philosophyoflife 

I write and delete many poems 

it is an old habit which may not die young.

The worthiness worries me 

but I ask today, who decides our worth?

It’s in our hands

 whom we shall give  the reins.

Our soul is the real cart puller, 

I want it to know it’s worth today.

Chidhood Moments

We capture moments in our hearts and create memories for our souls. The happy memories make us smile and the sad ones remind of our tears and the years have gone by. Love is the basic ingredient of making a happy life. I love you with an open heart whether you're far or near, a plant or a flower, a boy or a girl, a messed up teen or a too difficult to handle an adult.
Flower picking, car driving, talking, smiling, laughing, talking, dancing, listening to music, reading a book, riding a horse, rafting, parasailing and some other little and big things give me joy.
What gives you happiness? Count and share to spread smiles.

Piece of Art

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked myself after clicking several pictures of this beauty. It isn't just a pendant or piece of jewellery for me but a work of art.
The story of this turquoise baby goes back to a few years to Jaisalmer.  Even today people live in the narrow alleys of the old Jaisalmer fort. There were houses attached to each other, small and similar. Suddenly, the guide stopped outside one of the homes and escorted us in. I was mesmerized by the uniqueness of that house which was a silversmiths workshop from the inside.
For the first time, I saw silver jewellery being made. The workshop was on the ground floor and hundreds and hundreds of boxes of beautiful works of art like these were spread on the mattresses in the room on the first floor.
There were countless chains, earrings, necklaces, rings, antique silver boxes and some of the never ever seen before artecrafts.
The jeweller told that many neighbouring families like his had shifted to Jaisalmer after the India - Pakistan partition.
 Most of them export jewellery to many countries and buyers, tourists, travellers from different nations visit their doorsteps and never go empty-handed.
This beauty stayed in my almirah until today, November 3,2017.
I went to the jewellery market in Khandwa and looked for some magicians who could accentuate the beauty of this turquoise piece to hold it properly. Luckily, I found a jewellery artist and I discussed the thread or chain which could hold this precious piece of art for me. After a few minutes of discussion, we finalised the colours and the sequence. Still anxious about the outcome I waited for some time. My aunt who accompanied me all this time had faith in the artist.
Finally, when I looked at it and tried it on, my body felt an unimaginable bliss as I could feel the effort, time and travel this precious beauty has gone through.
It's a creation of many creators and let's value and respect art and artists who create works of art from their imagination.

Sahastradhara Maheshwar

20.10.2017
One must take a boat ride from the Ahilya Fort to Sahastradhara to listen to the roaring sound of the waves of the river Narmada, soak one's feet in the cold turquoise water and become one with Nature.
Sitting at one of the rocks just for a few moments have always been magical for me, the unstoppable water flowing speedily towards oneself is a reminder to be alert and enjoy the surreal experience at the same time. The fish in the stagnant water come only when we wait patiently which reminds us again to keep looking for the beauty in the ugliness of algae and sticky slimy situations of life.
The river reminds us to become one with ourselves by reaching a point in life, listen to the silence of our souls while experiencing the gigantic and scary waves coming towards us, wait for the sight of the most beautiful fish after walking the rocky path. It also teaches us to listen to the unspoken words when we meet someone, listen to their emotional,  physical or mental needs of by looking into their eyes.
We all face ordeals in life but a constant reminder to ourselves "I am there for myself" or by asking someone by looking deep into his/her eyes "Are you doing good?" or genuinely asking "How are you?" helps in some way or the other. Sometimes,  just listening helps. #maheshwar #madhyapradesh #india #indiantraveller #narmada #boatride #life #midnightmusings #words #experiences #writersofinstagram

Hide and Seek

I didn't want to blink my eyes while watching the gigantic hot ball of Sun playing hide and seek with me. Like every lesson taught by Nature,  it left a message for me and you "Do not worry, the Sun will shine through the little holes of Hope." #midnightmusings #words #thoughts

Diwali 19.10.2017

Some experiences are best felt by the heart and the photograph is just a visual memory. This Diwali night will be remembered forever as I spent a couple of hours at the Ahilya Fort,  Maheshwar with my loved ones.
The ever flowing Narmada River was pitch dark but the water was alive with the innumerable fish which jumped in and out of water when they were given something to eat.
A local girl was pouring oil in the diyas and she told me I could do the same. Igniting the diyas was a surreal experience along with the local family who has been enhancing the beauty of the Ahilya Fort for a few years now by igniting diyas at the banks of the river Narmada. It's a selfless service to show their gratitude to the River and the Hindu gods and goddesses. Like this year, the family had put 551 diyas from their savings and little donations from their neighbourhood.
There are a few legends involved about the history of Maheshwar so I talked and discussed until it was almost midnight with a promise to be back again in the city which is close to my heart to meet that local girl who ran a tea stall at the fort.
#ahilyafort #madhyapradesh #holkar #diwalinight #surrealexperience #india #maheshwar #indiantraveller

The Flute Seller

Reference - I was sitting outside my home and suddenly heard a magical and melodious sound. This post is a reminder to ourselves to take out time to listen to the enchanting music of Nature and value artists in our vicinity.

A cup of cappuccino and a book;

Picture Courtesy- Sumiran Caprihan

I sit in the garden at a nook.

Chatter of the people,

twitter of the birds,

dogs bark and cats purr.

Trees shed the leaves on the earth.

Musical instrument afar is heard.

"It's a flute!" I abruptly jump and 

run towards the man;

who holds a bunch of flutes.

I call him out and he gives me a look;

disappointed with me he was

as I didn't wish to buy his flutes.

I asked him, Would you like to earn by playing the flute?"

He answered, "That's not my job. 

It is to sell the flute.

Many like you have asked me to play 

but I don't wish to.

My job is only to sell the flute."

Instameet

Indore Instameet 
September 9 2017

Picture Courtesy - Madhur

It was a chance to connect with writers, bloggers, RJs and social media influencers.
Words were exchanged and knowledge was gained when a few got together.

Talent is everywhere and such meets help to nurture,
Inquisitive questions and elaborate answers awakened the lazy souls to get up from their stupor. 

Kids at SEA

6.9.2017

Shaista's English Academy (SEA) Khandwa

Kids at SEA

Peppa Pig, Sunita Williams

 or Kalam,

These kids have watched them all.

They love the time spent here at SEA,

They reach the class too early

and peep the door to look for me.

The latch opens, they rush inside like the local train passengers

whose train will stop only for a little while.

The queries, giggles, book reading, dictation,  writing activities and permissions for going to the loo.

For an hour the optimism can be felt in the room.

How much shall I write?

There's so much to say about the

honest eyes and real smiles,

tired bodies with fresh minds.

Period

Picture Courtesy-Anonymous

At midnight she felt the spasm

sleepily dragged the hand

to the drawer and wore the pad.

Sleep disturbed, feet got cold

a hot bottle soothed the pain.

Stomach groaned of hunger

and the uterus of unbearable pain.

The half-eaten chocolate on the shelf

melted in the golden wrap.

The fingers dug deep into the chocolate ball

She slept until morning all curled up.

- Shaista Dhanda

4.9.2017

This post on 'Period' is a part of photo series on Instagram. The picture is anonymous. I have written on the topic as asked by @youthspowerindia on Instagram. I hope many girls and women will relate to the words and the boys may understand.