Wild, young and beautiful

Fresh, raw and bright

Yellow, green an brown

An art close to my heart

A picture I can stare for hours

The Desert Gypsy

Neither, did I ask her name

nor did she;

We were strangers to each other

nevertheless, she gave a lot to me;

A place to sit at her humble home,

grins, laughter and warmth of a motherly soul;

Walking towards her 

the sandstorm sounded 

like the flapping wings 

of an agile bird.

Sitting at the threshold of the hut,

A cup of chai for unwanted but welcomed guests was served 

Her wrinkles were deep,

the smile was sweet,

at peace with herself 

the aura gave comfort to me;

The eyes were calm like a silent sea

but deeper there was poverty;

A contented soul,

needy but a giver,

a woman after all 

was she.

Maheshwar

I dedicate a poem to Maheshwar which is my forever love.  

Maheshwar 

You always astound me with your beauty,

Skies like huge canvases, 

Sunsets painted in orange and pink,

fish in the water, friendly sellers

photographers and boatsmen.

Pleasing is the chants of the mantras, 

Soothing is the nights at the ghats,

You light up the lamp of the inner soul 

like the floating earthen lamps in the river 

removing the darkness of the fort. 

Ahilya Fort Maheshwar

6 March 2018 

Ahilya Fort Maheshwar

While watching the Maheshwar pictures on my laptop, I stopped scrolling and paused at this one. The woman’s loving eyes and the warmth of the moment made me think about the crossroads of life. 

We meet people, make friends and sometimes just exchange glances, a smile or hold hands. Maheshwar has always been one of my favourite places as I love to sit at the Narmada ghats in the evenings, watch the setting sun, birds moving towards their nests, give food to the fish, listen to the chanting of the mantras praising the Holy Narmada river. 

While walking down the stairs, I saw a woman climbing down the stairs of the majestic Ahilya Fort unsteadily. I clasped her hand tightly to give confidence to her shaky legs and unconfident gait.

The picture is a witness of her eyes pouring motherly love towards me. 

Whenever I visit Maheshwar the next time, my searching eyes would look for her to share a cup of tea with her or we would give food to the fish together by sitting at the ghats of the river Narmada. 

PC - @abuzar Your sensitivity to feel the emotions has given me a moment to cherish forever.

Woman

The sweat of her body,

The worries in her brain,

Eva Joosten and Shaista Dhanda (PC- Sumiran Caprihan)

The tightness in her back,

The anxiety in her mane;

The light of her soul,

The warmth of her heart,

The fire in the belly,

The power in her stance;

She’s a fragile flower,

Softness is her charm,

Strengthening the dark room,

With the warmth of her heart.

Bibliophile

24.4.2018

Bibliophile

Colourful book covers,

Lifesaving quotes 

The cupboard is a magic dose.

The books peep out emotional journeys,

The successes and the failures,

The complex characters and soulful poetry.

I breathe,

the smell of ink imprinted on the pages of the new;

The dust settled in between the pages of a few.

Cleaning the cupboard is like unfolding the pages of life,

The images of reading a book flash in my mind.

While travelling or embracing the silence of the nights 

I have read many in my life.

Sitting in the high school library,

Gazing at the books as a child,

Touching the pages of flap books

The bright colours and soft fingers 

Run in my mind.

I read and borrow them 

to the old and the young,

The list never ends of buying a few;

Books are like moving images 

And the eyes are a camera for the few.

On the Move

April 12, 2018

Somewhere near Jhansi (on the train)

On the Move

The speed of the train 

The noise of the fan

The light coming between the gaps in the door

Do not let me sleep.

I close my eyes

The myriad happy memories glide into my thoughts 

The roads, landscapes, people passing by,

The deep conversations, the soul connections cross by,

The dive into the river, moments of just gazing at the mountain, 

having a cup of warm cappuccino on a rainy day,

the people at the desert, a cup of chai at their little hut,

the warmth of the touch, the music at the beach, 

the sunburn, the eclectic music at the cafe, 

the barefoot walk at the ghats, the silent moments of listening to the river waves, 

the pitter- patter of the rain, the shapes of the moon, glimmering stars and the white clouds of the sky, 

The sunsets and the few sunrises I have watched by,

I travel to seek the infinite surprises the life has to shower in my life. 

P.S- I took this picture on 1.3.2018 from (rooftop cafe) Laura’s Cafe, Pushkar, Rajasthan.

Kanatal

26 November 2017

Kanatal, Uttarakhand 

Memories remain fresh in the brain but a picture reminds us of the moment and captures the beauty. The magnanimous mountains cover themselves daily with a huge white blanket. Slowly, as the sun rises, the valley becomes clear as the warmth of the sun kisses the human beings, animals, plants and trees who become bright and active to begin their day. 

I am not a morning person as I don’t like to wake up to the morning chaos of school vans, vegetable hawkers passing by in the cities. I love the silence of the breezy and dark nights when the moon shines brightly upon us. 

Living Kanatal is one of the camps in Kodia forest where I stayed for a night in the month of November 2017. It’s an untouched beauty, a haven of peace and the forest breeze.

The morning view of the sunrise is spectacular and a life-changing moment as one realises the power of the Sun when it gulps down the darkness and brings out a new day of brightness and light. 

One must witness the experience of the rising Sun from this spot to make a memory forever.

Picture Courtesy- Sumiran Caprihan