Author: Adi Sathe

  • Wanderer

    My whole day was busy in riding through the city traffic for work. My body was demanding it’s regular dose of caffeine badly. As I was approaching my favorite coffee shop in the city, I heard an amazing tune on ukulele coming from the cafe. That day, I saw how ‘joy’ looks like. His hands were moving swiftly on the ukulele’s strings. People had gathered around him and were drenched in a pure bliss of the music he played.

    He was dressed like a perfect wanderer. He had a long beard, and his long hair were tied in a man bun. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts.

    That day, I understood what  ‘being high on music’ is. He was totally unaware about everyone being engrossed in his music. He didn’t bother about the applause and cheers he got.

    I pulled up a chair near one empty table and joined the crowd. Soon the rhythm got into me and I began tapping my feet. I almost forgot about my body’s want for caffeine. His tempo was increasing every passing moment. Everyone was in a trance. Everyone’s mind got filled up completely with the nectar of happiness. His music reached the summit and he paused, against the wish of the wanderer inside him.

    The crowd in the café cheered and applauded for the amazing atmosphere he created through his soulful music. A girl from the audience offered him a drink but he politely refused it.

    He understood that it was now the time to put the ukulele in his bag and leave. Aloof from the overwhelming happiness he created for his audience, he turned his back to the crowd and set off on his path. Even though the music he created left a mark on people, Mr. Wanderer left creating some delicious ambiguity!

  • अज्ञातसफर

    तांबडं फटफटायच्याही आधी, मी निघालो आहे,
    पायाखालची वाट सोडून, सरावाचा रस्ता मोडून.

    धुक्याची चादर ओढलेल्या किंचित अंधाऱ्या गल्ल्या,
    ओढतायत मला, हाक मारतायत खुणावून.

    माझीही पावलं आपोआपच वळली, उत्सुकतेने,
    मनातल्या साऱ्या शंका खोडून.

    नुकतीच उगवतीला केशरी किनार आली,
    अन आभाळभर पसरली, अंधाराला चिरून.

    अज्ञाताचे पडदे बाजूला सारत त्या गल्ल्या फिरत होतो,
    बहुदा, मुळ मानवी स्वभावाला धरून.

    माझ्या हिस्स्याचे धुके मनसोक्त पीत होतो,
    जोवर मन जात नाही भरून.

    उन्हं तापू लागली तशी धुक्याची मखमली चादरही विरली,
    गावालाही जाग आली आळोखे पिळोखे देऊन.

    अज्ञातातली समाधी भंगली, एकांत संपवला
    हे अज्ञात जग ज्ञात असलेल्यांनी धक्का देऊन.

    परतीचा प्रवास अन ओळखीच्या खुणांचा शोध सुरु झाला,
    उद्याच्या अज्ञातसफरीचा निश्चय करून…

  • The Gift

    Yeah, you guessed it right! It is really a very special day. That’s the reason behind my dressed up avatar. Otherwise, I would have been sitting with bunch of others. But, Sumit came in yesterday. His arrival was announced by the ding of the small bell attached to the door. We paused our talking and checked the door curiously. He came in and spoke something with the manager. It must be the reason for him being here amongst us. The manager directed him towards us and said, “for her with love” section. He was searching a gift for his ‘one and only’. The occasion was their first anniversary.

    He started walking towards us but was acting like a child in a toy shop. Confused about where to look and what to enjoy. The credit goes to our manager. He has done his part of stocking the store with a huge variety of items, which someone can gift to their loved ones for their special occasions. Our manager has smartly put our section at the end of the shop. One has to browse through the entire collection before reaching us. He must have decided about at least 20 gifts for his friends and family for their upcoming birthdays, festivals, etc.

    He reached us. I can feel his curious yet confused eyes scanning us. He was looking for something very specific. I am sure he must be having a clear idea about what he is looking for. I have seen many Romeo’s buying gifts for their Juliette’s. Every new recruit from the college nearby comes here to buy Valentine’s gift for his or her’s “someone special”. But only 2-3 successful heads return next year. However, Sumit was different. His love was tested and proven by 3 years of dating. One year of courtships and now he was about to celebrate his first anniversary tomorrow. His eyes were looking for something very special. Close to his heart. Probably very significant for their relationship. While scanning through shelves he glanced over me. Soon I could sense the glint in his eyes. But it took a couple of seconds for him to feel it. Yes, his attention moved back to me. A smile emerged on his face and the decision was made.

    With the signal from the manager, I was picked up from the shelf. They dressed me up in this adorable box. He paid and we left the shop. Sumit had taken all the efforts to keep me a secret for the special moment. I think he must be a very good poker player. He concealed his excitement and joy under a mask of a typical husband who forgets all the dates and prepared himself and me for the final surprise.

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    I am writing this post towards #Blog&Celebrate contest by Novemberschild

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    Image Credit: Eryn

  • The Sticky

    The Sticky

    It’s me, The Sticky, who is the reason behind keeping the bond of love and care between Neha and Sumedh strong. They can’t even greet each other on weekdays. But I do it for them on their behalf. She brought me in this Flat No. 701 of Paradise apartments some 9 – 10 months back. It all started when Sumedh got his promotion letter. A year’s hard work had paid off and gave him good hike in the package, but it also put him on rotating shifts.

    Tension rose up initially as they had to adjust to this new routine. Not able to spend the time with loved ones was taking a toll on the fun and joy they used to have till then. They started having fights over small issues. Suddenly it struck to Neha and enter, me, The Sticky. It was some routine weekday, they had their usual mix of tension and fight over some nonsense issue on WhatsApp. When she came home, he was sleeping. His meal was untouched.

    She relaxed at home, had her meal, plated for him and put it in the oven. Pulled me out of her bag. She had thought about this while leaving the office. She had pitstop at stationers and picked me, some color pens and some fun stickers. On one part she wrote big ‘sorry’ with sad smiley face and put it on his mobile screen. Another said about the meal plated for him, another part of me was talking sweet things to him from his coffee mug. She finished the last one with ‘XOXOXO’ and stuck it to their photo frame.

    She changed and went to bed. She started the dialogue in a new way. When Sumedh woke up on his routine time and checked his mobile, Neha said sorry to him from the note. He got up and turned on the coffee machine in the kitchen. He pulled the mug from the shelf which was saying how important he is to her. It also hinted about the love they share since the day they met for the first time. He had his meal after heating it in the oven when Neha told him about it. He couldn’t stop himself when he saw the hugs and kisses she left for him on the photo. Engineer in him picked up the pen and put the( )^2 around those XOXOXOs. And sorry note took place on Neha’s screen as he walked out for his share of work.

  • Gift for my princess

    Here I am, standing on the shore, holding my world by the hand. Shreya, my li’l princess. Waves are washing away the sand beneath our feet. Shreya’s smile widens with every wave bursting under her feet. She must have picked this fascination about waves from me. It’s been 4 years, she is the nucleus of our lives. Riya’s feelings must be in sync with mine. Riya and I met on this very shore for the first time. I was leading the group of students of the school where I taught, and she was there with her family. It was love at first sight. Sadly, we couldn’t even exchange pleasantries. Therefore knowing names, where we lived, what we did was out of question.

    It seems that destiny had it stored in our future. I returned from our trip and got busy, preparing for an exhibition of photographs the students had clicked during the trip. It was a grand one, as it was the 10th year of our school and our first batch of students were graduating.  I had also put some of my clicks in the exhibition. It was a busy evening at the hall. The hall was buzzing with students, parents and patrons of our school. I was busy listening to the praises about the skills that my students had shown. Suddenly in the crowd, my eyes froze on her face. Yes, she was there and this time, alone. She was eagerly waiting for the crowd to disperse. My heart was skipping beats. Our eyes met and I sensed the flair of excitement in her eyes. I excused myself from the group. Our eyes signaled each other and both of us moved to the corner. Only our eyes did the talking.

    A year flew by after we met in that corner of the exhibition hall. We got engaged with blessings of her family and cheers of from pals. Within the next 6 months, Miss Riya came in my home as Mrs. Riya Shreyas. I now had a family of my own. Being a lonely soul since birth, having my own family was a very satisfying thing. The bond between us grew like aged wine. Shreya entered our life, and our world started revolving around her.

    It’s Shreya’s 4th birthday. Sun has almost set. It’s a starry night and I am sure that the campfire will take it the next level with the background score of bursting waves. I should now get back to setting the campfire. Shreya is going to get her own story of “How I met your mother” by that campfire as her birthday gift.

  • Muse

    It was a pleasant morning. I was snuggled under the blanket on my bed. Though it was around 9 in the morning, my eyes refused to open. I heard the curtains open. I knew that she will wake me up soon. My senses were tingled by a fresh smell. She must have finished her bath. Slowly I felt the warmth on my neck. Sunrays kissed me through the open window and I opened my eyes. I stretched myself under the blanket. She sensed my movements and turned around to greet me good morning.

    As seconds passed, her blurry image became clearer to me and everything paused. My darling. She was right there, just at my arm’s reach. The first thing in the morning is that I see her. The chill in the air, the warmth of sun rays on my neck had created a special atmosphere. Straps of her sheer dress slid down on her arms, allowing her milky smooth back to get soaked in the warmth of the sun. Her hair tied in a bun. Light coming from the window behind her was casting a heavenly glow her face. Wide smile spread on her face as she saw me awake, “Good morning honey” brought me back from my early morning musing.

    Model: Snehal Deshmukh

    Photographer: Sandeep Khade