Category: A2Z 2017

  • The game is on

    We wound up the table very late last night,

    Just like every day, it was a draw,

    You and me, we have been playing for years.

    It’s the game of chess.

    Today, we woke up early morning, like everyday routine.

    I finished my chores and started setting up our station,

    In the gallery, overlooking beautiful garden,

    You went into the kitchen after finishing your bath,

    And your coffee ritual started, as precise as math.

    I pulled the table, and spread the tablecloth,

    Board is opened and pieces are ready to march on the path.

    Now I wait for you, with kitchen music as background score.

    Amazing aroma fills the air, which fresh brew of coffee has kept in its store.

    You join on the table, settled in your chair.

    Board is observed with eyes which are steady.

    I offered you to start when you are ready.

    The first move is made, and the race starts.

    Our minds are focused and the game is on….

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 7 challenge. “Game is on”

  • F is for factless forwards

    Years before, it was all about handwritten letters and posts. Ever since we could manage to pull off the trick of the internet, We keep losing the skills and techniques of writing letters to the loved ones till we reached the era of instant messaging apps. When it was just the start of the internet we invented an e-mail. Everyone was amazed and ready to try new technology. Soon it overtook the traditional postage system and entered the demon of forwards in the web. For sure demon must have entered in a disguise of pictures of cute babies, beautiful sceneries, amazing places around the globe, and what not. That little forward arrow on every email window kept pulling the recipients to click on it and forward the e-mail. Remember we used to get those random postcards in the name of gods or goddess, which one has to be sent to 108 people without breaking the chain? They had those “do this otherwise…..” curses and bad luck showers mentioned at the end. This demon in disguise didn’t need them. We readily forwarded the emails and spammed our friends and families.

    Soon we witnessed the revolutionary development in our mobile phones and demon smiled cunningly. We, humans, are very enthusiast about keeping ourselves up to date. We promptly switched to smartphones ditching our old handsets. Now we could constantly be in touch with our friends, family, love and to the world. The invention of Facebook, Twitter and other social media had made us global citizen even if we are sitting in a small village in interiors of India. The demon had now equipped himself with video clips which everyone would love to laugh on and send across with their free wifi plans. Soon the demon realized that we just keep spreading the things which we receive and move on. He started to shed his disguise. Soon he took over the consciences of society and forwarding action became mechanical. We stopped thinking about what are we reading and watching. We started accepting what mass is saying.

    We don’t bother to do simple fact-checks before forwarding. Just to give you an example, UNESCO has been awarding Indian national anthem as “best in the the world” every year since 5-6 years. As if every year, some 10-15 new nations came into existence, or we destroy a bunch of them from the map. and there are new anthems every year to have competition. I have lost the count for how many times, Earth had been hit by cosmic rays and NASA had issued warnings of keeping our cell phones off. Forwarding anything without thinking anything about fact-checks has become the trend. It’s really sad that such forwards have been accepted as news sources. Things are becoming frustrating. Forwards are spreading like haywire.

    Demon soon started offering his services to anti-social elements or someone who just want to sit and have a fun watching the panic in people his roomer have spread. I am really saddened by the way we behaved in the time of recent social conflicts and riots in Nashik, Maharashtra. If some incident happened in one village, it used to get blown out of proportion and roomers were spreading in the entire district even before the incident got reported to the police. It’s sad that authorities have to shut down the internet connections in the district for almost a week.

    We just can’t stop forwarding things. We really should have some self-control on such forwardings. I am not blaming habit of spreading the knowledge or sending some nice words to each other, but my only request is guys if you read something and wish to forward it to someone for any reason, you just take a breath, think before hitting that arrow, does this really make any sense? Think rationally about it. If you get the affirmative signal from your brain then and then only send it across. It will really reduce hate, frustration, and anger from our society.

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 6 challenge. “F for Forwards”

  • On the trail of silver mist

    A misty trail in Julian, California by J Rae Chipera

    It was rainy season and I was on my monsoon solo trip just like every year. It’s been a decade, I try to explore new mountain trails in every monsoon.  This year was not an exception for it. I packed my bags and moved out. Bookings in the forest bungalow were already arranged. It’s always ‘go off the grid’ trip every year. I have switched off my cellphone on my way to the bungalow. Being in hills, the monsoon had turned it all cloudy and misty. It was enchanting.

    The evening was already setting in by the time I reached the bungalow after a long walk from railway station. All rooms were booked this year. I checked in my room. In the courtyard, a caretaker was already preparing campfire and soon everyone gathered around it. The food was cooked and arranged in a rustic way. It was a chilling cloudy day. Though it was not raining, the forest around was full of dampness. Some of the residents have brought their guitar and djembe. Soon beat started and everyone joined in with the tune and had an amazing time. After a couple of hours of music, we called it a day and head back to the room.

    I have been early riser since my childhood. I was out of my bed around 6. I got ready and was out in the forest for my morning hike. I picked the trail and started climbing it up. The forest around was covered in fog. It was difficult to watch the trail beyond 10-15 feet. The trail started to take swirls, and around the turn, I thought I spotted fellow hiker. I increased my pace. It would have been great to have a company.  As I took the turn, I saw a young girl, hiking up the trail. I recognized her, she was one of German girl staying in the bungalow. I tried calling her but the waterfall near us was muffling my calls.

    I was following her like a rat behind the piper as she kept on walking on the trail. Her blond hair waves in the air. Her white skin glows in the mist. Her footsteps traced in the silver glow over the dirt of the trail. I was walking exactly on them. I entered in the sparkling silver forest. Along the trail, there were gorgeous human statues. Quite a few of them. By the time I could realize, I was turned into one of them. She was on her way back to the bungalow…

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 5 challenge. “E for Enchanted”

  • Deep down in a ditch

    Memory Opener by Olaf Hajek

    Deep down there, Between those two memories,

    That’s your place, Do you see it?

    Look closely, how cute is that little dimple on your cheek,

    Do you know, your smile gave it?

    Your precious specs, curtained those beautiful eyes behind,

    Trying not to give what’s on your mind,

    Do you think they succeed in it?

    Those constantly moving hands when you spoke,

    Gave away your dance skill, did they knew it?

    Your compassion for life nurtured with that joy-filled heart,

    How could have you lost it?

    Friends have been your lifeline, you haven’t met them in years.

    How can you live without it?

    I am asking you, honey, will you stop staring from the mirror,

    I asked you a question, will you answer it?

    What are you doing so deep down the ditch,

    don’t see that ladder on your right?

    It’s been years you have been down there, only god knows what you were doing.

    Isn’t it time to come out of it?

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 4 challenge. “D for Deep”

  • C has to be for Coffee

    Love for Coffee

    When your social media bio says “coffee, camera, ink-pen and me” you can’t write anything but coffee as your article about ‘C for….’ on day 3 of A to Z challenge. Hell yeah, I am caffeine addict without withdrawal syndromes 😉 😛 Once you wake up in the morning, it’s almost heaven when you smell the roasted beans you put in for a fresh brew. As soon as that aroma hits your nose, your brain feels happy. This is so powerful, it even keeps the deadly ‘Monday Blues’ at bay. For years this has been my morning freshness trick. But I recently came to know about the science behind it. Thanks to this same A to Z challenge. It introduced me to amazing blogger, YouTuber Karnika Kapoor and she talked about Coffee and Climate Change in one of her video.

    Coffee has been a major part of my life just like books. And the combination of an interesting book and cup of coffee is ultimate hit. And if it’s raining, I just love to pour myself a cup of hot and strong coffee, pick an interesting book (mostly it’s one of the rereads), and sit by the window enjoying words with this heavenly drink. While browsing things about coffee, I came across one amazing painting of old Turkish coffee shop created by Chevalier Auguste de Henikstein made in 1826.  

    Interieur dun cafe Turc by Chevalier Auguste de Henikestein

    I think ever since the first coffee shop opened, it was the center for community gatherings or place where friends can meet and have lengthy discussions. The tagline of widespread Indian café chain, Café Coffee Day is really true and very cleverly thought. “A lot can happen over a coffee” You may propose your love, you might sign the important business deal, or you can sit and chat for hours with your buddies. Even if you are alone, cafe never fails you. Constant hustle bustle keeps you company. For me cafés are the places of discovery of characters in my stories, even many of my stories are spun around coffee and cafes.

    Coffee bearer by John Frederick Lewis

    Nowadays, I am craving to do buddy reading of some interesting book sitting on a window ledge while it’s raining out and mugs full of hot coffees are adding more sparkle to the reading session. Will this wish get fulfilled in this rainy season?

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 3 challenge. “C for Coffee”

  • #AtoZChallenge – B for Books

    It’s day two of A to Z challenge and alphabet of the day is B. There is no chance of me choosing anything but books for this letter. If you can’t find me working or sleeping, I must be engrossed in a book.I think it was summer vacation, and I was just browsing through the cupboard full of books. My granny got a huge collection of Marathi books. There were books with many fascinating covers, but one caught my eye. It had one unusual leather jacketing. Brownish yellow, hard bound. The name was not inscribed on the cover. And out of curiosity, I picked it up. It was the huge book, quite heavy for my little hands. Must be around 1000 pages. I sat in front of that open cover and opened the book. It was ‘श्रीमान योगी’ by Ranjeet Desai. It’s biographical novel about Chatrapati Shivaji. As I dived in the book then and there, I couldn’t control myself and kept at it. Even mom’s lunch calls were bouncing off my ears. I think I managed to finish it within 3 days.

    After Ranjeet Desai, a list of favorite authors kept increasing. P. L. Deshpande, V. P. Kale, Vyankatesh Madgulkar, Shanta Shelke are all time favorite Marathi authors. I can read their work anytime and many times. I am so convinced that many of the stories by P. L. are now stored in my DNA.

    English literature came in my reading list with a gift of ‘Wise and Otherwise’ by Sudha Murthy in my second year of graduation. Soon I have finished all of her books which were published by then. I know, I have joined the party of English literature very late. Hey, it’s never late when it comes to books. My friends who were reading English literature for a long time often taunt me about reading some of the books which they have finished in their schools. I humbly and proudly return those with my long list of Marathi authors I have read. By now, my most enjoyed work is by Ruskin Bond, Agatha Christie, Sudha Murthy. Especially, they way Ruskin takes us on the tours of Dehra, or any other Himalayan town is fascinating.

    The bookworm by Carl Spitzweg

    I am constantly fascinated by books. Ok, ok, you can call me a bibliophile. I often visit bookstores, the smell of new books takes me to another level of joy. Those new pages feel amazing when you flip them. I couldn’t leave the store without buying at least one book. Maybe by the time I turn 40, I can start my own library. I have been writing about the books I liked From my bookshelf, and since January 2017, I am tracking my reading on Goodreads with 2017 Reading Challenge. Like English and Marathi, I would like to venture in Bengali and Kannada literature. Bengali and Kannada literature is very rich with thousands of books. I am really looking forward to learning those languages and take dive in those books. Would you guys like to join me in the amazing journey?

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 2 challenge. “B for Books”