My Choice - A Spoof

This is a spoof
a copied format
hijacking my time line
Idea shared
over and over
has made me think
how I lived so long
without expressing
that I too had a reason to express
My choice
My body, My mind 
My choice
To read your long messages or not
My choice 
To heed to your sarcastic tone
Preachy and philosophical
They may nourish my mind or waste my time
I may comment, or like
or sleep over it
or even ignore it
my choice
You send me endless requests
to join various groups
to play boring games
without my consent
I play dead
my choice
Call me snob
call me insensitive
call me silly
I am the universe
Infinite in every direction
This is my choice

I am in no Competition

I am in no competition 
I prefer standing alone 
Doing what I love 
At my own pace, 
Success will come 
Or maybe not,
But happy will I be
At the freedom
Cherished along the way

What do I care 
For the eyes
That blink at sunshine
But follow a star?

Happy I am
For the courage
to dance in the dark
to the rhythm of my soul
At the music of my heart

What do I care
For the lifeless medals
That shine on the shelf?

Happy I am
To wear a crown
of content and joy

Every time I finish
A difficult task.

A Rejected Poet

She waited for her turn

to let the world hear her tune
Her well arranged notes
strung togather
The pieces of her emotions over
disappointments
fears
anger
dreams
struggles
also accomplishments

She wanted to share her story in words that danced
aloud

Perform
on open-mike
Let the world know that
she too had
talent
grace
reason to perform

She waited
endlessly
patiently
hopelessly
with closed fist
erect
alert
stretching her neck
above the crowd
The anchor too busy
floated on her own cloud
could not see the star

One by one
the poets came on dias
expressive
demading attention
with a song
with a prayer
with humor
with words
with actions
with expressions
Woo'ed the vibrant crowd

"Beautiful"
"Excellent"
"Fabulous!:
I heard her cheer every poet
snapping her fingers for every meaningful line
nodding her head with honest smile

But somewhere deep down
she hoped 

that she would be given chance 

to share her poem too

Once, the anchor did glance in her direction
"I will give you a chance if there is time"
Her hopes refreshed

Distracted by her enthusiasm

I felt her quiver
I too wished
She got her two minutes of fame
Even encouraged her
with a pat on her lap
"Your turn will come, you just wait"

As the evening wore on
disappointment veil her eyes
Her face dressed into with plastic smile

She discovered
that she was just an audience
invited to cheer the poets
A number to add to a crowd
to occupy a vacant chair
to buy expensive meals
to make the establishment rich
It was a business deal

The poets who performed
the actual acts
were truly the anchor's selected friends

Lonesome

She was desperately trying to fit in. Early morning she made tea for everyone in the room. She was slow but eager to help. With morning tea served, she began her rant about how unfair the life was, people suck, nobody gives a fuck.

Most of her conversation was a repeat of same story told differently, it went on non-stop, expecting an affirmation for every doubt. "You agree no?" she would say, waiting for a nod, before she continued.

Nobody in the room was listening. Everybody went about completing his or her task (folding clothes, preparing for their morning bath, shaving)

It was difficult to agree with her every logic (or illogical) statement.

I saw her, one evening, sitting all alone in the room, mumbling to self.

"Why didn't you go for a walk with your friends" I asked.

She didn't know. Her friends had not asked her and had sneaked out of the room without inviting her.

Initially, all women (a group of ten) who had come for the camp; met at every meal and even went out together but gradually, as the days passed, the groups were getting smaller (in two's, three's and four's). The chains became smaller and stronger. I saw her bouncing from one group to another, finding a loop, not really belonging to any.

On the day, I was not feeling too well; I had decided to be on my own, maybe read a book.

She was only too happy to find me in the room.

"What is your horoscope sign?" she asked

"Cancer" I said getting interested.

She began to talk about horoscope in great details, the same things that I had heard her talk during lunchtime with other set of friends. The character analysis went on for full thirty minutes, with me nodding my head every time she said, "Isn't it?"

My head was beginning to ache.

"Would you like to play cards?" I said trying to divert her attention.
She agreed and we sat to separate the pack of cards..(extract one pack from the mixed stack)

The conversation did not stop.

"Do you like Ms K?" she asked.

A fresh rant began about how Ms K was insensitive and selfish.

‘Concentrate, concentrate” the words somersaulted in my head, begging me not to be rude.

Lonely people need audience or were it that boring people seldom had audience.

Those Lonely Nights

You would think
she withered in pain 
on those lonely nights
But freedom she relished
her space
Thoughts stretched
to crazy heights
uninterrupted
She travelled thousand miles
buried in books
living life in dream
fantasy
relishing each moment
in harmony 
complete with self
Blissful

You would think
she could die
of boredom
on those lonely nights

A New Beginning

The End.
Comes in our life many times
We begin to understand things and decide to change our path. 
We leave behind the memories of moments that broke our heart 
We begin to love again. 
Time moves on..
Time doesn't stop
Time doesnt fly away to distant land.
Time stays,
Reminding us of what we gained
What we lost
Leaving behind a trail
Linking us to the life lessons
We record everyday.
We move on
Each year making new resolutions
Hoping the future will be better
We live differently
With new horizon
With new mindset
But destiny decides
Moments slipping through our fingers
We follow the path,
Towards light of knowledge and hope,
Knowing not where it leads
We arrive
To another dead end
Once more
We choose a goal
To find happiness
To walk on new path again

Gloomy Day

Even though she didnt work in their house anymore, her eyes glistened with tears when she learnt about his death. She immediately rushed to their house to confirm. 

The children, now adults themselves, gave her a hug and started to share the pictures of their family. She waited eagerly to know the cause of death but it was too painful to discuss. 

Seventeen years she had worked for the family..had known all the secrets..their sufferings and their accomplishments..but today, while they waited for the last rites, all they could tell her was about the one month old baby, his first grandchild, and how she had brightened his last days of his life....

Merry Christmas My Christian Friend

Merry Christmas
My Christian friend
Much joy you bringst
To my life
Your fruity cake, very nice.
Thank you
Take a bow
The sounds of christmas
Carols, Wow!
Outside my door
They sing
Happy I am to be
your new neighbor
I hear
Much laughter
From your floor
Festivity is in the air
Twinkling lights everywhere
Fragrance of love
Friendship, smiles
Joy, happiness and much more
This year I will celebrate it too
I shopped for brand new dress
Hindu friends invited at my home
All dressed in red and gold
So while you celebrate
Christmas the Christian way
Seeking
Blessings from Jesus Christ
Watch me celebrate with pride
With similar happiness
Like you

Merry Xmas!!!

Help In Distress

All I have to do is ask
For help
When in distress

But then
I never ask for help
How to?

In the busy world
People are stuck
in traffic jam
Or have their eyes fixed

On scheduled time

Trains get missed
From steady job dismissed
Meeting to catch
Children to fetch
And then there are series
Of social events
Must attend parties
New movies releases
Restaurants hopping
Fitness and lazy gym
Idle chat
Watsapp, 

Twitter chat
Google map

There is really no time
To attend to a friend
In distress

Unsafe World

Land is silent, 


Sky dark blue


Sufferings spew blood 


Over children's graveyard


Tear-stained parents 


Beat their chest


Cursing their helplessness


Cannot stretch hands to


Wring the throats

Of merciless animals


Thousands miles away


In another faraway world

Mother's heartbeat 
skips 


As she kisses in the air


To her children

On their way to school


Unsure

Will they be safe?


She dusts the furniture

Cooks a quick meal

Watches the clock

Plays with her hands



Unable to focus


Her life somersaults


In an uneven pause


Till they return

Chirping and smiling


Back from school

The Year That Was - 2014

Writing blogs is the excellent way to record all the events and the experiences you collect. It is like a open diary.

I was checking my blogs to see how I fared during this year and I have discovered that 2014 has been a wonderful year.

I spend ‪#‎100happydays‬ from January to March posting pictures and writing short notes. I made a board on Pinterest to keep the record of those days and now when I look back to that page at https://www.pinterest.com/pushpz/100-happy-days/  it always cheers me up.

I went to Krabi (Thailand) for the launch of my Sindhi cookbook ‪#‎SindhiCuisne‬, There was a wedding to attend and I knew all the friends and relatives of the Sindhi family from all over the world would attend this wedding. This was a great opportunity to launch my book. Everybody showed great interest and they happily bought a copy not only for themselves but also for their friends. I am happy my book has done exceptionally well on the international level. I have posted the album on my Facebook to preserve those memories at my album at FaceBook

My building has finally gone for redevelopment, It took five years to get the ball rolling. there were regular meetings, then new rules, paper work, agreement/disagreement from building member but finally, I can look forward to a new high tec house within next 2 years

I believe in giving back to the world the little good that i can. I am associated with the special school for mentally challenged that I attend on regular basis. This year my special school celebrated 25years of service, Unfortunately I was not able to attend this function because of poor health. But I did make a movie for this occasion and posted on U-tube.. you can watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-fAi0PIVAA

 Blogging has made me realize that whole year was good except December when Pain, my best friend, came to visit me and held me hostage during this month…poor health in the month of december has prevented me from attending any events or socializing. 

In pleasure and pain..there was a good balance....life is good!!

Child Needs Respect

What kind of love is that when you beat the child black and blue to put your point across? Abuse him openly for every mistake he commits?

Child should never be the target of frustrations. He is a mini adult and has enough sense to understand and differentiate right from wrong. Child then learns to make excuses to escape punishment. Instead of screaming and shouting at the child, thinking he/she is deaf, a soft tone of communication works wonders. A child needs valid reason for refusal, a child needs respect, and he/she is not stupid.

People tell me that I don’t understand children because I have none of my own. What do I know about discipline? They tell me that only the mother knows best. Yes, I agree, mothers do know the best for their child. But every woman can understand the feeling of a child, irrespective of whether they have the real experience of nurturing children or not.

Passion is the only language children understand.

He may grow up to hate the world because the people he trusted the most (his own beloved parents) betrayed him.

The child who is subjected to violence and abuse in his childhood will grow up to be violent too. He/she may develop many other vices too, stealing, cheating and even rape too, because that will give him a sense of power, a fuel for revenge and anger that was buried down in his subconscious level.

And then parents will wonder where did they go wrong?

Crime

Laziness and illiteracy is the main reason for crime. 

Moral values should be the foundation of growth; also parents play a very important part. During my childhood, Grandma would tell me story everyday before going to sleep instilling fear for every wrong deed done.

I still remember the pictures grandma would show me of the serious punishments given by Gods for telling lies, carrying tales, cheating, stealing and other vices.

I was always afraid of devils relishing the fritters made of my tasty tongue; grandma said my tongue grew tastier with every lie I spoke and devils would love to feast on it.

There were other pictures too. Of people walking on burning charcoal, of devils riding on your back because they loved you for your crimes. The stories were so strong that they remained at the back of my mind, as the firm reminder during every action that I performed.

I watched others too. Many people lied but I felt sorry for them. In my class 2, I had seen one friend copying from the papers during the exams. I informed the supervisor that he was cheating and he told me to mind my own business. But I knew both were wrong and I was wrong too for carrying tales. I stopped carrying tales because the supervisor did not encourage me. I saw the futility of carrying tales. But the right thing should have been for supervisor to stop the child from cheating. He did not.

Kids believe everything their elders tell them so right stories with moral make a huge difference. They watch elders all the time and record every action for replay. They grow up with values from the environment they grow up in.

I am highly disturbed with the crime committed against women. Abuse and rape is become so common. There is certain desire in men to show their power and boost their ego. They want to punish women for refusing to succumb to their will. Men should be taught to respect women from their early years but then it’s their mindset. If correct values are not instilled in them, it is difficult to control them.

The respect has to come from within, to be able to judge right from wrong.

Mistakes

Mistakes bring pain and we question ourselves if we could have done it differently.

But then it is late yet not too late to understand that one matures with each mistake and the pain is the subtle reminder of the things gone wrong….

Mistakes happen all the time, sometimes due to ignorance, and sometimes due to carelessness. I mean who would do the same mistake again? Especially if we know that it always brings pain. 

But mistakes like accidents happen unannounced. 

Then the process starts of dealing with pain and that is the hard part. The outcome of mistakes is sometimes difficult to deal with and leaves the scars for life. Not making the right choice at right time steers our life in different path, and often we think, wish we have been more careful, wish I had been more understanding, wish the luck was on our side…

but then this is life…...