100 gun salute to Mumbaikars

Standing on its feet and spreading its might.

Mumbai is back on track,

it's not called Maximum City flimsily,

the deluge,

rains that brought life to a halt,

but, not Mumbai,

the people make its undying spirit,

where everyone becomes one whole,

like the cosmic energy,

standing together forming a human chain and one voice,

breaking shackles and obstacles,

to give shelter, food and saving lives,

unstoppable and unbreakable,

Mumbai,

it feels no havoc was wrecked,

back on track like we always do,

beyond the ordinary,

pride to the people,

the city's life line.

deserve 100 gun salute,

resilience is thy name,

Amchi Mumbai

no flood or terror attack can break you.

Respect to Mumbaikars

V

memory drip, ruins and ashes

Heavenly kiss,

tiny drop of rain,

smothering the lip,

memory drip,

reminiscent of the times boxed in a treasure,

sprinkle of love,

laughter,

thrills of wild days,

everything has an end,

youthful spring,

burden and joy of the past,

carried in the grey shade,

wrinkles,

beard,

witnessing the fleeting times,

like the ship mooring away from the bank,

it was the days of wilderness,

snorting on the drug of life,

time is but a breeze that flits,

 what shall remain one day,

ruins and ashes

Love
Vishal

 

An echo of love and muse

Love is dearer than water, nowadays. So, are relationships carved in heaven. Longing for the special someone (s) and the search of the one has become more an ideology on social media where a rosy picture is painted.

Ever thought of making love with my soul and waltzing to the tune of love duet in the sky! I find love or relationships to be expensive commodities that are freely available like goodies on supermarket shelves. Everything is so so easy, casual and chilled out, love, sex and what's not! It makes one wonder about its existence or futility. I have always believed in the concept of free love. Ease out and chilled out for there should be no room for jealousy or longing. A relationship pocked with expectations. It makes quite a complicated definition. I love things, totally free and uncomplicated.

Image credit: Love/ http://images.loksatta.com//2017/04/love-1.jpg

 Free love for me is not about possessing the soul but a waft of breeze that touches every breath, fragrance, and spirit of a person as one whole entity. There are no two humans. Nor, there is room for ego. The love that you make or sexual encounter caresses the skin and soul to make it an out-of-this-world experience that the most powerful molecules cannot touch. It’s free love. The joy, pain, and passion expressed by two love-lorn souls carrying each other in the path of self-growth and touching the spirit make love so real. It's not about one person that we love till eternity. The eternity side of things is such a flawed definition of love. It reeks of possessiveness, ego, and attachment that breaks the purity of love.

 The question, what is love or does it exist? I've been in a relationship where I longed and craved for someone. Trust me, this thing called expectation bruises the soul and can tear one apart. I have a friend, a muse.  She wrote a post on this theme of love. I strongly feel that she is love. I am love. We are all love. Why look for it somewhere else and in someone?

 Love is light. Feel it. It's around us. We find it in someone, who becomes a symbol of love that carries the torch of eternity to touch us like the light. It's the same for sex, intimacy, and passion. It's only us humans who have this habit of compartmentalizing everything like our room, kitchen or hall. We are humans, not some fucking files that we send for approval. I often long and crave for someone, to touch her hair, taste the lip, caress her soul and carry the invisible energy inside us. I feel it's very powerful.

Love is selfish. It should be. The idea of sacrifice in love snatches our individuality and spirituality. Someone who would heal our wound, wipe the tears, caress the forehead, steal a kiss and hold each other, unfazed by the ways of the world. It's love. Selfish and free at the same time. The multi-dimension and facets of love to quench the thirst, make us trip and get up again.

 Someone somewhere is made for us is an over abused idea and made glamorous by Yashraj films that propel us believe to in it like some blindfold where someone is guiding our life. There is nothing wrong with a harmless flings or string of short-term relationships. Can you fall in love with someone during a one-night stand? I'd say debatable. Why not? How about the person touching the inner core but the moment, you decide to get into hot pursuit the whole idea goes for a toss.

Love can be one-sided. It’s an interesting facet of relationships that gets very tiring and drains the soul for there are expectations that we tend to carry on this route.  There are many who lost the faith for loving and being ignored wilfully. It can kill and haunt the souls but we should always strive to flush out this negativity surrounding love in the drain.  

Be a new person. Never shy not to fall but rise in love. It will sparkle the soul and spirit that will grow in every direction and dimension. Mushy, mushy things are cool and make one energetic. But, I do have an issue with this thing called attachment which is the side effect of love. Yes, love is waiting for the soul pretty much like the people who seep into our lives for a reason. Don't cry over spilled milk but feel the impact it bears on the soul, good or bad.

Never hold anything destined to go somewhere else. Regret is such a wrong way to view things. It's an experience and lesson that empower. Don't feel shy to embrace relationships, get set to swirl and roll in them. Love exists. It is gentle and violent like the storm or just plain love.

Dedicated to a friend and a muse for this post. She is love and a giver with a seamless heart capable of understanding love in all her forms.

Keep the faith
Love
Vishal

Sunday reflection: Upclose and personal

I am going nuts with work. It's crazy. The time where you feel like hanging the head in a gun sack to hide. The corporate's client magazine is coming and still waiting for the interviews that are taking its sweet time to reach your mailbox. It seems that the contacts have forgotten that you exist and that you are some UFO looming large in their lives. The waiting time is ongoing and the deadline is fast approaching.

There are so many things to manage and yet there is less time on one's side. The downside of being a PR consultant and of course, as Monday kicks off, the blues will seep in with a pending article that I need to buckle the mind to write for the website that I work for, the weekly news stuff that I do for one of our clients and, of course, another patron's event which is slated to happen on Wednesday. Time to prioritize things.

After one month break and getting back to the grind of doing the novel, it dawns upon me that the chapter that I wrapped is not really exciting. I have put it in bold and the whole chapter has to be reworked all over again when the idea struck. Grateful for the small wonders and the online world where writers' friends have come in full support. The reason that I took an extra week break from the novel is that I need to cut myself off from the characters. I was becoming too emotionally close and protecting my characters. Tuning off helps big time.

The small wonders of this world and friends who matter to one's life make everything beautiful. I am thankful for them. I remember that last week, an FB status update was posted and lamenting how I kept one day for creative work but it wasn't happening. The beauty of things unfolded when an online friend pinged me and helped to surmount the mental block. I was hard pressed by her and advised to flush every negative thought down the drain and it worked like miracle where I was able to devote four hours in covering ground and this week, the whole thing was wrapped. It's a rough review of a book. There are loads of cutting and editing that needs to be done. Sometimes, our mind behaves in a weird way where we go into a self-destructive mode by putting blocks.

It's Sunday. A friend has put a status asking if anyone wants to get a tarot card reading for free to PM. I did and in no time, she sent the read that works awesomely for the soul. It just made the day beautiful. I leaped with joy. It's such small blessings that keeps me going from strength-to-strength. It struck me how important to count every positive thing that should far outweigh the negatives in life. Reason to be more optimist.

Finally, I was able to get some pictures of my childhood scanned and saved them on the laptop before sharing some on Facebook. The memory trove that we left behind is powerful and equips one's soul with strength. There are more to scan, the college days ka pictures where I spent the flawless moments that must be saved and treasured. It's such a reminder how time flits and it feels like yesterday only that we were spending the best of times. I feel that I am forever caught in an emotional trip and time warp sort of.

August will soon come to an end and so far, it's looking good. India's Independence Day was celebrated with fervor among the expats and happy that I attended the flag raising ceremony. August 15 has always been my lucky charm and the day where I got some good news. I did this time with some extra work landing on my lap. Mother India always know how to bless her children. I shall leave you on that and post editing this post, I sit in front of Star Gold to watch Anarkali of Arah.

Much love
Vishal

Tricolor of emotions

Tricolor of emotions,

anthem of human identity and diversity,

pride in the heart,

a prayer to remove barriers,

make everyday the Independence Day,

freedom from caste, class and race bias,

one heart that sings the national anthem,


Jana Gana Mana of hearts striking a chord,

togetherness,

tolerance,

respect for arts and life,

music has no color,

why should the heart paint the color of hate?


free ourselves from poverty, discrimination and inequality,

respect for woman and not telling her what she should wear,

it will be true independence,

free the spirit and soul,

say no to insult against women and fellow humans,

stop caging ourselves,

let her shine in all her forms and expressions,

after all she is the form of Bharat Mata.


Jai Hind
Happy Independence India

Vishal

Friendship: Care free days and real conversation where every breath counts

Image credit: Google

Fleeting moments,

care free days of joy,

where every breath counts,

we lived every single second,

love,

happiness,

joy,

adventure,

fights,

need for thrill was not spent on social media,

in the company of friends,

real conversations,

clinking glass of beer,

at times chai and sutta,

hugs,

bump pe laath on birthdays,

colors of life,

touching stars in the sky,

eternal,

timeless friendship,

memories carved,

traversed like light inside our minds,

capturing the flawless days of bliss,

smokey cloud curled,

past the sky,

an elixir has reached,

perhaps,

or, may be not.

A band of friendship knitting hearts together.

Happy Friendship Day

July: The Gratitude Diary

Hello, August! It's winter in the part of the world where I am nestled. Evening time is the worst when the forces conspire to hit you the hardest and the body's immunity takes a toll. I have been unprepared for it and backed out to find my way in the shell, cozying to the thick blankets to keep me warm.

Image sourced from Google.

How did I fare during the month that flew past like the thick mound of earth? It's the gratitude for July which is now like a lost and past lover gone into oblivion. I like things skittish, good or bad. But, one should be content with what is on the plate. I am grateful that I am able to afford my cappuccino in the regular coffee shop.  The good news is that it is for the first time that I am able to attend my yoga class for seven months without fail. The only time that I missed a session was when a cousin passed away this month but made up for it by attending in the Saturday batch in the same week. My Guru told me that I have made good progress this time and there has been a marked improvement in the stamina. Yoga is empowering and brings so much comfort as well as peace to the mind.


There are things that I wish that my mind and body could do without, the depression and unwanted thoughts. But, I am learning to live and deal with it. To be able to take things in my stride is something that I am grateful to and it no longer affects me like it used to earlier. There are plenty of opportunities on the work front to explore the self by taking on public speaking in front of a small audience. It happened last week. I did make a mess because of the lack of practice and fear where I wobbled and stammered. The students must be thinking, how boring! That's alright. It's a blessing in disguise. We all learn by honing our craft.


The fees for the extra project of running interviews and cover story for our corporate client's magazine finally came and as directed to the company, has been credited to my alternate bank account. Grateful for all extra money coming my way that will be saved for travel. Time to curb expenses and start saving for my holiday that I've been longing since a year. It's the moment to connect to my roots. The small things and everything that I am forever thankful for come in a package. To be able to wake up in the morning, facing the challenges of the day, writing and being in good health are some of the stuff that I am grateful to. The friends that I make and who have been there for me for a decade or year are what make my life a blessing. Or, the amazing books that I am getting to read, from KJO's An Unsuitable Boy to Jhumpa Lahiri's In Other Words or re-discovering Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.

Grateful for being able to meet the right kind of people and friends who matter makes it a life-long bond. Over time, we have been able to weather the storms and click through thick and thin. I couldn't imagine what I'd do without them. Yesterday only, it came to my realization that I missed the best friend's birthday and while rummaging through the old papers, it struck me of the amazing times during the college days. The crazy days and we were quite a gang who would get drunk like a fish, indulging into the extreme of life's silliness. We breathed every moment of life. For me, it's gratitude in all its forms. It feels like yesterday only. I thank my stars that the pictures over the years are treasured and the captured moments make me shed a tear of happiness every time that I glean through them. It empowers the soul and reminds of every moment of bliss. Truly blessed I've been.  It was awesome to share the pics from another era on Facebook yesterday and was able to connect with another friend after more than a decade. I am grateful for the small joys of life.

I was having a conversation with an online friend and good buddy Mayura just now who shared how grateful she is for the people who are part of her life. Grateful I am to have her in my life as a friend and she is the cell of gravity that lights up the bulb every time we speak.  It tastes like the mouth watering bite of Pure Magic biscuit that you crunch. Spread the love and be grateful for everything that comes your way.

Love N Forever Grateful
Vishal