In you, I ll rise

You threw me away,

Unwilling for ties

I chose to stay

In you, I ll rise.

Whatever be the reason,

The response had spice

I ll never take it as treason,

In you, I ll rise.

Mature or Immature

Was the decision wise?

Make one thing sure,

In you, I ll rise.

Do you want to see me broken?

My sassiness shaken?

Your actions suffice

In you, I ll rise

Out of the shell of rotten fettle,

I rise

Out of howling mettle

I rise

Up from the struggling pain

I rise

Wiping the blood stain

I rise

I am the swarthy ocean

Far and wide

Your emotions you shun

I ll bear with the tide

From present to your demise

In you, I ll rise

In you, I ll rise

Coimbatore Day

How long have I waited for this day?

Twelfth pass paved me the way

Picturesque Ooty to cotton city

Experiences were all witty

From hill top to lower plains

Adaption was in grains

First experiences becomes too many

First day hostel, class not to miss any

Legion of people to make new ties

Only women were visible to our eyes

Unity in diversity gets its meaning

As people of all states starts weaving

Yearning for the first talk

Fearing that friends would mock

To make friends with girls, we rush

Plenty reasons to blush

From strict teachers to friendly staff

We hold reverence on students’ behalf

Secret gossips to malicious slander

Ups and downs were things to ponder

First love buds and blooms

The echoes are still in our class rooms

Friends bonding were made stronger

To carry our friendship longer

To keep in touch we all did try

Is there anyone in farewell didn’t cry?

From docile adolescence to pure sense

Thank you, Coimbatore for all the reminiscence. 

Solitude

Emptiness shroud,

As floating cloud

How to hide?

Alone I ride.

Melancholy warn

Conundrums yawn

How to bid farewell?

Alone I travel.

Angelic woman,

Emotions given

How will it fade?

Alone I wade.

Disorder alarms,

With serious qualms

How to quit?

Alone I sit.

Cheerful solitude,

Altruistic attitude  

What is my union?

Solitude - THE best companion.

Lost

Lost dreams

Frost screams

Moving forward,

A way to gleam.

Forgotten passion

Beaten admiration

Hopping high,

Meets the vision.

Past love

Reminiscence above

Moving on,

Happiness will shove.

Rotten health

Undesirable wealth

Melancholy aint solve,

Travel in stealth 

Unfair life

Incessant Strife

Whining doesn’t help, 

Let joy be rife.

Nature – A Therapy

 Flute in the wind,

Strings in the branches

Hassle in the mind,

Gradually oozes.

Rapture in the woods

Trance in the lights

Glee in our hoods

Stands and fights

Dew in the grass

Vibgyor in the sky

Turns our flaws

To fly high.

Peace in water,

Curves in stream

Eyes will flatter,

Beyond extreme.

Drops from the clouds,
Fog from the droplets.
Melancholy all shrouds,
Crashing down as snippets.

Mild drops flow,
Heavy drops clog.
Wading gets slow,
Turning to a jog.

Leaves may leave,
Branches may sway.
Joy is to achieve,
Choose your way.

Folds in the Mountain,
Bends in the hills.
Life is uncertain,

Nature has the pills. 

- Karthick

Alleppey Diaries - Part III

Just like the boomerang, the boat and I had to return by 3PM. Just a two-hour gap, I strongly needed a nap. Woke up, got refreshed and was floored seeing the banana stuffed in the flour – Pazhampori it is called in Malayalam. If life is all about eating, this dish is a definite add to the elixirs list. I was served with two and was swallowing like Jerry swallowing the cheese. Not sure on the count but had hefty enough to create some bizarre sounds – ahem – in stomach.  Mr Shivadas, Manager, KTDC, Alleppey – The man with weight neither in his body nor in his head. Down to earth is a common idiom; this man was down to the underground. 38 years of service in the Tourism industry and such simplicity is a lesson to flaunting maniacs. The magnanimity in him was much taller than Chris Gayle as he offered a ride to the next spot – Marari beach.

 Marari beach – tourist’s paradise – clean and tidy. The hiss sound, the swirls and whirls, the pulling power of the waves tide made me to contemplate a woman - being single effect. I was there exactly at 6.25PM and there were very few swallows for the sun to set. Though the sun had few minutes to be swallowed completely by the sky, it quenched my hunger in the eyes.  You could sit here for 100 more years, and nothing is as insightful as this will hit you ever again. Clever idea is, better donate your eyes to someone in Kerala. Quite startled to see boys who were in unusual kicks, playing football, some were using nets. not for fishing. but for volleyball. I stood aghast not flirting at the girls out there which quite explicitly explain how beautiful the sunset was. How could one possibly portray a sunset? I am neither William Wordsworth nor Leonardo Da Vinci. Let my pictures do some talking (Posted below).

The beach smell which was wafting up my nostrils made me sit there for a while. I was like, make me a statue, give life only to my eyes and make me sit here until the earth extinct. I wished I could Job trot here every evening. With joy as seeing my old flame, I left the beach. Decided to board a bus rather than an auto. Boarding a local bus, speaking to a random person, where my Malayalam is meek and he giving valuable advise on how to love a woman was the irony of the trip travelled all alone. Mr Biju, bespectacled, aged around 59, a retired Government staff where his vocal cord was as thin as a strand of hair. He spoke Christianity, I spoke Hinduism, and all ended with “how to love a woman” – Thank you, India. Went back to my room happy as Larry slept reminiscing about the day’s story.

Day 2 – The End, will be posted shortly. Time for my next trip. 

Alleppey Diaries - Part II

Amidst the ride, I was keen as mustard to update my experiences. In this E world, smilies do help a lot, no? As I was sharing the smilies, I didn’t know the sun was watching and copying what I did. It showed its grinning face where its beam instilled heat waves right into the skin thereby subtly telling that technology is provoking nature’s fury. Let the realization hard hit later, let me continue the ride. As the boat slithered through the glimmering lake, I saw people on the banks carrying vessels – No – Not the demonitisation effect. Some were washing the vessels, some washing clothes, and few were just wandering – a rustic village life.  

One of the wanderers was doing something which is termed as recreational fishing - Fishing done for pleasure. He didn’t have a rod and reel, appropriate bait or lures or a pair of needle nose pliers, like the fishing you see in the movies. This man (photo posted below) with few strands of hair, with a light blue shirt, half buttoned, swarthy and round face had just a stick with a thread tied to it and I was at lost what was the bait he used as the thread was submerged in water. Recreational fishing – the term – and the activity seemed addictive. Juxtaposing fish and woman, both are hard to hook. This man found more intricate to hook the former, I, the latter- always.

The Moniker “rice bowl of Kerala” is due to the vast paddy cultivation in Kuttanadu. Jesudas etta often used to slow down to enhance the right flow of the boat’s engine and on one such pause I just hopped to see what was opposite to us. To my wonder, I viewed lush green foliage. I was in photographer’s heaven. I decided to extend the pause, hop on the riverbank and went close to the Paddy field. “A walk through the paddy field is a walk through the God’s Garden” – read somewhere. I had kittens seeing the first three alphabets of farmers which kept them ‘far’ from the Government benefits. A bevy of swans stood sentinel at the edge of the verdant green field, it flew the breadth and width of the paddy field. How would you drool seeing a vegetable sandwich? My 1200D Canon body and the 55-250mm lens drooled excessively that we could water the field for half an hour.

Drooling triggered my hunger, and I was keen set to swallow the freshly cooked fish. My thoughts were all lumbered up with a lemon squeezed on the freshly fried fish. My stomach echoed weird sounds. On time, we slowed down near a village. The boat was anchored. And I waded, no, ran to the restaurant. I was made to select a fish. Hunger knows no mastication; it allows only gustation and deglutition. Imagine how I would have swallowed the food. I had a shortage of palms and fingers. If you ask me to describe the taste of the food, I will strive to put all the adjectives in place still I ll fall shortage of adjectives. If Shakespeare was alive, he would have added more words if he had visited Kerala.

I ll let you digest the food… To be continued…

Alleppey Diaries - Part I

Why alone? The question was incessant and curious. When I decided to not answer myself, I carried on with one gear. If you ask blatantly is there any vehicle with one gear, lucidly, my answer is a camera is called a gear. In minimal light I entered the Coimbatore Railway station, reminiscing the moments meeting the apple of my eye a decade back. As the clock ticked, standing alone, my interest slowly started to hop down to the bottom of the ladder, but an instinct, that these two days wonder would turn out to be in seventh heaven, turned me a queer fish. Midnight 12o clock and my phone’s light was like the sole street light lighted in a 100 feet abandoned road. 4 hours was the travel distance from Coimbatore to Allepey, I asked myself, what? 4 hours? The answer was in the ticket – S4 was my compartment.

A need to travel to a different place made me to leave the only companion for 3 long hours, the platform. Life is such. Compartment was empty and silent except for the growling of few. A mere four hour journey seemed laborious. Venice of the east it is called, I was there breathing some fresh air. Had to ride 10kms to the hotel booked through KTDC – Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. Riding through the coastal area the skin tingled in cold, inhaled pollen rich smell, abandoned boats hopping to the tiny waves of the glimmering lake all these instigated some interest. Mr Sajan with his spic and span, oblong face, fair complexion stood in the reception to welcome me. Entered my room, an en – suite comfortable for a two day stay. I was a dead beat, yet, decided to take the off the beat roads.

Jesudas Etta

I was suggested by Mr Sajan to choose boating in Kuttanad Lake first. Kuttanad? What? Is he subtly mocking my being small?? I had to frown at the irony and listened to his suggestions, which was later executed. Had my breakfast and the boat owner arrived to the hotel to pick me up. My mind was all around my old flame, our memories. I was told that a whale sized boat was mine for the next the 5 hours. I stood aghast, my eyelids slowly expanded, my pupils burst out of my eyes, just like the tom cat seeing its lady love. Just when I foresaw a ride which would be like a mellifluous melody I was introduced to the person who steers the boat named Jesudas. Mr Jesudas, a personification of humility an epitome of loyalty was so amiable (A pic of him is posted beside). I looked daggers at the bed on the boat standing there single, except that I was at rife to start the voyage.

The engine was fed, the motor was triggered, Vroom sound soared, I was all like a dog with two tails, extremely elated. A 20 feet boat sailing on the shimmering lake was like a luscious strawberry ice cream moving through our tongue and food pipe. I was right at the front and Mr Jesudas was right at the back, the waves took us a 20 years back making us play see saw.  It was called backwaters, and I found waters everywhere. A centre dreamy stream with peppermint greeny trees the boat sailed with creaking noise. As the boat glided the gleaming lake it slowly nailed my head makin

g me realize the awesomeness of travelling all alone. I was perambulating inside the boat seeing this nature’s beauty. The Coconut trees cast their reflection on the water making different shaded silhouettes. An artist would have beautifully portrayed with an art.

To be continued....

Thank you, 2016

Some lessons life taught,
Are weird.
This life is hard fought,
I am tired.

All the fight,
Wasn't easy to brace.
Faced with might,
Learned to embrace.

Slander, Slander, Slander
Why to Cringe on?
I am my life's path finder
Accept the path shown.

Started to love not others less,
But myself more.
I couldn't take a wild guess,
On what's in store.

My ego, attitude all sank
I have many people to thank
Why this nobility?
Courtesy - this society.

Thanks to this adversity
This changed my life
Turned me so witty
Happiness now is at rife.

Let the hardships of 2016 wean
May 2017 Sheen.

Memories

I was like dust
And so she blew
Though it was unjust
Hatred in me flew

My joy, hilarity all flown
Without moving on,
I behaved a clown
Realized looking at people’s frown

While I Saunter
It seemed life was full of monologues
Picturing her
It was a palliative dialogue

Her decision to leave,
Showed her might
Sometimes it does pet- peeve
Yet, her fond words, I recite

I ll never hear her voice
Some questions makes noise
Was her decision wise??
Why do I reminisce?