Celebrating life!

You confuse me men of home you tell me you want to snuggle on cold mornings. You tell me I am the apple of your eye and yet you surprise me next day with your wedding invitation. What was I to you? Mere chattel? Only to pass your time? Why then did you hound me when I was perfectly happy on my own? Why did my solitariness irk you? Was I another conquest on your list of things? How could you scum of the earth? It is not just my curses you have earned. My tears carry a far greater weight than beknownst to you for they carry the pain of a thousand desires unrequited.

Just when I thought I could quietly sit and photograph the event the student announced my birthday on stage. The entire audience of 200 rose up as one and sang the happy birthday song O my! There was no quiet anymore. Who would have thought I would be cutting three cakes in a day at my age and receiving a bouquet to top it off? Who would have thought That this quiet woman in the corner had won their hearts as well?

You want me to be like her? she who wears a smile made of sugar & ties her hair in a plait & has a featureless face & wears nondescript clothes & has a colourless personality & smiles & smiles & smiles till the sugar melts like her? O     No Even if you have ensured I am totally buried under all her kind her copies her photostats I'm no ordinary woman you ∽∽∽∽∽∽∽∽∽ see I'm extraordinary. 

You ask me the moment I am born to cover myself with that blackish-red cape because my breasts are too big because my stomach spills out because my back shows because my what-not is visible. I wear my cape as you desire as you society asked me to. I wear it like my skin but now after all this time centuries and millennia I grow tired of it. I wish to remove this dastardly skin/cape. B e g o n e . You are no longer mine. Snake skin-like I shed you. I will wear What I please.

Leaky faucet nose exploding bomb cough temporarily blocked ears endless Meenachil eyes blistering barnacle headache facial bones that torture melcow to the world of allergies.

Chug chug   chug goes the train I ride past vistas of brown and green as memories of journeys long forgotten go past I wake to such scenes from before. Chennai wakes something in me What I do not know Neither anger nor angst it is I know could it be elusive happiness? Or nostalgia of seeing friends from yore?

They said they were moulding her as they broke her back they said they were shaping her as they tore her skin they said they were beautifying her as they burnt her lips in the hopes of destroying her. And then he came And helped her stand on her shaky two legs. She then knew she could be As beautiful as she wanted to be: The black swan.

The dancer cannot dance for her heart is breaking from he who betrayed her. Yet when it is time she graces the stage for the dance must go on if all is to be well with the world. And so she twirls and twirls, lost in the dance as she ignores her breaking heart and moves forward with a smile and an invisible tear, the dancer and the dance now one.

Standing at the crossroads I see the devastation left behind by “water, water, everywhere” - remnants of sorrow on the roads and river banks. As people begin rebuilding their homes and lives, I wonder for a moment whether this was natural or manmade before as a united front we enter ruins and leftovers to begin life anew from the flood’s devastation.

Now most people wondered why we went to Armenia. It is neither a popular destination nor well-known. I am glad though we went because as a culture and photography buff, I found it amazing. The country is warm and welcoming and in April   - when we went – is a great time to visit as there are not all that many tourists. But be warned your jackets are required: it is still cold. We went via Indus Aurora Holidays based in Delhi. Email and telephone were our only means of contact. Yet the entire tour went beautifully and we were impressed. Our guide Mary Mirzakhanyan was the best and extremely helpful and thoughtful. Of course we had slight hitches at the airport as is to be expected when you are going to a country nobody has heard of except in the violent sense. But they soon gave us the green flag and we were all set to go. Our journey was peaceful enough and we had a breakfast of croissants at Costa Coffee before we made the transit at Sharjah airport. Air Arabia proved to ...

O Prodip! Dear Prodip, how do I live without you. Without you  life is meaningless. There is no life in me. When I see your blue blue I think of how You have made my life different. You brought me happiness, peace unhindered and calm. My life has changed since you entered it. Woe is the day u leave me. I will b nothing without you. In your hands are my heart. May we never be apart.

Fear can be overcome by facing it they said. She remembered it s she quaked in her shoes when he approached her with his belt. Face your fears, she had been told and remembered, as she watched him come closer. It requires courage they said which she remembered at each lash. She wondered with each cry of pain whether they would have done the same if they had received the lash everyday of their lives. 

Two hearts beating fast rhythmically simultaneously, as their knees touch in the darkness of the theatre and their hands graze as they discuss writers, nervously. It is electric all the way and they revel in their touch amidst a crowd and butterflies flutter  within while their smiles  indicate their overflowing hearts.

Last year this time I would not have believed you if I was told that I would be visiting Uzbekistan. But I have done it and so here I am with a tale to tell. Uzbekistan is probably not the highest priority on many travellers’ lists but it is worth a visit especially if you are a history buff and also if you love shopping, as there is enough to suit both tastes. Be warned though that in September it is still quite hot and it is not for the delicate darlings. It all started with a WOW Sumitra newsletter informing me of their upcoming trips. Uzbekistan caught my eye as it looked a lot like Iran. The budget also felt reasonable. Altogether I felt I could do this one and so I contacted WOW with my endless questions. They were friendly and helpful. Thus began the long process of preparing for the trip. There is a bit of documentation work involved such as NOC from the employer or bank statements. But I did it all. Came September and I found myself all ready to go tripping. I began my j...