Not a soul will be there

Only us without a care

My face, raised up to yours

Your eyes full of stars

Take me on a journey

That’s serious and funny

Hot as pepper and sweet as honey

This alley of mildew lights

Promises romantic flights

Everything else melts away

Our emotions hold sway

Home, fly the falcons

Yes the sky darkens

Look now, a path of love beckons

Give me your hand, do

And your lovely heart too

Let’s take this path together

In this promising weather

Step for step we tread

Don’t you fear or dread

It is on a path of love that we head

Your smile will now be

Only mine and for me

My laughter will belong

To you before long

Take me with you

Just when the night dew

Alights, sparkles and twinkles anew

——-Gauri Kanyalkar——-

The heart sure grows fonder

Do souls meet, you wonder

How does it ever happen?

But it sure feels like heaven

The time indeed draws near

And the outcome is crystal clear

Our hearts beating a tandem

Echoing across at random

Across centuries and births

And countries and hearths

You have found me before

And will do so once more

I know myself no more

It’s only you I see afore

It’s you in my stillness

Rock solid is the sureness

We are destined to meet

Oh my delectable sweet

Let this heat build

And I will be your shield

When you finally stand

Across me, holding my hand

Time will again stand still

Our eternal love to reveal!!

——Gauri Kanyalkar—–

Sun and shade

In my green glade

Rain showers

Strange powers

Incense smell

In my senses dwell

The Elephant God

And the lotus pod

The mridang’s boom

And hibiscus bloom

Vermilion and yellow

With rice to follow

Gas lamp light

Steps treading tight

Smoky darkness

Shadow’s sharpness

Waves rolling

Manjiras tolling

Ganeshas sinking

A storm engulfing

—-Gauri Kanyalkar—-

Oh so tired of this rigmarole
How do I rest a tired soul?
What do I do to make me whole?

Yes the world’s ways upset
My perceptions to despair set
Caught in the throes of hate

The bird’s tweet becomes noise
Such non-sense, but what’s the choice?
Lord-o-mercy where is my poise?

My soul, my friend, think awhile
How is that my life I spoil?
Will I be able to bear this guile?

Shake me awake at such foolishness
It’s not me alone in this holy mess
Struggling are plenty with no harness

I get thrown this way and that
Why complain, life is indeed a bet
Take the risk, God handles the rest

Give credence to this reality
Life does not end through misery
Despair begets even more agony

Something that costs nothing
Happiness is the blessed thing
Give me more of its zing

Mother-nature looks after me
Hers are the birds and the bee
And the creatures of the sea

She drowns me in high tide
And lifts me up on one side
Teaches me to keep my pride

Crowds milling around me

Frowns and smiles too

Lots happening with me

Without me in the know

I make the right responses

Without really knowing

Mechanical are reactions

From a life of performing

And there I stand surrounded

But still in my own world

In reality I am grounded

Alone with my thoughts unfurled

As concealed as I can be

In a sea of familiar visages

Not one of them can see

The entity behind the mirages

Once in years there’s someone

Who penetrates my soul

All my wits respond to him

My subconscious feels the pull

Now we both are together

But in the crowd alone

Each telling his chatter

Each one the other’s clone

Not a word is spoken

Nor the distance we cover

Our gaze remains unbroken

Bringing us even closer

He is a soul mate no less

Invisible energy connects

As if I know him since ages

And he is in all my moments

—— Gauri Kanyalkar——–

A week back my son came back from school and called me on my cell. He was quite excited - their class was asked to write about their pets at home. Well, we do not have a pet and I was at a loss about what excited him so much about this assignment. I asked him as much. “Well even if I don’t have a permanent pet, I do have an occasional pet. How can you forget BuBu?” Heavens, yes indeed how can I forget BuBu. Had he been a man, I would have hated his guts (I still do even though he is not a man)! Well sometimes I think he has all the attributes of an Adonis full of himself. No I am not joking, I am really serious and I know it sounds foolish. Trust me, if you see him you will lock eyes with me and then roll them heavenwards. Yes, just the way you would refrain from saying something to an egoistic man’s face.

BuBu is not only my son’s occasional pet, but also my brother-in-law’s (belongs to a friend who drops him off when not in town). He is white and fluffy – fits the new-age metrosexual male’s image of “fair and handsome”. Carries himself as if he, not my brother-in-law is the owner of the house he occasionally inhabits. He stations himself at the door, scans the people who enter, dismisses them as unimportant (that’s the feeling at least I have always got) and then stretches himself on the white flooring, disappearing effectively in the décor. Reason for people to stumble and fall!!

He is toilet-trained (clockwork mostly, but also human sometimes, if I may say so). My bro-in-law is a busy person, out of the house for most part of the day (and night sometimes given his professional background). BuBu is left alone at home with the house-maid coming in for about two hours daily, during which he is fed and “watered”. However, like I keep reiterating, he is almost “human”, gets up to the bucket full of water kept for him in the kitchen sink. And the fact that he really doesn’t know what to do home alone is evident from the sofa set, which has been mercilessly clawed at. Then again the masters should know better. And his expression says it.

This vacation my son spent a good three weeks with his uncle and BuBu has considerably grown on him. He makes sounds while eating as BuBu would have made and we have to understand that he misses BuBu. A practically imperceptible BuBu clicked on the white flooring also elicits a “so cute no?” comment from my son. Why ever not? I don’t know whether BuBu otherwise tolerates it, but he was made much of a plaything by my son. Twice a day BuBu had to lie on his back and do his Yoga exercises. He had to be agreeable to being picked up for no reason at all and carried all over the house. Or being followed or checked up on whenever he moved from one room to the other. Even his bored expression could not deter my son.

BuBu was abandoned and that’s how my bro-in-law’s friend found him. They discovered that BuBu was already toilet-trained and domesticated. It follows that some rich family had just got rid of him the easy way. The friend took him in. And now he seems as much a part of our family as of the friend’s.

Oh, I forgot to mention, BuBu is a tomcat, though not of the Cheshire variety (he never smiles)!

——-Gauri Kanyalkar ——-

This poem was originally written for http://dontgiveupworld.com/dignity/ 

You can read the original story that inspired this poem here : http://passionwriters.com/2011/05/mountain-berries/

On top of the mountain
Where the sun beats down
Sacrificial turns rule
And loneliness abounds

We and our hatchback
Traversing the bends
The harshness of cliffs
Craggy rocks never end

Where man dreads
To tread the road
No water to quench
No morsel or food

A woman charges forth
To the middle of the drive
To travelers minuscule
“Buy my berries,” she cries

Though dismayed greatly
We continue the journey
The woman’s picture
Etched in our memory

We have to return
By the self same road
Unconsciously looking out
For the “berries” code

It’s not the woman
That we see this time
But two little girls
With faces sublime

“Buy our berries,sir
Oh! Please do!”
What, but to stop
Without much ado

They sell us their ware
And obtain their fare
When they are certain
They have our attention

“Give us something to eat!”
They imply with reticence
Such dignity in struggle
Such strength in action

——-Gauri Kanyalkar——

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When shadows of night
Weigh on your heart
No candle ignites
And no mate takes part
Still fear not the dark
Or the night stark
Yours is the next day
And dawn of a new start!

When sorrow overwhelms
And dreams seem madness
Your heart consoles you
In engulfing sadness
Fear not the dark
Or the night stark
Yours is the next day
And dawn of a new start!

Your heart barren in spring
And drowning in midstream
Your gloomy spirit, it wavers
But the heavens above scream
Fear not the dark
Or the night stark
Yours is the next day
And dawn of a new start!

When life becomes dreary
And silent nights stretch
A smile dares to twitch
This rhyme forever to etch
Fear not the dark
Or the night stark
Yours is the next day
And dawn of a new start!

——Gauri Kanyalkar——

This post was originally written for http://dontgiveupworld.com/fear-not-the-dark/

They say “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” You could say that my best friend is just that. His name is Chirag. He has a big family, a big name and big dreams. We both dream about the same thing - cars! I hope we will someday act upon it and build a striving car company.

Now I am going to narrate to you all an incident which happened with me last year. Our class teacher Elaine John had taken the whole of 4th D to the area near the K.G. Park, where there were small rocking ducks and dolphins on which the K.G. & 1st standard students could enjoy themselves. We were playing the game - dog & the bone with a book. We all were enjoying ourselves.

Finally it was my turn to face a tall girl from the opposition. Her name was Shruti. As she was tall, she was easily at an advantage. I finally made my move. I tried to take the book and run away, but she was quite fast, fast enough to catch my collar and push me to the ground, snatching the book from my hands.

She ran to her team with her face lit up with joy and pride, whereas I lay there, tears rolling down my cheeks, as my knee was bleeding. Then suddenly someone wiped my tears off with his soft fingers and helped me stand. I realized that it was Chirag. He told me to jump a few times so that I could stop crying. He accompanied me to the Healthcare Centre under Elaine maam’s command. She then dealt with Shruti for her ruthless behaviour. Safely bandaged, I came back to the ground with Chirag.

Now I do not fear the world, because I have a friend like Chirag with me, who would assist me, would help me in good and bad times. A friend indeed!

——– Yash S. Kanyalkar ——–