Rains and Mumbai

It was during the summer of 2014,
When I first came to Mumbai during the rainy season anxious about what I had never foreseen,
Things have changed with time and seasons, but what still remains outstanding and unique here is the rainy season,

The first one then frankly gave me lot of worry and goose-bumps even before it started,
As an intern, I would always wished that the mornings be clear and sunny,
Or else puddles, flooded roads and windy rains on way to office, would make me end up looking too funny,
I was let off easily that time,
It was just a one month stint and may be they wanted me to back, thinking, my boy you are yet to see and experience it real-time;

And soon came the next time,
I was happily and excitedly back next year, without knowing what plan they had in mind,
I used to tread my difficult journey of the first job, by foot, in bus, by train, by foot and back, daily thinking nothing is really happening and thank God everyone is being kind,
Or was that the silence before the storm,
Just to make me feel little comfortable and warm,
And then one day on a greyish-dark morning of June,

It was time for some execution and fun, as the rains came out of their cocoon,
It rained and rained and so rained as if the meeting of the city and the rains was long pending like a soldier’s homecoming with people waiting all around on the way,
I watched, witnessed and heard the drama unfold and the roaring of the skies the entire day,
Felt surprised, confused and uncomfortable just like as you do when in childhood your class teacher made you sit between two girls on a bench of three,

Thinking that will open up for the shy boy in class a talkative-conversation’s spree,
The day was quite thrilling which included somehow making to office and then walking back through the puddles and the roads transformed in ponds,
Amidst all this, seeing people help each other selflessly was something very rare and was a never seen and heard before song,
As we relaxed on the fact that it got over,

Next year it was back like a land-rover,
We have had two so I felt this time we’ll be better off handling it, but it rained as if the clouds were trying to make up for the drought hit areas of the country,
On one such unfortunate day I got drenched, drenched to the extent that for the next two weeks I was terribly sick, mind and body was too sultry,

I started waking up every morning with the eternal desperation that the rainy season goes away soon,

Up came this year, as the rains are once again back with a zoom,
The relationship this time is surprisingly cordial; the rains have become more of a pleasure,
Everytime it rains, they give you leisure,
The thunder and roaring of the clouds is no more intimidating,

It is a welcoming change from the gloomy office and home surroundings,
And after that as it starts raining, the collective sound of the drops and their co-incidental gentle tap on the palms, feels like a much awaited healing touch,

I have been wondering for long now, what has really changed this time which has made these rains my car’s clutch,
As I look back, ponder and realize that since then till now, so many things have changed,
But what didn’t change are the rains in Mumbai,
The rains in Mumbai initially was a fearsome glitch,
And now they make you feel complete with their own style, drama and variation everytime,
With winds their partners in crime,
And you always want to remain with them properly hitched as often they act like a difficult-to handle-but-innocent-kid,

So despite of everything and all ups and downs, with people, friends, college and organizations,
The only one thing which remained as a constant companion and soul-comforter for these years are the rains in Mumbai and the accompanying stereo-nation,
Finally, I get my long pending answer, to feel all the more warm and comfortable,
In the now not-a-sinking-ship anymore but what I call as my cradle-of-rains-in-Mumbai as a permanent part of my workstation.

Loneliness

Today I am lonely

I do not know what to say 

I do not know what to do 

I do not know what I am doing with my life 

I am undergoing an inexplicable patch

Which is full of despair, regret, remembrance and memory 

Which has arisen out of a devastating betrayal 

I do not know what went wrong and what was wrong 

I feel pulled down, cheated, looted and psychologically raped 

Things and life keep getting beautiful and complicated as we grow up 

A piece of the latter this time has made me stop in life 

It is getting difficult to move ahead 

I fail to understand what exactly to ponder upon and why 

I fail to decide where to begin thinking from 

This is an unfamiliar phase 

Sometimes I feel this is deservance 

Sometimes I feel this is a process to something astonishing 

I am just so numb from inside

From body, mind, heart and every side

I seriously need help 

But I do not know whom to ask it from 

I feel most comfortable in just sleeping, bathing, eating and working now 

Life is becoming an unanswered question 

Why would someone behave like this 

I want my answers and my peace of mind 

Forgive me God for which I am undergoing this 

Help me to come back to myself 

I am sorry. 

Law School Roommate - Last Night Solidarity

I really don't know what to say,
We have had our bad, but more than that very good days,
I am happy and elated that from first to last, all throughout we managed to stay.

Life from here is going to take unknown turns,
For so many years from now, for your company and presence I'll definitely yearn.

I'll be frank and precise, thanks for bearing all those sleepless nights,
I knew that the table lamp and its light was the worst possible thing in our isle,
But no wonder, I could make it through as never there was a single complaint from your side.

That night, or early in the morning,
When you did not forget to switch off the fan, when it was causing me coughing and adding to the plight,
I still remember how good I felt after that, for days and nights,
I missed your presence on the weekends, for walls only used to me be my friends in our small farmville.

I'll miss seeing you around,
I'll miss seeing your being carefree and sleepy in life when all that while, my life revolved around library, books and the leftover life.

As we move on from here, I wish you stay the way you are, happy and happy and always happy in life,
Thank God we at least have one picture together, to showoff and bid each other final good bye.

That's all folks!

So yes here it is, official farewell, just got over a sometime back
It feels good, it feels nice, the feelings are mixed of low and high
They were all there today, I mean almost
I have no clue why didn't the rest turn up, they had their own hay

The scene was like that of a rainbow, it felt divine to see the vibrance of the seven at the same time
The Violet is almost hazy in my memory, it told me , it does not matter where you came from and what you were
The Indigo is what I'll miss the most, the comfort of the first year, the joy of surprise and newness, the warmth of welcoming
The Blue got me going, it converted the spark into the fire, I jumped into the pool, which had all the good, better and the best and taught me the lessons of togetherness and never let go of the fire
The Green is always a testing time, half way through the journey only to tread the same distance for one more time, there were ups and downs, time took a test of everyone's character, everything became crystallized, the true and the best came  out of everyone, to leave many a joyous and many just sublime
The Yellow said, guys it's not over yet, red is what you aim for, come on buck up, it is the last lap
Orange is what I write from right now, the sight of the finish line is enduring, there is excitement with uncertainty of what lies ahead, there is pain of separation,
My calling is the Red now, it says worry not kid, for all good things must come to an end, fear not the brightness and fullness of me, this was all for which you left the violet, so embrace it now that you have it, let go off the mishaps and missed chances, but do not miss what lies ahead as the time of your life

When you want something in life, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it, humari college life me bhi humari filmon ke jaise end me sab kuch theek ho hi jata hai, aur agar aisa na ho toh woh the end nahi, picture abhi baaki hai mere dost, that's all folks!

The author can be reached here, here. All pictures at Gujarat National Law University. 

Feeling Apologetic

Tomorrow is my farewell day
My blog says thirty three more days for you to stay
My juniors came in class today
Gave us the farewell invite, so its final countdown to no more college hay
But hey, I don't want to go away
I owe an apology
I am feeling apologetic
Regret and despair is hovering over my mind
They say this was the inevitable and had to happen, but before it happens
My apologies to all those whom I assumptively judged without thinking
My apologies to all those who approached me and I kept running
My apologies to all those to whom I made unnecessary interferences and suggestions in their life
My apologies for often being invariably unsocial and non-talkative, even though I thrived
Believe me all that was not on purpose, I tried my best to avoid the ruckus

I apologize to myself
I promise I will push and back myself up more than ever from now  
I promise to keep faith in my abilities ever and forever from here
I promise to drive away joblessness and fear
I promise not to remain stuck, I'll be brave and I'll move further
I promise to shun away shiny distractions and solely focus on tiny extractions

I know I can't make the past better from here
But I will not keep the promises limited to this blog post
I apologize and I promise, from here on I'll make this as a better road
Unfortunately that is how life goes.

The author can be reached here, here.

Happy Anniversary Mummy & Papa!

The time is here, the moment is here

It was a rough journey with sweet patches throughout,  

As we embark upon another milestone of it

There is unbound joy and pride in each soul, excitement to celebrate and shout  

We thank the almighty for being gracious on us all throughout

We promise not to repeat any of the mistakes which we committed all this way out

For anniversaries is another way of saying, that I love you all the more than ever

First one is special as it marks the first significant step up in this beautiful journey called marriage  

Twenty fifth is all the more special as one feels confused as to which one was the best of all these steps

This love of yours is unique and special in nature

It is not an evening in Paris, no one is from Rangoon, there is no Dream Girl, 

It is not even a match made in heaven

It is a match which even God Himself idolizes to make matches made in heaven

Money, dresses and cars never make happy families

Togetherness, availability, empathy and sacrifice do

All this and a lot more are just few of the many precious things which we got from you selflessly day and night

Hardships and giving up were never in your dictionary, love, compassion and endless spirit to keep going is what defined you

From being kids to being adults, as we kept taking cues from all of this and the magnificent you

We realized that the best we could be was to just be partly like you, as imitation of perfection is in itself herculean

For who would need the worship of God, when His worship and meeting lies in the blessings of our daily surroundings

With the hope of the love getting multiplied each day, and the belongingness growing multifold

We wish you a very happy anniversary, endless moments of togetherness, and love drops till eternity. 

Down The Memory Lane - Ninth Standard of School - Fourth Year of Law School

One can say that it's both my habit as well as nature to recollect the good old memories and deeds of the past and somehow give them a re-birth to them in the present. There was once a time when it used to take me days and months together just to gather my thoughts and to decide what exactly to write about. I am glad that things are getting better. Over all these months, I find myself in a position that now there are so many things, so much happening all around that there is no scarcity of endless thoughts and it's just the right time to soar high and keep on writing forever.

My university organized the first edition of a national level parliamentary debate from 7th-9th September 2013. As evident, I was happy that I was a significant part of it, and more specially in the things post completion of the competition, like compiling reports, feedbacks, experiences etc. I had spent a fair amount of time in writing a press note, something which was a part of my duty and more than that an activity I relish like anything, which is writing.

As expected, there were numerous responses to it in the form of likes, comments and shares, for it being decent and nice. But bells of nostalgia struck me like anything when I saw that the first like coming onto it, being that of my english teacher from Secondary School, Mrs. Mamta Jain. For a minute, things got rewound back into the year 2005, when the most enjoyable subject to study used to be English Literature and Grammar, more than Maths, more than Science and more than anything else in the world. It meant not just something but everything. That class of roughly forty minutes meant the world to me, and to many others I am sure. I used to take great pride in the fact that we were the only section in the entire batch to be taught by her, her main priority being the batch of our immediate seniors.

It's been years now, since I last met her but I feel that a blog post could certainly be a small tribute to her from our side, if not a perfect tribute. This is for all that she did for us. All that we are today, me and my school friends across the country, owe a lot to her. I get reminded of her everytime I have to write a SoP, a job application, an apology mail for a delayed submission and so on. The kind of command and hold over the language and more specially vocabulary, is due to the wonderful interactive sessions we had in every single English period, to which the colourful portals of 9th B, St. Anselm's Pink City School were a witness.

All the workbook exercises, the extended discussions over every single stanza of the poem in the literature book, the framing of notices, writing of letters, report-writing etc. as a part of Diwali holidays used to prick us like anything. But the seeds of hardwork and toiling done then are boring significant fruits now.

The Road Not Taken, still very much finds place on the soft board just above my study table. The cutting is the original one from the Ninth Standard CBSE English Textbook. The poem has been an inspiration, not just because it was written very well by Robert Frost, but was explained in an equally beautiful manner by our beloved English teacher. Thank you so much ma'am. 

The author can be reached here, here and here.