Someone.

I want someone who'd stand with me -

The day I lose my degree,

The day I lose my teen.

I want someone who'd hold me close -

Despite the skills, I've always lacked,

Despite the dark days, I have treaded past.

I want someone who'd love me true!

Not for my charm, nor the curves,

Not for my cleavage, nor the verve.

I want someone who'd wish me luck -

Even if it would take me away,

Even if my return delayed.

I want someone who'd kiss me to sleep -

Who would, for me, stay awake

Who would never, to me, be fake.

I want someone who'd wipe my sweat -

Before asking for the money I'd kept,

Before reminding me of unpaid debts.

I want someone who'd see my soul right through -

Who had loved me before I was born,

Who would love me when I'm gone.

I have found that soul, that someone in you!

I find the solace you offer, a boon!

I'd be blessed to be born again, in your womb!

A prayer.

Lucky are those who can die for love - true!

I would, like to lay down my life, for you.

For no amount of money, no amount of joy

Seems to take away my tears, when I am lonely, my boy!

I may sound insane, crazier by the day,

But I'm a well-wisher, so don't run away!

If you had loved me once, kindly remember to pray -

To God, to keep your thoughts outta my mind and way...!

ABR

Dedicated to Aswin Rao. A wonderful person I met, chatted and became great friends with, over the span of a weekend :)

I have been smiling all day through...

Each hour feels special, each moment new.

Looking back at life, I know such days were few,

I’m happy I came across such a wonderful man – you!

You care for me like you were always there!

You stand guard, as if no one better dare!

It leaves me wondering if life had been fair -

Keeping us away, not knowing where we were.

Am grateful to that moment which made us friends.

I treasure for life, each instant we spend.

Wherever I’d go wrong, you should step in and mend,

I’d hope against hope that this bond never ends!

I write this so you know, I’m true and intense.

I mean it when I say, ‘Dear, be my defense…’

Whenever I’m lonely I’d come to you, to vent.

For you are a blessing, heaven carved out and sent!

Actor.

Don't be carried away by my smile,

I was shedding tears until some while.

I carry myself with some grace and style,

I rarely hear the music, yet you'll find me jive!

I was no born actor, but knowing I am mortal,

Not waiting for rewards, nor longing for laurels,

As a girl, a sister, a lover, a daughter -

I played along tough roles, whatever life offered.

A day will come. when I can redeem

Whatever I'd wished for, whatever I'd dreamed

For that day I wait, will wait, whatever it means.

To smile from my soul, leaving behind whatever had been.

365 Days.

This is my 70th blog post.

Today I complete a year at blogging. It feels so less, yet it feels like so much!

A year is not long, considering it takes only a few moments to change believes, change people and change lives!

If I have been able to touch any of your lives with some trivia I wrote, I'm obliged.

I am thankful -

To the many who have shown the patience to read my posts, think over them and leave comments too! I have to thank each one of you - Yuva, Guru, Sid, Dudo, Thirurkadan, Shalomie, Ragazoo, Rakesh Menon, Shwetha, Siljith, Daya, Sooriya, Kuruppal, Athira, Jinu John, Readers Dias, Shobana, Sorcerer, Jasdeep, Matrix, Hakuna Matata, Cris Hand, Pratap, Anand Appa, Satheesh Kumar, Harikrishnan, Cheerzz, Ajay, Davesh Shingari, I am what I am, Sakthivel, Dreamy man walking, Rahul Nair, Paro, Hitesh Rawat, Rajan Rambles, Dileep, Traveller, Jiku, Sandip, Teena, Bin, Natrajmani & Tourism world.

To the 37 people who dint think twice before they clicked on the 'Follow' button.

To the 1290 others who visited so far.

To Indiblogger for rank 69.

To Raju, for 'The Ages'.

To Blogspot, for being reason why 'The Ages' was not confined to my diary pages.

To Shalom, for being my friend.

To Chechi, for her phone calls and for offering to copy-check and edit errors.

To Unniettan, for the silent support.

To Mom, for loving me from the core and making me believe that Love is, in fact, blind!

To Life, for unfolding a new experience, a new learning each day.

I love life. I love you all!

Be with me.

Always.

Amen.

Cacoethes.

The winds whisper in my ears

As rain drops wipe away my tears

This beautiful night, I feel no fear

As I stay awake, thinking of you dear!

You have taken away the pain

And any reason for me to cry again.

I will not crib any more in vain

I will live life, without disdain.

We will be together - for long and true

And smile through phases - both bright and blue

Have fights at times, but very few

Yet never say sorry! Nor bid adieu.

As wrinkles grow on and leave me worried

You'd remind me of our days of glory.

We will blush as we unfold treasured memories

Which we will pass on as our cherished stories.

I wouldn't know what tomorrow has in store

But I pray I'd always love you more!

For you always rank first in my wishes galore

And know, I always leave ajar my door.

Helping the Helpless.

Today afternoon I was walking home for lunch.

That’s when I saw a crow with blood on its beak fly past me and sit on the window of an apartment above.
Soon, one more crow flew past.
As I wondered what was happening, I saw the source of its food. A calf lay injured on the road side. There was a gaping wound on its hind leg. A car must have hit it because it had bruises all over its leg. Crows were scavenging on its open wound. And it was too weak to move and had almost passed out in the pain.
I ran towards the calf to scare off the crows. But they were very adamant. The vendor on the road found this very amusing and was smiling at my pathetic efforts to ‘shoo’ away the predators.
I went around asking who ever came my way if they knew who the calf belonged to. Someone finally pointed out to a narrow street and said it belonged to the lady in the green building. I walked fast and knocked on the door, not wanting to waste another moment, for the wound was getting bigger as the number of crows kept increasing.
"Who is it?” , the lady seemed very angry. Maybe I disturbed her sleep.
“There is a calf in the next street. Is it yours?”
“No, why?”
“Well, its hind leg..."
“Is it hurt?"
“Yes..."
“Are crows scavenging on it?"
“Yes!"
“Ok. You go ahead. I will take care."
I felt like I had been slapped. Either the calf was hers. Or it was not. But she knew that it was hurt and in pain. And she was not bothered. I wished I had the guts to scream at her. I walked back to the calf. Only to scare away another bloody crow.

The calf was very tired and in pain. It looked at me with teary eyes. (Or I felt so). I called my mom for help. Our building was five minutes away. She said she will be there soon. Meanwhile, I stood on patting the calf trying to assure him that I'd be of some help. House flies were feasting on the wound.
Curious people started gathering and looked on. But their curiosity died the moment they learnt it was just a ‘calf’. However, no one offered to help.
Mom came with the first aid kid. True to a nurse!
Water.
Hydrogen peroxide.
Dettol.
Oinment.
Cotton.
She cleaned the wound and nursed it. Meanwhile I kept patting the calf trying to keep it calm. Someone alerted a boy to inform the owners that ‘someone’ was trying to do ‘something’ with their calf.
Meanwhile, the house flies watched on. The crows watched on. So did the people.
We came home hoping the calf would get well soon. I was full of anger and despair.
- At its owners for letting out such helpless souls on the streets, with no food or water. They fed on garbage and other waste from the roads. They were never cared for.
- At the person who hit the calf and dint bother to stop over and help it.
- At the people who just watched on. Who were of no help and yet laughed at others who tried to help.
- At me. For being a non-vegetarian.
I managed to finish my lunch and ran down the street to check on the calf.
It was already on its legs. Trying to walk. He was a fighter. And his quest for life was great.
(Or maybe he knew that if he dint walk soon, he would be on his way to the butchers'.)

Dudu's Corner - II

Prologue: Dudu is my 3 year old niece. 'Dudu's corner' tries to capture a few of her 'words of wisdom'.

Dudu was once touring with her mom and her friends. Being the youngest in the lot, she was the center of attention and her talks made her more sought after. People kept asking her the same questions over and over again, just to hear her talk. One conversation went like this:

Someone: 'Neengey padikkireengala? (Are you studying?)'

Dudu: 'Aama. (Yes)'.

Someone: 'Entha School? (Which school?)'

Dudu: 'Euro Kids'.

Someone: 'Athu engey irukku? (Where is that?)'

Dudu: 'Paatti veettu pakkathillu. (Close to my Grandma's house).'

Someone: 'Paatti veettu pakkathillu engey irukku? (Where exactly is it, close to Grandma's place?'

Dudu: 'Paatti veettu pakkathillu, romba dhooorathillu irukku. (It is close to my paati's house, but a long distance from there).'

Someone: 'Athu engey? Paatti veettu pakkathillu, aana doorathillu? (So where will that be? Close to your Grandma's place but far away?')

To this, Dudu stared back at her. Then she answered with folded arms:

'Euro kids school engey irukkuo, anga thaan Euro kids school irukku!'

(Euro kids school is right where it is!)

Someone: '....!!!'

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Mom & I were visiting Dudu last month. They stay in Coimbatore, which can get real hot in summer. So, while on bed my mom left the first few buttons of her blouse open.

Dudu was heard telling this to my mom, whom she calls 'Sowmi Ammamma' (Sowmi Grandma).

'Sowmi ammamma, buttons pottukkongo! Yaaraachu paatha appuram onnumey panna mudiyaathu!

(Sowmi Grandma, I would suggest you button those up. If someone happens to see, then there's nothing much we can do!)

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My sister and brother-in-law were having the typical 'parents' fight over whom their daughter loves more. Whether it was her mommy or her daddy.

So both of them caught hold of Dudu and asked her in the most pleasant manner,

'Dudammu, Ungallukku yaarey pudikkum? Smi mummya Viji Appava?'

(Dudu, whom do you like more? Smi mummy or Viji daddy?)

Dudu looked at both of them for a moment. An then said,

'Ennakku Sowmi Ammamma'ey thaan pudikkum!'

('I like Sowmi Grandma better!')

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Dudu was being adamant one day and refused to go to school. My sister in a last attempt threatened to call up her teacher and complain. To which Dudu said, she will explain why she did not want to go to school.

My sister smartly dialed me instead and asked me to act like her teacher and instruct her to get to class immediately. I spoke to her in a hoarse voice and commanded,

'Rudra olunga school'kku vanthidu. Illena adichu poduven!'

(Rudra, you better come to school fast. Else I'm coming home to smack you!)'

Dudu blinked for a moment.

We thought the plot was a success.

That's when she gave the phone back to my sister and claimed,

'Ithu teacher kidayaathu. Ithu Geethu aunty, Chennaiyil irunthu pesnanga!'

('This is not my teacher. This is Geethu aunty, from Chennai!')

My Toilet Cleaner

My first attempt at acting.

Disclaimer: Watch at your own risk!

The best response came from Dudu, my 3 yr old niece after watching this TVC,

"Why is that aunty calling 'Geethu' aunty as 'Priya' ???"

We did not have an answer to that.

Tomorrow!

I walked through a garden,

I walked with my dream.

We held hands, together

On your shoulder, I leaned.

We stopped to smell a jasmine

In a rose, you seemed keen

As you placed it in my tresses,

We laughed like lost teens.

My mind wandered free

Across the road and blaring heat

And perched on the window sill

Of the house across the street.

A beautiful angel was fast asleep,

In her cradle with her dreams

And her parents stood beside her,

Lost in an embrace, deep!

Your breath on my neck

And the warmth of your hold

Brought me back to the garden

And I saw your old eyes gleam!

The visiting hour was over

And I had to be returned.

To the green beds and white walls

And the I.V stands, tall and lean.

You promised to meet me tomorrow

And that tomorrow won't be long.

As you walked out through the gate,

I began my wait - for tomorrow to be born.