The Sense of Life

Untouchability - Dignity for All
Satyamev Jayate - 8th July, 2012

As a child, I remember being aware that we all belong to different religions. I took my social studies and its "we are equal" teachings quite seriously. Religion was never a criteria in my relationships.

I thank my parents for giving me that choice - especially my mother. I was taught everything about Islam like any other but never forced into following it.

Religion rarely crossed my mind in any of my social interactions or friendships. I say rarely because it did cross my mind and I did encounter comments or unspoken acts of prejudice which made me feel "different". A result of pre-conceived notions, perceptions, prejudice and conditioning, theirs and mine, which I have learnt to absorb and accept over the years.

Equality, love, freedom, expression, talking, sharing ideas and living in a community are some integral choices we are offered and make during the course of our life.

Tolerance is a non-negotiable choice.

Dignity is not a choice though, it's a sense I feel as essential as sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.

A powerful topic and a powerful episode from SJ team, I am lost for words.

Justice CS Dharmadhikari is immaculately articulate. He speaks in pure Hindi and holds a young audience captive, evoking a standing ovation.

Love and peace. xx

Live a dream

Live a dream, I say.
You show me reality.

Share my passion, I say.
You throw me indifference.

Hold my hand, I say.
You give up on me.

Laugh with me, I say.
You aide my tear.

Cherish our love, I say.
You feel it's intense.

Feed my soul, I say.
You scrape its surface.

Fight for me, I say.
You surrender to fear.

Love in measure, you say.
I don't know how to.

Hope is...

Hope is what you see...
when mist shreds the light.

Hope is what you smell...
when lotus glows in stench.

Hope is what you taste...
when hunger kills within.

Hope is what you hear...
when sound grows dim.

Hope is what you touch...
when tears flicker bright.

Hope is what you feel...
when soul loses its sheen. 

Belief or knowledge?

Belief has often brought great results in my life where knowledge failed.

I believe in the power of unknown more than the known.

Wikipedia defines Belief as "the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true" and Knowledge as "a familiarity with someone or something, which can include facts, information, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education".

There is a vast and yet a subtle difference between the two, I believe.

Belief has taken me places I never imagined I could go. 

Yet it's been a hard one to pin down.

Sometimes I have it, sometimes I lose it. 

And then I find it again.

It comes and goes.

Knowledge on the other hand, has only taken me upto a point.

But it stays with me.

Like a comfortable blanket I can pull out whenever I need it.

A constant companion I can fall back on.

I can add more to it.

Belief survives without knowledge, not the other way round.

Knowledge with belief is magic.

It has been for me.

Thank you my angel

Thank you my angel,

You bathe me. 

With your smile.

Bring me sunshine.

Dispel darkness.

Shadows of silence.

I see a new day.

You warm me.

With your goodness.

Kindness, caring.

Broken wings repair.

Wounds heal.

I am free again.

You sing me.

The song of love.

Unconditional and pure.

Open and hopeful.

Radiant and soft.

I surrender to the music.

Safe, cherished and whole.

Thank you my angel.

For protecting me.

In the mirror

I look in the mirror.

And see.

My eyes.

Tracing your world.

My smile.

Celebrating your happiness.

My lips.

Speaking your language.

My ears.

Capturing your music.

My heart.

Sounding your beats.

My arms.

Holding your dreams.

I look again.

And see.

A blur.

An illusion.

It isn't you, it's me.

For the love of friendship

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow. - William Shakespeare

We hadn't chatted properly in months. Life has changed gears, leading us in different directions, for a dear friend I hold very close to my heart, and me.

Yet one stray sentence from her and I knew something was bothering her even as we hung up the phone. It rattled me long enough to call her back even though we'd finished our conversation the first time.

I was right. We bonded for another 30 minutes, on the topic of concern and about this and that, until her daughter woke up.

This time, despite the abrupt goodbye, it felt right again.

It was unspoken but I suspect she felt the same.

Years of friendship do bring that sense of comfort and ease.

And flow.

We've shared a significant part of our lives together.

Yet that one element which sets our friendship apart is that we have allowed each other to grow.

Given each other freedom to make choices that are right for the other. At all times.

No questions asked. Or prejudice or judgement calls.

Just rock solid support and listening with heart.

Time, distance and life changes haven't altered that.

Fear

Fear surrounds my heart.

And suffocates our love.

I fear.

The restlessness hidden in your calm.

The flippancy in your tenderness.

The hidden wings in your arms.

I want to hold you captive.

But I can't.

Powerless.

Gasping for breath.

Fear surrounds me.

As I hold you close to my heart.

And set you free.

Heart Copy

For you, with love in my heart.

You are within me.

All my life, I had wished for you deep in my heart.

You arrived with wild abandon, joy, and intoxication I sought.

Bliss, contentment, peace.

Filled my days and nights with tender love.

And then it was over.

I couldn't find it within me to stop you.

Many seasons have passed and I am still bound.

To unfulfilled dreams and silent tears.

Bitterness, hurt, anger and helplessness thrive.

What was pure, precious and radiant.

Appears tainted, meaningless and ugly.

Words have flushed out, long silences have spoken.

Yet the invisible thread remains.

Softly holding that chord, I wait.

With a shred of hope.

That someday we will be one again.