The story of a reed

There was once a reed
A small, wispish one
That grew one summer
In the light and breeze of love and life
Fed by friendship and fun
It grew day and night without a worry.

Then came a harsh winter
That chilled the reed to the bone
Its growth stalled
And it quivered against the winds
But it still continued to grow
In the hope of the next summer

Next summer came
But it was a cool one
And the light was dimmed
Starving the reed of its life
The breezes stopped
And the reed didn't know why

The reed held on
Despite cool summers and cold winters
With minimal light and breeze
Despite the surrounding weeds
That competed for whatever light was left
For now,
It was no longer just that reed
But a couple of weeds as well

Then came a point
Where the reed's life energy is no more enough
To keep it going
Despite the lack of light and breeze
It drew from within its depths
But it still wasn't enough.

The death knell sounded
In the form of a slip and trip
Now the reed lays broken
Despite the folklore that reeds never break.
Amen!

Some say the reed was never there to start
Some say the reed was already gone
Some say the reed is still present
But I, the creator says
The reed was there and it is gone now
But I wish the reed was alive
For it was fun with the reed,
And the reed is no more.

There might come another reed
With the same soil and same seed
It might even grow to a shoot
And maybe even a giant tree
But it is still another reed
And never this particular one.

I sadly mourn this one
And pine for it at times
But realize that whatever I plan,
There is a Creator above me that plans as well.

Here lies a reed,
A fun one that added value to life.
May it rest in peace,
While we live with its remains in this world.

I shudder to look at the empty space it created
In the soil and the forest
But not sure if anyone else will miss it
For this was a teeny, tiny reed.

As Nature's laws go,
This empty space will be reclaimed
And put to use for something else
Not sure what will reclaim it
Nor what it will become in future
But somewhere in this space,
Lies a reed's life story.

Stock taking in Neverland

Been a crazy week, with nothing to do on the Monday and a pile of work to do on the Friday. But I caught up with some of the things in life and am really glad for the breathing space just before the D-day arrives.Yup! I'm waiting for the D-day. But more on it as the day gets closer. A quick run of what's going on in Neverland (yeah! that is where I live!):

• We had yet another last event, the Vishu potluck which was nice. I made only rice for I had forgotten all about it and didn't have time to cook in the end (if AS hadn't reminded me, I would have missed a potluck! Damn! that is a terrible sin in grad life and I was about to commit it!). But thankfully, my friends needed rice and I was glad my forgetfulness turned out for good :D
• The movie and chai after the potluck at a friend's place was good too! I got another glimpse into the complexity of people's lives. Just a word: Nice!
  
• I had another last, my last staff meeting at my workplace. It was kind of good but I started feeling detached (might be because of some ruffled feathers that I saw in workplace). Though I was sad, I am ready to let go. More on my workplace in a later post! But they surprised me with a sweet gift! :) So thoughtful of them!
  
• I learnt the same lesson yet another time. Guess I'm becoming too stubborn a student to even remember a simple lesson from life. Totally yucky!
• Got to hear C sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". In her voice, the song is all the more sweeter. She made my day! Guess I'm going to pamper her all the more as she grows up :D
  
• My last cabinet meeting and delegate meeting got over this week. I'm happy for all that I got to do in it. It was an exciting time and I got to meet a lot of American grad students and find what they think/talk/do in life. Its a small slice but I'm glad I got a chance to explore it!
• My last official pg meeting also got done last week. I'm sure going to miss it. But I guess some more tweaking to its structure would really help everyone a lot more. But who will bell the cat?
• My budget board meeting is wrapping up this week. It was a fantastic time with them and impressive to see how money is being allocated across the Neverland. Talking about huge amounts here! No wonder that money tends to become numbers beyond a point! I can now easily think in terms of 100,000s as I did with 100s. But it is yet another experience to let me grasp the real finances going on. And I'm glad for it!
  
• Whenever I cook chicken, the dish comes out different. That is the boon and bane of cooking! But I guess I'll start liking to cook sooner rather than later. Its fun to experiment and all the more fun to get someone else to eat it and go ga-ga [evil grin]. But seriously, now I make basic good food (something I thought was NEVER possible) and am ready to explore the more exotic ones (effect of being with AS, my roomie and K, my next-next-block mate). Gee! I'm waiting for Summer.
• Cleaning and sorting all through the week is a BORING job. But I came across a lot of stuff that I forgotten and they reminded me of Alpine two years ago. Some were nice, some were not (as in they didn't go as I expected them to) and some sprang a surprise. But it was a heaven of a journey (is there such an expression?) and I wouldn't trade it! Glad I took time to sort through stuff before I move the Neverland.
  
• I met an Indian freshman here. When she heard that I was finishing up, she said "Wow!!" and THAT made me feel old. Damn! I had given the same expression to my seniors (all the final years and third years of 20**, I'm really sorry!) and they had brushed it off. Guess its payback time! Ouch! it does hurt!
  
• Its always nice to fall asleep and have a friend wake you up at odd hours to talk to you. My friend would have wondered why I was not coherent for the first five minutes and how I could speak philosophy in the next ten minutes. And I dropped a bottle of water on my bed in the process! Its overloading the sills, I tell you! Any connection between the two events is purely coincidental :D

Now that the stock taking is over, I guess I'll get back to some more chiseling of the iceberg in my room (aka) catching up with long-lost stuff that I conveniently forgot in Neverland. Ciao! till then and wish that I come out unscathed this D-day!

Unchartered territory!

She opened her eyes
She was in a different place
A place that she had not known
A place that hadn't existed so far

She squinted her eyes
She was afraid of the landscape
A landscape that was unfamiliar
A landscape that had dangers within

She had to get up
She had to look around
Around to familiarize herself
Around to learn the rules of the land

She checked her person
She checked her belongings
Belongings that still held her
Belongings that had strings attached

Should she give away those belongings?
Should she cut off the strings?
Don't they act as an armor too?
Don't they protect her vulnerabilities?

The Voice saw her indecision
The Voice understood her concern
Concern of being naked
Concern of being attacked

The Voice saw the inventory
The Voice chuckled with delight
The Voice then made the suggestion
In a light voice that heralded new life

Take the intelligence and courage
Take the lessons learned,
Take the memories of pain and pleasure
And the compassion to all humans

Leave the anger, the cowardice
Leave the dependence, the coercions
Leave your curiosity of others
And the fear of future for it weighs you down

This land is different, more so than last
It holds good and bad, beauty and ugliness
It has its own rules, rules to learn
Rules to survive, play and conquer

You can never return to the old plane
Move on, move away,
Explore this land for its given to you
Find out, find life!

Hold the strings if you want
But never tie them to you
Coz it should be in your power
Power to hold them and leave them

Forget the old plane,
the sooner the better
For you have no time to lose,
And the past is gone for good

This is a time of change, look deep within
Keep the strings close to your heart,
Toss the rest around, for
The space inside is limited
And worthless junk is better tossed out

She was confused
But understood all the same
Sat to remove the strings
The strings that were junk

Hard work, I can tell you
But hard work always pays
She understood that well
And checked each string of life

Some were diamonds, some were junk
She put each through the acid test
Some disintegrated, some stood
But some glowed after the test

She now knew which ones to hold
And which ones to throw
Since she can't have it all
And use it all through her life.

She was too precious
Precious to hold onto junk
She understood the Voice's concern
And thanked God for the Voice

She moved on, moved on in the land
The land that held promises for her
The land whose rules she will learn
The land that she'll survive, play and conquer!

The End of Something

She was enjoying
She was having fun
She was living life to the fullest

Suddenly,
She understood something
Or the lack of something

She stood still
The reality hit her
A pain seared through her heart
A tear rolled down her cheek

The voice was content
The voice was calm
The voice was at peace with itself

Suddenly,
The voice sensed something
Or the lack of something

It was time
Time to show her the reality
A reality that would pain her
A reality that would make her cry

The voice consoled her
She was unconsoled
The voice reasoned with her
She said that this was beyond reason
The voice argued with her
She was too tired to argue

Because this something sapped her energy
Her love for life,
Her interest in life,
Her peace with the world.

The voice didn't give up
The voice persisted
The voice dinned sense into her
And let the pain dull and tear dry

She was battered
She was bruised
She didn't want anymore of it
But still she went on in life

Because Life doesn't end with something
Life dulls the pain
Life dries the tear
And life goes on.

The voice showed her strength
The voice stood rock-solid
The voice guided her by hand

She followed the voice
She followed its reason
She followed it by hand

The Voice and She
Emerged stronger in this contest
More understanding of each other
More clear of each other's goal
And more trusting on each other.

All that was left
Left of the something
A few words and actions
A dull pain in her heart
And an infinite wisdom for the voice.

The scene

She was standing...
She was having fun...
She was relaxed...

It was a perfect scene...
It was life all over...
It was good...

She tensed...
She was expectant...
She was waiting...

It was the same place...
It was the same car...
But the scene was different...

The voice calmed her...
The voice soothed her...
The voice explained...

It was a dream...
It was unreal...
It was good...

The voice clarified to her...
The voice encouraged her...
The voice understood her...

It was the same place...
It was the same car...
It was a different scene...

Unnalae! Unnalae!

Unnalae! Unnalae!
Vin aala sendraenae!
Un munnae un munnae
Thee kaatraai nindraenae!

Oru sottu amutham nee, oru sottu vishamum nee,
oru sottu heavennum nee, nesithen!
Oru sottu inbam nee, oru sottu thunbam nee,
oru sottu hellum nee, yosithen!

[English translation is:
Because of you,
I went on to rule the skies.
In front of you,
I stand as a mixture of fire and air.

You are one drop of nectar, one drop of poison, one drop of heaven.
I like you!
You are one drop of happiness, one drop of sorrow, one drop of hell.
I think of you!]

The Voice

She was sleeping.....
She heard a voice bend down and say into her ear "France won, Brazil lost"
She wanted to see it that day... So eager was she!!
Knowing the result, she was no longer interested
She slipped into deep, dreamless sleep
The moment was frozen in her mind

The voice guides her to the stars
And enthuses her to do better
She waits for the voice...