Soldiers of love

I once thought that the soldiers on either side
hated each other till their gums hurt.

What I heard was a welcome relief,
for a world of love and no strife.

Both sides of the borderline look alike to me.
Then ,who divides us?
(North and South Korea border)

Says a soldier : all are brother-en,
of the big world we see.
all have pain,sorrow and love;
that pierces the heart and stitches them together ;
so that, they never want to kill each other.

But, who decides to love or hate?

They have good days and bad days, to
see together in the arid ground;
With only the warmth of another fellow, from
the other side of the border line.

Far away from their home and folk,
Left alone to face  life at its brink;
They toil day and night,
till their souls really hurt.

India-Pakisthan border

So,they laughed together
they wept together ,rejoice and sorrow
 mostly together; and suddenly
they are asked, to get up and shoot-





The heart that yearned for his peace ,
The eyes that searched for him,
The lips that gave him a smile,
the soul that looked out for him:

 from the other side of the border.

Now,who decides to hate or love?



Note:
This poem is inspired by a first-hand conversation with a BSF soldier posted at the India-Pakisthan border at Jammu and Kashmir.

Snippet 3

Once a rich,city-bred man saw a person in humble clothes, sitting outside a shrine,silently for long.


At the end of an hour , a monk from within the shrine served food to the person.


The man was intrigued by these happenings.He believed that everyone should be worth the food he eats.
He could contain himself no more.
Quick to react, he asked the monk ,"Does this person outside do any work at the shrine?"


"No",said the monk.


The man became angry."Then why do you feed him free of cost.You must be stupid to do so."


The monk listened to him patiently and said, "Watch the person till nightfall and tell me what you feel?"


So,the man positioned himself at a distance from that person and watched him till nightfall.
During the day,he tried to talk to the person but,received no reply.


The man was infuriated."I am such a big man in society.There are hundreds of people waiting for my appointment. No-one dares to ignore me.Either you must be out of your mind or-else you must be deaf and dumb."saying so, he went back to his post and continued watching the person.


The monk at the shrine,who had been noticing all this,summoned the man and asked him,"What do you think of the person outside the shrine now?"


"I still feel he is a total waste and such lazy people should not be encouraged",said the man.

'Silence is golden'

Now, the monk said,"He is the chief priest of the shrine.
He teaches people about the importance of silence.


I have been watching your activities from the morning.You have called me a 'stupid'.
You have called our teacher  'a total waste',lazy man','mad man' and what not.


All this harsh and impulsive behavior has earned you no goodness or peace.
So, follow the path of silence whenever you can and you will be closer to God everyday.


Realizing his folly, he asked for forgiveness from the monk and the chief priest and set out on his way.


He was a changed man now.


All his ego had melted away and he decided to talk only when it is absolutely necessary.

Sorry! Mother

Splashing down the window pane

and lashing down memory's lane.

A powerful force of nature's.

It nurtures and tortures.

It cradles great seas and oceans,

It nourishes expanses of amazons

But,when its pouring out its wrath?

What a devastating aftermath?

What was the anger?

The sounds of cries,to this day,linger.

Creating nightmares ,leaving

child-folk sparsely with teddy bears.

Making lonely souls and empty bowls.

Why mother nature,you are punishing us?

When we reach out ,will you forgive us?

You have now pushed us to the brink ,

We have no option, but to think.

What salvaging we can do?

For forgiveness we ask-'would you'?

Soul of life

I am a rose,
I am the dew drop,
I am a thorn
and I am the crop.

I am fragrance,
I am the color,
I am a tendril
and I am the flower.

I am a green grass,
I am the tree,
I am the sunshine
and the wind-free.

I am a lotus,
I am the bee,
I am the pollen
and nature's glee.

I am a mountain ,
I am the fountain,
I am the sea and the
water-life you see.

I am you,
I am me,
I know the truth
so,I am free.

I am a dead,
I am the day,
I am the grave and
the thoughts within.

I am a ghost,
I am the night,
I am all there is;
Knowing it earlier,
would have been bliss.

Snippet 2

Kindly share your views about this picture.

Short story-Memories

James and Rani were a beautiful pair.It seemed they were 'made for each other'.

They had loved each other in college and had got married, against many odds.They have lived happily for a year now.

It was their first wedding anniversary and they wanted to celebrate it pompously.

They had called all their friends.Since both of them were working on full-time jobs,they had a huge crowd to welcome.

James and Rani had a great time with their friends ; till James saw Raj.

Raj was a handsome and smart , young bachelor who worked in Rani's office.He is a good friend of her's too.

Rani used to mention about Raj occasionally, to James, whenever he had helped her out with problems in office.

James had not thought much about him till then.

Raj's striking looks and sharp intellect created an inferiority complex in James.

The function was over and all the friends had left.

But, Raj had not left James thoughts.He was here to stay.

James started asking his wife periodcaly about Raj and as to what she felt about him.Rani did not take these questions seriously in the beginning.But, slowly she started to sense changes in James' behavior.

James was falling a prey to suspicion day by day.

This affected his normal life and his relationship with his wife worsened.

At one point, James' fear reached fever pitch and he could not hold it back any longer.

He burst out at his wife with all animosity and allegations.

Rani was totally shattered and did not know how to respond.

She cried her heart out, but to no avail.Then, she thought going out to office would ease her nerves.She started to office.

Even then ,she could not bear to think that her husband could suspect her with someone else.

With all her mind clogged with these thoughts, she forgot to check the signals before crossing the lane.Fortune did not favor Rani that day.

She had a bad accident on her way, close to office and her head was injured.

She was admitted into the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital by her erstwhile friend Raj.

James rushed to see his dear wife, on hearing the news.

Rani took a few weeks to regain consciousness.

Rani's parents and James 'parents had come over to see her.

The doctor took Rani through a series of tests and declared that all her senses were back to normal.

But, that he cannot say anything about her memories.

All her friends and relatives came to see her.There was a big crowd at the hospital.

But, she remembered none.

She did not remember james too.

She only remembered the person who carried her to the hospital ,immediately after the accident -her friend- her friend Raj.

So, Raj, Rani and James live in the same flat now-a-days.James and Raj have decided on this arrangement till Rani remembers James.

All this on James request.

Note:

Today is James' and Rani's second wedding anniversary.But, she knows nothing of it.

James never had the guts to tell Raj what he had thought about him.Staying with Raj for one year made him realize what a fool he had been to think so.

In retrospect

Walking the roads,

breaking the rules,

I danced along;

who cared for being told?

Laughing aloud,

singing so bold,

I whistled along,

who dared to scold?

Days rolled by,

so did the years;

Suddenly I found ,

I was way-past teddy bears.

With waxy skin

and a wobbly shin,

I look back at me-

in retrospect.

I sit to rest,

I sit to think,

I sit to link with what i did.

To give a hand,

to save a cause,

to save a land -what i did?

Lost in joys,

searching on unknown toys,

oblivious of elsewhere suffering kin,

years were wasted in childish din.

Now I fear ;

I know my days are near;

What justice can i do to help me cross,

with a peaceful mind and heart like floss?