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You will find me here...

I walk down a narrow untrodden path, alone. I don’t know where it leads to, but I keep walking without any fear or doubt. I walk until I reach a forest. Lush green, filled with majestic tall trees and dense wilderness. I can smell the wet earth under my feet, I assume that the rain had stopped falling just a while before I had reached there. As I walk deeper into the forest, I explore and take in all the beauty this bountiful forest has to offer. Massive ferns, winding climbers on thick tree trunks, crimson flowers that smell like sweet spice. I look up to feel the bright sunlight on my body, as it streams down through the tall trees. I can hear beetles chirp, and drops of rain fall from the trees into the tiny puddles on the ground. I reach out to a low hanging branch and shake it. It showers me with drops of water. It’s so cold, I feel tickled. I see a stream at a distance. I walk towards it slowly, I am in no hurry. I walk by the stream as I fully take in the sounds of the bree

Twilight...

Twilight, that brief yet intensely haunting time of the day, makes me go through a mixture of emotions every single time I watch it. Twilight brings back childhood memories of visits to temples at my hometown in Kerala. Though I am not religious per se, I absolutely love visiting these temples. It’s an experience I hold dearest to my heart. The serenity of the temple yard, the warm smell of the burning oil lamps, the pathways of cool stone, the moist sand, the subtle fragrance of sandalwood paste and flowers wrapped in a banana leaf, the mystical chime of the temple bell, the burning camphor, the sight of bird flocks going back to their resting places, the slow beats of the hand-drum…the picture it paints in my mind never fails to make me emotional. Twilight reminds me of the days I sat with my grand-parents and cousins at the doorway of our ancestral home, munching on fried snacks, listening to the chirps of the crickets in the garden get louder. Of the times we sat there and

Merging in

In the name of ‘maturity’, they find an excuse not to do what makes them truly happy. In the name of ‘respect’, they find an excuse not to confront someone more powerful than them. In the name of 'sacrifice', they find an excuse not to stand up for their needs as an individual. In the name of ‘fate’, they find an excuse not to fight for their rights as a human being. They refuse to believe anything that does not fit into the schema of what they were used to believing. They criticize others who dare to think otherwise. They scare the few brave ones by narrating tales of agony, and then threatening them with horrendous situations that might happen in the future. They keep their minds always busy. They get jittery when they have nothing to do. They cannot stand being alone, they cannot enjoy silence…because that is when they face the reality. In solitude is when what they constantly push down every minute, rises up to full power. It reminds them of how they are nothin

Reaching out to life ...

The busy routine of everyday city life has created cocoons around each one of us. The importance attached to reaching goals at work within given deadlines, the rush to climb above others in order to succeed; has made us forget the actual things of importance. We have made ourselves isolated to such an extent that mere eye contact or a friendly smile to a stranger seems awkward. Hundreds of people zoom by us daily and we move through the crowd oblivious to the life that runs through each of them. Forgetting that we all have the same feelings, forgetting that we need to share to feel alive. We tend to see the little differences that separate us, rather than the surprising similarities that bind us. The difference distances us from each other. And we alone create this distance. Anyone who has not completely gotten lost in this rut would agree with me, that there is no greater joy than feeling closely connected with what is beyond us..be it with friends, or nature, or music.Connecting t

Alone, But not Lonely...

I was having a debate with a friend of mine about the pros and cons of being a people’s person as opposed to being a loner. Though I can easily communicate and indulge in a conversation with people when required, my tendency is to bend to the second set. Therefore, I shall put forward my stand. Firstly, I would like to clarify that a loner is happy being alone. She/ He is alone, but not lonely. Spending time with myself, I get to ponder over the many unanswered questions about life- the many questions and thoughts that pop up in most people’s minds at some point or the other. Questions about why we are doing what we are doing, about what do we consider wrong or right leaving aside the society-imbibed ethical principles, questions about love and natural urges. And finally questions about the whole purpose of existence itself. The majority of people tend to repress these questions by engaging in some activity. Or they end up spending time with friends, at most times, doing nothing pr

In the journey towards finding myself...

The cacophony of the voices inside me, struggling to say out what they want to say is taking over my peace of mind and my sense of self. These voices, all equally intense, have their personal views and beliefs, many a times contradicting each other. I believe that every person has more than one or two sides to themselves. There isn’t one fixed definition to a person. There isn’t one fixed way a person behaves. There are just inclinations. People tend to behave in a certain way either because of conditioning by the society and their surroundings, or because they have got accustomed to doing so. There are many different personalities living within one body. As per my observation and conclusion, people just focus on the one part which they have been focusing on all their life, that they start believing that that is their ‘real self’. Or they take the part of them that gives them a feel-good factor at most situations and tag it as their ‘real self’. Thus, they ignore the many other dime

The CORE

I have heard that ‘everyone, deep within, is actually unhappy’. I have been a constant observer. An observer to people and to myself. Everyone basically wears a mask, a mask of the person they want to be. I truly believe that there is not just one world existent. Every person lives in a different world, the world they choose to be in. Worlds that can be completely different.They look like they know what they are doing and are sure of themselves. But they are just forcing themselves to believe so. All the people around me, every single one of them has an innocent helpless child within them, a child desperate for love and understanding. I have seen through their masks and it brings in me compassion and sadness. Everyone’s past has harmed them, in ways that they are aware or unaware of. Their past wounds never really heal. Some people focus on the pain and live a life of visible misery, some ignore it and try to cover it up by using some or the other defense mechanism. Because the hu