THE STRANGER

the constant buzz of the people bothered Mr. Mehta a lot. he always wondered how could people keep chattering like that and how could people find so many nonsense things to talk about. for instance the two not so beautiful ladies who sat across him had been gossiping for more than two hours now and kept on dragging the same topic of how miserable the life of a housewife could be.
for once he wanted to shout "shut up" at the ladies but a part of him insisted that he listen to their talk. maybe Lataa also felt the same way.. but could never speak out loud. its been more than 30years to their marriage and they didn't have any major issues so far except the one when he decided to move away from Mumbai and live in a less populated and less polluted area. lataa had been furious at first but as time went on, she cooled as well.
its been 5years since they moved to a little town near Maharashtra border. but he kept coming to Mumbai in order to visit his son  and daughter in law. lataa usually accompanied him but this time she wanted to make a trip to her sister's.
he had the whole night to spend in the train and it was just getting dark outside. the hum of the crowd in the train was getting on his nerves. he confirmed that he had taken his bp medicine in the morning. the melody of the crowd was improvised by an occasional note from the vendors. the only slot of peace was that he had the upper berth in the train. he closed his eyes for the moment.
he woke up with the voice of laughter. he looked at the watch and realized that he had been asleep for nearly an hour. he took a peek to see what was going on. the two chatter boxes were replaced by a woman who seemed to be immersed in a book and the source of laughter : a girl perhaps 23-24 years old. 
he was looking at the girl with his eyebrows pulled together making a perfect V on his forehead. he knew he wasnt the most lovable person in the world. a little strict, perhaps little was an understatement, but he was definitely upset with the so called up to date generation. he saw them as spoiled kids with no hint of responsibility or manners and the girl below was no exception.
when it was time for dinner, he came down and sat near the window. the woman was still glued to the book. and the girl was still over phone, still giggling. she was saying 'its just a routine. i repeat every 20 days."
and then again" no am not afraid. its not the first time am doing it. chill i will be fine"
Mr. Mehta looked at her with narrowed eyes. was she hinting at drugs? perhaps. there was mischief in her eyes. he had been a lot irritated lately. he had the feeling that it was getting incorporated in his genes by now. as it is he never got the perfect job for himself. he had been denied all the better things that he deserved but in this phase of life where people have nothing to do but count their grey hair and the increasing number of candles on their birthday cakes, he had very less people to talk to.
lataa had packed him dinner. he smiled when he saw his tiffin. she had made his favorite. he was going to take the first bite when the girl turned and said "uncle do u mind if i sit here?"
he just gave an approving nod and went back to dinner. he was enjoying it when she spoke again "its a lovely night isnt it? i mean u can see the moon if u stand near the door"
Mr. Mehta was strict about maintaining silence during eating. this was bothering him. he didnt comment anything. by the time he was finished with dinner, she was still babbling over phone. he didnt want to sleep. so he went near the door to take a smoke.
the breeze was cool and there was the much needed silence. he was returning when the girl collided with him and lost her balance. Mr. Mehta helped her get up. "thank you uncle." she said and smiled.
he just nodded. when they were back in their seats, she said "i hadnt had the chance to introduce myself. you must be thinking i am impolite. i am sonia"
mr. mehta said mentally " i know you have no sense of respect" and he let his thoughts in his facial expression. 
she continued "where are you going?"
mr.mehta replied "mumbai" 
"wow. i am also going there." she said it with such a smile as if she found a long lost friend.
she continued " you are going there for vacation?" 
"no. my son lives there"
she carried on with her questions and talked a lot about herself as well. mr. mehta spoke as little as possible.  she talked about her college, her family, her friends etc etc and also told that the woman tavelling with them was her mother. she was asleep by now. mr . mehta thought it was strange that her mother allowed her such behavior.
mr. mehta was half listening when she said "life is so beautiful. every day is so much beautiful and there are so many things to see and learn"
he replied " kid you know nothing about life yet. life is never fair to anyone and you dont know the challenges in life"
she smiled and said " uncle life is always beautiful. we just do not have enough time to stop and take a look at it"
at that moment he thought it was enough and he cant make a silly girl understand the complications in life. what do they know? they get money from parents and like this girl many do drugs, and other ilegal things and spoil their lives. he said "after 10 years you wont be saying it"
she said " in few years, i will be moving to a far away place" and smiled.
mr. mehta thought she may be referring to running away from home or drinking at some college hostle. he bid her night and went to sleep.
he woke up before his station arrived, packed his things and waited. the girl was also ready with her luggage. when the train reached the station, he got down and called sanjay, his son. the girl and her mother got down after him. she was still giggling over phone. 
when sanjay arrived, he greeted mr. mehta. they were about to leave when the girl called her "hi doc!"
sanjay turned to see her and said "sonia! its so nice to see you. i was wondering why you missed your last appointment."
"sorry doc. friend's birth day was there."
"hmm. i will be seeing you at  11am then?" sanjay asked
"yup sure. and dont be late. i got your favorite chocolates" sonia said.
 sanjay smiled and said "thanks. i will see you at the hospital then."
"see ya. bye" she sais and left.
after she was out of the hearing radius, mr. mehta asked "sanjay, do you know her?"
"yes. she is my patient. such a young girl. she has blood cancer. comes every 20 days for blood transfusion. her father passed away last year. but she is one of the most cheerful person i ever met. never complains."
mr. mehta was taken back. 
sanjay continued " she is very optimistic. people love her. she might appear shallow but she is very mature and caring. she does a part time job so that she doesnt have to ask for pocket money."
mr. mehta was absolutely silent. and then he asked "will she be ok?"
sanjay said " she is at the final stage. hardly has 2 years. she always says that people have life but they spend it in resenting about the things they dont have and someone who wants to live is denied the right to live because of a stupid disease"
sanjay was silent for a moment and then said "anyways dad. how do you know her?"
he replied "she is a stranger who taught me the value of life"

CACTUS

it was morning time and the day had just begun. since it was a Sunday, Anuj didn't have much to do. so he finished his morning work and then went out for a stroll. it had been two weeks since he moved to Bangalore and this was his first holiday here. the last Sunday was spend in arranging the furniture.

he hadn't got a chance to take a look at the neighborhood since he had been so very packed that he hardly got a chance to breathe.

the place seemed nice. he knew his cooking skills were below zero and one cant live on Maggie forever. he thought of buying some breakfast. he was haunting for a food store when he saw an old man trying to pick up real heavy sacks. he moved closer to him and asked "may i help?"

the man looked at him and said with a smile "that would be very kind of you"

he carried some of the sacks into the store the man had just opened. it was a nursery. 

the man said "please keep it down there at the corner"

Anuj did so and then looked around. there was greenery everywhere and many kinds of flowers bloomed. the room was filled with mesmerizing aroma and an array of colors.

the man asked "do you like anything son?"

Anuj said "everything here is very beautiful. did you plant all these?"

the man replied, "gardening is my passion, and after my retirement i opened this nursery to help plant lovers like me. you can take a look around."

anuj went around the nursery and saw many variety of plants. some were known some were unknown. some had beautiful flowers, some had strange leaves and there were small price tags on each pot. 

at the corner of the nursery, it was a small table containing a range of cactus plants.

he was about to leave when the man said "son, i would like to gift you a plant for helping me" and handed anuj a cactus plant.

anuj was thinking "why did he give me a cactus?" but he knew it would be rude if he asked it., so he thanked the man and left for home.

once home, he placed the cactus near the window as he was told by the man. after that he used to plant the cactus everyday before going to the office. also he started going to the nursery often and the old man  and anuj soon became good friends.

anuj came to know that the man's wife passed away last year and since his children were living out of town, and he didn't want to leave his house, he had to do something to pass his time. he built the nursery some months ago and was now spending most of his time there.

in an unknown city, anuj had found a good company and liked to listen to him. after visiting the nursery few times, anuj observed that most of the time the old man gave away the plants at very minimum prices and sometimes even for free. when anuj asked him about it, the man said "its not my profession to sell plants. when someone comes up to me saying that he wants to raise a plant, i don't deny. after all when the flower will bloom, that person will remember me"

anuj could not hold his curiosity anymore. he asked "remember the first time i visited here?"

the man said "the first time you helped me with the goods. how can i forget?"

anuj said "i always wonder why you gifted me a cactus? i mean you could have gifted me some flowering plant. and i have noticed that you don't sell cactus. why do you have them?"

the man smiled and said "i don't sell them but i love them. and i love them because very few can love a plant full of spines. but if we overlook the spines and keep watering the plant, it blooms.. and the flower of cactus is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. likewise in life, we dont always come across good people, but if we keep pouring our love and affection, someday something good will bloom in that relationship. everyone has some good quality, we just have to overlook the bad ones"

FOOTSTEPS

Walking on the beach, survi could feel the waters washing away her feet, the grains of sand struck between her toes, at times she could feel pieces of shell poking at her heels, it felt as though she has been teleported to a different time. eyes closed, she was relying on her other senses.
They say, without vision, life is incomplete, but survi found her's more beautiful. the scent of saline waters, the laughter of kids, the sands beneath her feet filled the void of her life.
it had been an eventful day... it was too much to wrap her head around it. but now it all feels better.
 Her hands were widespread as if she was trying to fill her arms with the calmness that now surrounded her..
someone commented, "darling, you are not on titanic"
she heard it but paid no attention. he wasn't worth it.
she didnt remember how much distance she had walked, not that it mattered.. but she couldnt hear many people now... maybe she has walked away from the crowd. her feet were paining now, especially after standing for so many hours. so she let her feet scout for dry sand. when she found some, she sat down.
At first she came here because she thought the noise of the crowd will shun the shrieking voice inside her, but when she came here, it wasnt noise at all. she realized that it was a music of a different frequency. it was amazing how things changed their meaning when viewed from a different point of view.
 Her eyes were still closed, she couldnt decide if it was fear or something else.. but she knew she cant keep her eyes closed forever. she mustered the courage and opened them.
The sun was setting in the far west, sprinkling last rays of sun that bathed the sands in a golden hue. 
The water looked a deep mystic blue as if it held deep dark secrets.. the contrast between the ocean and sand looked no less than a masterpiece created by a dexterous hands.
  She saw a little girl walking on the sand, going near the waves and moving away as the waves tried to reach her. even she used to do that as a kid. a man was sitting at a distance and watching her and giving her precautions, perhaps her father. she used to come here as a kid with her father. it was a beautiful time then. and then she remembered how harshly she had talked to her father. she was still holding the wedding card in her hand.
she heard a voice behind her, "enjoying the beach? are we?"
it was shweta, her best friend. who else better than shweta would know where to find her.
she said again, "i knew i would find you here, still i was  little unsure"
survi replied, "and you found me.. now catch your breath. i wasnt going to go out of country. why were you worried?"
"why? you asking me why? i never saw you like this. you attended the wedding, firstly i thought you wouldnt come and then i saw you there. you saw the whole ceremony and then you ran out as if you saw a ghost"
survi replied, "when i felt i couldnt see anymore, i came out"
shweta sat beside survi and put a hand on her shoulder. "you should have listened to me and talked to him then and there. his face was white when he saw you"
"and what good that would have done? if after being in a relationship with me for 3years he could still marry another girl, nothing i say would have matteed. and he told me the other day that he never loved me."survi said.
shweta was losing her patience, "that's it? and you let him walk away? just like that? i mean what about the harm he has done to you?"
survi looked at her and said, " you see the little footsteps on the sand?"
"yes"
"that belongs to a little girl who was here some time ago. though she left many footsteps on the sand, the tides removed some of it and some remained. in the same way, we decide whose footsteps to keep in life and whose to wash away." survi said.
shweta went silent for sometime, smiled and then said, "lets go and eat something. i am hungry... tere chakkar mein khana bhi nehi khaya"
"me too"  survi said and laughed... and felt as though the whole world echoed her laughter..

SOMEDAY

someday you will regret,
someday you will repent,
someday you will cry,
for losing me on the way.


someday you will see,
how colorless your life can be,
 someday you will think,
the color of your life was me.


someday you will stand alone,
someday you will be tired,
someday you will feel,
the strength in your life was me.


someday you will realize,
the world is such a lie,
someday you will agree,
the truth of you life was me.


someday your smile will fade,
someday you will be sad,
someday you will accept,
the smile on your face was coz of me.


someday you will fear,
someday you will want support,
someday you will say,
the courage of your life was me.


someday you will fall,
someday you will need a hand,
someday you will cry out,
the pretext of your rise was me.


someday you will realize my worth,
someday you will need my shoulder,
someday you will yearn for my love,
someday you will feel my pain.


someday i am sure you will

DREAM

oh! take me with thee
to the land which shelters
the fountain of love
whence flows eternal bliss.


take me with thee
on the enlightened path,
hands entwined, together we walk
till stars rain on earth.


take me with thee
to the kingdom that shines
with the golden rays of sun,
where devotion is the only religion.


take me with thee
to the temple of serenity,
far off from this place so loud,
where there is only the music of our souls.


take me away..
for the world is so cruel,
oh! please take me with thee
where we can savor our passion for real.