Paradise Lost

Once upon a while,

A thought makes me smile,

When I think of u all,

With me standing tall.

I had my share of it all,

Laughter and happiness, large and small,

When my friends were around,

All my joys were fully found.

The times were their and mine,

Each moment felt like it was divine,

I felt like it was my reign,

Sadness I could not even feign.

But Alas! It was not to be,

I lost whatever set me free,

Suddenly extinguished whatever shone,

And I was left all alone.

I sat and bitterly wept,

Around me utter darkness crept,

My thoughts were in a tempest,

My heart was utterly without any rest.

How my world had turned around,

All my dreams crashed to the ground,

Now I dare not to dream,

Lest my dreadful countenance be seen.

I have seen the darkness and the light,

Felt the meaning of every slight,

Felt the descent from the highest loft,

Now I know what it means to have PARADISE LOST...............  

Reflections

Life is complicated,

And so am I,

There are so many things to laugh about,

And so many things that make you cry.

Behind that big goofy smile,

And the jovial talk aside,

If you see deep inside,

You will find sadness vast as skies.

Life is beautiful,

That's what they say,

Everybody sees the silver lining,

Nobody notices the clouds grey.

Of old i was pure as crystal,

And my feelings were gentle and brittle,

Now i have been broken and mended again,

With each scar a painful story to say.

But as with the pheonix of lore,

I rise again from my sleep,

From the ashes stronger than before,

Ready to face life's challenges steep.

I've passed through fire and ice,

But the only harm came was to my vice,

Like gold that must be wrought before,

I have been forced to bring my strength to the fore.

So here I am,

Ready to face the world,

Having only my friends to save me,

From this cruel world's hold,

If i have anything which could not be sold,

Then it would be my friends worth their weight in gold,

As they are the anchors in my life,

Holding me forth lest I be swept away by this river of life....

Sadness

Deeper than the deepest trench,

Is hollowness that oceans can't quench,

More eternal than the yuletide,

Is the sadness in me that's deep inside.

I hide behind my hollow pride,

Try to bury these feelings inside,

Tell everyone that it's their folly,

If they find that I am not fun and jolly.

Like a splinter that's wedged in my heart,

A feeling that rips me apart,

Is the pool of darkness that surrounds me,

A monster which constantly consumes me.

I try to leave them behind,

But these feelings catch up like in rewind,

So I am left all alone,

As if these feelings have been cast in stone.

From whence came these thoughts?

Sentiments which have brought everything to naught,

For I don't know who I be.....

Am I a part of sadness or is sadness a part of me?

So it’s time to say farewell,

I hope that you all are swell,

I feel that I am about to be lost,

In this whirlpool which yet feels so soft,

My life is not as it seemed to be,

Here I am and yet I can't find me....

Lost and Found

In the beginning there was a little boy,
He found in the simplest of things joy,
Who looked at the sky in wonder,
And awaited the sound of thunder.

He saw the rainbow and clouds,
He heard the nightingale sing aloud,
And in that he found paradise,
Until others thought to make him wise.

They said it is but a fool's task,
To look at nature and in its glory bask,
The wise do not ponder in such trifles,
And thus his joy was made to stifle.

He grew older and became wiser,
And he stopped wasting his time on such trifles,
Yet in his heart there was forever a long,
To again listen to nature"s beautiful song.

But his desires were not meant to be,
And his sorrow no one cared to see,
It was not his enemies but his friends,
Who made his true joy end.

Bound he was now in chains,
And all his efforts came nought to gain,
His cage was made of love and affection,
And it made his torment beyond comprehension.

But to his surprise and wonder,
God sent along an angel in all his splendour,
One who freed him from his prison,
And saw the light in his vision.

Prettier than the prettiest woman,
Was the sight of sun rising to the heavens,
Sweeter than the most melodious sound,
Was the sound of breeze flowing abound.

Thus found at last was what he had lost,
And the boy learnt to pay the cost,
You do not value it until you are bound,
And then is the value of freedom found.

Molestation of Pride

Although youths today indulge mostly in topics which are far removed from all the social evils afflicting our society I have emphasized here on the relevance of the moral degeneration of the society in the life of the youths who today form the bulk of our population. This article is the result of an incident that occurred on the new year’s eve. I was strolling along with my friends on the busy junction of Brigade Road in Bangalore at around 9 o’clock in the night celebrating the imminent arrival of a new year and the fireworks that accompanied it. However, the night took a sour turn when a group of local ruffians suddenly pounced on a couple of foreigners who were standing metres in front of us.  Within moments the hooligans were all around them and started feeling the girls all over. However, before anyone could react the hooligans ran off and blended with the crowd leaving the girls behind them cowering in fear and disgust. Needless to say everyone in the crowd was nonplussed to see the girls crying right in front of them. It was quite saddening to see the girls traumatised and sheltering behind their companions. However, my horror quickly turned to anger when some of the hooligans started to laugh and hoot at those poor girls. All this really created very bad taste in my mouth and our group cancelled all our further plans and we went back to our homes.

This incident begs one to think about the social evil of molestation and its detrimental effect on the victim. Acts as heinous as sexual molestation can leave extremely deep scars in the victim’s psyche which take a long time to fade. Such an incident can result in the victim losing self respect and confidence in spite of no fault of their own. For a molester such actions give them a momentary sense of pleasure and power while the victim is subjected to trauma which may well last for years. Such events cause the victim to lose faith in society and to evade contact with all strangers.

What is probably all the more lamentable is that incidents such as this are not uncommon in various parts of India. Increasingly more and more cases related to sexual harassment and eve teasing are reported from all over India. Quite shameful for a country which regards itself to be the birthplace of civilization and home to a highly evolved culture which emphasises on proper respect and treatment to your fellow human being. It’s quite disheartening to consider the level of moral disintegration that is permeating throughout the country as instances of such acts keep on surfacing.

What also probably encourages such acts is the absence of sufficient amount of security and the lax attitude of the police which allow the miscreants to walk away scot free. A severe clampdown on such crimes by the police will result in such criminals to think twice before attempting such an act.

One of the factors for the increase in such incidents has been identified as the disparity between the advancement in the technological sphere and that of the social and political spheres. While many youths today are educated and have a modern outlook and lifestyle, certain sections of the society look upon them with mistrust and identify their freedom with vulgarity.

Traditionally, India has always been a country of male chauvinists and that streak is still visible as men continue to flout the rules with impunity under the gross misconception that such acts are justified. This streak can only be cured by providing proper education to all the masses and thus imbibing them with a more liberal outlook.

Another disturbing fact to surface is the particular fondness that such miscreants have for foreign tourists in India as instances of foreigners in India getting molested are becoming quite frequent. This deals a severe blow to India’s image among the world as an extremely hospitable country to all outsiders. Such instances cause them to lose faith in the country and create quite a negative impression on them. Thus the prestige and reputation of India as an exotic country to visit has taken a severe beating resulting in loss of huge amount of revenues to Indian tourism. Shambolic, perhaps that a country which prides in the belief “Atithi Devo Bhava” which means that a guest is similar to god has to face such a crisis.

All in all, this is an issue which must be dealt with swiftly and decisively otherwise it threatens to undermine the very fabric upon which our society has been built and erode away whatever progress that has been made in our country and strive to achieve a state which can be summed by the following few words-

“   I dream of a nation where children are free to fly in the sky,

     I dream of a nation where everyone has food to eat and clothes to try,

     I dream of a nation where dreams even grown men can see,

     I dream of a nation where a woman can be whatever she feels to be. ”

Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less

Arguably one of the most popular book by Archer whose success can only be rivaled by the illustrious Kane and Abel, this book really shows why Archer is such a highly renowned author today. Its essence can be summed up by one of the notable quotes in the story “Don’t get cross, get even”. A brilliant story of deception and retribution interlaced with liberal doses of humor, with enough thrills and surprises to even satisfy an enthusiast this book will leave you with a sense of content upon its completion almost as if you are basking in the success of its characters. Harvey Metcalfe is a seasoned businessman and conman who has made a fortune through swindling other people. In a fresh venture he comes up with a fraud company called “Prospecta Oil” where he ensnares 4 unsuspecting and unrelated men through his employees and robs them of all of their life savings which is nearly quarter of a million each and himself comes clean. These men include Stephen, an Oxford college dean and Robin, a successful doctor and Jean Pierre, an art dealer and James, a young Earl. However unlike others before him Stephen decides to do something about his predicament. He approaches the other men and convinces everyone to actually devise plans to get back their money from Harvey, not a penny more not a penny less. Thus begins their enterprise where they research every habit and actions of Metcalfe in their bid for revenge. They work on their ideas in frenzy and come up with different ideas to con Metcalfe with the exception of James who feels quite lost in this whole exercise. They decide that the stage of their plans will be when Metcalfe comes to London for his annual vacation. Thus best laid plans are made and the men prepare for conning the conman. On the personal front, even as their plans progress into motion they start to bond with each other and James even meets a girl called Anne. A lot of heart in mouth action occurs as each of the men try to successfully con Metcalfe in various tense yet hilarious situations. Thus, even as everyone is on the verge of getting all their money back certain really surprising events occur that no one expected and the turn of events will leave everyone in shock. This book contains arguably one of the best endings seen in modern books and it would be advisable that you to grab a copy of this book as soon as possible to find out for yourself.

The Little Prince

If the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ is indeed true then this book undoubtedly proves that ‘innocence must surely be divine’. That’s the first thought that will come to your mind when you are through with the wonderful experience that is this book. A book that touches the heart of all who read it regardless of their age. Rarely are such eternal gems produced in any literature and its brilliance can only be experienced on undergoing the wonderful journey of this timeless tale. A story that will straightaway strike a chord with the young and make the old remember what it was like to be young and innocent again, when every fantasy seemed real and the world was beneath their feet. Sir Exupery is quite renowned for this little gem and a couple of pages into the book will make it quite apparent as to why. The story begins quite innocuously with the author illustrating about his childhood and his interest in drawings. Upon hearing about boa constrictors and their ability of swallowing their prey whole the author draws a picture of a boa swallowing an elephant unfortunately everyone mistakes the drawing to be a hat, leading to another drawing showing the insides of a boa swallowing an elephant which draws lot of flak from the elders, and thus under discouragement from all adults the author is forced to give up drawing and becomes a pilot, a profession in which he is proficient although it fails to give him real pleasure. The author crashes at a deserted place but soon afterwards comes to meet the little prince. It is at this juncture that the alluring prince is introduced in the story. The prince represents the ideal child that all people always wish of being when they were young themselves. The prince is something of an enigma to the author. He is the sole inhabitant of a tiny distant planet far away from earth where the only other living creature is the pet rose of the prince. The prince asks the author to draw him a goat but the author having since forgotten the art instead draws him something else with amusing results. This heralds the start of the friendship between the author and the prince. The prince’s banter with the author is really delightful and so is the various illustrations provided in the book. The illustrations always give the impression of being the creation of a child or an inexperienced hand give lend all the more credibility to them. The story then flashes back to the princes' journey from his planet to earth as he meets various people with their idiosyncrasies which the author really uses as an allegory to describe the different stereotypes of adults and the silly actions they indulge in. The different characters in the story are both believable and incredulous simultaneously. The prince will become a dear friend to many a people before the end and rarely would a book induce as much sorrow as this one upon the completion of this book. The story never stops to pleasantly surprise the reader with its tongue in cheek humor. Kudos to Sir Exupery as his book joins the rare list of immortal books of literature. As to quote what the author memorably says near the end – “Look at the sky. Ask yourselves: Has the sheep eaten the flower, yes or no? And you will see how everything changes…”