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Showing posts from 2010

We live in Unromantic times …

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When was the last time something MAGICAL happened to you? ... The twinkling eyes of surprise, honest eagerness, the midnight oil, the elation of possession of something awaited or the presence of a loved one and all those little things that made everyday feel like a romance with life, are lost somewhere. These are for sure unromantic times! These are times when we fail to remember the last time we felt things were magical enough to make us feel reality as only a passing and that there is something greater and better. I wish I could be there on spring afternoons when eager children awaited the keeper to go off sight, to break into a protected mango orchard, armed with self-made catapults & stones. Mango trees with branches heavy of ripe fruit - a bright pleasant sight - struck free of their weight by the children who then devour the mangoes – a fresh yellow & green. My fervent heart fantasizes the times when love letters and stolen moments captured in poetry were treasured as m

~ Pursuit of Love ~

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Oh blessed are thee, those hurt in love. Of journey’s done in the pursuit of happiness This be the noblest of them. ~ Arun Raj ~ Images from Krista - Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist

~ Dancing for Wings ~

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I danced until my heart cried Praying wings for my feet – they pained. Awaited now the flight. ~ Arun Raj ~

~ Sweet Pain of Love ~

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So blue my heart of the pain of love, That the red of my blood turns green In the envy of its displeasure ! ~ Arun Raj ~

~ Spirit Free ~

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I bathed in the light of a thousand candles. To yellow to white and to gas I turned. And now free of my body at last; I can fly beyond my human boundaries cast. ~ Arun Raj ~ March 16, 2010 Image Credits - Richard R Young

Pictures - Friends lost, Love found

Some pictures of a past Long behind - stand out! Of friends, lovers & moments Set apart by time, captured in Pictures. A cup of tea, a shared smoke, A cake smudged across faces, T-shirts worn alike or the cheap hang-outs We spent time at - all shine clear now. Oh younger we were As babies, brothers, sisters and Trying Teenagers. Unbound, unfolding like an intense book. Tears find the corners of the eyes Like a puppy to its ball. An overwhelmed heart Pumps out emotions lost. The age of each picture evident In pecks of dust gathered, The crumbles on some And the tear on others. Our faces growing older The signs of age taking over. People in our arms changing But not the love we share. Some love of a past Long behind - comes back! Of friends, lovers & moments Set apart by time, captured in Pictures. ~ Pushku (Arun Raj), 17.08.2010 ~ Dedicated to Shiju, Jikku, Pappi, Jestin, Lisha, Ashi & Albert who know me best as 'Pushku' - Love you guys :)

A Woman I knew

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I once knew a woman. Light as a feather she tread; Watching every stone underneath, As she took each step Lost in the delight Of watching her own steps take flight. I once waited for her On a busy street – eager. Around the corner I keep watching; A minute – a decade, and A second – a year, it feels, But time had lost its purpose. I once sat with her – listening keen; Of poets living from the pages Of books – worn, and words – animate. My time was now a machine; Tick-tock it did. But my heart – anew, Sang to me – ‘The beginning, the end is all here!’. I once sat to write a song about her. I strung a few words together, on a stray paper. And I wished they felt fit in her tribute. But they ran away – insecure! Into a jungle of memories; All they send back was – Special! I once sat with her across A table - uneasy between us! Something in her sent me fetching Each time I looked at her. As if my words eloped With her singing spirit. I once walked alongside her In loops around – as no end s

A New Era of Matrimony

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Aakanksha Singh, 24/05/2010 It's raining marriages recently, 16th may Delhi records ~20K marriages, Mumbai was far ahead with ~50K wow! I wonder, if all these marriages are trademark heaven, how busy god might have been with the task of paring the perfect ones, because looking at the preparations here surely Earthians drill every nook and corner of the marriage commodities market. Away from the flashy lights, a peek into the groom-bride hunt is a tiring journey in the service class community. The search is dominated caste (to be understood), family status followed by right age, educational qualifications, job status and security, physical compatibilities of skin color to boy-girl height ratios etc etc - initial screen test passed. The next scene unfolds "meeting of the prospective couple", an affirmative nod implies background search of the boy (inquiring at work place to get a general ans). Merrily the families come together and propose the marriage budget. Common middle

Love has come!

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One too many light-years it felt but , A silent drought just gave way; To a burst of misplaced happiness! A wind blew under my feet, tickling My failing senses amuck with sensations I thought lost & past revival. To spread arms and seeking to embrace each breathing And non-breathing gift - God’s mischiefs, Wished a heart that took to steps of its own! An orchestra - Violins, Bass & grand Pianos, Leave their stern conductors, to take a stance With the flutes, clarinets & trumpets in tango. The percussion, to its soul notes played Free of their maestros, in a rhythm unheard; To match each splashing drop of the impulsive rain that begun. As the world around took to its random heart steps The Gods gift the sun-pleasured earth with A stray shower sparkling in tints of pink roses & tulips yellow. A stubborn bolt of lightning, finds its way Through a lazy dark cloud, to the middle; And skid haplessly in the acoustic trance of the percussion. Smitten and their workday un-mind,

Celebrating my most treasured Women : Part 3(i)/3 – Friends

As some wise people have said, ‘Friends are family you get to chose!” I can stand testimony to this and claim that some of my closest friends are as good as Family to me. And above this, a Woman as a friend tends to be more to both man or woman than just a passing commentator on what you should do and not do. They take up every role that can be thought of – as the cushions that support your fall, as a mother that cares for you, as a sister who stands by you no matter what & a friend that fights for you. These here are few Women whom I respect for their abilities to spread hope, love and yet stand unfazed through difficulties. Rupa Bidap – Counsel, Great Friend & Cynic Extraordinaire This irreverent petite lady packs quite a punch and can easily be passed on as irrelevant, but that is until she speaks her mind out. Her calculated irreverence has the strength to overwhelm any opponent that comes within her ring of fire. Making her the perfect person to set the sails of senses int

Celebrating my most treasured Women: Part 2/3 – The Fighters of AID Prayas

Working at Prayas I have seen my share of instant gratification searching individuals. But then there have been a few people who I have worked with in the past 3+ years tenure as a volunteer for AID Prayas, whose work and value cannot be justified by words. Today on Women's day I would like to highlight some individual ladies without whom Prayas as it is today would not have been so. These ladies have all the basic traits of any woman - Compassionate, Caring, Devoted, & yet much more. Charu Garg This write up is going to give her the shock of her life but this really what i think of her. All the arguments and nonsense talk that we do apart, I have seen this lady grow in devotion to the children of Prayas and also shown a keen but dispassionate & balanced position for the activities at Prayas. Without much talk and all action I am floored by the self-driven motivation she has under the pressures she face from home and parents. Linkan Subudhi This one is a fighter lady. Wi

Celebrating my most treasured Women - Part 1 – Mom & Sisters

For me 0.001% is still hope that there is a chance of a better tomorrow. This Women’s day I wish to raise a toast and shower my adoration to the women that have given me this hope, stood for & by me as an angel when I needed support and taught me compassion. In this first part, I wish to let my hearts love flow out for my Mother & my two lovely sisters - the most important people in my life. This series of adoration will have two more parts - one for some individual women who have influenced who I am today and have been close to me and the third part will cover a few my favorite & inspiring ladies of Prayas. My Mother Oliver Wendell Holmes quote: ~ Youth fades; love droops; the leave of friendship fall, A mother's secret hope outlives them all. ~ Unlike the many ephemeral / passing statements of hope that we receive in our moments of low, as Oliver Wendell rightly states in his quote, a mother’s silent hope and devotion stands tall and gets us through the drear and dr