The rains, the night & the yellow streetlights

Incessant rains and a long drive

Blues on the radio and yellow streetlights

Conversations long and slow

Alternating patterns of light at play

Not so strange ; in a foreign land

There I was, at 10 o'clock in the night on a London bus. On my way to a heartbreak.

The weather is London is highly favourable for heartbreaks. Cold and grey.

Lost deep in thought, I wondered where I had gone wrong. What was it that could help me save this relationship. Let him know that we were meant to be, we need to give each other some more time, we have to; knowing perfectly within, that the battle was long lost, what was left was surrender. Surrender to the dread of loneliness, guilt and the cold.

And like a scene out of the movie ' Inception', my mind jumped from stages of 'bad' to 'worse' to 'I will die alone' of brooding. A thought in a thought.

And then the bus stopped. I was on the wrong bus all along. And I knew I had to get off. Right stop or wrong. All I had to do was walk a little more to get to my stop.

And then I heard his voice. A calm, gentle kindness. 'Have faith, things will turn out fine!'

I looked up to see who it was. It was the bus driver. He had been observing me all along. It was the bus driver on the bus in London. He was a stranger. He knew I was having a bad day. He helped me heal in some strange way.

He was a stranger in a foreign land, or was he? 

New Traffic Rules

Have you heard of the new rules 'imposed' upon the vehicular & pedestrian traffic of the glorious city of Pune? Well, shame on you, if you have not! But worry not, am here to let you know. So here they are, short, simple & precise, just like we Punekars like it!  

Rule no. 1: Who honks the loudest & the longest! Yes, if you are one of these highly musically inclined types, you deserve all the privileges provided to the 'first citizen of the city'. You can overtake another vehicle from wherever and however, you choose to, no questions asked, as long as you are honking the loudest. You absolutely, do not require to use the indicator provided by those foolish automobile design engineers (unless you are one of those idiots, not honking the loudest! What were they thinking!)

Rule no. 2: If you are a woman (no offence intended to all of us female species out there, but just going by the statistics) and you are specially going to school to pick up/ drop off, your kids, or stepping out to do the groceries at this just-round-the-corner kiranawala, please do not make use of the indicator (light + sound device on your two-wheeler) to show which direction you intend to move in. This device is not meant for you to use, just like it should not be used by any 'rickshawallas' or the Rule no.1 - 'first citizen' types. Thank You. 

Rule no. 3 : Higher the head-light beam, faster you blind the others! Oh and isn't that what we want? how can anyone not realise the hidden strategy in this absolutely brilliant idea? Blind all of those people still following those old traffic rules, by turning up the head lights on your vehicles to maximum intensity and like our beloved 'light-sabers' let these cute little high beams, work their magic. Blind and rule, we say! 

Rule no. 4 : Survival of the slowest. Oh but this is and always will be 'amche Pune' - the idyllic little town, with it's meandering pretty streets, the pensioner's paradise! So, yes, we will fight to relive those memories, every time we are out driving on the city roads, by driving real slow, right in the middle of the road. Anyway, Rule no. 1 guys, need not bother, and the others, where do they have to reach in such a hurry anyway? These are the very guys, who have ruined the peace and quiet of the city! If they had to reach some place early, they should have left from home real early, and travelled and snail-slow speed, just like us, right in the centre of the road! Yes, that's how it's done!                                                                                                                       
Rule no. 5 : Only Rule for pedestrians. Please take note. Very important. You do not exist. Period. 

Monsoon Sky

What is it that is so romantic about this monsoon sky at night? No moon shining, no stars smiling and yet, this sky amazes and enchants.

These cold deep mystical colours of bruised purple and blue, so dense and so light, like a blue glass bottle caught sensual in the night.

This brazen defiance, this overwhelming envelope, the enigma that shrouds a new hope. The wild streaks of deep white clouds, scattered furiously across the myriad shades of lavender and blue.

What is it that is so romantic about this monsoon sky at night? Like a love so deep, a love so dark.

A love that consumes, and kills at last.

Last Kiss

What is it about that last kiss?

The last kiss before lovers break up, to stop loving anymore. Where, for one, the kiss is a goodbye and to the other, a heart broken.
The last kiss, where he watches you fall asleep. Running his hand through your hair, as if putting the happiness back into your dreams.
The last kiss, to the one, you know will never come back. No matter how much you love, no matter how much the pain.
The last kiss, which was the first, to acknowledge feelings that could never summon the courage to ask for more.

What is it about that last kiss?

The last kiss, which in no matter what form, is a kiss of love,
The last kiss, with all of its ifs and buts, is a kiss of love,
A love, long forgotten,
A love, betrayed,
A love, that shall always remain.

The last kiss. 

Invincible

Invincible - that's how it feels to be standing up there, beside the person, you know you want to spend your life with.
When you are walking through that sea of happy faces, teary eyes, a camera here, a flash there, you are walking towards a person who is as nervous and excited as you are. Towards someone who is walking towards you with open arms and love in his eyes, leaving behind the exact same apprehensions, that you left behind. Your eyes, all dreamy, are lost, for an instant, in the noisy, colourful wave of people, but soon return to their rightful place, to seek solace in his eyes.
All you want then, is to live in that moment, to treasure the happiness in your parents' eyes forever, to hug all those friends you have grown up with, to dance with all those cousins and relatives, young and old and to flash another smile, strike another pose.
All you want to do then, is to live in that moment, bonded for life.
Invincible - that's how it feels. 

Chandelier

Somewhere high, up above, an angel sheds tears

Heaves a cold sigh and looks down upon the Earth,

And just like that, snowflakes millions and precious

Become my chandelier.

Mirrors, crystals and reflections galore

A glint here, a flash there

A hint of moonlight,

Dark walls lit up like forests by fireflies.

Woven around a single thought of love

A dream hanging preciously,

Alone in the countless specks of glittery light

Bizarre reflections splashed across hopelessly.

Sparkling with love for a boy afar

She waits with hope, for the boy with dreams in his eyes.

The angel looks upon and smiles

And at his lips, her last tear dies.