24 Aug 2014

Yearning For Home

The wind of this land can touch nothing but my bare skin
The rain that falls softly just cools my tired limbs
Birds here sing sweetly but their language I do not know
The land my feet touches, crunches in a strange whisper

The people smile broadly here and land stretches beyond sight
The food and the drinks whet my appetite but doesn't quench the fire
My eyes keep searching for that bright array of in-congruent colors
My ears can't stop listening for those blaring horns and tingling bells

I love this land that feeds me but its not home
I love the people, the food and the warm greetings but its not home
I love the birds, the dogs and the kittens but this is not home
I can leave my body and soul here but my heart is far away, in my home




21 Aug 2014

Miles to Go

Miles have I traveled
Miles more lie ahead
Endlessly did I search
Destination never did I reach
All I wanted was to move on
Standing on the middle of the road
Now my heart yearns only for home

Having done my schooling and college life close to home, all I ever wanted was to get out of home and explore the world. And I got my wish. It was just like I had imagined - endless freedom. No one to question your odd timings or late night roaming (excluding the guard of our apartment), no one to scold you for eating maggie noodles three times a day, no one to stop you from shopping all day long, no one to censure you for staying up all night watching your favorite series. Yes, it was a time to break all rules.

But soon enough, I learned why there where rules. I learned why parents didn't want me to be out late. I learned some big lessons about health and why its important to take care of yourself. Learnt how tricky it was to manage money, how easy it is to loose track of your spending. Learnt why its important to sleep early to wake up and have a fresh start and productive day.  I learnt so much about people and even more about myself. I learnt that you might like being alone but that too has a limit. Staying alone in a house, I learnt pipes are messy things and that everything is fine until one decides to burst or get blocked. I learnt that food is important and that hunger can be painful. I learnt that money is important but more important is job satisfaction. I learnt that and a hell lot of other things.

Over the years, I have come a lot closer to being an independent woman. I have changed a few conceptions that I had, renewed a few others and completely destroyed my views on few others. I have seen a lot of people and learnt to respect people and their choices. I have understood its a mistake to judge people and the more people I meet, the more I am convinced that people are inherently good. Of all the things that I learnt, the most important lessons were about myself. Now I know, self discovery is the biggest of all discoveries. The person you see on the mirror is the puzzle that God has cleverly drafted for you. When Swami Vivekananda said that all the knowledge of the world is within you, he had a point. Never ever under estimate yourself and your abilities. Until you stretch your limits, you never know how far you can go. Until you dream big, you can never achieve it.

When I look back, I am happy with the way I have come and where I have reached. I am thankful for all the good and bad experiences that I have had. They have molded me and made me what I am today. Things that didn't kill me definitely made me stronger. Smooth roads don't make good drivers, the crooked and narrow ones do. The hardships I have faced helped me more than the good days to shape and redefine me and my core principles and values. If there is one point that I want you guys to take from this article, it will be this, " Be open to change. Life can get really tough at times but understand that its life's way of teaching you and making you a better person. some lessons have to be learned the hard way! "