Purani (Old) Jeans

 Purani Jeans

I used to scoff at wearing jeans,

Formal clothes were more my scene.

But one day, while searching in my wardrobe,

I found some Purani Jeans, my thoughts untoward.

Blue and purple, the colors they were,

Hardly worn, almost a blur.

I tried them on, to my surprise,

They fit like a glove, no compromise.

I found some shirts, they matched so well,

I wore them out, not at all compelled.

Now I wear them to the market with glee,

Comfortable in jeans, who'd have thought it'd be me?

Purani Jeans my newfound love,

Comfortable as clouds above.

No longer shall I be bound,

In these jeans, I have found my ground.

My friends suggest I wear them more,

But they haven't seen me, that's for sure.

Away on a tour   , away from scene,

But when I return, my jeans they'll have seen.

Father dear Father

 Amidst life's trials, my Dad stood tall,

Each obstacle faced with grit and gall, No grumbling nor discontent did he show, His strength and resilience would always glow. Challenges came, but he didn't falter, His best effort he'd always offer, Through his unwavering attitude, I learnt to be strong and self-assured. Inspired by his unwavering grace, I faced life's hurdles with a steady pace, For my Dad's spirit shall always live on, In the fearless heart of his beloved son.

The Mango Tree, the Birds and the Water Bowl

Shifting to this small new house in the heart of the city was pleasant. Moreover, it was enchanting to see greenery everywhere. Our house is on first floor. Our downstairs neighbor has an exquisite Mango Tree. The branches and leaves of the mango tree engulf our balcony. Early morning various birds like the sparrows, pigeons, parrots, crows, woodpecker and many other birds chirp to wake me up from sleep. Each summer delicious mangoes hanging on the tree makes a picturesque view.

My family members and I would leave little food for the birds to feed on the parapet of the balcony. All problems started this summer, when I received a sms requesting me to leave a water bowl for the birds, due to the scorching heat. Every day I would fill a small water bowl with water and leave it for the birds to drink, after eating the tidbits.
Firstly, the crows then the other birds, then the pigeons and lastly the sparrows would come to drink water and after few intervals, I would change the water. I was feeling very happy about this ritual as, I thought that I am also doing something for the environment. However, all this ended when one day in the afternoon, I saw a crow dipping a dead rat in the water bowl. This made me furious. I shooed the crow away; fortunately, he took the dead rat away with him and I threw the water from the water bowl. Next day, all the birds came as per their daily routine and they had no water to drink. They were chirping and twittering but I was adamant. For two days, the birds were cheeping loudly. On the third day, I decided to place the water bowl for a short duration and was watchful for the crow. Slowly the number of birds approaching to drink water diminished.


However, the crow was equally unwavering. He would come every day at the designated time and croak. The other day I saw the crow drinking water from the potted plants or sometimes dripping water of our cooler tank.

THE EVENING WALK

As the sun is setting,
The birds are chirping,                 
The sky graying
The shadows are appearing,
 I go walking, walking ,walking.

Recently I decided to go for evening walk to a near by park. Sliding into track pants and walking shoes, I would go regularly for the same. There is a skating ring in the park .On Monday to Friday at a designated time a skating instructor would come and Instruct his young students the skills of roller skating. His students are young boys and girls accompanied by their mothers. The Mothers of the student take a walk in the circular trail of the park as their ward are skating. As I am also on the circular trail, I observed that most of the people are walking in anti – clockwise direction while some very few others like me are walking in clockwise direction. As I move on the trail. I meet the same people again and almost every day it is a habit. There is one short lady talking to someone on her cell phone headphones attached to her ears, there are a group of old ladies walking and chatting away to glory. A regular , old man who is swaying as he is walking. There is a woman who drives to the park which her little daughter her nanny, a goody bag for her toddler and a tricycle. A group of boys play cricket. Some children from the nearby slums come and sway on the branches of the trees. The beat constable is busy looking for any suspicious characters.

However, the weekends are dull as the skating instructor has an off, so his students and guardian do not come.

As I move around the trail, I feel clam and de stressed. Evening walk has become a habit.

This is a scenic description of my evening walk.

GAYATRI MANTRA

OM,
BHUR BHUVAH SVAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM,                           
 BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAAHI,
 DHIYO YO NAH PROCHODAYAT.

Gayatri is the 'Blessed Mother 'of Vedas
Gayatri Mantra - develops purity of mind

Meaning of each word of mantra
OM - Para brahma
BHUR- Bhu loka ( physical plane)
 BHUVAH - Antariksa ( sky)
 SVAHA- Swarga loka( celestial region)
TAT - Paramatma
SAVITUR - Ishvara ( surya)
VARENYAM- fit to be worshipped
 BHARGO- remover of sins of Ignorance
 DEVASYA - glory ( jnana swaroop)
DHEEMAAHI - we meditate
 DHIYO - buddhi ( intellect)
YO - which
NAH - our
PROCHODAYAT - enlighten

Meaning Of Gayatri Mantra

Let us meditate on Ishvara and his glory, who has created the universe, who is fit to be worshipped, who is the remover of all sins and ignorance, may he enlighten our intellect.

It is also called the universal mantra.

Bitter gourd (karela)

The other evening I went to the market to fetch vegetables. The price of each vegetable was nothing less than rs.40/kg. After buying the required vegetables and muttering to my self about high inflation of the necessary commodities, I heard a poor looking vegetable seller, standing with his wares under a tree, coaxing me to buy karela. My hands were full; moreover, none of my family members really enjoyed eating them. Feeling sorry for him, I marched away. Suddenly he pleaded that the karela’s were for Rs.10/kg. I returned and asked him to repeat the price. I could not believe that the fresh looking karela’s were so economical. I was tempted to buy few but did not have enough change, so I decided to buy 1 kg. After buying the bitter gourd, I was very contented. What do I do with them I thought? I was also terrified of my mom’s wrath of seeing so many karela’s. I thought now whole week I will be eating only the bitter gourd. Once I reached home, I told my mom that the karela has been so economical and explained the situation to her. She said doesn’t matter and that it should be cut into round shape and dried in the sunlight, so that they can be preserved with salt and eaten after frying . As am typing my blog my ‘sweet’ bitter gourd are basking in the sun of summer of May.

THE LONG CAR

I do not remember when this particular incident happened; it may have been few years ago. At that time I was using local bus or auto, as mode of transportation. I used to prefer a bus because bus being higher than an auto, the levels of oxygen supply to my lungs was far better in a bus, moreover it didn't make my pocket lighter. One fine day one of my friends 'A' invited me and another friend 'B' to her new office. After spending a nice afternoon with them, my friend A, being very generous told us that her official car could drive her two friends to a common destination. Since my friend 'B' and I had to go very far, both of us happily agreed.


After thanking and saying good bye to our friend 'A', My friend 'B' and I sat in the long car (am very poor at recognizing cars) and started chit chatting. However, suddenly I started feeling claustrophobic and giddy. The air conditioner of the car was working properly but I felt that I was not able to breathe. I wanted to get out the car and hop into my regular transport i.e. bus. I did not tell my friend 'B' about my misery. At last, I reached my bus stop, I jumped out car, I completed rest of my journey in the bus and I was able to breathe again.

As soon as I reached home my friend, 'B' phoned me to ask me about my strange look in the car. I complained to her about my being claustrophobic in the Long Car. My friend exclaimed and said that the Long Car was a Merc.