Happiness :)

If you saw the heading and thought I was giving you the secret recipe.....Apologies for the misnomer! But maybe....just maybe.....I might be close to it! You read and decide :)

Happiness :)

You wait and wait with tired eyes,
Braving sleep and hostile times;
And out of the blue, the tables turn,
After the dark, comes a beautiful sunrise!Happiness complete, true and sublime! :)

You search here and there, till no crevice is spared;
Done all you can, tried all you might;
And just when you've given up looking,
That precious something appears in sight!
Happiness complete, true and sublime! :)

You struggle through the course of life,
Single dream, goal in sight;
Failure after failure, but you continue to strive,
Till one day, achievement arrives to surprise!Happiness complete, true and sublime! :)

Far away from familiar shores,
Now embarked on a journey alone,
Memories reminiscent of good old times,
Crowd together to solace provide!Happiness complete, true and sublime! :)

No matter how hard you look,
It's something you're unlikely to find;
For elusive is that butterfly,
That wipes tears and brings smiles!
So live your life today and live it king size,
Don't search for happiness, do not weep or cry;
For eventually you shall realise,
It was all along in your mind!Happiness complete, true and sublime! :)

Till next time, from Slo, it's tally-ho :)

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

Sparkles and Crackers, Sweets and Savouries - Happy Diwali!

The secret to dispelling any darkness in life lies in lighting a lamp and spreading a smile!

'Diwali' or 'Deepawali' is here again - the occasion that epitomises this universal truth, the festival of glory, goodwill and cheer, a time of celebrations galore!

Greetings!

Auspicious beginnings, a new start,
Time to take stock, time to raise the bar;
To sparkle like the fireworks - the fuljhadi and anaar,
To rise high like them and reach for the stars!
It's a time to share and to give,
Sweets and savouries, donations and gifts;
To spread smiles and brighten lives,
To create moments to cherish and relive!

This glittering festival of lights heralds prosperity,
Upholds the power of 'good' - to lend a tinge of spirituality;
So bring out the mithai and ring in the festivities,
Its time to wish everyone a Happy, Sparkling and Safe Deepawali!

Till next time, from slo it's tally-ho!

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

An ode to a Beautiful Woman!

She spread a smile everywhere she went,
And touched the life of everyone she met;

Her heart was a bottomless valley of love,
Of kindness and affection, she was a treasure trove;

She led by example, and with grit,
Made a difference with everything she did;

She never shared her pain, nor her troubles,
She fought her darkest battle, without a grumble;

And today she's here no more, but her memory lives on;
She has left us in person but will never really be gone.

Amen

Some people are in our life for a seemingly short while. But they land up teaching us some of life's greatest lessons.

Sometimes we begin to realise that people who are taken away from us too soon, are probably taken away because God loves them too!

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

There are people.....and then...there are PEOPLE!

This poem is dedicated to 'someone' who once told me a line, probably in a different context -a line that has since stayed with me forever........the line is the title of this poem and this post!

There are people.....and then....there are PEOPLE!

They come into our life like warm sun rays,
They change our life in unexpected ways;
They bring a gleam of magic, a fragrance that stays,
Light up our life and brighten up our days!

Some come early, some come late,
Some change us, some themselves change;
Some stay forever, a part of life innate,
Some detach mid-way, but timeless memories create!

Every thought of them brings a smile to the face,
The knowledge of their being, brings comfort and solace;
Their care and understanding serve as a mainstay,
Of a precious relationship, that may or may not have a name!


Truly, some people are special beyond compare,
They are one in a million, unique and rare;
Some are for a moment, some are for a life,
But each one of us has our bunch, making life worthwhile!

Till next time, from slo, it's tally-ho :)

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

Hope, Will and maybe something more :)

You can read this and decide whether it is poetry or prose;
I'd like to believe it's a mix of both!!!

Without beating around the bush, here's a poem I didn't compose intentionally......I just started it and then it completed itself......words just flowing one after the other.
I racked my brains for a possible title and finally landed up with this one - sometimes creative juices dry up you know!!! So here's an assigment for loyal readers of my blog - looking forward to alternative titles that could have probably summed up this poem. For now...the poem itself!
The Strength of Hope; The Might of Will……..
He was all geared up, charged like never before,
Braced his mind for the race, till he heard the whistle blow;
His feet lifted off the ground, sprinting towards the finish line,
And then he fell, his hopes dispelled, kinked his vision sublime.

He lay motionless on the ground, eyes brimming with tears,
As he watched his contemporaries racing ahead, his bleeding legs seared;
He opened his eyes to a sterile smell, surrounded by those he loved,
The cruel turn of fate, heavy on his mind, his heart with pain engulfed.

He put on a brave face and a phony smile, trying to appear proper and prim,
But the worst was yet to come, he knew not what had befallen him,
As he rose, he felt the pain shoot, where his legs had once been;
The tears just flowed, he was stumped, shuddered at what he had just seen.

He looked into the eyes of those who dismally stood,
Wanting to help, not knowing how, praying all they could.
He looked up to the sky, one question in his searing head,
'After all, Why?', was all he could ask but he chose silence instead.

Days passed, months elapsed, he was now confined to a wheelchair,
Here was the man who'd seen the Olympic dream, now doomed in despair.
More than a year had passed, since the event that blackened his life,
At last there came a morning, that brought him a gleam of light.

Prosthetics was the saviour, that would soon bring back his freedom to move,
But more importantly, his hopes were enlivened; his misery finally doomed!
Things happened fast, he was wheeled briskly in, the surgery lasted long;
But when he returned, he'd got his legs back, he felt truly re-born!

A massive struggle now gaped at him, the fight to once again run,
He found himself learning how to walk, and knew the journey had just begun;
But now his hopes were on a new high, he knew his moment had finally come,
For he'd just won a lost race, the tables had once again turned!

The big day arrived, the day for which he'd toiled so hard,
Learnt to walk, and then to run, and then to run fast!
He was all geared up, charged like never before
To make this race count, to make it one victory more!

He walked over to the podium, to collect his Gold,
His victory had all the makings of a story untold;
Hope gave him the strength, his will steeled his core,
The Olympic dream was finally a dream no more!!
Till next time, as always - from slo, it's tally-ho :)

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

Sands of Time!

At long last, a revival to the blog with a small poem on the most elusive resource of all time - TIME! After all, isn't it what all of us crib about some way or the other - "Why is my 'time' so bad?!!", "When will this misery end?", "Why can't this moment continue forever!", "Oh those lovely days.....what amazing times....will they ever come back??!!", so on and so forth.......Maybe.....just maybe.....the answers to those questions are here in this poem!! Sit back and dwell on it.........and don't forget to tell me what you feel!!!!!
Sands of Time...... Watch the golden sand, glittering in the daylight;
Granular little crystals, being blown away by the wind's might.
Some onto another patch, as near or far as can be;
Some into the sea, to be deposited on another beach!
Day after day, the sands drift and fly,
In due course, travelling far and wide;
Sometimes by day, sometimes by night,
In stormy cyclones or in breezy delight!
Soon enough, another gust blows mercilessly by,
And the poor molecule finds itself back in time;
Where it earlier passively lay,
Waiting for the wind to blow it away!
Seconds fly, minutes roll by, before we know it, day melts into night.
Events of the day are absolved, yet some moments get etched into the mind!
Good days and bad, merry moments and sad, all come around to a converging point;
Before we know it, life comes a full circle, and the journey seems to have been, after all, a joyous ride!
Till next time, from slo it's tally-ho!

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

Fear of the Unknown...

An infant's insolence to danger,
Characterised by his aimless sprint;
Ignorant of pain, trauma and defeat,
He flings caution to the wind!

As he falls, as he bleeds,
He feels the pain, raw and deep;
And as he is caught in the clutches of defeat,
His senses tremble, his heart turns meek.

As he grows, memories of the suffering linger,
They cloud his mind and he avers danger;
He presupposes trouble, generates negative vibes,
And foolishly fails, even before he tries!

This fear of the unknown cripples most of us,
In spite of our innumerable strengths, this fear makes us weak;
As, unfortunately, we fail to realise that, The cave we fear to enter holds the treasures we seek!

F.E.A.R. - a four-letter word that stands for an emotion we all experience at some point in life. Fear of heights, fear of water, fear of flying, fear of closed spaces, fear of reptiles, fear of death, fear of new people and places……so many different kinds of fears, each given a name of its own….Acrophobia, Hydrophobia, Aerophobia, Claustrophobia, so on and so forth.

All these fears/phobias have their roots in our head. And each of us is enslaved by our fears. Till we learn to overcome them that is!

I am sure there is something that all of us are afraid of. But there is a common thread that binds most fears. It is – the fear of the unknown. (Or in some cases, fear stemming from one bad experience) How many of us have feared trying, feared defeat, feared loss, feared pain and hence lost opportunities or worse still, our confidence?

While I’m no psychologist who can rid you of your fears (I have fears of my own to deal with!), yet I can say this much from experience – YOUR FEAR CAN LIMIT YOU ONLY TILL YOU TRY! (Golden words from self anointed Saint Sloka!!!!!!)

Till next time from Slo, its Tally-ho!

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

Japan......Our Hearts go out to you :( :(

26th December 2004 was a gloomy day for the world, for it saw one of the gravest natural disasters of our time....and probably the most unprecedented ever in magnitude. Cut to 11th March, 2011 - 6 years forward - Japan is the latest victim of Mother Nature's wrath.

Our hearts go out to the poor souls who lost their lives and equally to those who live to suffer the misery that the calamity has left them to deal with.Words can never heal as well as time and at this juncture, the only thing we as a world have to offer to our Japanese brothers and sisters is our unstinting support, heartfelt prayers and true solidarity.

On that note friends, I'd like to share a mildly revised edition of one of my earliest published poems ever - written in early 2005 and as apt at this moment.

IN MEMORIAM

THE DEADLY DEATH WAVE......

A gloomy morning it was,
The sun was nowhere to be seen;
The skies were dark and so were the seas,
The atmosphere was unlike it had ever been.

Somewhere deep down,
In the womb of Mother Earth,
Something exploded, something shook
With all its might and mirth.

Those who were on the seashore
Saw it swell, up and close;
But never returned to tell us,
What they saw and froze.

Those who were at a distance,
Saw the sea recede;
It went so far behind,
Its abysmal depth could be seen.

As fast as they could,
People tried to escape.
They ran helter-skelter,
And fervently hoped and prayed.

And then they saw it coming,
It was scary and huge.
Instantly, they knew it was a death wave,
But they had no refuge.

The 'water wall' got closer and closer,
People were going mad.
They knew their end was near,
And they knew it was going to be bad.

The sea that had receded
Came thundering down on them.
Mighty as the death wave was,
Many of them succumbed.

And then it ran into the city
To swallow in its wake,
More people and buildings,
And all that the quake could rake.

Many never returned,
But the few of them who did,
Told us of the torture,
They suffered to have it rid.

For so many now,
Life and survival is a bane.
They lost their family and all they had,
ALL IN A SINGLE DAY.

I can say without a doubt,
The Tsunami that struck
Was a death wave that killed many
And left many more dumbstruck.

And now we can only wish and pray,
That soon arrives a New Dawn;
And never may the deadly death wave,
Strike to fury spawn.

Amen.

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

Morning Inspiration!

Early morning, I have discovered, is MY time of the day! Certain nights when sleep is elusive and thoughts superfluous - 3am is when I finally give up trying to sleep and set to put those thoughts down to paper (or in some cases to the cell phone!). The following poem is a result of one such night spent tossing and turning in bed and that of ringing in the day looking out of the window!

A Daily Surprise!As the golden sun rises on the horizon,
Its shining rays dispelling the dark;
I wake up to a new day,
To new dreams and opportunities, to a reignited spark.As the velvet blanket of stars,
Gets shrouded by frothy clouds;
I wake up to a bounce in my step,
A leap in my heart and a host of uplifting sounds.
And as a pristine flower blooms,
Petal by delicate petal;
I watch yet another blessed day unfold,
Before my starry eyes.And as I set out to face the world,
And its myriad challenges today;
I spare a moment to thank the Lord,
For this divine daily surprise!
Overwhelmed with the results of my early morning inspiration, I recall texting this entire poem to a bunch of dear friends. So to some of you, this post may not really hold any new thoughts! Nevertheless, I could think of no other poem that I wanted first on this new blog as I have always seen morning as a fitting metaphor for change, beginnings and promise which is what this blog holds!

So for now, from slo, it's Tally-ho!

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P.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission

New Beginnings!

New is always exciting and change always challenging! As we step into 2011, I've gifted myself a new domain on the web to express my 'Opinions, Thoughts, Ideas and more'......

.......And all of you are cordially invited to share this domain with me - to contribute, to discuss, to rebut and contradict. A freewheeling discussion with no holds barred has always been my best pastime. So friends, help me make this blog more interesting with your comments and your 'Opinions, Thoughts, Ideas and more'......

Hope to bring this blog alive with regular interesting posts!

My earlier blogs/posts can be read on http://slo-sugarspiceneverythingnice.blogspot.com/ which will always remain my pride as it's where I caught the bug of blogging and discovered the joys of putting my thoughts up for rebuttal! Certain relics of that blogging experience will continue to flow into 'slokasays' as well, chief among them being 'tally-ho' as I can not think of a more cheerful way of bidding adieu!

So for now......from slo, it's Tally-ho!