Woman of few words, silence is her language

But she can touch you because she can talk with her eyes...

A smile so radiant, it lit up the world

Of those around her; She loved giving it away

To those around her; For she received it back

And received much more; The joy that emanates

From the center of the heart, it then swims through out

Bringing peace and love; And this in turn she would give away

All over again...

She promised she'd be there forever and a day

And she will keep her promise come what may

Even if she would have to leave 'tween the journey to home

She'd come back like an angel; And you would know when you sense her scent so sweet

The scent that wafted from behind your neck as she sat holding you tight when you'd meet

So you'll know she is around and you'll wish that you could touch her one last time

And feel her so that you could tell her how much you love her; Something you didn't do

When the bond you shared with her was in its prime...

Listen to what she has to say, you can listen with your eyes

While she talks with hers; She smiles with her eyes

When she wants to tell you; She wants you to know, just how much you mean

To her; There are many like her that you may have met

At least that is what she believes, but you know she is wrong

She also believes that there is just one like you in her universe

And there shall always be just one like you...

Unfinished ideas weaving in my mind

Like a half done web that is washed by the rain

The ideas don't manifest themselves in the real world

A mirage of sorts they remain

I try to touch them but in vain...

******

I didn't walk towards you to walk away from you

I'm standing where I always did and I shall always

It is you who chose to retreat, move back a step or two

The blue planet, it revolves around the hot ball of fire

We, on it, believe that the sun rises and falls

It's not the sun after all, but it's us on the go

It's not me after all, its you, you should know...

******

Unfinished bounds, I see them on my shelf

The characters, still vivid, they move in my mind

How it ends for them, I do not know, though I'd like to and so they remain

On my shelf; though how it began is now a puff of smoke

I refuse to go back and begin all over

But the lack of awareness of the end, it haunts me

And thus the fate of the bounds is decided, on my shelfs forever they shall be...

******

In the silence of the morning and the darkness of the day just begun

I sip my cup of cafeh, lost in thought

That is exactly how it'd look like to the spectator

Ironically, the only spectator around is the one that I chat with

And He knows, that lost I am not

He knows that I meet Him over a cuppa each morning

And yes, a lot does happen over cafeh...

******

Inspiration can't be forced, one has to wait for it to do one a favour

O come to me from above, come and blow upon me the wisdom of Him who formed you

For if I'm not breathed upon by you, the divinity, it doesn't flow out of me,

The divinity of art; And thus I remain restless and toss, 

And I turn until I am fatigued and can fight no more.

But when you come to me in your fullness

The words they just flow, the thoughts they just form, 

An ocean of turquoise water, drop by drop

A poetry filled with emotion, thought by thought...

******

I was sand on the shore, so soft and so weak

I built my dreams and they fell like sandcastles on the shore

Then I gathered myself, grain by grain

I evolved into rock, immovable and stable

Nothing could shake me, nothing could topple me

Until you came, the sea with her waves, you with new dreams

And you made me dream till it became a habit, the sea hit the rock till she moved it

And now I long to dream again; The rock, it longs to be hit by the waves again

The waves have a freshness and spontaneity that stability doesn't have

But the sea, she has retreated, but you have retreated

Oh, you're a habit that I just don't want to break...

******

It looked so real, I could almost touch it

So perfect it was that sometimes I doubted its very existence

For perfection, it doesn't manifest itself in reality

It's like the fog that one can see but never touch

I saw the fog, it was celestial and pure

But before I could try and touch it, it disappeared

And now there is no sun, there is no fog either

But the dew drops, in my eyes, are a sign of hope that good weather shall return...

A hand shake to the hand that rocks the cradle- Happy Woman's Day!

My sincere apologies to all Venusians but I can't really grasp the ballyhoo around 8th of March. It's international woman's day, a day dedicated to women around the world. I agree that it's a privilege, one that our beloved Martians don't enjoy but that's where it ends for me. 

******

The good old stone age is a witness to how wonderfully we transformed caves of stone into homes, full of love. Evolution had its way and women came to be the official nurturers and caretakers. We perform our task very dutifully even today. The catch though lies in how we have managed not only to excel at our job but to also pull off activities that come under the Martian domain. They were meant to be providers and protectors and verily they are. But there isn't the slightest doubt about how well women have worn both hats and worn them well. A daring Barkha Dutt, a strategic Indra Nooyi, an intelligent Chanda Kocchar, an ambitious Saina Nehwal  et al are classic examples to amply prove the above hypothesis.

We multi task, juggling pots and knives, 

We're responsible mothers and caring wives;

We neglect ourselves for we're busy nurturing you,

The more you deny it the more you know it's true.

******

We live in a patriarchal society. Many daughters wish they could change this hard fact. Especially those tiny ones who weren't, aren't and won't be lucky enough to vocally express just how much they wished things would be different. Female foeticide is a crime not just against women but humanity as a whole. Alarming sex ratios indicate a scope for imbalance thus rendering females a prospective endangered specie. We're  throwing balls at nature, play with her alright, but we need to remind ourselves that it is not  balls that we're volleying but a boomerang that will sooner than we expect hit us and hit us hard. 

Talking of the right balance, many organizations today aim at maintaining organizational diversity with respect to gender. But how many of them actually take the required steps to ensure the retention of female employees. Organizations in India offer women who work for them a paid maternity leave of only 12 weeks as opposed to the whooping 47 weeks offered to their Swedish counterparts. Owing to this  most women are forced to make a choice between the personal and the professional, in the bargain giving up on their careers. Working women are active contributors to our GDP (that stay at home mom's also are is a story for another day). An understanding towards their predicament and a provision of alternatives is thus essential in order to encourage them to continue working.

******

All of us dream. But it's different when I say, girls dream. It's different because little girls grow up very fast and as they grow up they dream of the perfect husband, the perfect house, the perfect parents in law, the perfect wedding and the perfect everything. Most women realize that there is no such thing as perfect only when they find themselves being burned down to ash. Dowry related deaths are common not just among the uneducated but also the literate. In a lot of cases women themselves are involved in driving another woman onto the pyre. Is it morally and logically correct that some self described superiors of society get to decide if a few pieces of green paper are more valuable than someone's life is?

******

Indian's greet one another with the word Namaste which means 'I salute the divinity in you'. Christians regard the human body to be the temple of God. Is this body, the sanctum sanctorum of the Almighty, viewed respectfully by all. The answer is a resounding 'No'. 

Womens' bodies are irreverently portrayed, thanks to commercialization. This is common place in the media industry. A few barbarians in society take this irreverence a step further with rape and other sexual crimes. A woman is a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife, a friend and much more. Every time he rapes a woman he rapes his mother, his sister, his daughter, his wife, his friend and the sacredness of womanhood itself.

******

To every homemaker, to every bread winner, to every innocent unborn life, to every burned bride, to every woman stripped off her dignity;

Here's wishing you A very Happy Woman's Day!

Then the man said, 

"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken."

Strolling with the Saviour

You walked on water, now walk with me on sand
side by side, so close together, now walk with me hand in hand...

I walk on the shore, listening to the sea sing its song to me
I hum back and a duet ensues;
The wind whispers sweet nothings to me
And so I know You're around;
The sunshine it caresses my face
And so I know You're around.

It's a solitary walk, all think it is,
What they don't see, I sense;
I can almost feel You walking by my side
I can hear You smiling beside me;
What else could explain the peace amidst the anxiety
Like the sea, waves lashing against rock, so much unrest
But yet it looks so calm and peaceful, because You are around.

Let's create footprints, You and I, on wet sand
Let's create a bond that no one can see
For the sea will come and wash the evidence of it- our love
Let's fall in love, just You and me.

Castles in the sand, they are weak and topple
But Your home in my heart is strong
Make it stronger each day, stronger than castles of clay
Lets build it brick by brick, together.

Seagulls flying back home, returning to their abode
I long to return to mine
So call me each day, into your loving arms
A pinch of your love a day keeps me fine.

The Carpenter Boy...

He works with His tools, His hammer and His nails;
Keep trusting in Him coz He never fails...


I was walking along a long dusty path
And I passed by a workshop one day,
In it was a tall, dark and handsome young man 
With black hair and a few strands of grey.


He was working so hard on something, I saw
He had no wood under the nail;
So focussed to finish what He'd taken up,
Though He looked very tired and frail.


I had to stop by and check out His work
So I walked in and asked Him what it might be.
Strangely He looked up as soon as I'd asked
And gently He smiled at me.


His nail, I saw,  was in a crimson pool 
Yet He hammered away  without a frown;
After what seemed like ages He was done with His job
"'It's finished'", He said and sat down.


I took His hands in mine while tears flushed my eyes 
For I couldn't believe what He'd done for me;
He'd carved my name on His soft tender palms
And He'd done all of it for free.


"I'm a carpenter boy.",  He said with so much love
"And my masterpiece is you,
For the world you may be just another work of art
But for me you're just too good to be true."


He crafted His own cross and died for me;
He carved,on His palm, my name;
The world keeps changing and so do I
But my love- He remains just the same...

...but she's always a woman to me...

No, I am not the weaker one but neither am I the stronger;
I only play my roles and complete you as you complete me...

The child

Tantrums and tears, all say they are her weaknesses;

She is so full of them, no she won't take no answers;

The more you  hold her back, the more she lunges forward

And the more you quieten her, the more she screams to have her way

She needs to be understood, nurtured and cared for,

Empty promises will not pacify the babe;

The more you push her away, just passing the buck on,

The more she clings to you; So accept her with your wide

Arms, it's all she needs; A hug, love and security.

The Mother

One moment, she is a child and the very next its mother;
She nurtures the child in her, she stands up to the world
And protects the little babe, wiping its tears she teaches it,
"Be stronger my dear, for the world belongs to such,
The world, it will abandon you but I will hold on to you ,
For how can I leave a part of me to suffer and perish;
I will raise you up to be the woman and more that you're meant to be".

The Angel
There's power in her love, a power so gentle;
She has her ways of knowing that you've been all low;
Reading 'tween the fine lines that drop off your lips and
Stealing all your sorrows, she leaves back all her joy;
A joy that is scarce; But she knows she will manage
And so she smiles through her pain, a smile that knows you're happy.

The Bitch
She tries not to hurt you but sometimes she doesn't,
She intends to nick your heart and cause you pain,
She does what she does coz she knows she can do it,
And she knows she has power over what is her own,
She claims that if she's hurt you she also has loved you,
Coz she can only hurt the ones that she loves.

The Ambitious
A tigress, wounded but unyielding, she will fight the fight until her last breath;
Giving up or giving in is an option for a few;
She walks tall and aspires to be at the vanguard
But can walk back to the start line for the ones that she loves;

She's the boss, she's the painter, the writer, the maid;

But she's also the daughter, the mother, the friend

Juggling colored balls, a million and more
She makes sure she's there for all those that she loves;
In the bargain, giving herself the last of all slots.

The Homemaker
She transforms a house of bricks into a home;
A home warm with love, a sanctum of sorts;
All those who live in it are safe in her embrace;
Though The Ambitious, all out there and bold,
She tucks you into safety with a kiss and a smile.

The Woman
Girded with strength, she plays her varied roles;
So many faces and yet the same heart,
Loathe her or love her but you know you can't leave her,
For your heart will speak its heart out saying, "...she is always a woman to me..."

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised... (The Holy Bible)


Inspired by Billy Joel's She is always a woman to me

...

Inspiration is the father of art and the soul its mother, for when inspired does the soul conceive a masterpiece...

Dawn breaks; The golden gates of Your kingdom 
You set ajar for the sunlight to pour in its abundance;
Oh how brightly it shines! Your face in all its royalty;
Your gaze on Your children, burning in them a fire
That sets aflame a zeal to live a life of fulfillment that comes from You alone.

Ai Khuda, Teri sultanat humesha rahe aabaad
Uss jaanat mein bhi aur iss jahaan mein bhi
Bus itni se hai fariyaad...

Tides fall low and tides rise high;
In solitude but dignified it stands
With waves lashing against it;
Not once does it fail to do the Karma
Showing the way to those in need,
Being the light when darkness falls;
That He in His goodness should make me
Like the brave lighthouse always standing tall;
Doing faithfully its duty, asking for zilch as reward.

Beauty lies in the detail.
Life just waits to happen, ne'er does it fail;
Embracing every external as its own,
With everyone or all alone,
It keeps growing, keeps forging ahead with Him as its holy grail.

Photography: Devendra Tambe