Today mom is in pain
It feels like my own.

I cry and fret
But she is far away...

When I talk to her
She is happy for my advancements
And prays for
Her grandson's wellbeing...

I yearn
To run to her
Alleviate

And want her to lean
On me again...

With spring, have come in
Many welcome changes

New beginnings
Chapters closing
Doors opening
On creaky hinges...

I am happy
As happy can be!

Friends cheering us on,
Dropping in.

Birds singing
Flowers blooming...

Happiness happening
In little twinges!

God, do bless us...

Heart singing
Winning accolades!
Sun shining
Unforgettable days!

Friends getting together
Rainbow anticipated...
Cheerfulness overflowing
Breath bated...

Domes and imposing buildings
Canals and fairytale brasseries
Magic Christmas markets
          Crepes and hot juice
Lights and colors
Cobbled streets and
Quaint countryside houses

Majestic mountains
Murmuring rivers

People who speak
Hesitant and lovely,
loving English...

Europe in winter
Is too much!

Flowers bloom
And likewise,
Everything has turned beautiful
All around me...

My new house
Is like a flower in bloom...
I touch it
And it opens up
Into secrets and mysteries
Yet to be built up
In its walls and cabinets
In its corners and drawers
In the pictures yet to be hung
In the mirrors reflecting...

I am revelling in it
And it talks to me.

We are very busy
Preparing for reno
Of our old new house
And I am loving it!

Then comes the vacation-
We will see new countries
In Europe
And I am immensely excited!

Then we go to India
Meet relatives, friends
Exchange news...
It is that warm feeling...

Then we come back
And move into
Our new home
And be with you all
Once again...

Can life
Be better than this?

What are your rainbows?

Days are sweet
With an interplay
Of sun and clouds...

Nights are beautiful
With the super moon
And moonlight...

TV is disturbing
But music is soothing.
Listen to more music.

Winter is approaching
But there is Christmas
At its wake!
So stay cheerful!

We have travels in front of us...
Feeling excited about it
But will miss home
And all of you...

But I will only be gone for a month.
So let us rock on!

The sun did come up bright today
After the dark election
And we did go grocery shopping...

Though it rained
The immediate day
Next to the announcement
Of the results...
God was sad too...

The baton has been passed on
And let us see
How well he runs...

Be alert
And keep smiling
The world is not
Coming to an end...

Be ready to voice your opinions
On whatever happens
Now onwards...
Do not cry.

God is listening
And everything
Will gradually
Turn okay.

The painting thing
Did not happen
And I was in tears...

Life goes on
You have to try harder...

Have not been able to
Resume my biking lessons
After the fall
And I am feeling bad about it...

Life goes on
You have to try harder...

The days are so beautiful
You simply have to smile
And think of the good things
That are also happening...

You have to smile
And acknowledge
That God is working full time...

And keep moving on!

Today is a day
Full of expectations-
I am expecting news
Regarding my paintings...!

My singing
Is going on okay
So is my writing,
As you know...

Life is full
And will be fuller
Come December
When we will get possession
Of our new house...

I am overcoming
Hurts and obstacles...

God did drop
That flower petal
On my head!

Life is going on
At its usual pace

With great promises
Of a golden future
The foundations of which
Are getting laid...

Some near ones arriving
To start the process
Flowers blooming in hordes
In my garden...

The days sunny,happy,
And me excited at times,
And content at others!

Has the storm passed over?

It is this tug -of -war
Which goes on
In this world...

Sometimes it is love
Sometimes self interest
Sometimes prayers
Sometimes cries...

Have seen life
From very close quarters-
It is not always
Designed by you.

There are forces
Which might overcome
At a weak moment...

There are forces
Which are strangers
Yet lend you support
To find support
In return...

And there are powers
Without which
You cannot survive...

Life is a medley
Of pleasant
And unpleasant
Make the most of it!

It was exhaustion
These last few days...

Exhaustion after celebrating,
After experiencing
A lot of joy
And acute pain...

After finding God amidst us
After having to give in to destiny
         Even after putting up a brave fight...

You feel grateful
You also feel helpless.

It is all
God's divine design
Which is played out
With the help of
Our efforts, our victories, our failings.

We have to put in
Our best efforts, our best fights.
And God will shower
The final flower petal
Upon our heads
As her blessing.

Our annual
Puja- worship days are here!

We worship a goddess
Who kills an evil demon
And spreads prosperity.

In India
This worship goes on
For ten days
With drumbeats
And sweetmeats.

In America
Indians congregate
And pray to the goddess
For several days...

May the goddess
Spread joy
Throughout the world

May she **** the demon
And once again
Let humans prosper!

Life has been
This roller coaster lately...

Frenemies sharpening their knives
And friends lending their shoulders.

One night it is this
Grand dinner with ground turkey
The next night
It is with bitter gourd...

Getting boundless love
From all quarters
And then getting hurt
From some corner...

Always remember
That this is enriching,
A process of never ending growing up,
Of evolving...

Embrace love
Embrace hate, as well.
Every time you do so
You grow into
More of a human being!

Waiting for Gus
To return from work.
Zillions of thoughts
Flitting through my mind
Now, at dusk...

Some good, cheerful
Some bad, saddening.

My son comes home for the weekend,
Tomorrow
My mom-in-law's birthday
Is today,
I sometimes miss her...

The goodness of people
Crosses my mind
And also the hurt,
Which was inflicted...

Had it been all hurt
And no love,
The all erasing, all encompassing love,
Would I have existed
To tell my stories?

Where are your stories?

Being in love also
Is a many splendored thing.

Radiant,joyous,oxygen.
Repeatedly felt kernel of life...

Once you meet it
You can't live without it.

It beats with your heart
Breathes with your lungs...

Delve deep into it
And scoop up
The delight
With which
It lights up all your moments!

So many things
Have been happening
These last few days...
I have kept busy.

Busy with day to day errands
And pursuits
Day to day misfortunes
And pieces of happy!

Went to Walmart
And went to a Jazz festival!
Fell down from my bike
And Gus treated me to almond milk cold coffee!

It has been
This whole bundle of
Contrary things
Which have made up
My moments
Of these recent days...

I am happy
Because every grey cloud
Has shown me
A silver lining!
Did you find yours?

It is one of those days
When I am done with my chores early

I am relaxing
Writing
And listening to music,
Sipping iced tea...

In the evening, though,
I know that when
I would switch on the TV
There would be
A lot of noise.
Regarding the Presidential race...

But also, some
Very appealing entertainment.
A little loud,sometimes
But nice...

So my day rolls on
While I recover
From my biking wound,at home
With some noise
And some idyllic nuances...

I am lucky.
Do you count your stars?

I am learning
How to ride a bike
And am spinning
A lot of dreams...

With the
Coasting and stops
As practice
During the initial lessons

I am coasting
The beaches and the woods
On my bike
With Gus and son
Following close by...

My splendid bike
Can be folded and kept aside
As I do
With my dreams each night
And go to sleep

Wake up every morning
Looking forward to
Another practice session
Of
Rushing and stopping...

Went to Canada on a vacation...
Thousand Island Park
Ottawa
Toronto
Niagara...
Very nice trip, by road.

Peaceful,serene,
Interesting,happy.
Meditated,
Met friends,relatives
Were adventurous...

Came back
And son went back to the dorms.
Was recovering
When one of my plants
Almost died.
Am still sad.

As I said earlier,
It comes in packs of two:
Happiness and sadness.
Be prepared!

Finally the hollyhocks
Bloomed in my garden!
Very auspicious, very joyful,
Very pink!

We are aboard the ride
To settling down, very soon.
May life, bloom out.

Son is on his way
To graduation.
May we see him in full bloom...

"May a hundred flowers bloom"
May this earth,
Become a happy garden!

I play classical Indian music on my speaker
At dusk when I am
Done with my chores
And am taking some rest...

That spreads harmony
Throughout the house.

Likewise, listening to chantings
And the story of God
At the weekends
When you are done with work
Spreads harmony in your soul...

Promote harmony.

Life is spread
Like a rainbow across the skies now
I am happy...

Son has to go back to his dorm
I will be sad...

It comes
In these combo packages.
Make good of them.

A new day has dawned.
I have to laze in the morning
Water my plants
Cook
Exercise
Feed my son when he is back from college
Go out do a little bit of groceries
Come back, sit and write
Paint and sing...

But all days do not go in the same fashion.
Some days are disorganized
And there is a sadness to it...
I am sad when I think
Of things which go wrong

In life,in others' lives, in the world...

I know that
We have to spend effort
To correct them

And look towards God
To bolster our efforts.

The world would surely go right again.

Had Lindt chocolate the other day
And pistachio ice cream the day before
With my family.

The little children
At the impoverished crèche  in Kolkata
For which we chip in
Were too far off
For me to share it with them too...

They would have loved it!

So I resolved
To treat them to chocolate
When I visit them in winter...

But how do I get them Lindt?

Balloons fly into the air
Kites swirl in the cloud
Spirits soar high above the world

When friends come in
And the glasses ******
Clear and loud.

They make you happy
They declare you are fair
They make you feel as beautiful
As a red rose in black hair...

Shakespeare-in-the-Park.
Troilus and Cressida.

A tale unfolded
Before our eyes
Which proclaimed
The power of true love
And told of two innocent souls
Which yearned for one another.

And of war
Of disaster
Of loss
Both going hand in hand.

Love overcomes.
But war makes everyone
Overcome with anguish...

Victory and tears
Is that God's design?

Sadness rises
From the preceding moment
The preceding day, the night before
And goes on till
The next moment this day
It spreads like a cloud
Over all activities
And it rains from your eyes
Till the people
Who had gone out on work
Come in, smile, and hand you the tissue.

I chat
With my cleaning lady...
Her victories
Her glories
Her sorrows...

She is a brave lady
And a joy
To interact with

Her kids are her pride
She is a model mother
Working very hard
For her children.

May she, and her like
Always thrive...

Our tickets have been bought
For a Europe tour.
I am dreaming and imagining
Imagining and dreaming!
I am that excited.

But then
Paris and Nice and Munich
Come to remind me
That I have to carry the flag
To urge.

No more ruthlessness
No more unmercifulness.

Would people notice and read
My flag?

Would our tickets
Lead us on into the
Kingdom of light, one day?

Last week for us
Was movie week.

Travelled the galaxies
And travelled the world.
Star Trek and Jason Bourne.
We were transported.

Gus went to work
This weekend
So we were home bound, doing chores.

We always have to
Strike a balance
Between reality and feeling
Between love and the outcome

We have to accomplish
And be on watch
Peril beckons
We have to outlast.

Dream on
Act on...

And then in Germany
And in Japan

The madness goes on...

Would taking human lives
Dissolve the pain
That we are told
You were victims of?

Would causing more pain
Alleviate it?

Pray, listen to your hearts!
Said I...

Today,
The worlds came together
When I met
My far flung friends.

We laughed
And had lunch together
And it seemed as if
The whole world was vibrating
To the same wavelength.

All of us who inhabit
This planet
Are such friends.
And when we laugh
It resonates
With God's laughter!

Friends dropped in
And my house
Was glowing!

Settling down
More and more
Happiness is growing

How can I
Not love this country
When sadness
Is abating
Grief is slowing
               Down?

When grave things
Get me wondering
When sad things
Get me down
I know it is better
To smile them off
Than it is to frown

Coz I find a way out
When I smile
When I hold back tears
They can't make me drown

So let us keep smiling
Let the sunshine shine on
Cheering up
The whole town!

My rooms
Are now
Full of sunshine
And sunflowers!
I am as happy
As happy can be.

We are planning
To go to the beach one day
And go for a picnic
Soon after, possibly.

The people
All around me
Make everything
Materialize
Very pleasantly...

I am happy
Because they are there
I am happy
Because I am me...

When I travel
Far and wide
When I
Stay at home
I carry with me
Those whom I love
Those whom I call my own

Those whom I have
Seen but once
Those of whom I have
Only heard
Even they are all
Connected to me
Even they can
Hear my call.

The whole world
Is but a
Single creation
And we are
Never alone...

Blue skies
Pink skies
Grey skies
Red skies

All overlooking

Our destinies
Our actions

Our sorrows
Our resilience

Our joys
Our sharing.

It is as if
Lives which go
Get drawn
From our very bodies...
That is
How much
It hurts!

Days are
Bright and hot
The nights
Cool and breezy.
Conducive
To dreams...

City is
Witness to
Helplessness and poverty
Prone to
Gun violence and craziness
Conducive
To action

Let us live the world
Embracing both.
Make it wholesome.

We are a
******* now
Living together
After ages.

Me,my son
And my partner.

How can I describe
The joy
When I
Pack sandwiches
And strawberries
For the two of them
Together!

The leaves
Tremble on trees
Like when
Dew drops fall on them

The bees
Hum and hover
Like when
Flowers arrive on a stem

When I go and pray
With a flock of people
And God says he is happy
He says I shall stay...

Bangladesh
Is a tiny little country.
Our neighbor.
People got killed.

Because?
They were brave?

When
Innocent lives
Get scattered
As ashes
Over the
Oceans and the mountains

Does the planet
Give rise to goodness?

Back and forth
Between two nations

Both great
Both beautiful

Cannot choose
Between one or the other
So will keep
Going on
Back and forth

Till I slow down...

Our life
Made beautiful by travels
The thrill
Down our spine
When visions unfold
In lands unknown
Made known
By discoveries.
We thank God
That such treasures
Still exist.

The land of kings
Still holds its head high
The treasures still
Tell tales
The people are still happy
With their
Pink and blue cities
And those who visit
Following the trails
Discover joy!

Thoughts alternate:
Happy,
Not so happy...

Everything alternates.
Nature, Life,
When
there is sadness,
we have to know

Happiness
will come
knocking at our door
Very soon.

When we look
At life
Which is beyond
The everyday
Struggles

It is
Beautiful and vast
And unified

It is
One with God
As the earth
Is one with
The sky
In the horizon

Take a
Few moments
Each day
To feel it
And to
Touch the feeling.

It will
Surely
Make you
Happy!