It was a beautiful Sunday morning
A day after Christmas
Barely had I drifted
Into a gentle slumber
Full of colourful fantasies
Involving a vehicle with thousand wheels
Than I was jolted awake
By the sheer cacophony
Of my mobile alarm
It was just the crack of dawn
And it took me a minute to realise
Why I had to be up and about
At such an odd hour
That too on a Sunday
A massive trek lay ahead of us
After a hot water bath
Followed by a cup
Full of piping hot filter coffee
We were ready to head out
In a medium-sized car
After a long drive
It was time for a break
In order to recharge our batteries
With a delightful breakfast
Full of South Indian delicacies
After yet another marathon drive
Senjikottai finally welcomed us
With open arms
After exploring the Kalyana Mahal
With its artfully decorated interiors
It was time for the real challenge
The trek up the mountains
That loomed over us
It was a daunting task, no doubt
But certainly not an impossible one
Especially if we stuck together
After all, we were family
And what does family do
But stick together
Especially when presented with a challenge?
And so the climb began
Through a winding and twisting path
Full of sand and rocks
A path with more twists
Than an Agatha Christie ****** mystery
The Sun God showed no mercy on us
With every step we took
Sweat poured out in buckets
And that was not all
The steps were so uneven
That it was a miracle
To be able to cover even a hundred metres
Without slipping on the way
And there were more hurdles
In the form of monkeys
A whole family of them
Spread around the mountains
And lying in wait
To nick some food and water
From the loaded bags
That we carried
On our already weary backs
In order to keep the monkeys at bay
We additionally had to carry sticks
Thus adding to our burden
By the time we were halfway up
The sheer weight of the task
Was already beginning to tell on us
Our limbs were aching
Our palms were shaking
Our heads were throbbing
And I wanted nothing more
Than to go home
And crash on my bed
However, we were wise enough
To take short breaks here and there
During which we refuelled
Taking gulps of water
To fill our parched throats
Moreover, the view of the countryside
Was getting better and better
And it was this
That ultimately propelled us
To carry on and finish the task
So on we marched
Sweating and panting
Slipping and stumbling
But never giving up
Till we reached the very top
And there stood before us
Gingee Fort, in all its glory
With a stunning countryside
Full of lakes and hills
Trees, roads and buildings
A sight fit to dazzle
Even the most cynical of skeptics
A sight fit to melt a heart of stone
As we basked in the glory
Of an arduous and extremely tiring
But ultimately successful climb
I felt incredibly thankful
For deciding to undertake this trek
For it was one of my best moments of 2021

Now every day is a challenge

A hard-hitting task to accomplish

Morning gives me a parcel of works

Evening ceases my cognizance from me

And night…

What to say?!

Takes away my kip.

But encounters are what makes life interesting

Appending them gives me pleasure

Overshadowing them gives me eternal happiness.

Teaching your child to read
Is one of the greatest gifts
You can offer them,
Along with love of course.

Instilling a love of reading
Opens their innocent eyes to
Exploration
Excitement
Adventures  
Dreams and
Limitless
Possibilities

It enables them
To find a way
To articulate
To visualise
To create
their own magical world
Borne of imagination,
But no less real for the imagining of

Enabling them to create
A vision and a realisation
Of a whole new world
Borne of imagination
And ways of being
Of futures anew, and
Ones of their making
And choosing

The awkward silence between you and me
Is the testament of forgotten memories
Even if the past is broken into million pieces
The feeling of happiness still persists
Why is it so old friend?

Why is it that we stopped talking?
Why is it that we stopped enjoying each other's company?
Why is it that we abandoned our adventures?
Why is it that we forgot our Friendship?

Time gone cannot be brought back now
I regret not holding your hand forever
But the least we can do is solve the puzzle of our happiness
Join the pieces of our broken Memories

Accept change
with open arms,
I promise you
that the road is
not that bumpy
and that you
will be just alright