PurplePitara

THE NIGHT This was an impromptu which happened on a chilly night while tending to my little tot. When the babble of the day subsides, She speaks,                                                                                               Have you heard her? For a thousand volumes in a million language does she speak. The silent night speaks. She speaks through the eyes conversing silently through the windows, The two lovers silent, yet a lot said. She speaks through the silent...

Remenscing those days, When we all used to be in two coloured dress, Cares and worries were simple, Will the question paper be lengthy or ickle,  Rulers of the corridor, mischievous mongers and what not they used to call us all, Physics, chemistry, math, bio never bothered us et al. Hoggers of the tiffin were we, All the dabbas empty by period three. Sitting in the bunkers paradise, Having fun and imagining the future bright, All of a sudden running to the class nearby, Principal on the rounds, oh my my! I wonder now,  Will that place be still as it was, Will ‘Bunkers Paradise’ be written in blue chalk like it was ages ago. The tubelight which we broke by playing cricket with bio journal in the room, Does the loft still hold its broken pieces and the broom Which clinked when pigeons walked And all the while we smirked. Or do the benches still have scribbled names, formulas and  secret games. Do the students still bribe the wat...

It is that part of life when, I am tied up with kids and you with work. I remember those carefree college days, the days after we got married. We had all the time in the world to ourselves. The career had just started so work was also not much. Then,Nishka came into our lives and our time got divided. Gradually work and career also started taking its peak. Then came another angel, Rudra. Now, kids are out priority, and I am totally claimed by them. You too are claimed by them and work. But this, too, shall pass. Soon our little fledglings will fly into their own nest and soon it will be just the two of us again. And we’ll cherish and live and clock in on what we are unable to now. What we had was beautiful and what we have now is even more beautiful. I know sometimes I get upset and annoyed that you don’t have time, I know that even though you wish to spend time with me, work pressure gets you and inspite of wanting to, you cannot do anything about it. So this is to us, and to others...

JOY OF GIVING It was a hot mid-April afternoon and Isha was hanging clothes in the balcony, cursing her maid for taking a day off for no reason. She lived in a flat on the first floor and her balcony overlooked a huge empty ground. She somehow enjoyed standing in the balcony and gazing at the ground for a long time. She felt that that ground had a little world in itself. There were many stray animals there dogs and pigs in abundance. Sometimes she would observe dogs chasing pigs, during monsoon it became a grazing ground for sheep and camels and a mini butterfly park and some beautiful birds. And many times, she could see a pair of owls in the starry night. It seemed that the ground changed its landscape and mood according to the season, the early morning dewy haze in monsoon and the heavy fog in winters and dry parched land in summer.  A bitch had given birth to a litter of 4-5 pups and Isha used to enjoy watching them from when they were just a few hours old till they...

Today when I saw myself in the mirror, The reflection smirked, It seemed to have some queries, It said... who are you dear.. Are you the girl who has certain fears, Or are you the mother of that girl who loves to don vivid headgears, Who are you dear... Are you the girl who used to freak on the sight of a pimple, Or a lady who loves the skin she is in all sober and simple, Who are you dear.... Are you the same girl who couldn’t compromise on sleep, Or the one who, when all is hushed, sometimes does silently weep, Who are you dear... Are you the one running after the little feet all day happily, Or the one who secretly wishes to be pampered and tucked in cosily. I recollect a girl Oh! So happy and gay, Battling an eyelid and all ready to sway, She wanted this and wanted that, And travel the world if she might have had, And I see you.. happy too, But dreams so different from what she had, Are you rock solid or are you so lovingly tender, This is ...

Being a wildlife enthusiast I am immensely and passionately in love with jungles and the wild, and that is what lead me to write this memoir of my visit to Corbett. Though I have been to many national parks, this trip would stay in my memory and that of my brother and two cousin sisters forever. It was May of 2002 when we visited Jim Corbett national park. We took a train from Baroda to Delhi, hired a Qualis from there and went to Nainital and after spending two leisurely days there moved onwards to Corbett. (Some details may have been missed or forgotten as this trip was made 16 years back but the incidents penned here are true and will remain fresh in our memories forever). We reached the park gate by 4pm and were very excited and happy to be in the jungle again that we did not have patience even for the check in at the park gate; moreover, it was taking quite some time. Much to our disappointment, we came to know that our booking in the forest lodge of Dhikala area of Corbe...

LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER. Dear little Nishka, I write this as you are nearing the ending of your fifth year and all geared to step into the sixth. But I am giving it to you today when you are so much more bigger, entering the 14th. And I still feel as if your sixth birthday just passed!! Wow, you are all set to grow up. Yet, I cannot forget the day I first saw you and held you. Tiny little fingers and tiny little toes, big lovely eyes that shine so bright filled with curiosity and you were so pink – that is the image of how I first saw you. And I was so overwhelmed that soon after the doctor gave me sedatives and put me to sleep. But you were a sweetheart baby. No fuss about anything. You enjoyed your feeding time and your massage and bath time. No long nights (except a few and that are negligible). And in the blink of an eye, you were one. You were an easy baby to wean. Though fussy with milk you liked your solids and with none of the teething tantrums you were soon two-year-...