In Memorium ......................... Lest we should Forget
     Let us all bow  in reverence and gratitude, my countrymen,
        to the memory of those brave hearts
          who stood  as an iron wall  facing the shower of bullets
         to defend the sanctity of the Parliament, the pride and honour of the  nation
       Despite Death  dancing around, did not leave the post of duty
          till the nasty plot of terror was not foiled and smashed to the ground!
          
                            And we all, across the country, heaved a sigh of relief !!
Could it have been possible without the keen alertness and valiant action of a handful of security personnel?
  And, Alas  ! some of them did not live to see the result of their eventful fight!
     But  their supreme sacrifice  has been definitely  engraved in the history of martyrdom
   as  well as in the hearts of people who, I  am sure, will not forget to light a few candles
                              in their hallowed memory  !

In Memorium --------------- Lest we should Forget

                                                                                                       December 13, 2015
                    Let us all bow, my countrymen,

                    in reverence and gratitude,
                  To the  memory of  those bravehearts,
                  Who faced the shower of bullets,
                  To defend the sanctity of our Parliament.

                   And did not leave the post of duty,
                   Till the  nasty  plot of the terror,

                  Was  foiled and brought  to the ground,
                 Making all of us heave a sigh of relief.

               Could it have been possible,

               Without  the keen alertness, 

               And valiant  action  performed,
              By a handful of security persons?

               And some of them did not live to see,

               The outcome of their gallant feats.,

                But the day and date will remain,

               Engraved  in the  history  of  martyrdom,

 

             As well as in the hearts of the people
             who, I am sure, will not forget to light

             A candle or two in their hallowed memory

            On this day every year.

Desecrating the Deity.

        Violence!  Bloodshed ! Massacre ! Hatred and callousness being inflicted upon innocent people across the world.  And all these insane acts being done in the name of religion.                                                   What a fallacy of ideas to profess cruelty and god in the same breath!  Can this play of ill will please God who, by all believers over the world, is regarded as the ultimate source of love and kindness?.                          Is it not blasphemous to link His name with such devilish acts and blemish His holy image?                              Besides sinful sacrilege, these votaries of violence, also indulge in killing the very essence of human values and ethos of the age they live in. Sadist to the core, they love wrecking havoc on the civilised world every now and then.      The situation is grave indeed and seems to be going out of control at the hour.  Isn't there a way out?   Is our age-old civilisation doomed to be annihilated?  A dreadful nightmare to imagine!   Despite the grim situation prevailing around, I wish to hope (against hope ) that maybe, all is not yet lost.                      The optimist in me keeps dreaming that sooner or later a day will dawn with the light of reason and good sense that will dispel the darkness of delusion and bring them back on the path of righteousness. The world will again become a better place for everyone to live in peace, sans fear.
         In the meantime, let us hope so and pray together!

GIVING A DAUGHTER AWAY

       A queer experience it is, a feeling that defies description, an emotion beyond expression.
        Thoughts of varied colours blended together in a peculiar mode, overwhelming you with a mood never known before.
                                You don't know what to name it !
     Is it a sense of self-satisfaction at having performed a parental duty gracefully in accordance with the established customs?
          A  sense of relief that your beloved daughter is going to enter a new phase of life that holds the promises of a rosy future with the fulfilment of all her happy dreams?
        Or is it a late realization that you entrusted the future of your loving daughter to the mercy of a stranger?
            Regret, that you consented to give her away rather early, while it could be done a little later?
         Apprehensions, will or won't she be granted the same love and care she has been brought up with, and will she be ensured protection as was done right from birth up to her present age?
  Or is it the fear of impending loneliness back at home caused by the glaring
    absence of a darling child?
The chain of unsavoury thoughts keeps confusing the mind, making it difficult  to
know which of them is the hardest to cope with.
             But then, as it always happens, Prudence gets the better of emotions and rhyme and reason begin to prevail, asserting the truth that we are merely a link in the ages-old tradition and are bound to act as our predecessors have been doing since time immemorial.
          Hence, no matter how painful the parting, how deep the sense of loss, how dreadful the worries about her future, the fact remains that she is born a daughter, an asset that belongs to others and therefore must be parted with, a loving farewell
is all we can give her with gifts of blessings and good wishes in abundance for her happy going in the new household. Tears may be welling up in the eyes but must not roll down till she is believed to have entered there to a cordial welcome, marking the beginning of celebrations henceforth, extending to the whole of her lifetime!

No kind action ever stops with itself ,one kind action leads to another .Good example is followed .A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up  and make new trees . The greatest  good that kindness does to others is  that it makes them kind themselves .
                                                                                                                    Amelia Earheart

                                                                                            

                                      Ode To a Phoenix 

                        

                              Nestled  in the heart of a blossoming tree 

                                    She had just begun to weave

                                         dreams of a sunny tomorrow.

                             But Fate conspired with Death 

                                  and hatched the cruellest plot 

                                       to nip her joy in the bud.

                           A bolt from the  blue 

                                  fell on the tree of a sudden,

                                     hitting her nest unawares,

                                         bringing it down to the earth.

                           Too shocked  by the heavy blow  

                               to sense her own wounded self  

                                  she lay petrified, stunned,

in the midst of her broken dreams.  

                 

                      

          But  before the deadening loss 

           could kill her  lively spirits 

              she wrang her eyes dry,

                   and rose up from the wreckage

                       to fight  again and brave 

                          all odds that came her way.

        With slow but sure strife  

          she flew through mist and snow

           carving her route to resurrection.

   And  lo ! she made it  at last

       reaching the land of bright sunshine 

           she made her nest on the olive again.

                                                                           Yes, she is there  at last 

                                                                                      A hope reborn, a dream realized 

                                                                                                life revived from dust and ashes!

         Weighing her new grown wings 

              she is ready to map the skies 

                   even beyond the horizon 

                         for  what can be a limit  

                            to a spirit indomitable!

                                                                     And  as she spreads  her wings

                                                                             to take up new flights 

                                                                                leaving the dust of  fear behind

                                        I rub my eyes in wonder  

                                           and ask myself --

                                                                   Does Phoenix belong to legends alone?           

    

.

    

ODE TO A PHOENIX

                                           Ode  To A Phoenix
         

                                                Nestled  cosily on the branch,

                                                Of a blossoming tree,
                                                she had just begun to weave,
                                                Dreams of a  joyous tomorrow.
                         
                                               But Fate and death conspired,

                                               And hatched a cruel plot,
                                              To nip her hopes in the bud,

                                               Before she could wake up.

                                               There fell a bolt from the blue,
                                              Hitting her nest unawares,,
                                              Bringing it down to the earth,
                                              Shattered and burnt to the core.
.
                                               Too deeply hurt by the  blow,
                                               To  feel her  wounded self,
                                               She lay petrified, stunned,
                                            Among wrecks of her rosy dreams.

                                            But before  the deadening  woe,
                                           Could  kill her lively spirit,
                                           She  resolved to wipe her eyes, 
                                           And rise up to face what was due.
   
                                             With slow but sure strife,
                                             She flew through mist and snow,
                                             Carving her route to resurrection,

                                             Leaving behind the dead wreckage.

                                             And lo! She has made it at last!
                                             Reaching the land of bright sunshine,
                                             She is perched on the high olive branch,,
                                                Revived in spirit and zest again. 
                         
                                           Rising from the dust and ashes, 

                                            She  is ready to soar high up  and higher,

                                           While I  rub my eyes in wonder  -
                                          Does Phoenix belong to legends only?


Note---
Dedicated to a  young lady who joined Indian Army when her husband laid down his life guarding the national border in Siachen glacier. .She decided to follow his noble career and underwent the tough military training to resume the service of the nation just where he had left it ....
                       
                     This Braveheart is my Phoenix and this poem, my salute to her indomitable spirit!
            





         









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GRATITUDE

                                     On World Gratitude Day
Gratitude,
    The noblest of  emotions
         That springs forth from the depth of heart.
        At  times expressed  through palpable signs,
             But often, too shy for words or gestures,  
                  Dwells contained inside!
                   Both ways creates a state of bliss
                       Invisible as music but soothing as a song.
     Gratitude, the fondest of gifts one can give or receive.
            Like 'mercy' it is  a  two-fold blessing,
                ''It blesseth him that gives and him that takes''.1
           
1. Shakespeare    

A poem from Gitanjali

When the heart is hard and parched up 
   Come upon me with a shower of mercy ,
         When grace is lost from life 
               Come with a burst of song  .
                    When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides
                         Shutting me out from beyond ,
                              Come to me ,my lord of silence,
                                   With thy peace and rest  .
                When my beggarly heart sits crouched ,shut up in a corner ,break open the door ,my king ,and come with the ceremony of a king .

When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust ,O thou holy one ,thou wakeful ,come with thy light and thy thunder .
Gitanjali ,39 

(This beautiful poem by Tagore has been very close to my heart ever since l found it .A constant companion ,it has  helped me maintain my faith in the all embracing benevolence of the supreme power that manifests itself in varied forms ,ranging from soft showers to  threatening thunderbolts , appearing  in accordance with   the need and situation .)
                 

A POEM FROM GITANJALI

When the heart is hard and parched up ;

    come upon me with a shower of mercy .

When grace is lost from life ;

   Come with a burst of song .

When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides shutting me out from beyond;

Come to me  my lord of silence 

With thy peace and  rest .

When my beggarly heart sits crouched ;shut up in a corner  ;break open the door ; my king ; and come with the ceremony of a king  .

When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust ;O thou holy one ;thou wakeful ;come with thy light and thy thunder  

.  Geetanjali  39

                ( This beautiful poem has always been very close to my heart  ;ever since I found it for the first time ; a constant  companion  all through ; it has   helped  me maintain  my faith in the all embracing   benevolence  of the supreme  power  that manifests itself    in many forms   ranging from soft , soothing          showers  to the  lightening and thunder  as per the need of the  situation .)

When the heart is hard and parched up ,

Come upon me with a shower of mercy   

           

         When grace is lost from life  

              Come with a burst of song   

                     

                     When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides  shutting me out from beyond ,

     Come to me my lord of silence 

                      With thy peace and rest  .

When my beggarly heart sits crouched ,shut up in a corner ,

      Break open the door ,my king ,and come with the ceremony of a king .

            When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust , O thou holy one , thou wakeful ,come with thy light and thy thunder  .

Dear friends the pieces of writing that you find here ;are the pearls of wisdom  picked by me  during my readings ;my only claim  to them  is  my affinity to the thought expressed by the author  ;known or unknown .
Somehow ; i believe that  you will relish  going through them ; just as l do  .
 ..

Words-----
Words can confer strength , they can drain it off  ,words can gain friends ,they can turn them into enemies , words  can elevate or lower the individual .One must learn the habit of making one's words  sweet soft and pleasant .
Atharva Veda 

How to speak

I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of my power  -- that the path before me was closed ,that provisions were exhausted and the time had come to take shelter in a silent obscurity .
But Ifind that thy will knows no end in me ,andwhen old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart, and where the old tracks are lost ,new country is  revealed with its wonders  .
 Geetanjali,37th poem 

Be creative.Don't be worried about what you are doing --- one has to do many things--but  do everything creatively; with devotion .Then your work becomes worship .Then whatsoever you do  is a prayer and whatsoever  you do is an offering at the altar  .
 OSHO

Life is our teacher .Life communicates with us all the time and it is a lesson to see how life has continuously led me to the people I need to meet to the situations I need to experience and to the places I need to be  .

          There was a man who made a living selling balloon at a fair. He had all colours of balloons, including red,yellow,blue and green. Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air and when the children saw it go up, they all wanted to buy one. They would come up to him,  buy a balloon, and his sales would go up again. He continued this process all day. One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket. He turned around and saw a little boy who asked, "if you release a black balloon, would that also fly.? Moved by the boy's concern, the man replied with empathy, "Son, it is not the colour of the balloon, it is what  is inside that makes it go up."
        The same thing applied to our lives. It is what inside that counts. The thing inside of us makes us go up is our attitude. Have ever wondered why some individuals, organizations or countries are more successful than others.
        It is not a secret. These people simply think and act more effectively. They have learned how to do so by investing in the most valuable asset-- people. I believe that the success of an individual, organization or country, depends on the quality of their people.
       Experience has shown that human resources is the most valuable asset of any business or country. It is more valuable than capital or equipment. unfortunately, it is also the most wasted. People can be your biggest asset or your biggest liability.