and it rained,again.....!

She was standing on platform no. 7,waiting for 8:35am panvel local..it was almost time...she leaned forward to the tracks..nd then she saw a blue colored train approaching her....She glanced at da name plate on da train..It said "Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak express"...a strong urge to board the train arose within her...how she wished to run away frm this madness....As the last coach of da train zoomed past her,she could feel her desire too fade away into oblivion.....

Her train had arrived....the mob took her inside the compartment on its own...a familiar tinge of excitement was all over the place...discussions ranging frm latest fashion trends,reality shows,boyfriend woes,and useless cribbing about crowd,incessant chatting,laughing,a few arguements nd an awful smell of sweat mixed wd fish odour was what filled the air inside....Soon enough,she got a seat,her favourite one,near da window...she sat and looked out,the sea was approaching,gazing at the waves below,her thoughts concentrated on them. Oh! how she loved the ocean...it had been more than a year she passed by this bridge regularly,yet she fell in love wid the sea everyday again....It calmed her anxietiesand assured her in a soothing manner....der was something hypnotic abt it....the romance had just begun....

As da station neared,she moved along with the crowdtowards her destination...her mind was elsewhere...she was guided almost mechanically to her lecture hall.

A middle aged man was ranting about digital circuits and their designing..she was attentively drinking down each word he uttered.Out of nowhere,her mind drifted away........

It was raining heavily...she was on her way back home..da clock ticked 8:45pm...as she looked ahead into da street,she saw a familiar figure approach her...it was Him....they strated walking together in the rain...strangely,their feets led them away to another of her favourite place...she removed her chappals and felt the cold and wet cemented ground beneath her...he followed the same.

A kid was dribbling a ball nearby...they looked at each other....suddenly, she felt her tiredness drain away wid the rain...she went upto the kid...he recognized her....she asked him if they could have a game with him...the guy made her team up with the kid nd challenged them.....the match strated....it rained harder....she slipped and fell again and again,only to be lifted back by him,her opponent.He was a better player than her,yet she won the game....the kid was exhilarated....the guy looked at her and smiled....A basketball court had never been so beautiful before....

There was something in the background being lectured on BJT transistors and rectifiers.....her mind zoomed in and out of focus...She could hear a distant voice taking her name and asking her to explain about something called a full wave rectifier.....She simply looked at the professor and smiled at him....he got irritated at her look and turned away...She continued to smile...Her day had been made....afterall, she had just won a basketball match...........!!

TEACH MY SON,PLEASE...

People say that 90% of our behavior is due to the habits that we form.From the time we wake up,till we go to sleep,we do everything almost mechanically.Over da years,we develop habits dat determine how wel we do in life.I came across American president Abraham Lincoln's letter to son's teacher which according to me contains all da key ingredients to a successful living.





He will have to learn,I know,
that all men are not just,all men
are not true.
Teach him that for every
scoundrel, there is a hero; that for
every selfish politician, there is
a dedicated leader.
Teach him that for every enemy,
there is a friend. It will take
time,I know, but teach him, if u can,that a dollar earned
is of far more value than five found.
Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning.
Steer him away from envy,if u can. Teach him
the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early
that bullies are easiest to lick.
Teach him,if u can,the wonder of books but
also give him quite sometime to ponder the eternal
mystery of birds in da sky,bees in da sun,and
flowers on da green hillside.
In school, teach him dat it is far more honorable
to fail than to cheat.
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas,even if
everyone tells him they are wrong.
Let him have the patience to be brave;
Strength, not to follow da crowd when everyone is
getting on the bandwagon.
Teach him to listen to all men;but teach him also
to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take
only the good that comes through.
Teach him,if u can,how to laugh when he is sad.
Teach him there is no shame in tears.
Teach him to scoff at cynics,and beware of
too much sweetness.
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest
bidders,but never to put a price tag on his heart and his soul.
Teach him to close his ears to the howling mob
and to stand up and fight if
he thinks he is right.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,beacuse
then he will have faith in human kind.



This is a big order; but see what you can do. He is such
a fine fellow,my son!

शहर के हो गए हैं!!!

एक प्यारा सा गाँव , जिसमें पीपल की छाँव
छाँव में आशियाँ था, एक छोटा मकाँ था,
छोड़कर गाँव को, उस घनी छाँव को,
शहर के हो गए हैं, भीड़ में खो गए हैं...

वो नदी का किनारा,जिसपे बचपन गुजरा,
वो लड़कपन दीवाना,रोज़ पनघट पे जाना,
फिर आई जवानी, बन गए हम कहानी,
छोड़कर गाँव को, उस घनी छाँव को,
शहर के हो गए हैं..भीड़ में खो गए हैं॥

कितने गहरे थे रिश्ते, लोग थे या फ़रिश्ते,
एक टुकडा ज़मीं थी , अपनी जन्नत वहीँ थी,
हाय ये बदनसीबी! नाम जिसका गरीबी,
छोड़कर गाँव को , उस घनी छाँव को,
शहर के हो गए हैं,भीड़ में खो गए हैं॥

यह तो परदेस ठहरा, देश फिर देश ठहरा,
हादसों की ये बस्ती, कोई मेला ना मस्ती,
क्या यहाँ ज़िन्दगी है,हर कोई अजनबी है,
छोड़कर गाँव को,उस घनी छाँव को,
शहर के हो गए हैं, भीड़ में खो गए हैं....

Amidst the morning mist...

Amidst the morning mist of the swift returning tide
I set out on my daily run, the sunlight shining bright.

Lost within my private world apart from cares and woes
I ran along the moistened shore, the sand between my toes.

In the distance, I saw a boy, as busy as can be.
He was running, stooping, picking up, and tossing in the sea.

Just what he threw, I couldn’t tell, I looked as I drew near.
It seemed to be a rock or shell – as I approached him I could hear,

“Back you go, where you belong. You’re safe now, hurry home.
Your family’s waiting for you little starfish, rush along!”

It seemed the evening tide had washed the starfish on the shore,
And the swift receding water left a thousand there, or more.

And this self-appointed savior, was trying one-by-one
To toss them back into the sea, against the racing sun.

I saw his plight was hopeless, that most of them would die.
I called out from my private world, “Hey kid, why even try?”

“Must be at least a thousand here, strewn along the beach,
And even if you had the time, most you will never reach.

You really think it makes a difference, to waste your time this way?”
And then I paused and waited, just to hear what he would say.

He stooped and took another, and looked me in the eye.
“It makes a difference to this one sir, this starfish will not die!”

With that, he tossed the little life back where there was hope.
He stooped to save another. I could tell this was no joke.

Those few words that he spoke to me cut like a surgeon’s knife.
Where I saw only numbers, he saw only life.

He didn’t see the multitude of starfish on the sand.
He only saw the little life he held there in his hands.

He didn’t stop to argue, to prove that he was right.
He just kept tossing starfish in the sea with all his might.

So I, too stooped, and I picked up, and I tossed into the sea,
And I thought, oh, what a difference that this one soul made in me.

-----Randy Poole

who has died?

i cannot see
i cannot hear
i cannot even touch or feel.
i am no more,
but i know what is going on...

they carry me,
on their shoulders,
like rusted pillars,
the dead mass.
only a liability...

the unconcerned band,
moves on.
already having forgotten who they mourn for...

we have turned into a herd,
forgetting that we initially,
are humans...

i have pictured my journey
in those days
of mine,
when flowers lose thier hue
and birds sing no more...

when the sun and the moon
have all lost interest in you,
i have experienced it surrealistically...

when my hair have turned grey
and nobody has noticed.
when the mornings haven't felt new
but only repeated
i have felt...

my last journey
a thoughtless procession
marching only because its a compulsion
and then i smile...

at the whole world,
at its impotency.
because it is the one
who has died,
and i the lone pillar
am carrying it...

आधुनिक नारी

कौन कहता है ,आज अनारी हैं औरतें;
जबकि खींच रही मर्दों की गाड़ी हैं औरतें।
गृहस्थी के बोझ से, डरते हुए मानव को,
बनकर मिसाल सिखा रही,आज की औरतें॥

कर्तव्य के निर्वाह से, मुख मोड़ते हुए मानव को,
आज नई राह दिखा रही हैं औरतें।
लहू को पसीने में बदल अपने तन के,
पुरूषों को श्रम-साध्य बना रही हैं औरतें॥

बैंक हो या दफ्तर, या कि पाठशाला,
कार्य का हर क्षेत्र, इनके लिए मधुशाला।
कहाँ लौ बखान करो, इनकी बड़ाई
प्रशासन में भूमिका, निभा रही हैं औरतें॥

नारी आज अबला नही,आंखों में ना पानी,
सार्थक है आज कि नारी कि जवानी।
पुरूषों से सताई हुई, युग - युग से नारी,
रंगमंच पे पुरूषों को नचा रही हैं औरतें॥

खेत से खलिहान तक, नारी ही नारी;
आज की नारी की , करामात है न्यारी।
चारदीवारी में कैद नही आज की नारी,
उत्पादन में नई क्रांति,ला रही हैं औरतें॥

भीरु नहीं,नारी है साक्षात दुर्गा,
शक्ति रूपिणी नारी की होती है पूजा.
मनु , दुर्गावती, चाँदबीवी , इंदिरा,
मिसाल ये बहादुरी की, आज की औरतें...



- सुरेश चंद्र गुप्ता , रूबी गुप्ता.

a woman i knew

Dark, black hair, a really small nose,a little Mongolian if you ask me,generally sweet, and of course- due to successive roll numbers- my unit test partner.
From my first acquaintance with her, i remember she asked me if i had an extra unit test sheet [we were supposed to get our own sheets].
i did.

Take care, dear friend, wherever you are.
i wish i could tell u, i still have an extra unit test sheet, and still, as willingly as i did then, will give it to you.