Sunday 27 October 2013

If we could...If we would...

Life flows resembling a stream
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow
Never to come back even an inch
Touching new miles along its way

No one knows how long life can be
Everyone thinks it's surely long
Each year spins in the axis called 'self'
No time for anything or anyone but 'me'

Are we streams of water polluted?
Or are we the ones that bring life to others?
Did we make a home for fishes?
Did we nourish the trees on both sides?

Have we been a source of solace?
Have we been a friend to the needy?
Have we thought of the poor and homeless?
Have we bothered to smile at a stranger?

We could bend to a crying child
Wipe his tears and comfort him
Lift someone who has fallen down
Bind his wounds and help him stand

Each day rises with a basket of good work
To be done to others to nurture our lives
Blind are we if focused to self
As life is a walk that we take outside

On the wayside stay lives strangled
In homes live sick ones stranded
The old and the dying and destitute
Live in the hope that we might help

It could be us who touch the lives
We could’ve changed a life to a wonder
The more we extend to care for others
The more we expand to a nobler self

Slow the vehicle, if an old man crosses
Help a blind to find his lost way
Don’t get annoyed if a mad man stares
Pray for the youth who’s speeding his bike

Be a visitor to a mourning house
Support them to bear their grief
Don’t walk away from depressed and oppressed
May be we are the last ones to pass his way

Life can be long or short, God alone knows
But it’s not counted by the years we lived
The lives we touched, the wounds we healed
Will count our lives till infinity

To restore each heart that dies in pain, alone
To revive the weak and the frail from their pangs
To refresh us with the showers from above
Let love alone flow through the stream of our life

Saturday 26 October 2013

From the heart of a little girl...

Have you ever felt the pain of a little child who've lost a mother or father?
Can you ever imagine the agony of that little heart?
The questions without answers, who can ever console that little heart?
I dedicate this poem to all little kids who've to grow up without a mother or a father. Praying for you...Sindhu

I'm a little kid
Of just ten years
Don't know too much
As I'm too small

How am I born
And what life is
I know not yet
As I'm too small

What I see
And what I hear
Puzzles me a lot
As I'm too small

I had a mom, 
Why did she die? 
I want to see her
As I'm too small

Everyone loves me, 
But I need my mom
To cuddle me tight
As I'm too small

I didn’t do any wrong 
For her to leave me
Won't she come back
As I'm too small?

I loved her dearly
I was her dearest
I want her by my side
As I'm too small

My mom was there
To feed me, to teach me
I can't do a thing alone
As I'm too small
  
My mom explained
Many things to me
I believed them all
As I'm too small

Did she tell a lie,
When she said that
She'll always be near;
As I'm too small?

I can't see her
They said she died
No one tells me more
As I'm too small

I'm tired of crying
I can't afford
To lose a mother
As I'm too small

I saw her falling
One step she missed
Tell me what an accident is
As I'm too small

Before she taught me life
She showed me death
Both I don't understand
As I'm too small

Her spirit will be with me
Anywhere I go, they say
Is it again a lie that's told
As I'm too small?

I love you, mom
Will you live in my heart
Will you be with me
As I'm too small?

God, please let my mom be
In my little heart
Won't you give her back to me
As I'm too small.



Tuesday 22 October 2013

WAYSIDE JOURNAL: An Immune India

An immune India is a wonderful dream which can certainly be realized by abolishing the misconceptions about diseases, medicines and healing that prevailed among us Indians and transferred to the next generations. It is a dream worth dreaming as every reality starts with a dream.
Over the centuries, India has proven its survival from epidemics and we, Indians, have explored various ways helping people ward off the diseases. But still we suffer from many deadly and contagious diseases and fail to diagnose them well on time and treat them before they spread widely.
Every little step to knowledge starts with ‘education’. The first and foremost lesson is the awareness of the importance of personal hygiene. The body, mind and soul must periodically be cleansed before they infect us in toto. Education starts from birth and continues till one’s death. The basic education must give emphasis on imparting the knowledge of personal hygiene and welfare.
Good habits can be taught both at schools and at homes. But these habits take a back seat as schools and, homes have simply turned into buildings and houses that emphasizes mainly on the academic performance of the children, resulting nervous wrecks. We teach them about life, but conveniently fail to tell them how to live it. We brief them about diseases, their causes and treatment, but not the ways to prevent them. The old proverb, ‘Prevention is better than cure’, stands proof to the fact that our forefathers definitely were wise to live a life that resulted good health and immunity.
Indians, today, are keener on ‘protection’ than ‘prevention’. There is no much difference in the result, though their ways of protection differ totally from one to another.
The rich keep their babies in an air-conditioned room or car, with no chance to breathe fresh air or no way to see the outside world. Everything is taken care of to the maximum so that the child is not touched by anything bad or ugly. This kind of overprotection restricts the child to get used to the real world conditions.
The poor, on the other hand, are forced to expose their babies to dust and dirt, right from the maternal ward of the hospital to their houses. Their houses invite all types of diseases from the streets and are always infected owing to their poor hygienic habits.
Indians, in general, protect their children by denying them most of the fruits and grains by blaming them for being either making the body hot or cold, thus making the babies victims of malnutrition.
Yet, the fact is that any child from any house, regardless of their ways of protection, gets sick with the same diseases. The young bodies are treated with antibiotic drugs in oral form or injection for a quick healing. Once they see the magic healing, the parents get these medicines over-the-counter, thereby skipping a physician’s consultation. These drugs, in spite of their ability to cure the child in a short span of time, reduce the body’s immunity, thereby making it vulnerable to attract bacteria and viruses. Thus, the child’s trajectory through the vicious circle of infection starts, leading it to affect the body in many ways.
Thus proves that protection from diseases is rather an illusion, whereas preventing them is the only way to good health. Educating Indians, to live healthily and to leave a healthy environment for others to live, might pave way to form a healthier India. There must be strict rules which, if not followed, will have serious repercussions. The waste disposal, spitting wherever one wants to, the serving of food products with unclean hands, reuse of cooking oil, walking barefoot on streets, indiscriminate burning of plastics at every corner, sight of vehicles without the roadworthiness certificate belching out obnoxious smoke on the road, etc. will make a never-ending list that needs to be changed. Moreover a small percentage of the population influenced by superstition put faith in the religious rituals without providing any medical treatment to their kids.
Once we attain the real sense of a clean India, we can start dreaming of an Immune India. The Immune India can only originate from every individual Indian. The immune system of a person consists of innate immunity, naturally acquired-immunity and artificially acquired-immunity. Everyone is born with an innate immunity and through fighting diseases and by periodical inoculation they acquire the other types of immunities. It is up to the individual to improve or to diminish the development of the immune system.
The immune system improves if the diseases are treated naturally. No branch of any medicine does it better than Ayurveda, which means, ‘Science of Life’. Its holistic approach of treatment stresses the importance of cleansing the mind and the body, thus building up a strong immune system.
Ayurveda is believed to be one of the oldest branches of medicine known to the humanity, which is practised rarely by Indians. It not only treats diseases but also improves the immune system, thus protecting the body from infections. If Indians go back to the traditional way of life and cure, many ailments caused by the side effects of allopathic medicines could be avoided.
What more can you give the baby than a sleep in the cloth cradle and a bathe in the natural bathtub made of the areca palm and the sweet milk of the mother? Can any baby lotion or soap made of chemicals match the coconut oil or mustard oil applied on the baby’s skin? The traditional Indian baby massage that strengthens the baby is a boon in other countries, but rare in India.
If we try and do our part, we can gift our children, a country free from all evils. Let our kids walk in clean roads. Let them listen to the songs of birds and enjoy nature’s bounty. Let them know India as a developed country. Let them know the values and culture which enrich the heart of each Indian. Let them learn music and dance of India and to be responsible to keep in mind that tomorrow’s India must be better than today’s. Let them eat home food and stop eating junk. Let them be healthy but never being obese. Let them treat their bodies with safe Ayurvedic medicines and enrich their minds with noble thoughts.
We must carry out our mission so that our children will follow our footsteps.
Our priority must be to make India a better place to live.
We must work together with a single vision.
We must trust ourselves and delve deep to find our nation’s riches.
We must keep our body, mind and soul healthy, and clean.
We must learn to live honestly and make our country immune from corruption and anti-social elements.
We should make India, an exemplary nation, a light that the whole world can follow.
We may be different in so many ways: let nothing divide us from being Indians.
Above all, we must be united not by the same religion, but in the power of Almighty.
Let me see my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren live in Immune India, the perfect gift that I can ever give them.
And let me do my part to realise my dream and leave behind an Immune India for all generations to come.
Let us go back to nature and find each treasure to save us from illness, and to heal us from sickness and to create a New India, an Immune India!

 www.daburchyawanprash.com This article is part of the competition, 'An Immune India'

Monday 21 October 2013

My Platinum Day of Life

They were married in a church filled with relatives and friends. Hardly had they known the meaning of the word ‘marriage’! It was anyway a special day for the couple and a very new experience of having a new person as the partner. The first few days they flew in the fantasy world feeling so light at heart as two new born butterflies.
When they landed they hit the ground at her in-law’s house, a strange place where everyone waiting to weigh her. To him, it was heaven as he got an additional gift in his own home. He was thrilled that she cooked and cleaned, finally giving his mother some rest, except for commenting or criticizing her work. She couldn't take her own decisions, nor could she go out with her husband without the in-law’s consent. She made a perfect daughter-in-law, though her heart was pounding to be the free person who she was before.
He would go out for work and come back in the evening. His dress and food were taken cared by her, leaving much time for him to relax. He understood the benefits of getting married and never thought about her feelings. Moreover he was consoled by the fact that so many machines are there to make the chores easy for her unlike his mother had to slog without any of them.
She loved everyone anyway and she took the new life as her destiny. Years passed faster than they thought and they realized it only on their 25th year of married life. By then, their two children had grown up to teenagers, and her in-laws were no more.
A few more years went by and their son got married and brought home a young girl. She looked at her face and saw her own image as a new bride. She smiled at her who had come to a strange place, leaving her parents in a faraway place. Instead of the kitchen door, she showed her the way to their bedroom to refresh herself after the long journey. She set the table for everyone and started serving the meal.
‘Mama’, the girl’s voice called. Before taking her place, she asked, ‘Why don’t you sit with us?’ She had tears in her eyes while she sat with her family for the first time in life. Though it was her best moment ever, it made the worst day for him. He somehow finished his supper and excused himself to leave the table. She didn’t understand anything at all and she enjoyed the food for the first time after her marriage.
After supper her son and his new bride came to her help. Her joy didn’t know bounds to receive a helping hand of love. ‘Good night my son’ as usual she said and then, smiling at the girl she said, ‘Good night my daughter’.
She left for her room to see her husband sitting in a grave mood of contemplation. He saw her coming and smiled at her fondly than ever before. He took her hand and for the first time he noticed the roughness of her palm. He found her smiling, still burning in the fire of love which nothing or no one could put out.
The next day wasn't special for anyone but him. He woke up humming his favorite tune and went to the kitchen like a kid and emptied the milk packets to the milk cooker and kept it on the stove. Looking at her flabbergasted gaze, he gently winked and both fell into each others’ arms in laughter and love.
He waited for the evening to go out with her to the temple, the only place they ever went together as a couple. She was confused as he drove to the road leading to the city instead of taking the turn to the temple.
The car stopped at the underground parking of the biggest jewellery shop. She was more puzzled to see her husband winking again like a naughty teenager. The lift reached finally at the top floor of the shop and they were amidst diamonds and platinum. Lovingly, he whispered into her ears ‘I want to get you something precious and rare, just as you are!’
Hand in hand, they walked to the display table. Their eyes were attracted to the unique piece among the collection: a thin platinum chain with a beautiful pendant on it. On the pendant, a single diamond was fixed, and just below the diamond was found a beautiful little heart made of gold. In the moments that followed, they communicated in silence than in words. She looked like a queen, as she walked along with him, wearing it on her slender neck.
He had lots to say and loads of guilt that burdened his heart. She gently placed her fingers on his lips and kissed the little heart that was shining on the platinum pendant. ‘I know that you always loved me and today I realize that you loved me more than what I thought!’ My words choked in my throat and my tears filled my eyes. 
Diamond betrothed our life together. Gold united us before the altar. Platinum proclaimed our love forever.
From a timid new bride I have grown up to a confident lady. I might have missed lots of fun and laughter. Yet I feel that I’m blessed to be in a family, sparkling like diamond, shining like gold, exclusive like platinum.
This is my story of love, like platinum, rare to find and precious to lose!

 http://www.preciousplatinum.in/en/about-platinum/platinum-day-of-love,  This story is part of the contest 'Platinum Day of Love'

Saturday 19 October 2013

Parents, a luxury to have!

When very many children know no parents
And left to wonder who gave them birth
The rest possess a treasure named parents
Without ever knowing their real worth

Street or orphanage, makes their home
Many, forced to work all day long
When parents and siblings make a home
Alone they fight for a life too long 
  
They may find food and refuge
But they'll not know a guardian called father
Many a lives washed away in deluge
Without a guiding light called mother

Like a wayside plant they grow
Surviving all odds till they fall
Their own lives to the fate they throw
As no one cares to listen to their call

More pathetic are the lives that face
The loss of a parent in early years
A life, a love, gone with no trace
Left are they to survive their years

What will I do without my father?
How will I live without my mother?
Why did God take away my father?
Who’ll will love me like my mother?

Who'll wave me goodbye each morning?
Who'll polish and tie my shoes?
Who'll pick me up each evening?
Who'll wash and iron my dress? 

When all my friends talk about their parents
Where will I hide my tears from their sight?
I’m too small to take all these torments
Why am I deprived of my sole delight?

These questions resound, leaving echoes
From end to end, hurting the Earth
There may be words to soothe their pathos
But nothing brings back their home and hearth

Still life moves on to destiny’s choice
With smiles and laughter, tears and pang
Life rewards many moments to rejoice
Yet layers of vacuum, forever they clang

And if you had your parents hither
Till you could face life without fear
Thank God for them, forget not ever
They are the best gift, always found near

Saturday 12 October 2013

Life, a question to ask or an answer to search?

Past, a story often told
Future, a mystery untold
Both are ghosts beyond our hold
A day named today waits to unfold

Yesterdays’ regrets, makes a load so heavy
Tomorrows’ dreams, a sea so wavy
Making mortals feel so lowly
What we are, but a mask so lovely!

Past and future has no place in present
Each day is God-sent, received as present
Never to succumb to evil’s torment
Forever to fetch a fresh fruitful moment

Life on Earth can be hell or Heaven
No raven can stop us making our haven
Minds better kept tender lest they harden
And may we thrive as a well-tended garden

Friends and fiends will come and leave
Life is a tapestry that we alone weave
Not a load that we’re bound to heave
For sure a miracle hard to believe

Never let's say that there isn't a cure
As life starts anew every new day pure
Along our way some misery is sure
Life is rewarding for those who endure

Friday 4 October 2013

Life beyond the scene

Child is the most beautiful gift when received
Unique, matchless, a little miracle born
After a while it turns to the most hectic task
To do without a hint of success

Comments, experiences, advice, such as
Boys are fun, girls are sweet, till they fight
One is best, two are perfect, more means mess
Make the new born a victim of experiments

Soon home school starts, preparation for Pre-KG
My child can say A to Z and 1 to 10 
Claims the neighbour, 'Wow!' all exclaim
And parents run to the next bookstore

Kisses and hugs are acts of appreciation 
Love becomes the reward for accomplishments
Smart, obedient, well-mannered, active, intelligent
Adjectives to define his future and worth

None to be blamed, nothing to be ridiculed
Any discussion ends with a sigh, ‘This is life’
Desperate parents and worn-out kids
At times all smile at their own folly

While parents think they aren't honoured
Children grumble they aren't loved
Comparisons, arguments, complaints aplenty
Perfection remains the goal never reached

I’m playing this game called life
Inside a home called family
Standing between my parents and kids
I realise a beautiful mysterious truth

All would fight but none gets defeated
A tug of war where no one wins
If one fails, others don’t cheer
If one triumphs, all surely rejoice

Dialogues delivered, then regretted
Arrows shot, never meant to hurt
Anger, frustration, fear and rivalry
Just passing clouds that hide pure love

I can’t conclude who’s better than whom
No scale to measure love expressed or hidden
As there’s no heart that doesn't quiver
When another is wounded, hurt or dead

Beneath the hurting wounds that bleed
There’s a drive to forgive and unite
A compromise not to be seen elsewhere
Home and family make our world on Earth

I’m a daughter and I am a mother
I’m equally indebted to my parents and kids
For their love, compromise and tolerance
That I can never reciprocate

Finally I see that home isn't a battleground!!
And family, not some people who compete!!
We are running the race together !!
We are playing as one team to win!! 

Wednesday 2 October 2013

To face without a face!

I took my place by the aisle
Set my bags down the seats
In the AC coach pretty calm
I stretched myself to relax a bit

The lady near the window turned
To my shock, I saw no face!
Except scary scars and thickened skin
There was nothing but her eyes alive

I smiled as our eyes met first
She might’ve smiled, God alone knows
There was no chance to read her thoughts
Or emotions hidden beneath her burns

‘Thank you for your smile,’ she said
I could guess what made her say that
Everyone turned their heads from her
An unpleasant sight, no eye could bear

‘If not a face, what else is left!’ 
I thought while trying to look unruffled
I struggled to see her as human as I
To face a face without a face!

She was blessed with a sweet voice
And two twinkling eyes which said the rest
She opened her purse, turned it my side
‘This is me…I mean…this was me’

She smiled at me through that little snap
A lively lady in the lifeless picture
I wondered much of the beautiful past
Of this gorgeous woman who lost her face

She didn't speak more on her woes
Words broke in chokes and dissolved in tears
I grasped the story, not so uncommon
Of a face changing fate of many a woman

Acid burnt her face making it a horrid sight
Yet failed to put off her spirit, still burning bright
Before my eyes she turned so gracious
A soul untouched by violence of fiends

I bowed my head and cleared my throat
Bit my lips to stop the tears roll
I didn't know whether to thank God for my face
Or to see the splendour of life even without a face

I couldn't empathise or sympathise
Rather I looked at her in great admiration
A personality which no fire could kill
A person who could live beneath her skin

After a silent pause we reached the present
Cheerful chat and laughter and fun
Made us friends in the fast moving train
Alas! I had to get down, bid adieu soon

As I hugged her I felt her arms holding me tight
‘Thank you’ she sighed looking into my eyes
Hugging her again I whispered back the same
The silence and tears had much more to share

How could she know that I wanted to quit!
That I was a lifeless soul faking a smile!
That her faceless face taught me to face
My life and fate with gratitude and grace!

Is it death that teaches life?
Is it loss that makes us grateful?
Is it our face that makes us what we are?
Or is it what we face even without a face?


To Captain, with Gratitude

  (Dedicated to Dr Rajesh M Ramankutty, Cardiothoracic surgeon, Caritas Heart Institute, Kerala. My Papa got a new lease of  life through a ...