THE ANGELIC FRIEND...PART 2 !!

The angelic friend: Part 2!!

From a very long time, I did seek,

A friend, more matured than me,

To guide me, to help me out,

To show me the way, when I am in difficulty,

Coincidences are sweet, and fate was kind,

When I had lost hope of finding such a friend,

I met you, and as I began to know you,

Deep down I knew, that an angel God did send,

Do you know, I see my reflection in you,

For you are calm and sweet and kind,

Do you know, I think you are awesome,

And this opinion won’t ever change from my mind,

You have that aura, the magic,

That makes me forget all my worries,

And just a few moments spent with you,

Are worth more than a thousand random memories,

My friend, you have all the noble characteristics,

That one could possibly even dream of,

I wish I could be half as nice as you,

But that’s impossible, not just far off,

You are one friend I can count upon,

So easily I can share my pain with you,

I thank you for being there with me always,

And grateful to have met a soul as pure and true,

I can’t express how much you mean to me,

Think not, that I am glorifying you,

I am merely saying the truth,

Think not, that I am flattering you,

My friend, I won’t promise to solve all your problems,

But I promise I’ll never let you face them alone,

I may not be there to share your joys,

But I’ll make sure you never weep alone,

In the future, God forbid, if a time does come,

When for months, we won’t get to meet each other,

I’ll just close my eyes and see you,

And relive all the magical moments spent with you here...............

EVENING MUSINGS!!

Evening musings!!

It’s one of those rare evenings,

When I have nothing substantial to do,

And I decide to take a walk in this pleasant weather,

Feeling the breeze; staring at the orange evening sun,

I admire the sun as it slowly sets down,

Giving way to a beautiful, starlit night,

And I wonder; sun is the perfect metaphor,

For life, for love, for relationships,

My mind drifts to thoughts of you,

As I begin to relive our journey together,

Yet again, I feel so lucky to have met you,

And honoured to have been cared and loved,

I was lost like a desert traveller when I first met you,

Distressed and lonely; in search of an oasis,

Life seemed tough; it was becoming harder each day,

For I had been heartbroken; and I didn’t want to live,

You understood what I was going through,

You felt my pain, by just looking at my eyes,

You gave me warmth; you gave me strength,

And slowly I began to recover, and start living again,

When you confessed that you loved me,

You knew I wasn’t in love with you back then,

Yet you understood I needed some more time to move on,

And patiently stood by me like a true friend,

Dear, it’s been more than six months,

Since that fateful day when you had proposed,

And today I can confidently say; I have moved on completely,

I love you truly, and I want a life with you,

Sometimes we feel sad that the sun’s setting,

And fail to appreciate the beauty of the moon,

We brood over the past; we whine and fail to enjoy,

The myriad beauties of life, that the present offers,

This evening walk is what I needed,

To gain a better perspective about life,

As I walk back home, I thank God for giving me pain,

For without that, I never would have experienced the joy of living....

THIS GHASTLY FEELING OF EMPTINESS!!

This ghastly feeling of emptiness!!

Have you ever noticed the morning dew,

As a sleeping leaf it gently kisses,

Just like I have so often imagined you,

Every morning when you wake me up,

No friend has ever cared for me, like you have,

You have been there when I was depressed,

No one’s ever made me feel so special, like you have,

Through your personalized gifts, and incessant praises,

Always guiding me, my strength you are,

The reason for my smile, the reason I am alive,

It doesn’t matter if you are near or far,

You are my shadow; always with me,

Thinking about memories doesn’t tear me up,

But knowing deep down that they won’t repeat,

Knowing that we won’t meet much, tears me up,

And without you here, all I feel is this ghastly emptiness,

You won’t realize how lonely am I,

You won’t understand how much I miss you,

In your perpetual longing, at times I cry,

Thinking of all those times we spent together,         

I want to always keep saying,

How important you are to me,

I wish you would fathom the depth of my feeling,

Which how much ever I try; I can’t express in words,

Somewhere my heart says, I have let you down,

And that’s why; I often feel you are going away,

And as I look at the sun setting down,

I wonder; is our bond sinking too,

But then I realize I am so wrong,

Our bond is unbreakable; I know for sure,

With me, holding my hand, you will always tag along,

And effortlessly I let go of this ghastly feeling of emptiness......

THE MUFFLED VOICE!!

The muffled voice!!

Right now, in my Mother’s womb,

Helpless and clueless; I keep crying,

But you can’t see, for you are busy,

Planning my murder; as for justice I keep demanding,

I wanted these nine months to pass soon,

So that I could look at the world beautiful,

To breathe in fresh air, to experience its bounty,

Seldom I knew; to dream of it, I was a big fool,

I wish you could hear me. Dad,

And feel the emotions of your daughter,

I wanted you to be my most favourite person,

Who pampered me endless, and fulfilled my desire,

Mom, how can you do this to me,

Didn’t you love me even a bit, all this while,

I was in your protective shelter,

Perhaps I wrongly felt, my presence made you smile,

Won’t I even get a single opportunity,

To see you, to hug you, to be in your presence,

My parents, to you, I plead; to you, I ask,

Is being of the fairer sex such a big offence,

I wish someone would hear my muffled voice,

Alas, my words would always remain unspoken,

I would soon be brutally slaughtered,

And with utmost care, the crime would be hidden,

Millions like me suffer every day,

Those who survive, die a slow death,

Cursed and tormented for being a woman,

Throughout their lives; till their last breath,

If there’s a God, he will listen to our pleas,

He will save us; he will show us a way,

Helpless I keep crying in my mother’s womb,

Wishing for a miracle, every moment, every day..............

A REMORSEFUL FRIEND!!

A remorseful friend!!

You always felt I didn’t give you,

The importance which you truly deserved,

I made you feel I didn’t care about you,

Coz throughout, I kept giving preference to others,

Dear, I cared for you more than I ever did show,

I prayed for your success; daily I wished for your happiness,

But all that, how will you ever know,

For my actions never matched my feelings,

I taunted you, I teased you with many a harsh comment,

Without realizing how much it must have hurt you,

Yet you never said a word in return nor did you lament,

And bore my harsh words for the sake of our friendship,

I don’t know whether I even have the right,

To apologize to you, for my mistakes,

I wish I could meet you and hug you tight,

And make up for all what I did to you back then,

I wish I could tell you that I am grateful to you,

For being a true friend in a phase when I had nobody,

I wish you would understand how much I value,

The times we spent chatting, the joyous moments,

I am proud of you for travelling beyond seven seas,

For fulfilling your ambitions; making your parents proud,

I want you to make a lot of splendid memories,

But I do hope, a part of you will miss me there,

I thank you for being so caring and kind,

And the smiles you gave; the tears you wiped,

This nostalgic feeling would be etched in my mind,

Permanently, till I die and even beyond.............

THE PERFECT BOND!!

The perfect bond!!

My mind drifts back a few years,

To the time we had met as strangers,

I am amazed by the roller-coaster ride we shared,

And finally ended up being each other’s best friend,

I take a bit too long to make friends,

But then I make sure the friendship never ends,

We are long past the phase of misunderstandings,

 And know we’ll always be there for each other,

Circumstances and rumours galore,

Tried to distance us, but not anymore,

For even fate has realized this now,

That our bond’s perfect; we are inseparable,

I had thought this huge distance would weaken,

But on the contrary, our bond did deepen,

I can’t stay without talking with you daily,

And I am sure you perpetually feel my void too,

I feel extremely joyous to have you around,

I am elated that in you, my best friend I found,

Perfect bonds are found only in movies and novels,

But we made it possible in reality too,

I don’t know how to tell you how important you are,

And every moment I wish I wasn’t so afar,

I miss your calming presence a lot,

And I know you constantly need me beside too,

I am your angel; you are my shadow,

Perennially with each other; steady as the earth below,

I will always pray for our bond to remain as it is now,

Coz I can’t live without you; and neither can you.......

TO THE BEST MOTHER EVER!!

To the best mother ever!!

I wish I could be beside you right now,

On such a memorable and joyous occasion,

I feel so jealous and so helpless,

Coz I can’t be a part of the celebration,

For a long time, I thought of gifting you something,

But as usual, I ran out of ideas, Mother,

All I can give you is a short poem, just to tell you,

You are special; I am incomplete without you here,

I miss you more than you can imagine,

I miss you much more than I’ll ever show,

I miss you every moment, when I am alone,

I miss you much more than you’ll ever know,

Maybe I didn’t value you much when I was with you,

I kept arguing with you at times, for no reason,

But your absence has made my heart grow fonder,

And I apologize to you, for all my faults, on this occasion,

As I scan my life, backwards,

Remembering countless moments of joy and sorrow,

I see a constant figure in all those moments; that’s you,

And without you, life at times, seems so hollow,

I feel luckiest to have a mother like you,

I miss your unconditional love and care, the most here,

The way you have handled me in every situation,

The way you always kissed away my tear,

You have always taught me to be kind and caring,

You have taught me to be humble and ethical,

I agree, I have made mistakes and hurt quite a few,

But I have always tried to follow your advice valuable,

I don’t know how to express my feelings,

Mother, you have not just given me birth,

You have made me what I am today,

For you have always strived to make my life worth,

Every time I feel depressed henceforth,

I’ll remember your words: Give your best,

The end result doesn’t matter; the efforts do,

As you always say, God will do the rest,

Your optimism and positive attitude makes me brave,

Your unconditional faith in me makes me strong,

I miss you a lot here, Mother,

As for those pats on the forehead and the mouth-watering food I long,

I know I have made a few mistakes at times,

But I promise you, I’ll be a better son from now on,

I am dying to meet you, my adorable Mother,

And I pray these two months would soon be gone,

Your unconditional love has taught me true meaning of love,

You have made sure my wishes never go unheard,

Today, I promise your loving son would never hurt you again,

I won’t break it ever; for it’s you who taught me to keep one’s word............

P.S: Happy Birthday, Aai!!!!!!

MY REVIEW OF "MISSION KNOWN" - A BOOK BY SHAISHAV SOLANKI, IIM-INDORE

My review of "Mission Known" - A book by Shaishav Solanki, IIM-Indore

     Before I write about the book, I would take this opportunity to appreciate the author’s courage in following his dreams. Many of us feel about writing a book; publishing our thoughts, making them known to the world, but we rarely do so. The author is my colleague at Indian Institute of Management, Indore and more importantly, a good friend that I have found, hopefully for life. Some may feel that the review of the book would be biased and flattering coz the author’s my friend; but those who know me well will obviously be sure that I don’t feel shy or afraid in criticizing people and accentuating flaws, if there are any.

     I am dividing this review into three parts: Content & Concept, Narration style and lastly, my Personal Review, not as a reviewer but as a reader. Usually, the movie reviews I read inadvertently reveal the entire plot first, and spoil the fun of watching the movie. I would refrain from doing so here.

1)      Content & Concept:

       Most of the books written for youth, especially by Indian authors are love stories. This isn’t the case here, which I found refreshing. Yes, there’s an element of love in the book, but that’s not the central theme. The love story doesn’t seem forced, and blends beautifully with the plot of the book. As the back cover of the book says,” learning things in a different manner”, that’s precisely what the book is all about. This is a new concept, partly seen in the hit movie 3 Idiots, but never explored in the form of a book before.

        As far as the content goes, the author backs his idea of “Mission Known” with real-life examples, which we tend to ignore. The content of Mission Known is loaded with heavy dialogues which are inspiring, especially in BOOK 8: COMYNA. Innovative metaphors are the key to the latter part of the book. I would put one here for illustration which is a dig towards the current education system “All people have different requirements. It’s like some people wanting prayers and some condoms. However, printing prayers on condoms satisfies nobody.”

       When one reads the book, one feels the vicarious thrill of being Schuyler; be it during the interactions with family, his girlfriend or his teachers, and also during his learning phase, which is the beauty of this book. The book is also written in a lucid language which will appeal to everyone. The book truly reflects the author’s words “this book is for anyone who has ever had the urge to learn something.”

2)      Narration style:

         The narration style is unique i.e. the book doesn’t follow in a sequence. This book, just like the movie Memento, puts you in the shoes of the protagonist and gives you a real-time experience while going through the story. The book is like a jigsaw puzzle; and in the initial 30 odd pages, the reader might be left wondering what is happening in the book. But I advise readers to keep reading ahead; just like a jigsaw puzzle, the things do fall in place after a while. Also, in the book, there are a series of “Fast-Forward periods”, which leaves the readers intrigued.  The author has been successful in building curiosity in the minds of the readers by terms like “Mr. X”, “Mission Known”, and even by hiding his girlfriend’s name, for a very long time.

       Now moving on to the grammar part: I noticed that the book falls short of expectations on this front. But I am sure the author would make the necessary changes before the next print-run.

3)      Personal Review:

          The readers of this review may want to ask me three questions: How much would you rate this book on a scale of 1 to 5? Is it worth the money spent in buying the book? Does the book convey the message it wishes to convey?

       Firstly, my rating would be 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 5. The parameters which I have taken into consideration are the concept, the content, flow of the story, the climax and the word choice. The book excels in four of the five parameters and hence it deserves such a high rating. Moreover, such a thought-provoking book written by a debutante is creditable indeed.

        Secondly, yes, the book is worth the money one spends to buy it, for the sheer weight I have given to the concept and the narration style. However, for those who weigh the price of the book on the number of pages, this book will be expensive.

        Does the book convey the message it wishes to convey? Yes, it does. Does it inspire us to change? As the protagonist of the book says, “Those who want to change will change.”

                 To summarize: I would recommend the readers to read this book with an open mind; for it is a book with a unique concept, unique character names and an equally unique, narration style.

UNSPOKEN DESIRES!!

Unspoken desires!!

Dreams are many, words are few,

To describe how much I need you,

But I’ll try to explain anyways,

How badly I want a life with you, my best friend,

My heart beats for you; my eyes lit up when I see you,

My pain goes away when I merely think of you,

You are my soul mate, a girl perfect for me,

And daily I pray I get to spend a life with you,

I want you to be the first girl I kiss,

I want to be the last guy you kiss,

I want to make all our dreams a reality,

And make this year spent with you, continue for a lifetime,

With you, I want to visit all the places we know,

Climb on mountains, and play in the snow,

Just as we had imagined, so often,

And just thinking about it even now, makes me happy,

I love hearing your voice the first thing in the morning,

And your sweet whispers, just before sleeping,

I want it to happen every day till I die,

I want to see you, as often as I can, if not daily,

I want long rides in the car,

Just you and me, driving afar,

A moonlit night, cool breeze and chocolates for company,

Just as we had once imagined in detail,

I want nice cosy dinners with you,

And someday I want to dance with you,

My hands around your waist, yours around my shoulder,

Not a word exchanged, but conveying feelings through the eyes,

I love the way you manage to take care of me, always,

I am awed by how you make me fine, always,

When I am down, you make me recover so quickly,

You are truly an awesome person, one of the best I know,

Each day, I want to give you an unending hug, tight,

As we meet after a tiring day at office, at night,

And tell you how much I missed you all day,

And how I wish I could be with you, every moment,

I want to build a home with you,

And make every minute detail that we discussed, come true,

It doesn’t have to be in an uptown locality,

But wherever it is; we would make it perfect,

I want you to be a part of my family get-together,

And they would love you and pamper you as a daughter,

I want you to be a part of those joyful moments,

That only a few lucky ones get in their life,

Our kid would be pampered by grandparents,

And so many uncles, aunts and cousins, not just us, parents,

He would be the luckiest child in the world,

Luckier than I would be to get a wife like you,

I want to spend our twenty-fifth anniversary on a cruise,

Reliving our life, feeling lucky that it was me you did choose,

To spend your life with, to share your joys and sorrows with,

To be my partner in sickness and in health, to be with me till the last breath,

Then someday one of us would die, leaving the other alone,

And the other would weep, forever forlorn,

Wishing for the end to come soon, wishing for death,

That would lead to heaven; where we shall meet again,

Sweetheart, these are my desires, hitherto unspoken,

I don’t know whether destiny will make it happen,

I am not optimistic; even if we don't have a future together,

I shall always pray for your unbound happiness,

I want to be with you, always and forever,

And it pains me to even think, it may not happen ever,

I wish the universe helps me; but even if it doesn’t,

I’ll live in memories, and smile, just dreaming about us..........

WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU??

What would I do without you??

This poem can be dedicated to a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a friend, a partner i.e. to anyone who has ever cared about you and who you are dependent upon. This poem’s for the person who you live for; yet at the same time, you feel you have let down and hurt the person in return for his or her selfless care...

You are the one person I want to make proud,

You are the one I seek, amidst a huge crowd,

Without you, I always feel an incomplete void,

An anxiety that can vanish only with your presence,       

Yours are the loving expressions I wish to see,

Yours is the company with whom I always wish to be,

You are the one person I always want in my life,

For you are awesome; you are perfect, indeed,

What would I do without you,

I wonder; for I am so dependent on you,

You are the one whose opinion I seek at every crossroad,

And even at every small decision I am about to take,

There were times my problems didn’t seem to cease,

And yet you always sorted out my dilemma with ease,

You always seem to know what’s best for me,

A guiding angel you are, a God’s given gift, indeed,

Yours is the hand that wipes off my tears,

Yours is the voice that makes me let go of my fears,

Yours is the mind that always seems to understand,

All my frustrations, all what I am going through,

You helped me recover when I was torn and tattered,

You nursed me when I was bruised and battered,

You have made me fathom the depth of true feelings,

You have made me realize the meaning of love and care,

So effortlessly, you have loved me despite my imperfections,

So easily, you have borne my countless frustrations,

You have been there for me through thick and thin,

And today I regret I never did reciprocate the same,

I remember the moments when I hurt you immense,

When I tried destroying the very essence,

Of our bond, by betraying you, by perpetually breaking your trust,

Yet you forgave me each time, with the hope that someday I’ll mature,

I am sorry for all the times I let you down,

I am sorry for all the times I brought a frown,

To your face, through my disgraceful actions,

Though I know even a thousand apologies won’t suffice for my past sins,

But tonight I promise I’d be with you till my days end,

I would selflessly care for you till my days end,

Tonight I thank you for being my angel, my saviour,

You are a God’s given gift; tailor-made for me, indeed..................

CONFESSIONS OF A HEARTBROKEN KID!!

Confessions of a heartbroken kid!!

You made me happy, you made me dream,

You made me fall in love again,

And so easily, I believed it will last this time,

But life and fate tortured me, yet again,

An exquisitely beautiful world you showed me,

Your care and affection was unparalleled,

And so effortlessly, I felt like we were meant to be,

My dreams were going to come true, I believed,

Then one fine day, it all changed; you left me stranded,

Groping in the dark, tears in my eyes,

You hurt me in the present, for the sake of your past,

And everything was a big fat lie, you made me realize,

I was distraught, I was shattered,

Never had I felt so lonely before,

Sleep eluded me, hunger left me,

And tears couldn’t stop as my life hit the floor,

I always thought I was special,

Maybe I am; but not in the way I thought,

Maybe I misinterpreted your care and words,

Maybe I dreamt too much, maybe too much I sought,

It was my mistake to think about the future,

Of a home, as lovely as we planned,

Or the small daily priceless moments of joy,

Or those legendary celebrations, a life better than we planned,

In times of solitude, to God I kept asking,

What was my mistake, what went wrong,

Why am I so incapable of being loved,

And for his wisdom, his answers I waited long,

Finally, a few days back, he sent me an angel,

And said she’ll look after you,

She will make sure you start smiling again,

She will ensure you never suffer in life; I assure you,

Under her aegis, in no time, I moved on,

And life became worth living again,

We often give too much importance to one person,

 In retrospection, I wonder, was it worth the pain,

I realized one thing; however pompous it may sound,

If someone loses me; it’s their loss,

For no one can selflessly care as much as I do,

And thus, I permanently kicked my predicament across,

In life, you may suffer much heartburn,

But fate always gives another opportunity,

To smile, to dance; to leap, to rejoice,

That my friends, is the beauty of destiny..................

IN YOUR PERPETUAL LONGING!!

In your perpetual longing!!

After yet another stressful day,

At three in the morning, on bed as I lay,

Eyes drooping, mind exhausted, body paining,

For a good night’s sleep I am hoping,

I close my eyes, and a moment later I find,

You creeping, as usual, into my mind,

That sweet smile, those gorgeous eyes I begin imagining,

And thus begins yet another night of your longing,

I think of calling you, but it’s too late,

And sadly, for a few more hours I would have to wait,

Before I could hear your sensuous voice,

I am so incomplete without you, yet again I realize,

My mind drifts to our romantic walks in the rain,

And I wish those happy days would come again,

Can you recollect the expressions on your face,

When we had once discovered an unknown, unexplored place,

I remember the time we had spent on the beach,

Staring at the horizon far away from our reach,

Holding hands, sentimental, silent; yet completely at ease,

Coz your presence is so comforting; and I wished time would freeze,

I long for the countless lunches which we had together,

Or the elaborate plans we made of our future,

Our magnificent house, our cute kids, many an extravagant dream,

But light years away, everything now does seem,

I then visualize our first and only kiss,

And the many tight hugs, so perfect, so bliss,

Sweetheart, I don’t know when I’ll get to see you again,

And that you’re not here gives me immense pain,

In your perpetual longing am I,

As to manage the gruelling schedules, I try,

 I just can’t stop thinking about you,

As I live my life in delirium; in constant dreams of you.................

THE PARTING NOTE!!

The parting note!!

I still can’t believe it’s time to part,

Albeit for a few months or years,

I always thought there will be a just a tinge of pain,

Never had I thought it would bring unstoppable tears,

As I scan my life, backwards,

Remembering countless moments of joy and sorrow,

I see a constant figure in all those moments; that’s you,

And sadly, that won’t be the case from tomorrow,

Our schedules would be so hectic,

That I won’t get time to talk with you,

Our lives would be so stressful,

That i won’t get to know what’s happening with you,

I am just going to be a faraway spectator,

In your life, as you climb the ladders of success,

I am going to end up as some friend from your past,

Who won’t have a share henceforth in your happiness,

I hope I am being cynical; I hope these are baseless fears,

I hope my importance in your life won’t go away,

I hope our bond is stronger than what I am imagining,

And I hope the moments spent with me won’t fade away,

Is there any place as such,

That will remind you of times spent with me,

Is there anything at all, I wish to ask,

That will make you think of me,

Even if you meet better people,

I pray that you will never forget me,

Even if you find sweeter friends,

I hope a small place in your heart; you’ll leave for me,

I may be going away for now,

But I don’t want to go away permanently from your life,

I hope occasionally you will keep me updated,

About various events that go on in your life,

There are still a few hours before I leave,

And I am happy I am spending them with you,

Building memories, that will help me,

Smile, when I am far away from you,

Thank you for all the amazing memories,

Thank you also for my lovely gift,

We may be parting for now,

But I hope that emotionally we shall never go adrift......