Frosty View

We look far

Overlooking the near

We see beyond

Into the obscure

We peer to the future

Ignoring the here

We listen for high

While low we do not hear

We admire the distant

Neglecting near and dear

We see the sky

So blue and clear

Past the frosted imprints

Nature’s artwork so rare!

 
 
 
 
 

Vibrations

Sun spreads its radiance and I absorb it,

Moon glows in serenity and I sip it,

snowflake pirouettes in silence and I hear it,

dongs bang

bombs explode

atoms collide

universe vibrates into infinity. 

Radiance in her eyes

glow on his face

Their feet twirl together,

bells chime

trains whistle

Mars and Venus smile 
universe vibrates with infinite love. 

Luminous warmth in her innocence

glow of pride in theirs,

parents and baby do the dance of joy,

anklets jingle

rattlers rattle

cells combine

universe vibrates with infinite creation. 

One sun, one moon, one universe

nine planets, seven seas, one mother earth

204 countries, 809 islands, 7 billion humans,

our stars are aligned, our atoms gravitate

to merge or fuse

our paths cross, we walk a distance together and part ways

until…

another path

another lifetime

another space.

It was meant to be.

Just BE!

 

KISMET or DESIGN? - Conclusion

The morning of Ani’s first birthday had started as usual with cries for milk, demands for tea, and a push to get breakfast in her husband’s stomach before he rushed out.  She saw him ride away, on his bicycle, peddling off down the alley, her eyes glued to his back until he turned at the curb.  That was the last she saw him.  Her world came crumbling down when the love of her life, her friend, her husband, the sole breadwinner crashed into a lorry that sped up from a bend around the corner.

Blinking away tears wedged in the corners of her eyes, Radha watched the young couple.  Seeing her mother in the young bride on the platform, her eyes welled up again.  To support the two young girls, her mother had taken on odd jobs cleaning rich homes or taking in laundry.  She worked from sun up to sundown and lived with constant remarks from her mother-in-law.  The sister-in-law had moved out with her husband but the burden of mouths to feed fell on Kanta.  She was determined to get her daughters an education so they would be independent.  Whatever boon or curse future had in store for them, they should never be helpless.

Radha heard the whistle of her train and watched it come closer.  She grabbed her small suitcase and the medical case.  Boarding the train she settled in her corner for the six hour ride to her mother’s village.  Now old and bent over from sweeping so many homes for decades, Kanta lived in her village in her parent’s hut, the only thing left for them to leave for her when they passed on.  Ani lived with her and ran the local school and now Radha will join them as she planned to setup her medical practice.

 The end

KISMET or DESIGN?

The sun shone high and bright igniting the vast space below.  A petite figure sat on a platform bench bathed in radiance.  Her ticket in hand, Radha looked at the grand clock and muttered under her breath, two more hours.  She looked around the small station with its one window ticket counter and a single vendor.  On a round, foldable table he stocked bottled water, soda, gum, packets of chips and candy.  Beside him sat a large tea kettle with a few clay tumblers.

Radha turned her gaze to the other end of the platform where, on a bench sat a young couple.  The petite woman covered in her bridal adornment, her red veil extending over her head, her eyes down to her chin, huddled in her corner.  The young man sporting a groom’s turban sat next to her, his left arm extending protectively behind his bride on the bench.  They did not touch, but in the way his eyes gleamed, her shoulders relaxed next to him, Radha noticed their closeness.  A small trunk sat at her feet, which Radha assumed carried all of the young bride’s possessions, her memories of childhood, and mementos from home.  Perhaps a framed picture of her parents nestled between a hand-knit sweater, an anklet from her mother’s childhood, and a scarf from father’s wardrobe to carry his comforting aroma with her.  A larger trunk stood erect on the side with presumably wedding gifts and mundane possessions.

Radha observed as her eyes glazed over to another time, a different platform. Her parents had travelled alone once, soon after the grand wedding celebration in her mother, Kanta’s village.  Her mother had related the story numerous times about the wedding and how it had been the talk of the village.  An only child, Kanta had been given a lavish sendoff even as it meant lifelong debts for her parents.  After an entertaining wedding celebration, the marriage had succeeded just as splendidly.

First were the awkward, shy moments, then understanding and respect developing into friendship over the months.  When and how that friendship evolved into love, Kanta could not recall.  All she remembered was the sweet laughter, joyous smiles and constant sparkle in her eyes.

A daughter, Radha was born out of that love and soon another, Ani. Kanta recalled those days as her happiest as she reveled in the abundance of love that surrounded her.  She even smiled through the snide remarks of her mother-in-law or hummed over the sarcasm of her sister-in-laws while they all shared a roof and cooked in the same kitchen in a joint family.

To be continued...