Pall Of Gloom

I want to sleep through this pall of gloom,
Enveloping me slowly in its demonic doom.

Wake me up, just wake me fast,
At the daybreak from the night past.
In my dream have I heard someone murmur
A call, a step has voiced in my deep slumber.

Let that call and that step stay,
Let my steps pace with that away.
Let my lips whisper back the call,
Let my whisper to him reel and roll.

My steps have started faltering,
My breathe has started fading,
Ah! hold me close unto I breathe my last
Ne'er ever through this world alone I pass

Raktabhit Gulmohar

The red murmur of Summer




प्रचंड होती ज्यों-ज्यों ग्रीष्म चहुओर

त्यों-त्यों प्रखर होता रक्ताभित गुलमोहर, 

नख से शिख अब अमलतास के फूल 

वृक्ष की शाख-शाख पर गए हैं झूल,

वो नव किसलय अब वसंतोप्रांत

है धूल धुसरित और क्लांत,

विकल ह्रदय वर्षा प्रतीक्षित 

आस भरे नयन नभ पे लक्षित,

उठे संध्या में जब मेघ घनघोर 

पवन बहा ले जाती उन्हें छितिज छोर,

प्रकृति के शैशव पर चढ़ा ये यौवन 

गिन रहा अब पतझर के दिन मौन.

A Prelude To Spring In My Balcony

 Spring arrived this year with a bounty of new life in my balcony. Though it was a long wait yet a visual treat when a pair of squabs came out of the eggs. It was a sheer delight to see them quivering and cooing. But, a repair work in the kitchen and frequent intrusion of laborers in the balcony on the pretext of getting their tools might have given a fear or insecurity to mother pigeon and to my dismay, one morning, I found them missing. Perhaps, transported by their mother to a much safer haven.

The Heavenly Morning Tea

My maid and I have our morning tea together. I, with my newspaper and she with her endless mumblings on her mundane job without taking care of it that I am too engrossed in my reading to listen to her. 

A Siesta At Hyundai Servicing Center

It was the second free servicing of my car at Hyundai car servicing Center, Patliputra on  16th. I reached there rather late and thus had no option left except to wait in the customers' lounge as the day was cloudy with a few showers of rain. The drudgery of this long wait for 4-5 hours gave way to the lethargy and let one gentleman enjoy the afternoon nap while to me it gave an opportunity to sketch him in his off guard.   

A Trial Run In Water Colour

Pursuing our hobbies gives us profound satisfaction. I have always had a fascination for sketching , water and oil paintings. I had done a few oils long before. These days I am trying my hand at water colour painting. The only thing that overcasts my spirit is that I didn't follow discipline in Fine Arts in my school/college days.I know I have overdone the colours here but at the same time I also know that this way only I can learn.

A pair of squabs

Pigeons have become quite adapted to urban surroundings. And, my balcony seems to be the safest place for their maternity home. The year 2010 witnessed the hatching of baby birds so many times from the eggs laid either in the flower pot or A.C, top in the skylight.My morning tea becomes so refreshing with the chirping, hopping sparrows on the twiggy branches of overgrown Shami plant.
This December, the mama pigeon again laid two eggs in the banana flower-pot. In the beginning, she seemed scared in my presence but later on, she  perhaps formed the opinion of my being the most innocuous creature in that surrounding, So, she kept on hatching her eggs shutting her eyes to my presence.
I left for the In-service course on 22 Dec with the hope of seeing the babies on my return in the new year.And, the first thing I did after my return on 3rd Jan was to open the balcony to see them. Wow...! they were there, a pair of squabs nestled under the wings of mama pigeon.The next morning I left for Bangalore and when I returned on 9th, they had become naughty little ones all the time cooing softly when fed up by their mama.
You can see the mama and papa pigeons sitting together listening and enjoying the cooing of their young ones. Yeah, children are the greatest gifts of God and to me, these baby pigeons the fabulous gift in my solitude.