What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of the quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then god combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so,

He called it… Dad.

Happy birthday dad. :)

The Rise Of The Indian Phoenix

We are at the threshold of a mighty change. The whispering that has been there ever since the glorious day of 15th August, 1947 is now becoming a might roar.  Gone are the days where we used to suffer in silence. We are no longer meek, we are ready to fight fire with fire if necessary. Gone are the days when we used to obey without questioning and now that we have started questioning everything, we are at a fork, one which goes back to how things were before, and one where we the change we all desperately need. The future of the nation depends on us, the Gen X. We have the youth and the boundless energy within us, roaring to get in action. All we need is a beacon, to point us the right way and then sit back as you see the country becoming the mighty, unstoppable force it is. We are the future, we are the cells of the mighty, dormant Phoenix called India. A phoenix  because can rise up from the ashes, rise when all hope seems to be lost. 

The time for a change is upon us, all that remains is what we make of it. Do we rise up to it? Or do we just shrug it way? That's the choice we have to make.To quote the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri,

"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."

We all have our own dreams, our own visions about the future of the country. Some may be optimistic, some may not be so bright. An individual may not make a great change, but collectively we can move mountains. 

There is another quote I read in on the cover of a Classmate notebook:

"The world needs dreamers.

 The world needs doers.

 But most importantly, the world needs dreamers who do."

The future is what we make of it, so lets RISE UP and Touch the sky.

The Will To Win

If you want a thing bad enough
To go out and fight for it,
Work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and
your sleep for it

If only desire of it
Makes you quite mad enough
Never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other things tawdry
and cheap for it

If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,

If gladly you'll sweat for it,
Fret for it, Plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,

If you'll simply go after that thing that you want.
With all your capacity,
Strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,

If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain
Of body or brain
Can turn you away from the thing that you want,

If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You'll get it!

The Ballad Of Painful Peace

Lived a man, not ages past;

Had one love – the sea…

But sadly when he breathed his last,

His beloved he couldn’t see…

The last of all that he beheld,

Was neither sea nor all;

All he saw was misery,

And all the trees were felled…

The rain came down in all around,

And yet the flames did spur…

Coaxed on and on to burn and burn,

Just fuelled on but incurred…

For the fates now rest and wait;

The soul can’t get the gate

And all the flames, devoured; tall

And menacing were they…

Irony! O Irony! Though hand is what I see!

That a man of all the sea

Must sleep on a bed of fire…

Irony! O Irony! Though hand is what I see!

No harmony, nor fondling,

No last touch of the seas

Lord above! O Lord above!

Cannot thou pity he –

He who loved the temptress blue,

The Daughter of Thy Power…

Wished to be interred by her,

His last wish too denied,

Rested he now on a bed,

Of coal and of fire….

Time alone is the last

Anomaly; Wait, see !

The rising ghost, the kindred spirit,

Like the smoke grey-white!

Hovers over the bed of coals,

Like the hissing soot…

And the spectre, rising, shot –

Over the heads into thee…

O Goddess-Change! O Queen of Rage!

This spectre is now you’re heir!

The melancholy whistling wind,

Now calls forth this avenger

Of his rage; and no less sage,

Avenged he did his all !

Now all see the hood – His rise!

The serpent now strikes its fangs!

All this for love and not of hate,

Succeeded at last, he did!

Now he rests in all his peace,

Knowingly or otherwise…

The price of this unsteady fall...

Rests he now innocently,

While guilt is on and on of all

Those who did rift the lovers…

But the thirst of his now quenched,

No revenge he desires,

All he wants is to sleep and lie

In those cooling waters….

There Is No Peace

The night falls gentle upon the earth

but hard within the heart of a terror-filled child.

There is no peace this night

but a sentry-like awareness of

every noise, every movement

within the house.

A silent prayer is taken upon the wings

of the mourning dove

who waters the ground below with its tears

watching puddles form where each drop lands

forming a new ocean of sorrow.

There is no peace this night.

The tender child draws itself

into a tiny ball as if to disappear

... footsteps are heard in the hall

"please no" is whispered, "please go" is prayed

as the doorknob quietly turns.

There is no peace this night.

The dove soars higher, shaking sobs within its breast

penetrating clouds, gliding on wind

seeking its source

looking for the Light

knowing there will be no peace this night.

The shadow falls across

clenched fists, tousled curls,

drawn up limbs, eyes squeezed shut

against the scene about to unfold

scarcely breathing, knowing

there is no peace this night.

Feverishly winging toward

the rainbow of light and celestial destination,

the dove contracts and gasps with the pain

of its little charges' spirit

and delivers the message

To the being of Light & Beauty

who swoops down to grasp the hand of the child

and deliver its pain to another dimension

to be stored until the child is stronger

and able to face the reality of evil on the earth.

The angel cradles her charge,

gently rocking, while tears stream down her face...

mixing with the silent tears of the child.

The dove quietly sings its grievous song of mourning

for the lost innocence of this precious tot.

There is no peace this night.

For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica)

These are the lyrics to, in my opinion, one of the finest pieces of music. 

It's not just the kickass intro but also the powerful lyrics that makes this a shining gem in Metallica's 30 year old career. Here goes:

Make his fight 

On the hill in the early day 
Constant chill deep inside 
Shouting gun 
On they run 
Through the endless grey 
On they fight 
For they right 
Yes, but who's to say? 
For a hill men would kill 
Why? They do not know 
Stiffened wounds test their pride 
Men of five 
Still alive through the raging glow 
Gone insane 
From the pain that they surely know 
For whom the bell tolls 
Time marches on 
For whom the bell tolls
 
Take a look 
To the sky 
Just before you die 
It's the last time he will 
Blackened roar 
Massive roar fills the crumbling sky 
Shattered goal 
Fills his soul with a ruthless cry 
Stranger now 
Are his eyes to this mystery 
He hears the silence so loud 
Crack of dawn 
All is gone 
Except the will to be 
Now they see what will be 
Blinded eyes to see 
For whom the bell tolls 
Time marches on 
For whom the bell tolls...

A Tribute To School Life

First day of school, I still remember
Not wanting to go,
Holding tight to my mother.

Unwilling to leave,
But tears in vain
Somehow they managed to push me in

A long time has passed since that day
As i reckon it now that how much has changed

In days back then
I found it difficult to fit in
A room with tables and benches to sit in

Faces all new,
And staying away from my mother
Learning stuff,
About which i really didn’t bother

School itself seemed like a jail to me
Waiting for the bell to ring
So that I could again be free

The irritating alarms
That woke me up at 5
And those yellow school buses
Which always left fore i arrived ..!

But as time went by
School became much better
The laughs the lessons are
Moments that’ll last forever

The bags all packed
With books on all the subjects..
Have changed to a single one
With all the notes and all the projects !

The habit of bringing
A pen pencil and a ruler
Has changed to
Begging for even a single sheet of paper!

Crying over silly things
Has turned into giggles
Seriously, school life is a memory
That will never flicker!

From "may i come in"
To bunking of classes!
From topping in exams
To failing in FA.s!

From learning everything
And making sure nothings left
To learning a few
And "eh who cares about the rest"!!

Things have changed a lot
And so have I
For better or for worse
That’s for the future to decide!

The tears that were once
For not going to school..!
Will soon turn into tears
To go back to school..!!