Raincoat with a guarantee

Injustice hits first
Then the feeling of self-doubt
And then came the worst of all
The fear of having hurt them all

As I sit here in this maddening silence
It does not feel like silence anymore
The clouds hanging on my head might rain
And I didn’t even bring my raincoat

The raincoat had a guarantee of forever
Atleast that’s what was written all over
Or I might have misread few lines
I bet it was supposed to be lifetime

I still awkwardly tiptoe around
Avoiding the puddles that are still left behind
Enough sunshine isn’t even enough
It might take a lifetime to dry

Eye of the typhoon

It feels like I belong here
Every person with a different colour
But somehow every colour seems like mine
The painting inside becomes vibrant with every passing day

I am strangely not so anxious anymore
I meet and greet and treat everyone nice
No more stumbling in between jumbled words and awkward smiles
Life doesn’t seem fake anymore like it always did

But some moments smell like rain
With notes of salt mixed
I might not be beside a calm river
Maybe its the eye of the typhoon

A pinch of life

I feel incomplete as days go by
As if I left parts of me in this puzzle of life
A dash of wonder in that school library
A pinch of laughter in that college canteen
And sprinkles of giggles in that hostel room
Most importantly the comfort of familiarity back home

These days as I travel to my workplace every morning, I have too much time to stare out of the window and nurture useless thoughts. My mind wanders to places farther than that airplane that I spot from my window. Maybe that is an international flight and I give too much credit to my mind. But I don’t know why I tend to remember my best memories in that short period (it’s almost 1 hour though).

There isn’t even a shred of doubt regarding my feelings for my current workplace. It has been like a dream come true for the past one month. It feels like I belong here. And that is something I rarely feel. I genuinely wish to get up every morning feeling the same spark that I have felt for this past month. There hasn’t been a single day when I felt like sleeping in and missing work. I know after a few months I will feel like that most probably. So I want to document this to remind me of the days when I was brimming with passion. I just want to establish a strong foothold for the future me before I get too deep into this never-ending cycle that might become just a routine one day.

But I don’t know why feeling this good about a place feels like cheating on the other best places I have ever been to. It is not that deep, but it makes me look forward to how much happier I can be. All the hardships I faced during the past few months seem to be fading away these days. And this sometimes makes me worry that I might start taking all this for granted after some time. I know I have to make up for all the kindness shown by everyone around me and give my hundred percent to this new job. That means I should work way harder than I am now. So, let’s end this honeymoon phase with beautiful memories and mix a pinch of discipline in all that passion I have been feeling. Because someone told me- “great is just good mixed with ten percent extra effort”. And I want to go that extra mile now that I am already here. I hope I can look forward to more happy days filled with self-satisfaction as we inch toward the end of this beautiful year.

Part of my life

This hustled way I am living these days
Shuffling from place to place
Each day this sea greets me with a new wave
And I try to swim these blues away

I still try to grasp every straw in between
Communicate what matters to me effectively
Avoiding getting seasick with monotony
I am still hoping this spark isn’t momentary

This chaos I am slowly unfolding
Might be a carefully woven bundle of events
No matter how far I look, the bundle remains same
It’s all part of my life or my life is a part of this

Home ( A Cadralor)

1.
I open the gates to shimmering lights
Walk down the stores full of flowers so bright
Joy seems spreading like a picture larger than life

2.
Wake up soon, the sun is up too
Early morning dreams about to come true
I see everyone together just as I drew

3.
Colours are important don’t you miss them
I shout orders to bring those sweets well
They go outside only to return soon

4.
Its tiring how much I still have left to do
The smell is too sweet, did I add cardomom too?
Stirring the magical heaven as I get rid of all that gloom

5.
And just like that the table is set, looking forward to true bliss
The rangoli adorns the entry to a home where nobody is missed
With holy chants and pretty lamps, this autumn’s Diwali is again the best.

Diwali is a Hindu festival celebrated generally in October or November (excuse me for not knowing the name of the months according to the Hindu calendar, my teachers taught me well but I guess I was not a good student). It is my favourite festival, since everyone’s home and we get to eat so many sweets. You should definitely try Indian sweets, nothing can beat them in my opinion, not even the holy chocolate! (though I love chocolates too). And overall it’s a festival of lights so we decorate everything with fairy lights, but you should never forget those beautiful earthen lamps. I love putting those diyas at every corner of the house and making sure, they are still burning until I give in to sleep. There is so much more meaning to this festival but I will write about it in detail some other time.

But I absolutely cannot miss rangolis. I love making rangolis. I have used the picture of last year’s rangoli as the featured image to give an idea of what it looks like. It is an art form made of coloured sand or powdered colours and the design is up to you. So every year my sister and I brainstorm together to come up with a good design only to switch it up last minute because we are getting late for the puja. I don’t believe in praying but since I have been doing it since I was a kid, it feels only natural to pray together on Diwali. And just like that, I get another day full of happy memories, good food, and giggles all around.

Back to Square One

The last eight months have been like a rollercoaster for me. I have to say it was the scariest rollercoaster I have ever been on. I love rollercoasters in general and am always willing to ride them at any time. Maybe that’s why I found enough courage to start this journey. The job I had been working on in 2021 was an extremely toxic one. It consumed all my time, mental peace, and health altogether. I would not have believed that stress can make you lose so much hair, had you told me before this job.

I was still kind of a fresher in my field, so I knew it would be hard to find a fresh job if I quit this one. But at that time, I don’t know how I found that kind of belief in myself which further strengthened my will to start afresh at a place where I can find a bit more peace. I have to give credit to my family and friends who always gave me a safety net to fall back on. So as a new year resolution (I never believed in such things before), I told myself that in 2022, I would be in a better place. And just yesterday, I got my offer letter from my dream company, for a position that makes me so excited to start.

But wait, this journey had never been this smooth as it sounds. There were nights when I could not sleep due to anxiety surrounding this uncertain future. Nights where I whispered desperately to have atleast some sort of job. I never knew finding a job can be this difficult. I started on such a happy note and vacationed around to clear all the negative energy. And I have to accept, I was the happiest I had ever been in the last 1 year. And then the rollercoaster started going all downhill. I had started with some plans in mind. And then plan A got postponed. Plan B was executed perfectly but did not give results, atleast at that time. And I was kind of ashamed of myself for being jobless. It hurt even more because everyone around me had such high expectations from me, myself included.

When those negative thoughts did not leave me, I desperately tried to hold on to something. I am glad that I still had some goals and timelines to adhere to, or else I would have been too deep down in that abyss to ever recover. And as this rollercoaster seems to be going uphill now, I am glad I took a ride. For I could not have learned lessons so invaluable without this break. The major takeaway for me is that I have to enjoy this moment as it is. I realized that if I constantly try to run away to a better place, always pushing ahead, I will miss the scenery that comes along. At one point I realized, that I was happy to be on a break, I could study all I want, without any disturbances. I could happily chat the evenings away with my family and could have any food I craved (though I am not in perfect shape after indulging in those tasty homecooked treats). So it’s a bit bittersweet to leave home now to go back to work. Not to mention that I will have to build all those work relationships afresh. But now I know I can deal with anything in the world. See, this is exactly the feeling you get after passing through the biggest drop in that scary rollercoaster. Still, since I think I am now high up here, I tend to close my eyes for a moment, fearing another sharp drop. Then again, I must remember to take some deep breaths and enjoy the scenery while I am still here.

Abyss

And just like that another day passed
Passed like the wind on my face
While I was just peeking out of the backseat of a car
And I just feel a bit heavier today

Is it the anxiety trying to bog me down again
Or just some motion sickness on my way to happiness
But as soon as I leave this moment
It seems like all the happiness was in the past

Why can’t I gracefully descend to the future?
Like that graceful river sparkling with dreams of the sea
I look back and the ever-growing nostalgia haunts me
Like precious memory of someone who is no more

Too worried to leave important bits and pieces of present
I just can’t seem to grasp everything in these tiny hands
Something always slips down into the past’s abyss
And I am lying here wondering if the cycle ends

This continuous exercise of self-love and happiness is wearing me down
Maybe I should just sit here and truly understand my sadness
But why does everything has to go
It seems, in reality, happy endings hurt too.

To live on

I remember once again
As I sit here drenched in the rain
With every part of my soul soaked to the core
Drowning every sorrow, stripping me off this load
Smiles don’t tire me out anymore
And lungs seem to be running out of air
But my heart feels so full
So full but so light
The heavy dreams or grieving themes
Float away freely in those paper boats
And the only one remaining is me in this moment
And I realize once again
For such moments I live on

I cannot say that monsoon is my favourite season, but I must admit I love the rain ( if enjoyed from the comfort of my home obviously). I find myself looking forward to those heavy rains every summer with a shine in my eyes. Of course, I am privileged enough that I do not have to worry about negative consequences which sometimes do come along with heavy rains. But I love it when all I can see is just rain falling and soaking everything in sight. And getting soaked in the rain is one of my favourite feelings. The type of rain in which I can’t even open my eyes for too long, still everything seems much prettier. Maybe it’s just that my vision is clouded in the literal sense. But I do have fond memories of dancing in the rain with my sister. Now that the monsoon is over, I will have to wait for another year for making a new set of memories. I hope I can still feel the same happiness next year too.

By the way, have you ever seen rain approaching? It was just last year when it was raining right in front of me, but I was standing a few centimeters away completely dry staring in disbelief. I think I was too stupid, that I had never imagined that rain has got to end somewhere. But I found it quite an amusing sight, standing on edge of the rain. Then to make me feel even more ignorant, my parents told me their tales about racing with the rain when they were young. Apparently, they saw the approaching rain too often in the countryside where they grew up. And I was so jealous that I never got to experience that. The most rain I saw was from my balcony or rooftop with those city lines in the background. I hope I get to race with the rain atleast once in my lifetime.

A Novice

A Pantoum

Along these consciously unconscious movies
As reality blurs between rationale and feelings soar high
Sometimes I swim through like a novice
Knowing all too well, I was born to fly

As reality blurs between rationale and feelings soar high
I wander in the ocean depths looking for a muse
Knowing all too well, I was born to fly
I contemplate the difference between two blues

I wander in the ocean depths looking for a muse
Just going with the flow or avoiding the tides
I contemplate the difference between two blues
Anticipating the moment this storm subsides

Just going with the flow or avoiding the tides
Sometimes I swim through like a novice
Anticipating the moment this storm subsides
Along these consciously unconscious movies

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