Where the mind is without fear...

The other day,I was teaching my 8th std cousin this poetry of Tagore...

I was overcome with delight at seeing this poetry in his textbook,as it was one of my favourites,when I was a student.It took me back to those days when such simple things as poetry could touch some chords of your mind and make an ever lasting impression.And I began to teach with all the zest and zeal I would've felt when I myself heard it first.

The poem itself being simple and easily compehendible, I did not have to take much effort to teach him.But when my eyes fell on these words,I was a bit stuck. "Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habits"(Note: Not good habit or bad habit, but "dead" habit.) I was not sure how to explain.So I thought a bit..

Then I told him "A habit is an action done spontaneously,without really thinking, "He asked "Why then dead habit?" "Of course!!! 'Live habits' should be ones that must be guided by a clear stream of thinking about its cause and consequences.Otherwise they are mere repetition of some thoughtless exercise.Hence 'Dead'."

And that set off a train of thoughts in my mind."How many things I do like that? At work?At home?Where is my clear stream of reason? Dried up long ago, Isuppose, by continuously flowing in the desert sands of dead habits." That,I feel, is the impact every good piece of art has on you. It just makes you rethink those truths that you had always ignored.

Immediately I took piece of paper and copied down the entire poem. My brother asks"Why?" and I say " I liked it very much." After copying it I was about to ask him to do some exercise given at the end of the poem when I find him sitting transfixed.I ask him" What happened? Why are you sitting like this?" He says" I was trying to memorise the whole poem, though it is not there for the exams".

Hats off to you,Tagore,for such an inspiring work...

If you had really loved...

Love, They say is a double edged sword
You can hurt yourself,you can hurt others
Try and use it to defend your world
It shields your soul from all bad weathers..

Energy to live your life to the full
Inspiration,to dare and show your skills
Refreshing memories, that all wounds of the heart fill
Amazes yourself, showing what you are able...

Then what is it that you mourn and cry for?
Unfulfilled desires? egoistic joys?
Why do tears from your eyes pour?
For the rare blessing,that life has bestowed?

Loneliness, Again...

Loneliness,the pain
Coursing through every vein
Filling my eyes again
And I fail to restrain

As some unknown grief
Tightens its ugly grip
And in a moment,so brief
Erases smiles off my lips

The mind fills with shadows of doom
As I await in this gloom
For something to break this wall
That between me and the world,stands tall.

Some raintime thoughts...

The sky, like life,stands overcast
Perplexed, as shadows of rain move past.
Yonder, the sun threatens to pour its embers
But,the clouds do seem to promise a shower.

As the time withers away,
The dilemma becomes more and more grave.
The travellust stormy winds come whistling loud
Strong as he is, wants to take with him the clouds.

Pity to watch the lover earth on flames,
Romance brings suffering, for everyone, the same
Will the clouds abandon him, carried away by the winds?
Or will faith give the strength to stand by its friends?

I wonder and wonder as I watch
What the decision will be at last?
From heaven as the beads of pearl sweep down
Relief! that the earth was not left forlorn.

Bliss showers

The green eyes which refuse to open
From their sleep,in this beautiful dawn.
The lustrous lamp lit by divine hands
Has not yet adorned the horizon.

The gloomy mist encircling the hills,
Have not lain on grasses to rest.
The early birds that chirp from afar,
Aren't the ones that have left their nests.

The little streams from the rain of the night
Have not lost their flow,yet.
The glistening lips of the beautiful flowers
With a dreamy smile,are still wet.

Beauty speaks with unspoken words
That breaks the silence of this hour
Nature alive with wonderful sights
And into the minds,bliss showers.

Nature

A beautiful twilight lights the earth..
As a new morning takes its birth
Pinks and blues adorn the sky
On it, the shadows of birds that fly

When the arms of a cold breeze sweeps the land
It embraces every tree and every grass
The rattles of a drizzle that falls on the sand
And the buds shaking in the tune to a dance..

The voice of the birds in melodious chirps
From the head of the grass, a dew drop drips
They fill the coldest of hearts with pleasure
As the mother nature opens her treasures

The joys of dawn bestowed upon us..
In which one feels a mother’s caress
Are not deprived even when dusk falls….
As the sun sets behind the mountain walls

The orangish - blue fades to dark..
The stars twinkle with the beauty of a spark..
The hush of the night, broken by the sounds…
Of gnawing insects and of barking hounds..

The calmness of mind is enveloped by fears
But before they get transformed to tears…
The hands of sleep begins its magic..
Promising another day of fun and frolic