A BOAT TRIP

Today was a pleasant day
looking at the weather, so to say
a relief from the scorching heat
with the sun n clouds playing hide n seek
the sky was a canvas of pretty whites n blues
the seagulls flying overhead looking lovely as they always do

the wind hissed softly in my ears
felt it on my face as I pushed back the tears
lifted my chin up and forced a smile
knowing all the while
I was only trying to pretend
searching for a beginning where I saw nothing but an end

I hopped onto a boat n i took a trip
in a futile attempt to get a grip
on my wayward mind...
dont know what I wanted to find
perhaps 'twas a desire to escape the unending onslaught
of my muddled thoughts

but well, we all know
things dont go the way we want em to go
especially when the mind and the heart
desire things that are poles apart

I hopped off the boat on the shore
of a li'l town I'd never seen before
li'l houses, each a different colour
standing next to each other
in simple and sweet harmony
as if they were all testimony
to master creations
from a child's imagination
a collection of building blocks
taken out never to be put back in their box
the myriad combinations giving delight
to the visitors sight

irrespective of the joys and sorrows
of yesterdays, todays or morrows
they just stood where
others like me must've wandered here and there
in the little streets in a daze
searching for new paths through the maze
wondering with growing fascination
what had lead to this destination
various colours and various shades
keeping their own through so many decades

lost in that toy-like town
I watched the sun go down
finally it was time to return,
go back the way I'd come...

the boat trip did not do wonders
did not pull me out of that place deep down under
but I did see
something that reminded me
of the colours of life that will always be
of diversity of variety,
dark or light, mild or strong,
bright or sombre, right or wrong,
no matter what decisions that one must take
no matter what choices one needs to make
regardless of time, of dusk or dawn
LIFE WILL GO ON!!

N.S. 25/07/07

THE (IR)RESPONSIBLE TOURIST

I love travelling- and cannot deny that I like doing so in comfort! I love going to all sorts of destinations-but my favorites are the ones where I can be away from the city crowds, amidst vast open spaces and greenery- add some mountains or a large stretch of beach and sea-side and it makes for the perfect holiday spot. Yes, I am happy to be amidst nature-happier still if I can enjoy it in comfort- 

The "comfort"of not having to worry about planning three meals a day, or cook them myself, or even make a shopping list of mundane requirements. Ah what bliss to be in the middle of nowhere and yet have the "genies" of the hospitality industry to cater to your-simple- wishes...genies, coz they leave you alone unless you want them around. These places do exist, if only in my dreams...which are oft broken by other fellow 'tourists'!

Over the years I have however been noticing other holidaying people and it has struck me that people away from their own home, people who are out to holiday and have a good time, let themselves loose-literally. They are so intent on having a good time that they forget certain basics-and after all the talk on “Responsible tourism” I do feel one aspect of “responsible tourism” has been highly undervalued: the “Responsible Tourist”! Tourists are indeed considered part of a problem (I thought so as well having seen the way –sigh-most people-thankfully not all of them-behave when on a holiday). But I do believe they should be treated as part of the solution and not just the problem!!

We all study civics at school, how many of us are actually able to practice civic sense- how many of those teachers just mete out the DOs and DONTs on auto-play mode, without even registering what they say beyond the scope of finishing a syllabus or just "sounding good"? How many of us actually take the trouble to follow it and set an example? How many of us take the easy way out saying: oh in the crowd what difference will one person make?

When we go to a tourist destination, why do we forget that it is home to someone else? How would we want visitors and guests in our home to behave? Would we be happy cleaning up after them or would we be happier if they came, enjoyed themselves and still left our homes neat and clean?

N.S. 5/8/2011

A MOMENT

I didn’t want this moment to end, and the next one to start..

I think back n somewhere I feel a flutter…was it in my heart?!

It was a moment that caught my fancy…

a moment that made me happy…

a moment that made me sad,

a moment that I dont know I ever really had…

I write as the thoughts come by, and I let the words flow,

I think of birds flying in the sky: blue as the ocean, dark as the sun,

I think of the ever changing horizons, of all and of none

I don’t know what I’m searchin for, but I know I want time to go slow,

For I want to cherish that moment…even though, I don’t know…

I wonder about a myriad things that are around me..

Were the world upside down, what would it be?

Would there be fish in the sky n stars in the streams…?

What about fantasies, memories and dreams?

I think of a lost dimension, n my imagination takes another leap

Could I sleep n never wake up..n wake up to never sleep?

Are lies the truth, and truth lies?

Could I see as well without closing my eyes?

In that part of the globe, someone else’s today is my yesterday

I’m effectively sitting in someone else’s tomorrow

People from the past, from the future…is their time ours to borrow?

Weird as it  seems, someone will perhaps find a way …

To measure time, to hold it  and make it stand still,

Call me a dreamer, my mind a vagabond, a drifter if you will,

But tell me where does time travel ..where does it go?

Yes I think of all these things, I think coz….. I wanna know!

(NS 16/10/06 0314)

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN NEVER TOO YOUNG TO TEACH

Everyone says that children are the best learners. I couldn't agree more...infact they are also amongst the best teachers. With their simple honest ways of reasoning and expressing themselves, consciously or unconsciously, they come up with explanations that quite often adults would find difficult to even imagine.

My 10 year old has always been a curious child, and is a foodie -she loves tasting new dishes, learning new recipes, enjoys experimenting with ingredients and is very happy donning the chef cap. Very often on Sundays, we are treated to li'l delights prepared by her-she loves giving us surprises-conspiring with the maid the evening before, she gets her mise-a`-plat done. Then she wakes up early the next morning and lays out her surprise preparations on the breakfast table :-)

Recently she moved from junior school to middle school and was asked to choose amongst the optional subjects and activities. So when 'home science' was an option, we assumed naturally, that she would opt for that. We were however astonished that she had decided to take up music and art...(she is not a singer, nor does she consider herself an artist where painting and drawing are concerned). Her classmates laughed at her choice, some openly making fun of her. Her friends and teachers advised her not to take those options warning her that she would not manage good grades. She came home that day visibly upset and when asked the reason for her consternation, she explained that she had had a tough day at school with her classmates making fun of her choice of optional subjects. Like her teachers and friends, our first reaction was also to advise her to go for "Home Science" but she had her mind made-up and refused to change her option. Not wanting to sound too harsh, and definitely not wanting her to be subjected to more jeering at school, I decided I needed to reason with her and so, I started by asking her what made her choose a subject that wasn't exactly her forte -without hesitation she replied: "Everyone makes fun of my singing and drawing-even the teachers. I am not good at music or art and that's exactly why I need to join those classes and learn! What will I do in Home Science? I already know how to cook!"

For an instant I was stunned at her reply...and then I had to admit that her reasoning was in fact more correct than any reasoning we follow. I told her instantly that she had made the best choice possible and that I was proud of her- that was enough to cheer her up. She hugged me and happily ran off to bring out the list of things that were required for her new classes.

Caught up in the race to get good grades and have a shining report card we forget at times the very basic purpose of going to a class-that of learning! I have been a teacher and a teacher-trainer and often advise my students (the would-be-teachers) to encourage students-especially the slower ones- to learn...to pay extra attention to those who are lagging behind...but it's easy to forget to do that It's all too comfortable to just follow the ones who are bright and have a quick grasp.

When teachers in schools tend to select children for various activities: recitation, reading, play-acting etc- and they just choose the students who are good at these activities leaving behind the ones who are not, they actually take away an opportunity to let the others improve. They tend to create a mind-set: "this one is good at this", "that one can't do anything"...how easily these remarks remain stuck in a child's mind, how easily they can prevent a child from making that li'l effort to improve.

We all know these things in theory and yet, we often forget to put them into practice-I can only thank my li'l girl to have reminded me. It takes courage to go and make the choice she made and I am so proud of her! :-)

N.S. 7 April 2009

FLY FIREFLY

To fly was to be born again, 

I'd gone searching for adventure,

and I found myself....

I was lookin for somethin to thrill me,

I went high, and then low, and then high again,

I found myself breathless n gasping for air....

that knotty feeling is beginning to fill me,

I try n resist it but I know it's a lost battle,

I revel in the defeat, I know it's not fair

but the truth is that

I live in the feeling that kills me...

I start a journey on earth n it takes me to paradise,

somewhere in the background, I hear a warning bell

tinkling ceaselessly n telling me..

"you're being foolish...pay attention n be wise..

you re on the road to hell"

but I dont want to listen to what reason has to say

I dont want to go

and I dont know how I can stay...

the thoughts that crowd my empty mind,

tell me I can get the best view

if I decide to be blind,

I need strength

to resist temptation,

but something tells me

in weakness lies my salvation...

I know this can't be true,

I know its only my imagination

but that immeasurable feeling of being alive again,

brings to mind a ME I once knew,

n it overshadows all reason,

fades out any attempt at determination

will this be my down fall?

will this being alive finally kill me?

well, I guess I'll find out once and for all,

if it's written in the stars,

it's inevitable as my destiny,

N I know I can't forget the pain n I can't dim the scars,

N I know that wanting this has to be crazy

that's the whole irony...

I can see crystal clear n yet my sight's all hazy

If it's meant to be then, who am I

to try n stop it

If die I must…what the heck then...

what a way to die!

AN EXERCISE IN VISIBILITY

Sometimes I think about how people change over the years.. and how the years change people!!! The childhood years...those are the best years!!! Exceptional... no major worries in life.. years of complete bliss, where everything you see, you see through rose tinted glasses...and not getting your favourite toy or chocolate (or a pet dog!)  amounts to the biggest disappointment in life. Then you grow older and the teens come and go.... too fast....friends, boy friends, dreams, heartaches, pranks and crazy things....shared with friends who are the closest of buddies.....o those wonderfully wonderful years!!!!....and then you fall in love ..the time when you believe in those fairy tales and you believe in “living happily ever after”!!...Those too are good times (however brief). ....that feeling of butterflies in your stomach and the tingling sensation in your spine every time you see him or even think of him...he becomes your whole world and you can do anything....well almost anything for him!

Then comes marriage...and the first really big phase of responsibility. The happiness that comes with knowing that you are finally with the one you so wanted to be with, and the sadness that one phase in life is over for you (I wonder why does every happy moment usually have to have a sad one in the background?)....you have stepped across onto the other side and entered the world of adults....Marriage is fun, initially at least, when you and your partner are completely dedicated to each other....and so willing to please...then as you get used to that state of no longer being single, you start wanting more.....and eventually this phase leads to another crucial phase of life: parenthood....

Now marriage does change a person tremendously, but what really causes the metamorphosis is having children. Suddenly you are older....you are no longer carefree or your own person....everyone else is more important...You have responsibilities... those tiny bundles of joy who depend completely on you, trust in you blindly and look up to you as if you mean the world to them....Oh....there are times when they are an absolute pain...but still they adore you and you them....how can you not live up to their expectations?

Suddenly you have to put others’ needs before your own and you do- you start giving up things....you give a lot and in return learn what satisfaction and joy one can get from putting that smile on a loved one’s face. Children make you grow up like no one and  nothing else does!!

But what happens when your life partner no longer seems to notice you like before? What happens when the little beings also grow a little older....and don’t need you so very completely? When you start getting the time to think about all the things that you wanted to do but couldn’t do, you wished you’d done them...knowing that it’s probably too late to do them now.... all those things you had hoped for would happen....and didn’t happen....knowing that they can never happen now....realising that time is running out for you......when you are passing over to that far side of humanity?

So many things change....as life goes by.... and the years fly by so fast. Slowly, some how one starts becoming less visible to the rest of the world....they know you’re there but forget that you are still that person with needs and thoughts.....and desires. Every body just takes you for granted...and you start fading ....from the lively, bubbly, special person you felt you were and become a memory...a shadow of something that was. You start searching for that person and for the times gone by....but who can turn the clock back?!

YES...it’s true...after a few years of marriage and children, one becomes a little invisible...I mean people as soon as they realise you are married and have kids give you that “out of circulation” look which tells you how soon they’ve placed you in “that” category , the “not-so-much-fun-oldie” category. They assume that you will be doing this and not doing that...you aren’t supposed to....after all...you are past that stage!!!!

Where is that thrill of meeting someone else who thinks you are beautiful...who thinks you are special...who can give you that ‘much-needed’ boost...who can make you feel special? Why is it that those very people who made you feel so special don’t even seem to notice you any more? Why is the only thrill you can get out of life be at that shopping mall where you can find your choice of clothes, shoes or jewellery or something for the house or kids...and buy them without worrying too much about how much they cost.

I say you become invisible ....it’s not that people don’t know that you are there....they see you and talk to you....but they don’t really SEE you...I mean they see this person who is someone’s wife and the mother of these beautiful children and the daughter or the daughter in law of these people who are becoming older and need to be cared for since they are becoming like children themselves....they see you as the person who has to hold everything together and be there...be everywhere... doing the right thing at the right time.....This person with a complete family....This person couldn’t possibly be unhappy? Couldn’t possibly have desires, have longings, have doubts......a person who is still...even though so invisibly, so imperceptibly....a person!

I wonder if it is this feeling that leads people to seek out other contacts? Is this why some people cheat? Oh I’m sure a lot of times it starts off harmlessly...people just want a taste of excitement (other than that of winning a tambola prize or going off shopping!) ...they just want to find that someone else who is also afraid of becoming invisible in his or her own circle? Is this why two people who love their family....and mean them no harm (on the contrary love them so much that they’d die for them or kill for them)...still wander off to check the grass on the other side? What are these people looking for, what are they doing...other than an exercise of visibility ....an exercise to rid themselves of their fears of becoming invisible...or of being looked right through as if they were “past that stage”...as if they were old....an exercise to regain that confidence and to feel that thrill ..that glow that comes from being looked at from someone else’s eyes...to be the person that every one has forgotten exists...to remember who they were or could’ve been...not to be the person that everyone else believes they are and ...to some extent also not to be the person that they themselves know they are.

And then when they do meet someone...how many go with the flow to the point of no-return.....and how many come back mid-way...or turn back right from the beginning itself...returning to their normal life....carrying on as if nothing has happened....

All they have is a little memory ..a dream ... stored away in their minds and hearts ....a memory of that “visibility exercise” that’ll probably warm their thoughts when they feel invisible again?

It amazing what li'l things can do....I go through these thoughts and I recall what I read somewhere: Sometimes a smile, a nod, a shrug is just a reflex, which happens when the mind is wanting a change....temporarily giving a message that isn’t really there......like a record that plays off the track for a while......but then comes back...And the music starts to play the way it should.....on the right track.......the way it is meant to be....the way that it plays best!!!!!

(some bits of this write up aren't entirely my own ideas...but the ideas were nice, and I wish I could give due credit to the ones who started it out first but I don't know who they are....)