LEGENDS THAT LIVE

The sea was just the same ,it never changed.She was happy about it.She never got bored watching the sea,watching its innumerable waves splash onto the rocky shore and withdraw gracefully.The sea at this particular place held more fascination to her for at this place the triseas met,sharing waters and silt from different lands.
It was 25 years since she saw this sea last.but it never did leave her mind.Something in its magnetic depths lured her towards it.That was what brought her,a well paid journalist in a leading newspaper ,to put all her works to the sideboard and catch the train from Mumbai to this peaceful seaside.

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Ram Babu saw her sitting at the steps,staring at the sea.He has seen many people like this,people running away from home in search of peace,a few minutes of retrospection and he did his best to avoid them.Being the eldest of the guides and having a moderate grasp of English ,he was the most sought after among guides.There werent many legends that he did not know of.
But there was something about this girl,(not really a girl,but for this very old man,anyone below forty is a girl),that made him go to her.He knew she needed his help.He tapped on her shoulders.She turned,taking her eyes off the sea for a secondand gave him a ready smile.He asked:"madam,would you like a guide?there are many stories here that only I know of!".He saw her smile wean off.She satlooking at him,as if sizing him up,for some time and atlast nodded her head.
"what is your name,madam?and where are you from?"
"I am Madhuri.I work in a newspaper in Mumbai.Have you ever been to tat part of the world?"
"no,I have never left this seaside for the whole of my life.....and I am proud of it!"
She grew silent.He took her to several places ,churches,buildings of beauty which she viewed with a disinterested air..he took her shopping but she bought nothing except a packet of seashells from a small girl...her gaze always seemed to return to the sea....as if in search of something she lost......He then took her to the seaside and showed her the rock....a few feet wide ,lying a little distance from the sea.
"That madam is the star attraction of this place.The latest legend of which I have atmost authority to speak.
"whats so special about it?"
here,atlast ,he could discern some curiosity in her tone,a twinkle in her eyes.He knew her heart would stir up to it.
"A long time ago,around twenty five years,there was a little girl of 12 years-a very cheerful little girl with a musical voice who sold seashells,flowers and other knick knacks to tourists.Her name was Kadambari.She was collecting shells at the sea shore.then the sea lay beyond this rock.she was standing at its edge ,bending down and collecting beautiful shells.maybe she saw a beautiful shell that would attract the tourist eye......anyway she fell off and the tide carried away her light body remorselessly.she was never seen since.......".....she noticed that his eyes glistened with tears.
"I knew her well....she used to come running to me calling 'Babuji' to show me her collection.her body was not recovered but in this place where the triseas meet ,the whirling waters in the depths can take you anywhere.Since then it is said that she haunts this place.......many a guide coming back home at night has seen her standing on this particular rock......"
she gasped."have you seen her?"
"yes,just once.she waved to me and vanished..it is called Kadambari rock now...the most sought after location in this place"
he helped her take some photographs of the rock and as the sun began to set she left him,giving him a generous pay,almost twice his fee.
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She watched the moon from the balcony of her hotel bedroom.should she have told him?.....that she was the very same Kadambari,who was saved from the turbulent waters ,taken to bombay and deposited in an orphanage.....he was right......everyone liked her at first glance...thats how the elderly couple who came to adopt took her,gave her educationtook her to places and atlast when they passed away she had settled in bombay and was now having a comfortable living........it was a blessed moment when she fell off....else she would have remained as the illiterate girl for ever.......
she had recognized babuji at first glance but he didnt know her...maybe she had changed.it was a good thing she didnt tell him about herself....she didnt want to be known as the illiterate flower girl...besides she didnt want the old man to lose his star attraction-a story which earned him a living!!!
funny-after years of education and perserverence,here she was ,a well settled woman but her presence in the world has gone down in history -not as the cultured cosmopolitan but as the flowergirl whom she had hated and buried in her heart for ever......

the sea hasnt changed.....so did babuji.....his assumed air of self importance-she had thought that there wasnt anything that he didnt know of.....but she had been a fool then!!!

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that day Ram babu came home early.his wife looked up from where she was cooking their frugal supper.
"you remember Kadambari ?the little flowergirl....she had come today.....I was right all along ...she didnt drown ......she somehow managed to escape........she has grown up to be a pretty woman but has the affected airs of the city folks about her.... I didnt give away my feelingsbecause I wasnt sure if she'd like to be known by her past.I was right...she has a new name and has made a mark for herself....
but i told her a cooked up story about a rock-the one which she fell from-being named after her and it being the star attraction of this place.....quite a legend I made up..."....he sat there laughing to himself.
"why did you do that?"
"So that she would be as much proud of her humble past as she is of her new found glory!!!"

The End

CHAPTER 3
SUCCESS!!
The doctor wasnt as i had expected either(my ideas can be wrong !!)....he was very calm serene faced ....put me at ease with his manner....he told me to say the entire story...I poured it out.I told him that I was a scientist working on very sensitive information about black holes and time travel and that THEY were trying to steal it from me......he listened attentively ...made the required sympathetic noises....and atlast he said..."I can help you"...I felt elated...he told me that he could take me to my shadow.....I asked him what was wrong with it...he said that all the strain and mental agony was too much for it to bear and that shadows are quite sensitive and although faithful they would be forced to leave their masters at times......so we got into his car (another thing I feared)...and rode far far far......
atlast we reached THE place ....it was very beautiful with lots of trees and flowers about...my shadow would like it here ....the doctor asked me to look around...I searched for my shadow...just when i started having misgivings...that the doc could be one of THEM.....that I saw it sitting there..under a tree....a man came up to me and introduced himself as the doctors assistane....he asked me what I would like to be called.....i said the truth "dont tell anyone but I am GOD's assistant"...he sai"yes I know the doctor told me as much!!".i asked him what they called this place....he said "you can call it anything you want but people from outside called it an ASYLUM..."
so thats what it was...an ASYLUM is a place where stressed shadows go on exile!!

CHAPTER 2
ALL DOORS CLOSED

I reached the dull coloured painted building and entered the police station for the first time in my life.....It wasnt like what I had pictured.it didnt have any dungeons and there were no squeals of agony in the background....there was a very serious looking neatly attired officer behind the desk..........he was very polite and asked me the purpose of my visit....I stated in simple terms that my shadow was missing .he was shocked!! I thanked him for being so sympathetic and said that it was indeed a shock but that is how it was....I told him that my shadow had no debts, no personal enemies other than mine and that it was perfectly happy the day before.....he asked me to get out ,see a doctor and get myself chained !!!!....I ran with all my might.....I should have realised that the police would have been on their side.....THEY have their spies everywhere...OH god.....now what!!!I walked aimlessly through the road....it was then that i saw the board......a riot started in my mind...maybe i should follow the policeman's advice...maybe a doctor can restore my shadow....I went in.............

The Elusive Shadow

my first attemt at story writing....wrote this (in a much shorter form) for genesis....evidently i didnt get any prize :-P

CHAPTER 1
HUNTED

You all know how it feels to wake up from a nightmare and realise that it was a dream after all.....imagine my horror when i woke up from a sweet dream to a live nightmare!!!!It was just another day...the sun rose in the east thankfully ...it showed that they had not yet possessed the sun....but this time it is something drastic...the first thing that i noted was that MY SHADOW WAS NOT THERE!!well this would have been alright under normal circumstances...my shadow has gone away like this twice in the past...but this time it left no note...and with the threatening letters i have been receiving i knew it was abducted!!!so they got to that...the only thing i called mine ..the only testimony to my existence was wrenched away from me!!Istarted sweating....I wasnt prepared for this kind of a revenge....I knew that I was hunted...followed...spied upon...that they lay in ambush ...lurking around dark corners but I have managed a few escapes....WAIT.....it wont do..my getting tensed like this....I should tackle this with a cool mind ...I owe my shadow atleast that...I thought out a course of action...it was no use keeping the police away from this....I knew that I had to let them in sooner or later....so I took a deep breath and went out!!

Beneath The Mask

The faces they wear,the glow of their ware
in life perfect artistes they are
beaming faces,polite words
for the sake of those who come and go
for we who remain,swears and abuse
we never praise them with hollow words
who come and go are of priveleged sorts
the depth of their shallow words will never be gauged
but for them sweet words and smiles
for we who serve throughout the day
our love is just a matter of course
our favours just part of a chain
for we are destined to live in servitude
they shout like wild of favours done
but are grimly silent of those received.

the uttered words pierce my sensitive being
like thorns,shedding my souls blood
to be master of oneself ,yet slave of others
my self pride can suffer no more!!
my mind bursts, out comes unspoken words
of thousand sufferings borne in silence
eyes speak of tears shed aside darkness
my twisted mouth forms silent words
of feelings repressed rebukes suppressed
my face speaks of my souls agony
of sharp blows dealt with pointed words

when the day comes ,when we are gone
it is then the know our worth
their faces tear,thier make up smear
those silent words find voices loud and clear
wind lends them wings taking them far
all might know of distress borne in patience
and shed tears while a silent soul departs!!

The Real Slaves

slavery was abolished years ago...so you might be wondering what my interest is in this long forgotten issue....but it is something which has not ceased to exist...only this time it is not as obvious..there are basically two kinds of slaves...
one-the ones who are sold in markets ,separated from parents,made to work for nothing,brutally exploited...well i choose to call it physical form of slavery....my interest does not lie in this sect ....their problems have been looked into ,debated over and solutions sought and found during the past years
my thoguhts are concentrated on the second group of people...ones who are not obvious slaves ...i choose to call them emotional slaves...
this is a group of people who depend on others for emotional fulfilment...their hapiness ,sorrow,success and failures are dependent on the whims and moods of others....these are people who arent sold in markets by others....but these are ones who has sold their own souls to others...because they think its safer with them.,,...they deem themselves inferior in intellect or seem to lack the so called 'decision making' capacity and rely on the 'born leaders'....blindly follow their decisions....
even in the most personal of issues they need the guidance of their soulkeepers.they open their minds out to these people and trust them more than themselves......the leaders sometimes turn to be more than just intelligent....they do not influence the thoughts of the other in an obvious manner ...instead they give advice....the following of which is entirely at the others discretion.....but the advice will be put in such gentle terms ....with such bright prospects that the other is sure to follow it....but the slaves never get the impression that they are under the other's power...they feel that they were just helped in making a decision and that the final decision itself is a product of their own thought......
just a word of caution for these emotional slaves......the person who can choose the best for you is yourself!!

On The Way To Heaven

i wrote this as a memoir of my trip to thirunelli sparked by the landscape which presented itself as fleeting glimpses

Safe in the abode of god
amidst the sparkling hills
tight in natures embrace
here I find utter solace

Mountains blend with rivers
leaves swish and swirl
dewdrops drip from tender leaves
like studded pearl

Endless roads stretching ahead
with trees on either sides
holding their hands above my head
weaving an emerald canopy.


The sun's rays with its magical touch
makes jewels out of water drops
rain falls to earth from heavens louds
like thousand gems from a long lost treasure.

night comes bringing a thousand stars
while the cool breeze lulls me to sleep
sweet dreams pass by my clogged head
renewing my heart with its fragrance.

The suns rays filter through the clouds
and kiss me awake from deep slumber
I wake up from the magical lands
to mourn the loss of a sweet dream!!

broken crumbs

here are some broken peices of poetry which will never evolve into complete poems because my train of thought moved away from them even before they were complete........

as dejected shadows merge into the dim twilight
silently embracing their days doom


is it my fate that the crystal holds
or is what it holds my fate

she looked at me with eyes of tears
through the misty panes of the broken window
i never turned for a last look
or did utter a word of leave!!


the road behind lay burdened
groaning under the immense weight
of the things i left......


may these peices rest in peace...or may they be summoned again to memory to lend life to a clutter of wasted words!!

Beyond Time

silent voices from the distant past
visit my dreams to haunt me
fragments of images from scenes bypassed
return in my reverries to taunt me
truths never spoken,cries never heard
smiles never given,tears never shed
all wake up from the gone and dead
and immerse me in their insane sea.
faces change,people come and go
some shower blessings,some hurl curses
speaking stories of shame and guilt
of treasures won,lost and regained....
the voices i cannot bear
their constant wail burning my ears
these spectres i cannot behold
my eyes are dazed by their brilliant colours....
i want not the message from the past
let them rest in the speakers graves
and not echo in the winds and leaves
and come knocking at my window eaves....
let them lie buried...six feet deep
safe in the hearts of those who sleep!!

WHILE IT RAINS

Hot winds blow like fires of hell

shifting sands seek soothing spots

leaves droop,flowers bow in grief

creatures of nature withdraw in fright

life seems to end here,molten and swollen

silence of stillness enters in stealth

last drops of water burn in its curse

climb the stairs of spiralling winds

onto the sky where they meet their like

and huddle for fear of harsher fates

Unforgiving clouds in hues of grey

take on the sky in a thunderous whirl

set on a duel with steaming winds

break down to begin a new lease of life

Raindrops lash weaving frothy foam

onto the depths of the winding river

birds hum their tune,winds lead them on,

sky bears witness ,ground the stage,

buds bloom,lending the wind their breaths

flowers raise faces to feel the first drops

the thirsty ground drinks up the rain

while mighty clouds pour out their soul.

Creatures flock out from hidden retreats

refresh and rejoice in these summer showers

rain washes down their transpired dreams

nature revives,sporting brighter shades

earth livens,a thousand lives do sprout

While it rains,life blooms while it rains

While it rains life begins!!