The Theme Is Blue : A Thursday Photo Contest

Uma  did this post and I was tempted  to take this on. Although I already did  picture post today but then Blue is my favorite color

The photo contest is from Thursday Challenge a site for photographic fun and learning .

I discovered this lovely digital painting done by my elder son . The beautiful soothing blue  makes it perfect for this post. A creative  talent  showcased for a fun contest.Notice the reflection and the shades of this lovely color .

Aditya is doing animation and visual graphics and this is one of his earlier works.

The digital painting is inpired by the  Pangong Lake in Laddakh, India / One of the most beautiful and serene places on earth.

Morning Visitors : Gorgeous Parakeets

The morning sun brought  a bunch of lovely visitors to my balcony . I was sitting there enjoying the cool breeze when I noticed their presence . First just one and then  the entire group of friends.

The parakeets near my home are very comfortable with human presence and enjoy the photo shoot. I devised a way to attract a few more birds apart from the pigeons by putting Bajra  and a mix of stale nuts, fruits and leftover roti  , bread pieces .

A friendly call from the happy visitors invited many more . Now the party actually started.

I had no time to go for the camera so kept clicking with my mobile.

Suddenly a new visitor arrived . A Bulbul. It sat watching with tempting eyes  but could not join the happy chirpy gang.

The parakeets decided to give it  a share of their bounty and moved on to the nearest wire . Ready for a comeback and I got a chance to run and get the camera .

Then they decended again . The enitre group and to my amazement  kept eating and enjoying the cool weather along with me .. None of them moved even as I approched near to them.

I wanted to captured them in all their moods .

These two were intrigued by my presence and relised that they need to pose for the camera

Then the  unfriendly crow came to inspect what was the noise all about and what was being served. I was delighted to see my favorite bird but before I could click a picture it flew and disappeared in the thick foliage .

I hope tomorrow brings more visitors  especially those tiny ones who kept waiting for a chance to eat the morning buffets but could not .

A Guest Poet Post : The Widow ( A Poem)

My very dear blogger friend and my teammate in recently concluded Bloggers Premier League  Leo of I rhyme without reason recently invited me to do a guest post on his blog.

Leo is a wonderful poet and tale weaver.  Do visit his blog and leave your views there too. A gesture of appreciation for his beautiful work .

I am the 45th guest writer there and my poem is the 597the post. It   is part of  the celebration of  reaching  the milestone of 600 posts.

Here is the link to the post  The  Widow Do Read

Sharing it on my blog too .

The Widow

It’s over

Her warm tear-streaked cheeks
touched the hard pillow
a sharp pain flashed through her
newly tonsured head

gone were those long tresses
that swayed with the slightest breeze
and fell over her shoulders
like a cascading waterfall
gone with him forever

her glass bangles lay broken
glittering shards of intense memories
a single white muslin
draped her naked youth
feelings affections desires
destined now
to die
plunged deeper into
the dark recesses of her heart
her hopes
her tears
her joys
all bounded within the cloistered walls

The mournful walls of  her narrow room
watched the ghastliness of death

the rite, the pyre, the flames
the chants and the moaners
all flowed in front of her
in a hazy mist
acting like a spell
they strained her lifeless body

under the dim light of the oil lamp
lay her humble meal
untouched

in her slender fingers
was clenched a rosary
her soul mate for the remaining life

her eyes, heavy with sorrow and pain
began to close
the light of the lamp
faded into the
inky Bengal night

plunging her into the realms of obscurity

“outstanding”

“cut” ,

“packup”

The director said.

beaming with joy
her face lit up
with a dazzling smile
her last shot of her first film
and what a brilliant performance

i looked at my friend
making an effort
to match her excitement

She waved and slipped into her room
within minutes she was back
her curls flirting around her moon like face
little soft clouds

dazzling in a bright red gown
Looking ravishing
as a newly wed should

pain cut  through my heart
like lightning
a tear rolled down slowly
as we hugged

I clenched the piece of paper in my fist

A message for her

” He is no more” It read

Wordless Wednesday – 15

Ice-Cream Castles in the air : Cloud Photographs -1

G.K.Chesterton once said , “There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.” and I agree with him

My love affair with the clouds continues. As a child I would gaze endlessly at the clouds. I used to spin tales around the imaginary figures I saw in them.  Even now I love to simply watch these shape shifters in the sky .  From dawn to dusk  and even at night  there is magic in the sky.

Watching clouds roll by is at times nostalgic and at other therapeutic to  mind , body and soul.

This is the first post  of some recent cloud photographs . I am not a pro in clicking pictures  so these are just some little bundles of joy for me.

Autumn Haiku

Autumn breeze
Leaves flutter to the ground
Butterflies in Technicolor

Killer Fields :A Poem

Above

Barren sky  dry, bleak lifeless

lonesome patches of white clouds

gloomy and helpless

drift aimlessly in the distant horizon,

burns like a live  coal

Below

Vast expanses of

cracked bare earth

baked brown

Fields like dust bowls

ravaged by the merciless sun

A   body hangs

on a  tree burned to the roots

A child’s stricken eyes

keep a  watch

A vulture awaits

his chance

One farmer commits suicide in every 30 minutes in Orissa due to drought, failure of crops and increasing debt . Orissa has been facing complete crop loss due to bad monsoon. Worried about drought, pest invasion, loss of crops and repayment of debts farmers choose to end their lives.Seventy-five per cent of Orissa’s agriculture is rain-fed and  just one erratic monsoon is as bad as poison.

10 TO 1 of Tiku’s Life : A Friendly Tag

Leo and Nu tagged me for this fun tag  and I tag all those who are reading it …

Ten how’s:

1. How did you get one of your scars? From an accident! A real one! I have a scar on right foot. Got burnt from boiling water spill when I had just learned to walk and was waiting for my first pair of shoes . ;( The skin came off with the stockings .
   
2. How did you celebrate your last birthday? With family
3. How are you feeling at this moment? Top of the world
   
4. How did your night go last night?  LOL Yesterday was one of those rare dreamless nights .
5. How did you do in high school?    Shhhhh what exactly do you want to know ? I was an all rounder and loved to play pranks  .
6. How did you get the shirt you’re wearing? Not wearing a shirt. It is called ‘Kurti ‘. A gift from someone
   
7. How often do you see your best friend(s)? Rarely . subah aur sham kaam hi kaam .
8. How much money did you spend last month? Not much. Let me think …ummmmm wait for the credit card bills I have a gajni syndrome
   
9. How old do you want to be when you get married? Married ? Again ? I don’t think so .. One time is enough I guess ..Gosh!!
10. How old will you be at your next birthday? I never grow old. Age for me is just a number
    

Nine what’s:

1. Your mothers name? hmmmm. How many of you read my posts carefully ? Search and find out for yourself .
2. What did you do last weekend? Read books, went for drives, watched movies at home, composed some poems and basked in the glory of my new-found joys.
3. What is the most important part of your life? To live it every moment of every day .
4. What would you rather be doing? errr !! I am sure you do not wish to know this .. waise bhi it is not very clear what you wish to know .. Please specify
5. What did you last cry over? When a friend I trusted with my life back stabbed and vanished in thin air.
6. What always makes you feel better when you’re upset? Music, books and a stroll in the park if possible. One more thing , a big bar of dark chocolate
7. What’s the most important thing you look for in a significant other? Respect for my identity ( guess that includes everything )
8. What are you worried about? My health .. Been unwell since sometime.
9. What did you have for breakfast? Still not eaten. Netaddiction is incurable in my case

Eight you’s:

1. Have you ever liked someone who had a girlfriend/boyfriend? Liking a person depends on whether he has a GF or not?

YES , Liking does not depend on anything.  I hope you are not asking about Loving by any chance

2. Have you ever had your heartbroken? Oh Yes !
3. Have you ever been out of the country? No. I hope to travel one day
4. Have you ever done something outrageously dumb? Hahahahha I will list them in one of my posts .   coming Soon
5. Have you ever been back stabbed by a friend? It is written in my destiny.
6. Have you ever had sex on the beach? Ahem …
7. Have you ever dated someone younger than you? Not yet
8. Have you ever read an entire book in one day? Oh yes , many a times

Seven who’s:

1. Who was the last person you saw?

My elder son

2. Who was the last person you texted?

A friend

3. Who was the last person you hung out with? 

A neighbor

4. Who was the last person to call you?

My mom

5. Who did you last hug?

…… Shhhhhhh

6. Who is the last person who texted you?

My younger son. He texted me a good night forward from his room

7. Who was the last person you said “I love you” to?

The one who back stabbed me .

Six where’s:

1. Where does your best friend(s) live? Delhi
2. Where did you last go? To my mom’s home
3. Where did you last hang out? Same place
4. Where do you go to school? Many transfers, many schools
5. Where is your favorite place to be? Pune
6. Where did you sleep last night? Well ! I usually sleep in my room on my bed .

Five do’s:

1. Do you think anyone likes you?

Do you ? ?

2. Do you ever wish you were someone else?

NO

3. Do you know the muffin man?

I know the man

4. Does the future scare you?

Why should it ? Not at all.

5. Do your parents know about your blog?

Yes  they do and read it too

Four why’s:

1. Why are you best friends with your best friend?

Because my best friend is best friend with me 

2. Why did you get into Blogging? 

Read my interviews

3. Why did your parents give you the name you have?

My father wanted a name which would not suggest my caste , religion or nationality . A unique name for a unique daughter

4. Why are you doing this survey?

Survey ? I thought it was a tag . Now I am kanfujd

Three if’s:

1. If you could have one super power what would it be?

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you?

Yes, I will for sure

3. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could bring 1 thing, what would you bring?

Desserts FROM THE DESERTED ISLAND

Two would-you-ever’s:

1. Would you ever get back together with any of your ex’s if they asked you?

Depends on which one is asking for a comeback romance

2. Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love?

Only if that someone loves me twice as much as I do

One last question:

1. Are you happy with your life right now?
Absolutely . No doubt about it .

The Top Of The World Feeling : Features and Interviews

This month has been  the best so far. As a blogger, as a creative writer who is learning  with every step  and as a human being I  finally managed to find some space of my own.

It filled my heart to see my work being recognised  by some well known sites. This is a moment for which I waited so long , worked so hard .

One of my poems Inner Chatter  got featured in Enchanting Verses which was like a dream come true.

WeBlog interviewed me for their launch and gave me yet another platform to showcase my work. I am thankful for this recognition.

The BlogAdda interviewPart -1

and

Part -2

was a pleasant surprise and an honor. This actually was the moment I had waited for all along.

I would like to thanks BlogAdda for appreciating my hard work.One reason for my blogging is to raise my voice against the pseudo social norms, the evils that are eating our society like cancer and to stand up for my rights as a woman and as a commited human being.

Gender Bytes gave me an opportunity to share a slice of my life as a daughter, as  a wife, mother and most of all as a woman .

A Daughter Dreams is my story.  A brief account of a woman’s life.

It feels good to  make a point and see that my voice counts and is heard by millions online.

Thank you Gender Bytes for giving me this space to express myself freely.

I want to thanks all my readers for their support and encouragement through out . Nothing is more important for a budding writer like me.

Thanks to friends who gave me some space on their sites  by posting my poems and articles .

Free Fall a short story at Ginger Chai

Two poems in Bamboo Lounge

and a few features in N-Zine

Thanks Neha, Rajan and Pramathesh for  allowing me to be a part of your creative world.

Do keep reading my posts and leave  your heart prints . Each comment is precious to me.

Wordless Wednesday – 14