Reunion

People say love makes everything seem wonderful; if it had been a thought twelve hours earlier I would just have laughed it off. But now so much has changed. Sitting on my front porch now, at dawn, listening to chirping of the early birds waiting for the sun to spread its sparkling wings on the world, nothing was unusual but it was all surreal for me today. I couldn’t stop beaming while reminiscing about the events of the last day, all the while twirling a precious ring in my fingers. In the freckles of the light that shimmered on the shiny surface on the metal I saw the glimpses of my platinum day of love.

“Nidhi let us go for the reunion, someone definitely wants to meet you today, can’t you see?” Vrinda chided me. Someone had just sent me flowers with a weird note on it and asked me to come to the Reunion of our school. I had a fairly clear idea who this someone might be because the note had a poem with no head or tail; a poem just like the ones that made every day beautiful for me eight years back; a poem just like the ones Rishi wrote for me.

Crimson petals with freshness undefined

But nothing beats your shy yet radiant smile

A heart beats fast in some corner of the town

Waiting to see you again now, after eight summers and falls.

The poem still made me smile but now, after eight years of drifting apart form each other, it made tears brim in my eyes and I was scared Vrinda would notice it soon. So I simply agreed and rushed into my room with an uninterested “whatever.” I read the lines on the note again and again and found it really amussing how his sense of poetry and rhyming was still as bad as ever. Back then his poems were always compared to Roshesh Sarabhai’s poems by all our friends. Roshesh was a character of a very famous comedy show that aired on TV back then and so Rishi took pride in the sarcasm also, but now even after so many years guess he is still in awe of that show.

Rishi had a peculiar habit of dropping clues to me in his poems and I was sure there was nothing different in this one. I read the lines a couple times more just to realize the ‘crimson petals’ was actually a reference to the dress he wants me to wear. But why should I? We had not talked in two years and had not seen each other since four years after we decided to break up. Our break up was not messy but instead was sad for both of us. He was going to UK for MBA and both of us being scared of long distance relationship just decided to call it quits. But I never really got over him and today gave me some hope that he too was sailing on the same boat. And just for the hope I decided to wear a red saree with black lace border, little did I know that would be the topic Vrinda would latch on to for the next two hours.

In the party I kept looking all around for Rishi with a perennial background story of the flowers and the poem that Vrinda recited to every friend we met. People began admiring the tinsel and blue decoration, the amazing food and discussed their life after school while my eyes were lost in the search of Rishi, who was still nowhere to be seen. I lost track of how many times I had to ask “What” to people to repeat what they were saying as I kept phasing out and loosing hope slowly. Maybe someone had just played a prank on me and I had fallen for it; fallen bad. And so when Vrinda and my other friends asked me to pay a visit to our 12^th std. classroom I decided to tag along. Our class had changed so much. The boring black board was replaced with a less boring green one, the windows had cream curtains the walls were hidden behind bulletin boards screaming the importance of 12^th grade. Benches had changed too, but all had scribbles and sketches on them. I totally forgot about the people who were with me and went for the last bench of the row near the windows. That is where Rishi and I sat in our final year and Rishi always scribbled some weird poem on the bench. Our bench must have looked like Wordsworth’s rough note book back then for sure. But now the bench had a lot of sketches and just one poem!

Ravishing red, and the peachy blush

My wait could not be satiated with anything more

The twinkle in your eyes searching what is already yours

But let the library first earn, its freedom from boredom.

He is waiting for me in the library! I hear Vrinda scream my name as I run towards the library without informing them anything. But he was there, and I had so much to tell him ever more so much to be angry about and scream at him for. But right now I just wanted to see him once. I went to the library but there was no one there. I stood there in the dull yellow lighting, searching every corner of the room I could see, but he was nowhere. But then my eyes fell on the thoughts board and there were four more lines on it.

The freaky jitters of the first kiss

And the hunt for a place for solitary bliss

For you and I search every turn and dome

Till we were found that quiet and windy home.

I knew the place! How could I ever forget that place where we shared our first kiss? The small green room on the terrace that we usually used for annual day practices. I reached there to find the whole room decorated with lanterns and a small table with a white ring box on it. I was sure by now it was Rishi but I still couldn’t see him anywhere. I went ahead and opened the box only to find a folded paper in it. I unfolded the paper in a hurry and read what he had penned.

What you see is far from an illusion

But your wait for some hours is like my waits compensation

A glittery future awaits you right now

If your anger is quenched, meet me down

After all this he wanted to meet me in the party hall, how irritating! Was my anger gone, I really didn’t know but what I knew for sure was I could wait no longer to meet him now. I rushed downstairs and saw the whole crowd facing the entrance. “Just the way you are” was being played in the background and there near the DJ station he was standing, smiling nervously as if afraid of me but still his eyes clearly conveyed that he had been waiting for me. I literally ran towards him as if Dil wale dulaniyan lejaenge’s spirit had entered me, and didn’t really know why. But all I could see was him and him waiting for me. But I stopped right in front of him and he chuckled.

“And I knew this would happen”, he said. He didn’t even get me a chance to respond but kneeled and pulled out a ring.

“Naïve in your love I surrender myself

And ask you to accept it if you agree yourself

The ring aint a bribe for you to yes

But eight years of unconditional love is the reason, I guess

I tried over and over to forget and move on

But my heart stayed with you even when I was gone

And something kept saying you waited for me too

So here is my weird poem with which I woo you

Tears welled up in my eyes and I stared at him with a blank face. I was rendered speechless by his words, not to mention his best poem so far. But what mattered was he had waited for me and loved me all this while. He was still mine and I was his when we were not together. But my thoughts were interrupted by his sudden words.

“Now would be the time to say yes or no. Plus if you want to say no just look at the ring, it is platinum”, Rishi said.

I couldn’t help but smile, “So you are bribing me with the precious white metal chunk.”

“The precious white metal cannot be a chunk or anything. It is a ring of platinum cause it is very precious and nothing better could suit you as you are the most precious person to me right now. It glitters just like your eyes and would not wither away so will remind you of this day forever, well only if you say yes. Also…”

As amused as I was at the fact that it was still so easy to distract him from a topic I decide to shut him with a kiss, because I had waited too long for this moment. I didn’t care a bit about the people who were staring at us. I just wanted to hold on to this moment forever.

“So it is Yes?” He asked nervously.

“If you put the ring on my finger right away, it is a YES!” I giggled.

And without wasting a second he slipped the ring on my finger and my reunion just turned out to be my engagement day.

“What if I was still angry and had said no?” I asked him.

“Even if you were angry you would not say no I knew, cause somewhere I was sure you still loved me and wouldn’t want me to be embarrassed infront of so many people” he joked with a straight face and I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“A bit over the top but, right?” I asked Rishi.

“I told him about your liking for movies like 27 dresses and When in Rome!” Vrinda screamed from behind. And Rishi was sporting his cute dreamy “Guilty as charged" smile. I realized Vrinda was a part of this whole plan and she was the one who had told Rishi about me still waiting for him. Love! It is an amazing thing for sure, just a bit impish sometimes. The ring would always remind me of this day, of my Platinum day of Love.

This post has been written for the Platinum Day Of Love contest organized by IndiBlogger.in.

Swan Song

Ripples of hopes, dreams and life

Form and fade; my thoughts at strife.

But tranquilly I float on the blue tides,

To collect some moments to boost my vanishing light.

The long winter looms to take over the water

And freeze it – emotionless; Will it morn my departure?

The night chills, memoir of this haughty swan

That was once an ugly duckling - forlorn.

My world was this lake serene

The other side of this bridge still lays unseen

Wish I had some more days to stall

And just see the auburn aura, sweep again, next fall

Some last notes of my song remain,

But my heart pleads to rewind the whole tune again.

I fade to nothingness with the dead harp of death,

Yet rendition of my last song reverberates the lost notes of faith.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

The English Nightmare

Book : English Bites!

Author: Manish Gupta

ISBN : 9780143419006

Pages: 334

Price: 250

Rating : 4/5

Something from the book:

However, one column in Reader's Digest continued to depress me for quite some time. Even with liberal self marking, I could never get more than five correct answers out of the fifteen posers in 'Word Power.' I persisted and my scores improved, slowly and steadily, as did my determination to get a perfect 15/15 sooner rather than later.

Learning a language is always difficult. I always found Hindi to be the toughest language, during my school days. My notebooks were decorated with red marks more than the blue ink scribbles but for vernacular students English is a similar kind of nightmare. But when we proudly declare ourselves well versed with English, do we really know everything in English? If so why we whack our brains and drill holes in our grey cells during entrance exams to store a few more words and their meanings in it? MBA, GMAT, GRE flash cards are like demons for us during entrances. Oh! Foolish us to think we are great in English. These were my thoughts after I read the Blurb of “English Bites” by Manish Gupta.

English Bites – My Fullproof English Learning Formula is indeed a foolproof formula as it makes learning words total fun. I still remember when I was small my dad used to ask me to learn 10 words from dictionary or newspapers and report to him in the evening. In school we used to hate the English lecture when we had a vocabulary lesson because it used to be the driest 45 minutes of the day. If only we had a book like this back then. The book is the story of the author who also was from vernacular medium and fought a long exhaustive war with English to finally conquer it. The journey is scribed in the book with pinch of humor, satire, a bit of emotions, all on a strong base of reality and is adorned with apt comic sketches and a lot of amusing trivia.

The book successfully erases the trite methods of learning languages and sets a new and a trend through this book, reason? The book not only a compendium of lot of words, it gives you the meaning of all the words then and there, at times with their origin as well. So you could let your dictionary rest and just enjoy the book without any distraction. And if the reader is like me nothing could be better as I am super lazy while reading a book. I would rather re read the line two three times and figure out some meaning than check the correct meaning by travelling some meters, picking up a dirtied by age old dust Dictionary and hunting for the word in the yellowed pages. The book sounds amazing now right?

Pro:

1. Humorous and prompt narration makes the book a very enjoyable read.
2. The way the words are interspersed throughout the book helps in keeping the interest of the reader in the story and the words equally.
3. The trivia provided is an added advantage of the book and makes the book very informative at the same time.
4. The story is straight out of the author’s life pages and hence is easy to relate to.
5. The illustrations are apt and fun.

Cons:

1. Just one the start was a bit slow and not as gripping as the rest of the book. Till page 50 I guess.

I thoroughly loved the book and I am not lying when I say this I am going to remember a lot of words by relating them to instances from this book. People who have read this book would know why the word bedraggled would always make me smile and why arachibutyrophobia is also going to make me check if my bread has peanut butter sandwich on it. 

On the whole I loved the book and if I clear my GMAT or CAT next year Manish Gupta you are going to get a big chunk in my credit speech. It is an easy 4 on 5 book and a must read! And higher education aspirants you know which book is a must in your closet now! This is a book you don’t want to finish in one go but a chapter a day and English will be your best friend. Every Bit worth its cost - a total worth it book.

Black Rose

In the chills of the early spring

Amidst all flowers – red, blue and pink,

There blooms a rose that is oh, so black

With a fate so doomed and a future dark.

Little kids playfully, pluck the flowers in mirth

And curse the black rose, for their thorns hurt.

But don’t they know all the roses have thorns!

Alas, they see all this – fault of this cursed one.

Lovers and friends adore roses of all kinds

But forbidden is the one that is pitch black,

As no one cares to feel its divine fragrance, but

All they know of it is – “That symbol of bad luck.”

The nightingale – a friend in need indeed

Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s petty fleet

Set its heart bare to erase the colours of Fate

And to re paint the black rose all red.

The black rose cried, the nightingale bled

Till the last drop was soaked in the black rose stem

But now there is a dead heart, completely dry

And the condemned black rose still stands without friends for life.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

From the Last Page

From the beloved page of every student...

Some play, some write songs,

Some test their pens or sketch wierd faces

And some just write messages to the person sitting next to them

These are some verses from my one of my "last pages"

Etched somewhere are memories weak

Silently eroding the surface deep;

All maim some able being,

Ah! Memories are stronger than they seem.

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Azure heavens preen in a mantle grey

Just when it all melts away

And all that is there is just rains.

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One black Bird crashes into the face,

And the legion of black follows the feat.

One, two and three and more!

Mangled and tarnished lies a form –

Marking the fall of the Scarecrow!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I see her sitting on a rock,

Pensive and focused;

When she is suddenly hit by a stone

And she fades away

In the rendition of the ripples.

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I spill, I flow, I etch surfaces and all,

Immortalizing words on paper and walls;

But little help am I to people with a life

As dark as my existence

For I am Ink and they are Blind.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

Elixir of Fantasy

Book: The Birr Elixir

Author: Jo Sparks

ISBN - 0985331836

Pages : 164

Rating : 4/5

Goodreads Link : http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17904468-the-birr-elixir

Something from the Book : 

“Ignorance, my son. A blessing in a woman, a fault in a man. And a fatal flaw in a King.”All of Tryst’s carefully marshaled arguments faded. Like it or not, he was going on the epourney.

I will read it today!

Hell, I have so much work; I will surely read it tomorrow!

It has been a week!!! I am starting sure today.

And that today didn’t come for four more weeks. But when it finally came I skipped my lunch hour cause I didn’t want to leave the story unfinished. Not that I had to finish it, but I was scared that if I leave the book now and for some reason I can’t resume reading it soon it would drive me crazy. That was the power of “The Birr Elixir” by Jo Sparkes. A fellow blogger had posted information about this book and after I read it I just needed the book. Thank you so much Jo for letting me review the book.

The Book begins with the Skullan Prince Tryst and his meeting with his father. He sets off on a journey to explore his lands and connect and understand his people. Around the same time a young girl named Marra is made to work in a small herb shop by the evil brother of her now deceased Mistress. She was the only apprentice her Mistress ever accepted and before she died she gave Marra her book of portions – A book she specifically asked Marra to keep away from her brother Stark.

Marra’s world transforms totally when Drail the Leader of the Hand of Victory asks her to brew a powerful portion to help them win a game called COMET and Marra brews the Birr’s Elixir. When Drail and his team achieve the unfathomable feat of defeating Skullans he decides to take Marra as his Brista. But when he comes to take Marra with him to the faraway lands they find an unconscious man in the shop and Drail decides to take the man along with them. The sleeping man is under an unnatural sleep spell that Marra manages to break with her skills during the journey. But who is this man? What is Marra going to do as she was just an apprentice and not a portions Mistress but now is Drail’s Brista? What will the journey change in Marra’s life, a girl who had never left her desert town. And who is this unconscious man?

The book is a total roller coaster ride of the world Jo has created. Also the mystery of Tryst and the fox boot person looms over the entire story. The narrative pulls you totally into the world of Marra and the description of the Comet game is very vivid. The fast pace of the book keeps you hooked till the very end and as this book is the first book of the series it leaves you yearning for more and leaves a lot of questions unanswered for the readers to torment their grey cells. The book covers everything from magic to adventure to drama. And the story of the characters is strong and not just happy or sad.

Pros:

1. The book is very fast paced and involving and Jo’s strong narrative keeps you totally engrossed in the book.
2. The description of the game Comet is just amazing and our imaginary horses can actually sketch the whole scenario while reading.
3. The Characters are strong and very well used. I particularly loved the character of Drail and Stark.
4. The way the plot thickens is very intriguing. Literally, loved every bit of it.

Cons:

1. The description of the areas they were travelling to could have been more. That would have made the land more authentic and readers could connect well.
2. The resemblances – Comet with Quidditch, Continents and lands with Game of thrones – Westeros. Though not the fault of the Author, avid fantasy readers would directly make the connection and may find that to be a negative point about the book.

Overall it is an amazing book, a four out of five. Light, fast paced, easy to follow fantasy. An enjoyable read for both the young and the old fantasy readers. And as far as I am concerned, the only thought I have right now is “When is the next book coming?”

Story of Three Hearts

Book : A Maverick Heart: Between Love and Life

Author: Ravindra Shukla

ISBN : 9789382473008

Pages: 383

Price: 195

Rating : 3.5/5

Something from the book  :

“As student and research staff – we have a busy schedule. Many of us have MBA entrance exams, job interviews and application for MS/PhD? Where is your priority?” Another question came from a group of students standing on the left the side of the hall. I could hear a murmur around the corners. The question of accuracy was not good enough; we were confused about priority as well.

“Thank you Sir for asking this. Let me ask you a very simple question…” I paused for a moment. My voice pitch rose. “If a girl gets shot in front of your eyes, will you leave her to bleed to death and go to write your exam peacefully, or will you run and take her to a hospital?” There was absolutely pin drop silence in the hall. “Where does your priority lay in this case?” A big applause followed after an eerie silence. I continued. “Do we still have questions on priority? My friends – This country is bleeding. Now it’s your call whether you want to act or just worry about the exam?”

Now a days when people see a book based on IIT or IIM and by an Indian Author the only thought that crosses their mind is, “OH NO, NOT AGAIN.” The same happened to me when A Maverick Heart – Between Love and Life was put up by Reader’s Cosmos for review. I went to ‘goodreads’ saw a 3.9 rating and said yes without a second thought. The book came, I read the synopsis, and must say I was impressed by the thought process put behind the book, but the mention of three friends and IIT campus had me half way convinced it was going to be another book inspired by Chetan Bhagat style campus story. And trust me when I say the book surprised me.

A Maverick Heart: Between Love and Life is a heartfelt story of three friends – Rahul, Richita ans Neerav. Rahul is an intelligent guy with the heart of gold, as many would say. He aims high and believes in social welfare. This idealistic self righteous trait of his forces him to choose between love, successful life and welfare of society and he chooses the later. He stays in India to fight corruption while his friends decide to explore life outside India.  

Richita a girl from an affluent background, a politically influential professor’s daughter rooted to her core Indian values, falls in love with Rahul. But her dreams and Rahul’s ideologies tear them apart. She chooses life over love, but when something is left without a perfect sealed closure it is bound to come out and haunt you and that is exactly what drives Richita’s story.

Neerav is determined rich guy next door character who would do anything for his friend Rahul. People assume success to be gifted to him by destiny, but he craves to etch his own name with his own ink.

The story is a long, over a decade long journey of these characters and has every bit of emotion needed. From friendship to love, dedication to determination, need and dreams the author covers all human emotions with equal fervor. The characters of Rahul and Richita are very well sketched while same can’t be said about Neerav. The story is almost believable and is much more than a campus story. The usage of current events in the world makes the story gripping and at the same time a lot of people can relate to the characters. The book is high on emotional quotient and makes up for its slow pace with it.

PROS:

1. The story is believable and not Bollywood oriented.
2. The character of Richita, makes your heart cry and care for her. Also believe in her devotion and love.
3. The friendship between Rahul and Neerav, made me count my friends and find a Neerav from my group. Neerav was my favourite character of the book by the way.
4. The clever addition of the anti corruption protests and the way the story was weaved around it was compelling.
5. The conversations between the characters are witty and a food for your thought at the same time. One such dialogue that got stuck in my grey matter – “Beauty lies in one’s heart and sex lies in one’s mind. It all depends on where your belief lies”

CONS:

1. The biggest flaw with the book was the sudden change of the tone of the book – from first person to third person. It not only did break the flow of the story but was a bit confusing and annoying.
2. Too much description of some event was unimportant and the book lost its pace because of that. The editing could have been more prompt and crisp.
3. Neerav – why was he not given more importance like Richita. As i said earlier I loved that character and wish he had more role in the story.

Overall the book was a promising read and a great first attempt by author Ravindra Shukla. The writer’s craftsmanship is undeniable with words and if you are a quotes fan, keep your highlighters ready cause your are bound to find many during the story. I would rate the book a 3.5, would have been an easy four if the first and third person problem was averted. Young readers and Chetan Bhagat fans will enjoy the book thoroughly. And people like me tired of campus stories – Pick the book to be surprised.

P.S.: This book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on tothereaderscosmos.blogspot.com.

Forest Fires

Blazing demon guffaws at my petty existence,

As it roars to match the fervor of the winds.

A zephyr so cold, has been set on fire,

And floats, to my adobe, on acrid wings.

 

Spewing wrath, it swallows all the mocking fools –

The ones who laughed at my ground height talks;

But lost are they, with their haughty sight,

For now their ground is where Death walks.

I gaze at the night sky, now set ablaze,

As it lays the sepulcher of trees after trees.

Too numb to care, too scared to feel,

I just admire the beauty of the baleful beast.

The sun is coming, the fire all gone –

Shrouded in the ash of pride, I stand with some,

Left for worthlessness, to witness a sight

‘Cold fumes now rise from the pyre of my home.’

-Vaisakhi Mishra

p.s.-Image source google.

Castle of Cards

The castle of cards standing all up straight,

Amidst the battle of four kings, so naïve.

Each with a wife uglier than the other,

But shrewd are the Jacks that turn the game over.

Wilting cards, all one by one,

Sacrificed for their masters’ sheer fun.

But only a winner and only one king

Shall reign the realm, like forever they sing.

The mighty kings niche their aces

Just in time to triumph the crusade, when -

The spade plunges deep in the heart, O Red!

The clubs crush pride of the diamond so dread.

The black air thickens with the crimson galore,

All serving them for to see the other fall,

But little do they see the imp sneaking in -

O the Joker, let the havoc begin!

The castle of cards, trying hard to stand -

Lining up in pyramids tall for their kings;

Just then the Joker slips down its position,

 The castle crumbles down and then there were none.

Vaisakhi Mishra

P.S. - Image source - google...:)

Wave Of Despair

The chords of grief reverberating deep,
The rendition of sorrow, to which the Fates sway.
My frozen stone heart is now melancholy’s keep
As a wave of blue washed my life away.

The castle of memories is now ruins of past;
Home, a family, kins - now none remain.
A never fading gloom is now my sinking ship’s mast.
Austerity of nature left me under the unknown’s reign.

Pulverized future, all that breathes around is dark,
But it’s not just me; many have fallen in this trap.
Everywhere my eyes see the terror of death – stark!
Mocked are we now, by sympathy’s knife - edgy and sharp.

Like a phoenix from ash, I may rise again or may never;
But now on to the end, despair will be my pal forever.

- Vaisakhi Mishra

P.S. - The thought behind this poem was of 'a person who has lost everything in a tsunami.'