tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52956856600411080552024-02-07T15:29:31.053+05:30The Incurable EscapistStories, poetry and everything inbetween.Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-5728691130189321122015-08-31T18:02:00.001+05:302015-09-03T08:14:46.353+05:30This Is Why Universities Should Embrace Presentation Technology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a postgraduate student, I have sat through more than my fair share of lectures. A common occurrence in these classes is that after the first few months, when the novelty of attending university has all but worn off, many students find themselves struggling to maintain focus. This is the exact moment when a teacher is likely to whip out audio-visual presentations to break the monotony.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Presentations are a fun way to engage students’ attention, but they are not without their fair share of problems. I often find myself so engrossed in the slideshow that I forget to make any notes altogether. And even when I do remember, it becomes difficult to keep up with the slides, pay attention to the professor’s explanation, and jot down my own inferences all at once. Sometimes, I may even want to make additional notes only to realize that the lecturer has already moved on to the next slide, in which case I can do either of two things: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(I) Request them to go back to the last slide, thereby slowing down - or possibly even ruining - the flow of the entire presentation, or </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(II) Chicken out and resign myself to the idea of an imperfect education. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Neither scenario is particularly gratifying to any educator, who, after having possibly slaved for hours to perfect a presentation, is baffled by its inefficacy when faced with the less-than-ideal results of a class assessment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So does this mean universities should scrap presentations from the lesson plan? Having spoken to classmates and students across campus, I can safely say that nobody want to see them go. With the right tweaks, slideshows can become an engaging tool of communication as well as a powerful revision strategy for students long after the class is over. Here are a few ways to achieve this:</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Make Presentations More Accessible </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I cannot stress this enough: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let your students know how and where they can view your presentation later</i>. Chances are, the actual slideshows used to deliver a lecture are more helpful than any personal notes scribbled during the presentation. The traditional way to do this is to send the presentation as a mass e-mail to the entire class afterwards. However, in my personal experience, a hastily compiled list of e-mails is bound to miss a few people, and most students won’t even realize they didn’t make it to the mailing list until it’s too late. A fail-proof alternative is to upload the slides on <a href="http://glisser.com/">Glisser</a>, and give their unique URL to students before a lecture. This gives them the option to type in their own e-mail address at the end of the presentation and have the slides immediately sent to their inbox, leaving them with one less thing to worry about while preparing for exams.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Enable Coordination between Notes and Slides</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since slideshows usually display only the main bullet points and complementary diagrams, students often want to write down additional information relayed by the speaker. However, it is often confusing to later identify which section of the notes corresponds to which slide. Many attempt to avoid this by jotting down the number of the respective slide in their notes, but the chances of losing track during a particularly difficult class are monumental. The same goes for trying to take notes on labeled diagrams featured in the slide, as it involves having to draw the diagram in question before repeating the aforementioned steps. <a href="http://glisser.com/">Glisser</a> makes life easier for students by letting them write notes electronically on the slides themselves, so they can concentrate on the presentation instead. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Determine and Answer the Most Important Queries</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given that university lectures are usually attended by an average of fifty to sixty people, it is next to impossible to address everyone’s questions about a presentation. Ideally, a professor ought to answer the most popular questions across the student base, but there is no way to predetermine them before a presentation. <a href="http://glisser.com/">Glisser</a> lets students post their queries and even vote for those raised by classmates during an ongoing presentation, then draws up a list according to rankings at the end. Such a comprehensive list will allow professors to clear at least the most common doubts in the event they run out of time before covering all of them.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Collect Instant Feedback</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most universities ask for feedback only at the end of a programme. This offers little incentive for students to make time for submitting comments since they will not personally benefit from them. Besides, any suggestions provided after a lapse in time is likely to be vague and generic, which makes it difficult to implement them. The easiest way to avoid this would be to acquire immediate feedback on class presentations, but the limited time frame of individual lectures rarely allows for this. Students are also understandably reluctant to write out elaborate comments at the end of a long class. Avoid this by adding multiple choice questions to your <a href="http://glisser.com/">Glisser</a> presentation, so people can register their opinion in a matter of seconds. For the particularly lazy ones, <a href="http://glisser.com/">Glisser</a> also has the option to simply press like on the slides they enjoyed. Teachers in turn will receive a copy of the data acquired to find out exactly what worked for the students, and make changes accordingly for subsequent presentations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s not all, either! The most convenient feature of Glisser is that no prior downloads are necessary to access files. Students can simply Copy + Paste the URL into their laptop or phone browser for a truly immersive class experience. If you would like to try Glisser for yourself, click <a href="http://glisser.com/">here</a> to visit their official website.</span> <br />
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Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-14247264567053082472015-05-11T03:15:00.000+05:302015-05-11T20:50:31.024+05:30Empty.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It comes and goes, this insidious sting. <br />
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I may not feel it for days, but may for a century.</div>
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Life crumpling under unyielding footsteps</div>
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And the distilled craving for happy memories.</div>
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Stay with me.</div>
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Stay here till the sun bleeds into the sky,</div>
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Natural hemorrhage masquerading as accidental
beauty.</div>
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This is the pain that does not wring out tears —</div>
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Release would be too fucking easy.</div>
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Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-10799775345782783552015-04-23T13:38:00.000+05:302015-04-23T18:49:18.669+05:30Fitness Fiend.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Okra,
flaxseed, neem and kale -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">New
concoctions straight from hell,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tame
the urge to spill your meal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">All
over your growing dress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Touch
your feet, and then some more<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Heavy
breathing, pounding chest,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sweat
that cloaks your natural scent -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
insist on such madness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Down
the cobbled streets you go,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Aching
joints and inflamed soles,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One
more mile, or maybe two<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Can
melt that roll of fat on you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">No
more crispy sugar treats<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lock
them up where arms can’t reach,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ditch
the carbs and fizzy drinks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gorge
on fresh-plucked leaves instead!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bench-press
twice a day, you fool,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wield
that dumb bell like a tool<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ankle
sprain and muscle sore<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Must add up to a healthy core.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Something else you want to try?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Join
a class and bring your mate -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Crunches,
yoga, all to die<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 72.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At
the very slowest rate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-78612106920774791372015-02-20T22:40:00.000+05:302015-08-18T07:17:19.073+05:30The End.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">W</span>hen I wake up in the
middle of the night<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
Screaming at shadows, dripping with sweat,</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I don’t reach out for the lights.<br />
I reach for you.<br />
When I’m counting down the hours until break,<br />
Cursing my job and everything under the sun,<br />
Thinking of lunch doesn’t make me smile,<br />
You do.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And when we lie down, laughing, in
the wet grass</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So we can close our eyes and wish
upon a star,</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I’m still smiling at you,<br />
Knowing that my wish came true.<br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You must think I’m pathetic.<br />
God knows I do.<br />
If my teenage self could see me now, <br />
Groveling in dust<br />
Like the f<span style="font-family: inherit;">lea-infested dog</span> you quickly walk past<br />
At the butcher’s, he’d want to kill himself too.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">But this is what you do to me.<br />
You with your blazing eyes and caustic tongue,</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The sly, half-smile that gets me
every time<span style="font-family: inherit;">,</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You with your beach-tanned boys and
pinstriped men,</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The hushed phone calls and playful
winks -</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
Why won’t you smile anymore?<br />
Is it the scars on my shoulder, honey?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Where you put out your cigarettes, one sizzling dot at a time,<br />
Painted purple over days?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Love found me in a nightmare once -</span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Whimpering, shaking, weeping blood,</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Love held me in her quicksand arms</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And she looked just a little like
you.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-3985772443263992552015-02-18T05:06:00.000+05:302015-02-21T07:42:19.466+05:30Not Love.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You think you love me</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">When
all you really love</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Is
how my smile reminds you<br />
Of the mother you never had.<br />
Her gap-toothed smile</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Watching
from the picture frames</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In
your father’s house,<br />
Its dusty hall<span style="font-family: inherit;">way</span> empty</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Like
his heart.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It’s
easy to fall in love</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">With
someone who feels like home –</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Their
breath on your skin</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Like
the <span style="font-family: inherit;">storm</span> against your window.<br />
The light in their eyes</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Like
fireflies in the dark.<br />
Their voice is music</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Because it's not yours.<br />
The blisters on their hands</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Are
cotton against your palm.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Tell
me how you love me</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">On days you don't love yourself? </span></span></span></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-23680609778072160502015-01-21T19:09:00.000+05:302015-01-28T20:00:17.196+05:30Growing Up.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Is that your plan<br />
Doodled in the margins of a notebook<br />
In fifth period, English class?<br />
Lofty goals and sun-kissed dreams<br />
Bursting through<br />
The fading ink of your sloppy scrawl.<br />
You feel invincible,<br />
Your life a jigsaw puzzle,<br />
Waiting to be made whole<br />
On a lazy Sunday afternoon.<br />
<br />
I know what you’re thinking.<br />
I can read it in the curve<br />
Of your mouth<br />
As you sneak a glance<br />
While passing a mirror.<br />
I bet it’s nice to feel so brave,<br />
To watch the world<br />
Quiver at your touch.<br />
Fate becomes your little pet,<br />
Nuzzling into the palm of your hand.<br />
<br />
But pets die, and mirrors break<br />
Old notebooks get left behind<br />
Sunday noons are ruined by work,<br />
And jigsaw pieces disappear.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span>
</div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-70553621903086679652015-01-13T05:04:00.001+05:302015-02-05T04:56:12.258+05:30Giving In.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">When you move away,</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">When you move away from home for the first time,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">It feels a little like learning to swim. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">The adrenaline kicks in, you find yourself</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">On top of the world for a while</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">But mostly it’s just drowning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Sometimes the days go by in a blur</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Of friendly faces and one drink too many.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Always a drink too many.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">It creeps in on you when you least expect it -</span></div>
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Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-14117260754652527122014-11-30T21:47:00.000+05:302014-12-01T22:56:59.132+05:30Writer's Block.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As
a sweaty stranger preys</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">On
daddy’s little princess;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
unruly strands of spray-dyed hair</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">That
sweep across my brow,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Stealing
my vision.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Where
is the madness promised to us?<br />
That little spark to reanimate</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
rotting remains of intellect?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
will trade my soul</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For
a few sorry rhymes,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Spill
blood and sweat</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As
sacrifice</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To
conjure words</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">From
emptiness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">They
tell me to settle down,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Find
a nice young boy</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And
ruin his life;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hang
the apron-noose</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Around my neck</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And
slip</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Into
a life</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Of
picket-fenced perfection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">They’re
joking, of course</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But
on nights like this</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Of
empty bottles and double vision</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
almost believe them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If
my mother should see me now</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">She’d
tilt her head and sing</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Into
this abyss of shattered dreams</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">That
old refrain –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
told you so.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
words will haunt me</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Till
I die,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Echoing
into</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
afterlife.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet
something in me still persists,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For
ego is a feral beast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And
only if my pen would write,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Some
lofty tale I’d bring to life –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A
legend whispered long ago</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Of
dragon-slaying or of woe,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A
pretty damsel in distress</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Whose
charming knight is put to test,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A
wily temptress in disguise</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Brewing
potions for a price.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And
just when I have stalled my fears,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
magic kingdom disappears,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
words dry up,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
prose runs thin</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And
old foe silence</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Creeps
back in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If
you should see me by myself</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">On
nights like these,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Please walk away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This
cross is mine to bear alone;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
risked too much, I should’ve known</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">That
fickle fancy’s not my friend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But
still I hold this idle pen,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Praying
for a miracle,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To
scribble through</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Life’s
sorry test,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Not
knowing that</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
muse is dead.</span></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-42681483880174019612014-03-01T15:04:00.000+05:302014-05-15T04:07:17.964+05:30The Itch of Familiarity.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div dir="rtl">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAy6lgUT5Ycj_m7cD_GJyHr6Jl2l3XA3YV0O47ihNGq8vztmqPodXXaKib9m_QEx3g6ELcwPq9EuFTDa-eK96SHBT10zngnXqnWPRStRsVXP7iTP5E6vnoYNJbWmqGrM-0YtPkbPHaeyo/s1600/cutcaster-photo-100091105-man-and-woman-sitting-back-to-back-suspiciously-looking-at-each-other.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAy6lgUT5Ycj_m7cD_GJyHr6Jl2l3XA3YV0O47ihNGq8vztmqPodXXaKib9m_QEx3g6ELcwPq9EuFTDa-eK96SHBT10zngnXqnWPRStRsVXP7iTP5E6vnoYNJbWmqGrM-0YtPkbPHaeyo/s1600/cutcaster-photo-100091105-man-and-woman-sitting-back-to-back-suspiciously-looking-at-each-other.jpg" height="320" width="307" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Society
would have us believe that humans are genetically programmed to seek
companionship. Our happiness, they warn, will amount to nothing if not shared
with that treasured circle of kindred spirits. All that self-serving pseudo-philosophy
about meaningful relationships and emotional co-dependency sounds fine and
dandy, but the real question that almost always goes unanswered is this.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How
close is too close?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Would
you share relationship woes with a person, for instance? Or a bank account? Or how
about recounting that one time you got hammered at an office party and made out
with the boss’ fiancé? Once the little nuggets of personal information start
spilling out, just where do you draw the line? Sure, you may think nothing of an
innocuous confession about that wild child phase in college, but before you
know it, you’re sobbing on the living room couch, spilling your guts (and a
glass of sherry) over the murder fantasies you’ve secretly entertained about
your half-sister Eunice. If
that hypothesis makes you cringe, imagine the plight of those on the receiving
end of it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Humans
as a race are notorious for overestimating their capacity to handle the truth
about others, never mind about themselves. It’s easy to romanticise the idea of
getting to know someone inside out while riding on the wave of indulgence that
a new acquaintanceship brings with itself, but sooner or later, the novelty
wears off, the quirks fail to intrigue until all you’re left with is the musty
aftertaste of a dull familiarity.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Frieda
Lawrence deemed this the “terrible gift of nearness”. I, in my admittedly
limited perspective, call it the Too Much Information Syndrome. The narcissists
of our social network generation are so driven by the urgency to share every
last titbit of their delicious selves that the very concept of gradual
discovery is all but extinct. In a
virtual space, at least, one still has the option of unsubscribing from candid
confessions, but when forced into the close quarters of an actual relationship,
it becomes twice as hard to find new means of escape.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
why, you may ask with a faint frown, shouldn’t you share with the people who
care? By
all means, share away! Once you’ve realised that the person in question is a
deeply flawed human being and not the demigod you’d fancied them to be, you
can finally focus on working together to conjure your own bubble of mutual
bliss. Textbook guide to a happy ending, am I right?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s
not that easy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once
you’ve seen a person in the unforgiving light of raw honesty, there is no
escaping that knowledge. Try as you might to gloss things over with fancy
cocktail parties and vegan brunches or whatever is the current social
distraction, at the back of your mind all you will be able to think of is how Henry
snores like an elephant in labour or that Amanda eats like an invalid with
missing teeth. In a world where we struggle to embrace our own idiosyncrasies,
what chance do the oddities of others really stand? The more we learn about
another person, the greater is the challenge to accept them, the more does our
patience wear thin. And God forbid you should somehow find the divine restraint
to reconcile yourself to the million little things that make up a person, for
once you’ve made peace with that, what is left to fight and conquer?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There’s
a reason why some of the greatest stories in the world focus on the journey of
discovery itself. Nobody talks about what happens <i>after</i> the great resolution, for nothing ever does! When the first
flush of pride at our superhuman capacity for tolerance begins to subside, old
devil tedium rears his ugly head. After you’ve wandered through someone’s mindscape and pecked at their memories and aligned yourself with every crevice
of their myriad beliefs, their thoughts cease to surprise and their soul shrivels
into a shadow of your own self. And what good is a shadow when you already have
one in perfect working condition?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stop
broadcasting every arbitrary sequence of words that just happens to pop into your
head. Your Facebook followers don’t need to know your inner
monologue at the exact moment you swallowed a dry pill. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is no compulsion to tweet your opinion on the chicken sandwich you
had for breakfast. </span></span>And for God’s sake,
don’t even think of Instagramming an aerial shot of the sandals you bought on
sale.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bring
back the mystery, people.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-35962188972744905092014-01-04T12:59:00.004+05:302014-05-15T04:09:27.196+05:30A Weekend.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</xml><![endif]--><i>An introspection, devoid of fancy trimmings.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-in2uZ3aCgPXnRukBhu7W5h_UTkd7m1K-Yl_X7-tfU1_dAdnC7iaQxmOfQL6VBXQzokKwn1Imc40li2_hSVOgeGWno-eC6HXmVDmLpZA7SAhZcaJ8EFFvnd-DilmCd_6th9GSjITH_Ck/s1600/i-am-alone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-in2uZ3aCgPXnRukBhu7W5h_UTkd7m1K-Yl_X7-tfU1_dAdnC7iaQxmOfQL6VBXQzokKwn1Imc40li2_hSVOgeGWno-eC6HXmVDmLpZA7SAhZcaJ8EFFvnd-DilmCd_6th9GSjITH_Ck/s320/i-am-alone.jpg" height="278" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A lot can happen over a weekend. Your dog may die. You may
find out that you were adopted. That your partner cheated on you. That you’re
expecting a child, or have one you never knew about. The dreams that you’ve
carefully nurtured can come crashing down around your ears.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A lot can happen over a weekend. A life painstakingly woven
over the years, strand by precious strand, can be ripped to shreds in a matter of hours.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s terrifying how little control we have over life. We convince
ourselves of our own authority by clinging to petty nothings – our choice of wall
paint, the model of our car, the style of our hair. We create a false cocoon of
little options to reinforce this delusion of control. Anything to avoid a brush
with reality, to sweep the shards of truth under our neatly-made beds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Truth is, there are no guarantees in life. Everything is
destructible, nothing can escape annihilation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is what I discovered this weekend. That my life is
precariously balanced on a fragile plane of aspirations and the gentlest of
nudge from the universe can tip me over the edge into a bottomless precipice of
darkness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To presume that we have a say in the nature of our existence
is human vanity. Life is nothing but uncertain and any speculation to the contrary
is an exercise in futility. Should we then crawl into fetal position and await
our inevitable end? Or fight the odds in a valiant if misdirected assertion of
independence? If a weekend can obliterate life as we know it, what chance do we
have against the tyranny of decades?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The answer is painfully clichéd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Hope.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you don’t know where your next meal will come from, hope
for the kindness of a stranger. If someone doesn’t return your love, hope to
meet a better man. If your chances of landing that coveted promotion appear
slim, hope to beat the odds. If you’ve been all but rejected by your dream
university, hope for a miracle, goddamn it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you can keep that hope alive, no misfortune in the world will hold you down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A lot can happen over a weekend. That friend you’ve been mad
at for years may finally apologize. You may win the lottery. Your crush may ask
you out. You may perfect your great grandmother’s eggnog recipe. Life swings
both ways – if the worst may happen, so can the best. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Hope for that perfect weekend.</div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-64261644495296581532013-12-12T13:46:00.004+05:302013-12-12T13:51:24.776+05:30Happily Divorced.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Inspired by an American sitcom of the same name. </i></span></span></span></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgM4itPQrgDK4PEdAhToK00MQo6CbJ5VuAYiduo9wf4s0cIQKa1YLqxqqilsZ7YIb5p4Ng-7l-9DdLj8a14ctf_nvdsoh_9yElBQLU7o5LJphE1RVBVU058Z60FkLQS8cER0oZa8DPZo/s1600/happily+divorced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgM4itPQrgDK4PEdAhToK00MQo6CbJ5VuAYiduo9wf4s0cIQKa1YLqxqqilsZ7YIb5p4Ng-7l-9DdLj8a14ctf_nvdsoh_9yElBQLU7o5LJphE1RVBVU058Z60FkLQS8cER0oZa8DPZo/s320/happily+divorced.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
should’ve known our union was against nature’s scheme</span>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
day you baked me brownies lathered in whipped cream</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Why
shouldn’t men love to cook? The feminist in me cried</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And
turned her head the other way, the day your hair you dyed</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A
ghastly shade called ‘diva red’, the ugliest I’ve seen</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“But
it’s so pretty! -I mean bold”, in soprano you squeaked</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Which
reminded me of Margarine, my ageing spinster aunt</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Who
shot her beau with the gun with which he used to hunt</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
should’ve known when my friends exchanged looks wide-eyed</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
day I introduced you all, the day you wore that tie</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">With
Marlon Brando’s brooding face printed all over it</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
way you kept exclaiming, “Damn, that guy was ripped!”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You
couldn’t pass a mirror without pausing to look</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A
quarter of an hour to style your hair it took</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">When
people raised their eyebrows, “He’s metrosexual!” I said</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Oh
well”, they cried, unconvinced, “As long as he’s good in bed.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
should’ve known something was off the day we hit the sack</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I’d
often catch you pouting at the glass ceiling we had</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But
you were a good partner, I’ll give you that my dear</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Even
though you wrinkle your nose at the smell of beer</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
remember when I found on you a smudge of red lipstick</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You
swore it was just a bruise from a flying hockey stick</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But
nothing beats my discovery of your secret underwear</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">With
little hearts drawn on them – not just one, but a pair!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And
this is why, my darling, I’m throwing the towel in</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But
that shouldn’t undermine how happy with you I’ve been</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">For
while you aren’t exactly what they call an ideal husband</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">You’ve
stuck by me through thick and thin and been a stellar friend</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I’ll
wait for you to find your way out of that famous closet</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And
prepare to be your wingman, so we can double date!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Imagine
what fun we’ll have, all the parties we can host</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">To
tell our friends and family that we’re happily divorced.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-5402043527749553152013-12-09T16:37:00.000+05:302013-12-10T09:21:16.904+05:30The Sound of Silence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_1621751418"></span><span id="goog_1621751419"></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</style> <![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Silence fills the night</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Like the piercing squeal of a child’s delight,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or the lilting notes of a lullaby.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A silence so voluptuous and rich</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like the glossy sheen of ebony ink,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A plush feather dancing across the page</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As a silent orchestra plays –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or the noiseless Pandemonium</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Where a speechless Satan reigns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">More silent still, like the voiceless hills</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> That drown the river’s unheard roar</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In mute mockery.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Can you hear it? The breathless whisper</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> That amplifies to my unheeding ears</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> A deafening cacophony?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I cannot fathom </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The flapping of a butterfly’s wings</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In vain pursuit of the choicest flower,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A cobra’s hiss as it wields the power</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To blot out life forever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But you, who have heard the autumn leaves</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Change colour and crumple</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To death’s cold touch, cannot</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The silence see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I can; I have watched it creep noiselessly</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To my brick-red balcony and knock</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On my window pane, waiting to be let in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have felt silence close in stealthily</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">As I averted my eyes from an unknown world</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Whose music is lost on me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The storm clouds groan with the weight of rain</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Too distant to be heard. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The stars twinkle in soft sympathy, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Glaring at the moon who beams</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> With the raucous laughter of wordless mischief.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Silence is the night.</span></div>
<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
</h2>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-478233754591427472012-10-02T19:50:00.000+05:302013-12-09T22:10:56.433+05:30The Nonsense Rhyme.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If all art is useless,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then French chefs cannot bake</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Chocolate doesn't melt hearts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And Mr. Darcy is a rake!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If music cannot free your soul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And tempt you to a merry jig,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Women would shun diamonds for coal</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And bald eagles proudly don a wig</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If rhymes are lost and books not read,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cinderella would have missed the ball</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Goldilocks wouldn't sleep in another's bed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And an oasis could drown us all</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If the myriad hues of a painted scene</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cannot a fine pair of eyes attract,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">India would not the World Cup win</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And Tendulkar could not hold a bat!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For life and art are meant to be</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Together, till death do them part</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These gateways to sheer ecstasy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Both start and stop in the heart.</span></div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-27508628296353877662012-09-16T14:07:00.001+05:302012-09-16T18:42:09.667+05:30Rage.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’ve jumped through hoops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Of iron hot<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">They singed my skin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And let it rot<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But now I know, no matter what I do<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’ll never be good enough for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This pain in me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Of burning ache-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">You pretend to care<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But you think its fake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So I tell myself, what they say is true<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’ll never be good enough for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">There’ll come a day when you’ll finally see<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I meant every word I said to you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">You’ll be crawling back with an apology<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But you know what? Screw you.</span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-21027087872779298992012-08-24T17:56:00.000+05:302014-05-15T03:57:42.386+05:30Writer's Block.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maya pushed away her pen in annoyance. The roll of parchment
before her lay stark and staring. She had been sitting at the table for the
better part of an hour, willing the words to spill out like they did, but they
never came. An assortment of soiled tissues
sprawled out around her as silent witnesses to the alarming quantity of coffee
she had swallowed and spilled in equal measure.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But even the caffeine buzz had failed her today, leaving her
restless and distracted. She drummed her fingers in a sporadic rhythm and
stared ahead, her eyes glossed over, seeing nothing. Somewhere in the distance a stale love ballad
droned on, interspersed with the lifeless chatter of the dilapidated coffee
shop.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maya shook her head for the umpteenth hour and turned
towards the frosted window. Outside, the empty winter landscape echoed the
quiet desolation of her barren mind. Spring had slipped by stealthily that
year, taking with it as a parting gift the final breath of her creative spirit.
She had tried to reclaim what was rightfully hers but it was too little, too
late. As the months rolled by, the world she knew and loved grew grey and insipid
and execrably uninspiring. The flowers looked moldy, the songbirds were
tone-deaf and the sky had lost its pallor. Growing desperate, she forced upon
herself nights such as these when she would put pen to paper and wait for a
miracle.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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So far, it had proved to be an exercise in futility. The
words never came; and even when they did, they were halting and jarred, like
indecipherable human whispers across a disturbed telephone connection. For a
while Maya put on a brave face, struggling to weave magic out of phrases that
did not fit together, till she could no longer ignore the elaborate lie of her
sorry prose, till it became physically nauseating to summon from within words
that had been long since lost to her. Her imagination had locked her out and
she was too dispirited to infiltrate its defences.</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>To be continued...</i></div>
</div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-35558314371981811202012-07-08T11:10:00.000+05:302012-10-02T20:24:33.229+05:30An Expert's Guide To Wasting A Holiday.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9SRwYKpVJ4WZ23RlievjgvVAR6b39vHyvC9shXOe2ZbFeIF6bjsyqaKU_Wt13ak9wC1FOrkHAV9ZgzxPRq1t5QLfJd5L2wayqhgVBJZjgrtLl7nEyTvZU3GLDIFX7VTjSCtOGiCLtiA/s1600/www.obboi.ru_4344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9SRwYKpVJ4WZ23RlievjgvVAR6b39vHyvC9shXOe2ZbFeIF6bjsyqaKU_Wt13ak9wC1FOrkHAV9ZgzxPRq1t5QLfJd5L2wayqhgVBJZjgrtLl7nEyTvZU3GLDIFX7VTjSCtOGiCLtiA/s400/www.obboi.ru_4344.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(To whomsoever it may concern: Ideas expressed in the post have been exaggerated for various reasons. Please don't send me to therapy.)</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1. Tune in to a television show on a culinary competition conducted in another continent. Spend hours watching contestants whip up dishes you're never going to eat with ingredients you've never seen before. Focus your undivided attention on following their unfamiliar accent only to realize that they keep lapsing into a language you don't know. Salivate at the piece of art served on a plate. Feel the familiar stirring of hunger in the pit of your stomach. Remember that your refrigerator is empty and that you have the cooking skills of a handicapped panda anyway. Continue watching the show till the end of the day or till you starve, whichever comes first.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2. Go online and discover that a teen celebrity your age is engaged to be married. Remind yourself that the rich and famous live in an alternative reality so their lifestyle isn’t an appropriate parameter for your existence. Sink into a depression regardless and prod at old wounds as you ponder about what possibly went wrong. Didn’t you try hard enough or did you try too hard? Why is another 19 year old on the threshold of marriage when you haven’t even been in a real relationship yet? Are you romantically repulsive? Are you doomed to eternal spinsterhood? Are you the poster girl for the Forever Alone meme you saw on 9gag?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3. Talk to random strangers on the internet. Shyly concede when they compliment your flattering profile picture as you celebrate inwardly with an evil chuckle. Thank your camera flash for obliterating the jagged ends of your eyebrows and the monstrous pimple on your forehead. Secretly hope for a special connection with every individual who can hold a conversation for longer than 5 minutes in grammatically correct English and pretend that this doesn’t reek of desperation. Hide your disappointment when they disconnect without warning. Console yourself that perhaps they have an unstable internet connection, perhaps they forgot the chicken in the oven or maybe they were instant messaging in the middle of a meeting when their boss caught them and now they're sitting on a pavement somewhere with a box of office supplies and nowhere to go.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">4. Roll over and play dead. Conveniently forget that you do the exact same thing every night for at least eight hours. Avoid coffee like the plague until you slip into a black hole of dreamless unconsciousness and suddenly, it won't matter anymore that you've accomplished a vat load of nothing all day.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">After all, this is exactly what the holidays are for.</span></div>
</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-27782484219103411142012-03-29T23:45:00.004+05:302013-03-31T10:55:14.728+05:30Our Story.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I still remember the first time I saw you.<br />
<br />
You sat facing me in a crowded public bus.We were less than a feet apart, so close that I knew I could touch your beautiful face if I extended a trembling hand.<br />
You were oblivious.You reclined on the seat with your earphones plugged in, your eyes shut in quiet contentment.I remember the way you drummed your fingers to the rhythm of music, how your eyes crinkled up as the sunlight hit their genial brown, the pair of miniature swords tattooed on your collar bone, peeking from under your Rolling Stones shirt.<br />
<br />
I remember everything.</div>
Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-70670580805671702632012-03-29T22:57:00.002+05:302012-03-29T23:45:41.679+05:30Starting Afresh.I'm bringing this blog back from the dead.<br />I don't expect to post either at length or at a consistent frequency, but I <span style="font-style:italic;">will</span> commit to salvaging an outlet of expression that meant something to me not too long ago.<br />All criticism will be highly appreciated.Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-19718275375209748252009-08-21T21:25:00.001+05:302014-05-15T04:00:45.733+05:30House of Horrors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ray kicked open the front door and sauntered into the house. An air of abandonment loomed conspicuously over the threshold, like a dormant monster left undisturbed for long.</div>
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“Far too long” he mused, shining his torch over the dust-ridden floor. He was standing in what appeared to be a small corridor, the walls on either side adorned by thick framed photographs.</div>
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“Portraits of the old family” Ray noted, brushing off the dust from the picture closest to him.</div>
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He crossed the hallway in four, cautious strides. Passing through the door at the far end,he found himself in a pentagonal room marked by closed doors on all sides. Higher up on the walls were tiny windows, boarded by planks of wood.</div>
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Ray sniffed uneasily, and unbuttoned his loose shirt. He had a history of claustrophobia, and the memory of it was little encouragement. He would have liked nothing more than to be able to walk out instantly, but would sooner shoot himself than give in to his weakness. He knew perfectly well what would happen if he backed out-500 dollars, and his reputation was at stake.</div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;">“I </span><i style="font-family: times new roman;">will</i><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> do this even if it kills me”, he spoke aloud, trying to inject in his voice a note of conviction that he did not quite feel.</span></div>
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Had he known what lay in store, he would have not have spoken of death so casually.</div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> To be continued...</span></span></span>
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Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-16122161180466700742009-05-19T07:15:00.000+05:302009-05-19T07:17:17.928+05:30Is This Life?Perennial- the cold river of tears<br />Every heartbeat muffled with fear<br />Why struggle,why the competition?<br />Life should be one big celebration!<br /><br />Whatever happened to the people who care?<br />Who knew how to live,love and share?<br />Do wake up,before you miss the train<br />Or did your enthusiasm already wane?<br /><br />In every corner,despairing spirits loom<br />Since when did you decide to live in such gloom?<br />It's your life,don't keep regrets for later<br />Why wait for God to make things better?<br /><br />The time is ripe,the course is set<br />You're at fault if your goals are not met<br />You rent a car,you have a house-<br />Is this all you've dreamed about?<br /><br />The world is yours,this life is too<br />What you make of it depends on you<br />Which makes more sense-to run a rat race?<br />Or make the world a happier place?Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-77225126942274929962009-04-03T11:02:00.000+05:302012-07-08T10:46:56.945+05:30Train To Paradise.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyOM2RWNeoWh2dxF_SD9BWMsoEwwnmT42QUIdkEK4dchqh3hprJPii0H6JMydusaU3Pazw9ux9_nAblG_nKjFK3qpyaTIEnCASwh3OYzo2JZkwpcwbENsZcxML_1cfWUHcN5o4Uay7cY0/s1600-h/mike1fb.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyOM2RWNeoWh2dxF_SD9BWMsoEwwnmT42QUIdkEK4dchqh3hprJPii0H6JMydusaU3Pazw9ux9_nAblG_nKjFK3qpyaTIEnCASwh3OYzo2JZkwpcwbENsZcxML_1cfWUHcN5o4Uay7cY0/s320/mike1fb.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320339027690180370" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The idea for this poem walked into my head several nights ago.It is a swift narration of a bizarre train incident,as seen through the eyes of the ticket-master.</span><br /><br />“Excuse me, Miss, you’re not on the list<br />Do you have an explanation for this?<br />If you do, let’s hear you out<br />If not, kindly do step out.<br /><br />Step out, out of this carriage<br />You don’t belong here without a ticket<br />Step out, out in the open<br />This train ride’s not for free.”<br /><br />“Don’t have a ticket, Sir<br />Can’t afford one, you see<br />But I got on the train anyhow<br />And it’s taking me to paradise now.”<br /><br />“Para… what? Is this a joke?<br />Or a mere trick to provoke?<br />Cut it out, it’s not funny<br />Why board the train if you have no money?”<br /><br />“Told you Sir, would gladly repeat<br />I’m off to paradise, now do you hear me?<br />Will be there soon, I dare say<br />And I’m not getting down for anyone, Nay!”<br /><br />“You darn will, Miss! I’ll see to it<br />Go! Bother someone else with your little fib<br />Step out Miss; give me no reason to harm<br />Step out gently, or I’ll ring the alarm.”<br /><br />“No need Officer, no need at all<br />I now beg leave from you all<br />My station has come, in good time too<br />I won’t need more help from you.”<br /><br />“Stop her boy! Don’t let her flee<br />We’ve got to get hold of that fibbing missy<br />Something’s wrong, my gut says so<br />This whole business is a bit too fishy!<br /><br />What are you doing,you stupid fool?<br />You didn’t let her get away, did you?”<br />“Sir, she ran like the wind, with me in tow<br />Then – Oh Sir! – She jumped out of the door!”<br /><br />“Jumped out of door of the moving train, boy?”<br />“And even as she fell, she squealed in joy,<br />‘I’m off, off to paradise anyhow<br />Won’t be seeing you in a long time now!’”Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-67651299448214348622008-12-31T08:53:00.000+05:302009-02-09T14:21:08.184+05:30Dear Old 2008.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285795571152177986" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 287px; height: 359px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R5jrW4T-7OS4MjFomnrgCNsXbT17pGW4YSYcYK-y_zyDDlXZn1n7sbI1DSNVprTsYWM32mgUPC822y-uwkHM4MksCQOv0ewA9ZgmPOoJCqEn5JW_uX9fW8fSjxs__ma1dFpGEM1hrkw/s320/bare_tree.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><em>By quite an unusual stroke, I first present to you a poem <strong>not </strong>written by me.Robert W. Service,the poet, bids adieu to the Old Year in a way I never possibly could .This touching poem encompasses how optimists and pessimists view the transition from the year gone by, to the year yearning to be unveiled.This is dedicated to Year 2008, with its rollercoaster experiences of love, sorrow, pain and joy.</em><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><em><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Goodbye, 2008.Goodbye forever.</span><br /><br /><br /></span></em></span></div><div> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em></div><div></div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></em></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></em></div><div></div><div>My glass is filled, my pipe is lit,<br />My den is all a cosy glow;<br />And snug before the fire I sit,<br />And wait to <em>feel</em> the old year go.<br />I dedicate to solemn thought<br />Amid my too-unthinking days,<br />This sober moment, sadly fraught<br />With much of blame, with little praise.</div><div><br />Old Year! upon the Stage of Time<br />You stand to bow your last adieu;<br />A moment, and the prompter's chime<br />Will ring the curtain down on you.<br />Your mien is sad, your step is slow;<br />You falter as a Sage in pain;<br />Yet turn, Old Year, before you go,<br />And face your audience once again.</div><div><br />That sphinx-like face, remote, austere,<br />Let us all read, whate'er the cost:<br />O Maiden! why that bitter tear?<br />Is it for dear one you have lost?<br />Is it for fond illusion gone?<br />For trusted lover proved untrue?<br />O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan<br />What hath the Old Year meant to you?</div><div><br />And you, O neighbour on my right<br />So sleek, so prosperously clad!<br />What see you in that aged wight<br />That makes your smile so gay and glad?<br />What opportunity unmissed?<br />What golden gain, what pride of place?<br />What splendid hope? O Optimist!<br />What read you in that withered face?</div><div><br />And You, deep shrinking in the gloom,<br />What find you in that filmy gaze?<br />What menace of a tragic doom?<br />What dark, condemning yesterdays?<br />What urge to crime, what evil done?<br />What cold, confronting shape of fear?<br />O haggard, haunted, hidden One<br />What see you in the dying year?</div><div><br />And so from face to face I flit,<br />The countless eyes that stare and stare;<br />Some are with approbation lit,<br />And some are shadowed with despair.<br />Some show a smile and some a frown;<br />Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:<br />Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!<br />Old weary year! it's time to go.</div><div><br />My pipe is out, my glass is dry;<br />My fire is almost ashes too;<br />But once again, before you go,<br />And I prepare to meet the New:<br />Old Year! a parting word that's true,<br />For we've been comrades, you and I --<br />I thank God for <em>each</em> day of you;<br />There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!</div><br /><div><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"></span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></em></div>Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-23616107709372742222008-10-13T22:18:00.001+05:302010-03-26T11:43:45.895+05:30A Lazy Dreamer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHfdGCpsX-lZZCNR1xwIFLxy3HsICHvyOOPVwt3wfOMqhx4oP8QcgrvynEL0mR7PKBLtV2xI-D3_O5hgu0-FCLiLMiXmouifkstW4YUln3IxeptZOsjMMOTD8lv3T2_lQoTQqqRtr4IU/s1600-h/GirlSleeping.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256681903608382786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHfdGCpsX-lZZCNR1xwIFLxy3HsICHvyOOPVwt3wfOMqhx4oP8QcgrvynEL0mR7PKBLtV2xI-D3_O5hgu0-FCLiLMiXmouifkstW4YUln3IxeptZOsjMMOTD8lv3T2_lQoTQqqRtr4IU/s320/GirlSleeping.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em>I came up with this silly, little poem the other day.Enjoy!</em><br /><p>I want to be the owner of a Mercedes<br />Wear a pretty dress, dine at Hotel Ritz<br />Want to hear A.R. Rahman performing live,<br />Smell the best in fragrance-Chanel No. 5<br /><br />Dream to be a writer by profession<br />There goes my blunt confession<br />Own a house in the heart of London,<br />And wear costly jewels by the ton<br /></p><p>Learn French and off to Paris for a holiday,<br />Perhaps a shopping spree in the month of May?<br />Would love to do all this, maybe a lot more<br />‘Cause then, you see, life would never be a bore</p><p>The only problem which can here be devised<br />Is the great need for my budget to be revised<br />For only the richest can afford true luxury,<br />But I'm no Oprah Winfrey, as you can see!</p>Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-57190221079871419622008-09-30T19:08:00.000+05:302009-04-09T14:33:37.459+05:30The Necromancer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLYivLz0ujUbkNXEjs5ZByLQ1mZ95Yi9wmBIrC4FpwAIeJLK-mTmHF_wh5_fzTn3jyTPKMunv8e5Kh3XQCl7UkqEQAINkwIjcX30NYLHPyqxx7O27KPDO-hyqeQmp2Hqgl5phmfhqOb4/s1600-h/village.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251812329224624082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLYivLz0ujUbkNXEjs5ZByLQ1mZ95Yi9wmBIrC4FpwAIeJLK-mTmHF_wh5_fzTn3jyTPKMunv8e5Kh3XQCl7UkqEQAINkwIjcX30NYLHPyqxx7O27KPDO-hyqeQmp2Hqgl5phmfhqOb4/s320/village.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">The crooked alley led through two neat rows of cottages with white-washed walls, which stood facing each other. Streetlamps with rusty, brass handles dotted the way, some so old that they served no purpose at all. Yet, they were left undisturbed by the aged—a feeble attempt to preserve their fading memory of a fairy-tale like countryside village that Vidalia had ceased to be.<br />Vidalia, a small village in the Eastern countryside of New England had been a dream vacation getaway, frequented by nature-loving tourists who had come down each summer in unbelievably large numbers.<br />Not anymore, though. With changing times came a fresh batch of “modern” residents who turned the cheery village into a seat of crime; Vidalia wasn’t safe anymore. Gone were the days when it could lure many a wide-eyed traveller with the fascinating, old-world simplicity it had retained for so long. </span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">In the present, brutal murders and ambitious dacoities had bred fear and mistrust among the villagers, who now resorted to padlocking their doors with the coming of darkness. Even the most adventurous knew better than to step out after sunset.<br />Just like any other night, the streets were fairly deserted, save one individual. He was a tall, lean man with deep-set eyes, the fingers of his left hand curled around a silver bell, which rang shrilly at fixed intervals.<br />He turned a corner then paused hesitantly. His brows knitted together as he strained to see in the faint moonlight.<br />The cottages cast eerily elongated shadows on the road. A short distance ahead, he could make out a sturdy wooden fence—the lone demarcation between the village and the sprawling, wild countryside that stretched beyond.<br />The man stood still, considering. He rang the bell testily, his eyes observing. All of a sudden, he started and took a step back. He had sensed a spirit, lurking just beyond his vision, in the opaque darkness.<br />A few moments lapsed.<br />Mouthing a silent prayer, the man shut his eyes, took a deep breath and gulped. Normally, he would not be out at a time like this.<br />Tonight was different.<br /></span>Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5295685660041108055.post-84592853431889680502008-08-31T20:43:00.000+05:302009-05-27T17:12:09.900+05:30NIGHTMARE<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR-O4xlvG1Y2y7TIu7dS56xgRr3m2wvNDE7XlE74_y97ydBjp6JcMRk_CKbJbucnFWaIh3ZWf1tQXc4IAwo8xqmcH5Yh_VwT1IDcOY4YdcdFXQNGdvomc0cnbgN5Txl6x6oI5C4DX0Pk/s1600-h/1894698463_2c443f3bb5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240707796695825698" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR-O4xlvG1Y2y7TIu7dS56xgRr3m2wvNDE7XlE74_y97ydBjp6JcMRk_CKbJbucnFWaIh3ZWf1tQXc4IAwo8xqmcH5Yh_VwT1IDcOY4YdcdFXQNGdvomc0cnbgN5Txl6x6oI5C4DX0Pk/s320/1894698463_2c443f3bb5.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em>I wrote the following "story" a few months ago, on a momentary whim.It was just one of those sudden,weird ideas,really-thoughts that "jump" into my head at a moments notice.</em> <div><div><em>Critics observed that the story is inspired,albeit unconsciously, by an old Uttam Kumar film. Want to decide for yourself? Please read on...</em></div><br /><div><br />She saw him, again.<br /><br />Even as his mouth transformed into a long, needle-like shape, his entire face seemed to contour into a sinister, mocking smile. The now familiar pair of greedy eyes spoke of the inevitable danger as the dark figure stole towards her across the cold floor, overwhelmed by the desire to suck out every drop of blood circulating through her veins...<br />She let out a piercing scream that echoed through the empty night.<br /><br /> Early next morning, a young woman hurried down a New York sidewalk. With every step she took, she put up a fierce protest against the powerful wind that threatened to push her back.<br /> The woman was Violet Isabel, a brown-eyed, raven-tressed damsel who spent the hours of daylight working as a lobby-receptionist at the grand Hilton hotel in Times Square and whiled away the better part of the night on the dance floor of elite clubs. From time to time, she glanced down at her wrist watch anxiously, a deep frown etched across her forehead. Lack of sleep the night before had left unsightly dark circles under soft, brown eyes, which shone with some secret fear.<br /> Fifteen minutes later, the lights in a posh residential building were switched on.<br />“I’m glad you called, but at such an unearthly hour…” Dr. Jones spoke, his voice trailing off into uncertainty.<br /> Miss Isabel was lucky, and she knew it. It was very seldom that a psychologist as renowned as Dr. Jones took so much interest in a case. So much so that they did not mind allowing the patient into the privacy of their home even in early morning, hours before the door of his chamber were opened to the usual crowd.<br /><br />“Doctor, I am terribly sorry to disturb you” she said apologetically. “I simply had to see you. I saw IT again.”<br /> These seemingly simple words had a dramatic effect on Dr. Jones. <br />An electrical excitement ran down his spine and he looked into her frightened eyes intently. Miss Isabel had been coming to him for a month now, with complaints of a terrible sight that left her sweating uncontrollably even on chilly, winter nights.<br /><br />"Must have been pretty real, to have sent her running to me without any care for the time or place."<br /> Even as he thought, he sprang up from his chair and bolted the gaping door behind him.<br />“I have no intentions of adding to your fear, Miss Isabel”, he explained, on turning around just in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of renewed anxiety in the brown eyes. “I closed the door as assurance to discuss this serious matter away from anyone listening on the sly and also to, err, <span style="font-style: italic;">protect</span> you from any devil waiting by the door with a raised dagger”<br />Violet permitted herself a faint smile.<br />“I am terribly ashamed of my cowardice, Doctor”; she said “I was terrorized by what I saw---“<br />“By what you <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> you saw” the psychologist corrected her. “For all the evidence you have, it might be nothing but a stupid nightmare after some hardcore drinking at one of the clubs you frequent, I suppose”<br /> Had he said this a couple of weeks ago, Violet would have turned the brightest shade of tomato-red. But now, intense fear had erased almost every other emotion from her system. She looked into the doctor’s eyes pleadingly. <br />“You may think I’m imagining it, and it’s some sort of disease, but, believe me, Doctor, it was surreal. If only you knew what it feels like to look into the cruel eyes of someone about to kill you...and that needle-like thing in place of his mouth-one moment, he was smiling like a mad man, the next moment, his mouth transformed into a sharp needle, like...like...”<br />“Like this?” Dr. Jones inquired, advancing towards the slender figure resting on the patient’s chair, just as his mouth gradually transfigured into a long, needle-like form, his eyes blazing with the familiar feeling of uncontrollable greed...</div></div>Yashodhara Trivedihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05955945977157812409noreply@blogger.com2