From The Quill

Sometimes we just hit it off really well with people of the opposite gender. Our thoughts, ideas, ideologies and plans may strike a tune, and eventually we may even feel flattered or flirty with them. It is okay to feel that way about someone. Attractions happen almost instantly, some from the connections of thoughts and some from the first looks of things, mostly by appearance. Very often, we are quick to term this feeling as love. As teenagers, everything seems very easy and naive to us, especially these butterflies in our stomachs. As our crappy Bollywood movie logic feeds us with "Love is friendship." Or "A girl and a boy can never be friends." And even "Once you are attracted, you can't be friends," and "Exs can't be friends", the reality contradicts such stereotypes. Eventually, you realise that "love and friendship are not synonyms. Yes, you need to love your friends and cherish your friendships. You can keep friendships with ...

The sun rose blood red, as conch shells blew The thirteenth day had come through. His eyes shone, like the rays themselves,  Son of the greatest, a fierce warrior himself Father to the future he changed the course of war.  He had entered the vicious circle  Leaving the others behind by far. Kins turned enemies, battle against blood,  Away from his own even, alone, he stood.  He pulled out the sword, arrow and knife,  Picked up the wheel, refusing to give up his life. Seven against one, how great was he?  Laid down at sunset, lifeless at sixteen. The darkest night followed,  Broken rules, cruel killings.  Blood shook the throne of Dharma,  Or was it Adharma finally unveiling? The darkest night is here again,  To remind us of the thirteenth night,  How a brave heart fought with honour,  Against and for the people  Who weren't just as brave. ~ Suranya

I had waited from dawn to dusk  Prayed for one more day.  Will you please come back to me? Just for another stay? Instead of a murder of demons,  Blood-soaked and silent, you lay. You dreamt of a future,  I have him in my womb. Only now, he will never know his father  And you will never guide him.  Strange how this wheel of Dharma, That you uplifted every day, Where is my Justice? Why am I its prey?  Led to such a tragic injustice to us  You left me here stranded  Almost like a curse. ~ Suranya

Silences once spoke of magic and faith on smiling lips and sparkling eyes in daze; Under the stars, we wished upon dreams Mysteries discovered, as deep as the oceans' extreme; Lost in each other, we found a feeling must have been that truth we denied unveiling. And then almost inevitably we parted ways, Togetherness denied by the cruelty of fate; Endings are not always together forever, Soulmates live on, even in nevers. ~ Suranya

 আমার শহর গ্রীষ্মের দুপুর। রোদ আর কালবৈশাখী। আমার শহর মেঘলা আকাশ, জলের মাঝে নৌকা ভাসি। আমার শহর শীতের উষ্ণ চায়ের কাপে চুমুক লাগি। আমার শহর ঢাক আর গান, আলো, পুজো, প্যান্ডেলে। আমার শহর ঐতিহ্য জোড়াসাঁকো ও রাজবাড়ী। আমার শহর প্রেমের কবি, ভিক্টোরিয়া ও ময়দানের ভিড়। শহর আমার সরোবরের, নিউ মার্কেটের দোকানের হাঁকের। আলোর শহর, আশার শহর শহর আমার ইতিহাসের। জাদুঘরের ঘরগুলো যে রোজ সবার মন কারে। শহর আমার ট্রাম এর সফর, শহর আমার খাদ্য রসিক। শহর এ যে তোমার আমার সিনেমা ও আর্ট জানে;  সবার মনে দাগ কাটে আড্ডা, হাসি তর্কে মেতে। শহর আমার তিলোত্তমা তোমায় আমি ভালোবাসি। শহর আমার হাতছানি দেয় হাওড়া ব্রিজে গঙ্গা ঘাটে। যতই দূরে যাও না চলে শহর থেকে স্বপ্নপুরে  মনটানা এক চেনা সুরে শহর ডাকে পিছুটানে। ~ Suranya

"BRING OUT A PRETTY DRESS, LET'S PAINT THE TOWN RED!"  "SO IT'S A DATE." SHE DID HER BUN UP IN A MESS. HE PUT THE SILENCER ON HIS GUN INSTEAD. ~ Suranya

 This world is an ocean of uncertainty,  Unknown faces and undiscovered knowledge;  The paper boat of Love, my only strategy,  To remain afloat with courage. ~ SURANYA

Kindness is probably an inborn attribute we humans willingly forget. Kindness is not weakness. To be kind is free, and if your act of kindness makes lives better or easier, there is nothing like it. It can be as simple as extending your hand to an old woman crossing the road or teaching the underprivileged, or even just being there to hold someone's hand, listen and sympathise. Life is hard. In this competitive world of constant rat race, we often get too self-centred or egoistic. So much so that even acts of kindness are flaunted and expected to be reciprocated. Often, kind people are misunderstood to be weak. Or acts of kindness as personal interest. This is because more often than not, we humans act to get a reaction. But kindness like love should never be about reciprocation. It is about how happy you are to help others, make them smile or simply be there for someone alone. Kindness nowadays is rare. And selfless kindness, the kind that is not flaunted to the world, is the real...

The moon seems like my spirit in the universe. Some days I shine through the darkness of self-doubt; some days I am half lost, and on others I am engulfed in the shadow of my own overthinking. Slowly, I come out of my own darkness. I often reflect on your behaviour toward yourself. But just like the moon, you know only a part of me; the other side, I carefully hide away for no one to see. ©SURANYA

It's strange how in my dreams, places I have never been to look familiar. And places I have grown up in seem to grow an extra pair of rooms and secret passages. Like, there is a mystery even in the simplest thing you That's the beauty of the mind. I became the child I was in my dreams. Eager yet afraid. Scared in my surroundings. Vulnerable to my feelings. I go back to the time I hadn't built a protective wall around my feelings. I keep going back to the same place. Unknown faces look familiar. And I often hide from them. I stealthily walk through a corridor, trying not to get spotted. And I end up standing under the sun in front of a door that has a large lock. I don't have the key. I use my knife in vain. And then people are alarmed. They shout and alert to intruders. I do not understand what they say. I stand fixed in my spot. Then I wake up in fear. Then, a few days later, I am back to the same dome-shaped roof and arched corridors. They have white marble jharokhas ...

THE GREATEST MYSTERY IN THE UNIVERSE IS NOT THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. IT'S YOU. THAT PERSON IN YOUR HEAD AND HEART. DO YOU FEEL THAT AT TIMES? I SIT ALONE WITH A STORY PLOT IN MY HEAD, A JUMBLE OF WORDS IN MY HEART AND THE MAGIC OF IMAGINATION. I CLOSE MY EYES AND THERE I AM. IN THE MOON-LIT FOREST. THE ONLY SONG IS THE WATER FALLING IN THE BHIMLAT. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS SIGHT. BUT I HAVE BEEN THERE. IN MY DAY DREAMS. I STAND AND BREATHE IN THE FRESH AIR. THE WIND PLAYS IN MY HAIR. YOU'D ASK, DO I FEEL LONELY HERE? TELLING THE TALES OF HOW TWO LOVERS USED TO MEET EACH NIGHT IN THESE VERY FORESTS? I PLACE MY HAND ON THE HEART. IT'S BEATING IN RHYTHM WITH MY BREATH. SEE THAT'S THE THING ABOUT SOULS. ONCE YOU DISCOVER YOURSELF, YOU DON'T NEED ANOTHER TO VALIDATE YOU. THE KEY TO THE UNIVERSE ALWAYS LIES IN YOURSELF. DON'T YOU THINK? © Suranya

 "TOMORROW WILL BE A NEW DAWN, OF A NEW HOPE, AND A NEW BEGINNING. TOMORROW WILL BE THE BEST. BECAUSE TOMORROW, THERE WILL BE NO TOMORROW." ~ Suranya

We often believe we are not replaceable. Every human being has this almost self-important trait, like a narcissist, of thinking that they are irreplaceable to somebody or that a situation can't play out without their help or supervision. We often act out or hurt people because of this. Because we feel that no matter how badly we treat them, they will stay. We take them for granted, and as a result of this, people drift away. But a lot changes if we are replaced once. Then it haunts us for a lifetime, I guess. People are scared of how everyone will find a replacement for them once someone replaces them. But they don't even realise that subconsciously, they have also perhaps replaced some people who meant the world to them once. But at times, it is important to replace people and situations you are stuck in without a purpose. To help you grow, bloom or learn. It is important to move ahead in life even if it means moving away. Not everyone fits into the versions of you in the diff...

 The earth in her thirst to meet the sky,  Endless, boundless, and high,  Prayed to the heavens above for miracles. Thunder roared, and the rain poured  Unexpected gale stormed my city. Falling droplets in the street lights  Like star dust in disguise,  Blessing the earth with bits of the sky. ~ Suranya