From The Quill

 I walk down the jolly road  Basking in the Christmas glow,  Families decorating trees,  Fairy lights and all things pretty.  I witness them make merry,  Decorating homes with reindeer  Lucky are they to have one, I swear.  Homeless in an alien land  I find myself alone again.  No festivities for the beggars  The crowd only mean more alms and onlookers. I shrugged almost in a sarcastic smile,  "Are you only for the rich, Almighty Divine?" Suddenly, as the sun still shone bright  A shower of rain came pouring down,  While the sky looked bright white.  People ran to find shelters and cars  I stood in awe, looking up.  Soaking wet in the winter rain,  I noticed the droplets hitting my face.  There they were, tiny drops  Shining in the rays, in bright colours.  Smiling, I folded my hands in thanks,  He had given me my own colourful lanterns. ~ Suranya

Skins charred, bodies saved  Living yet gasping for breath.  Here She stands watching on,  Not a soul to be seen. And till it lasts, getting worse and worse  Just flesh and blood in a sinful curse  Exploiting Her without remorse  Destroying Her bit by bit; Ignorantly intelligent, foolishly wise,  She had seen enough,  She had heard helpless cries. Her rage engulfs them now,  Before they can realise  In a slow and steady apocalypse,  Which could have been averted otherwise.  ~ Suranya

 In the darkness alone I sit  Flickering shadows in the lamp just lit.  Soaking in solitary bliss.  I know not how time flies by  Like an eternity in just a while;  Lost in thoughts, alone I lie.  Uncertain, in the hands of destiny. There you are, miles away.  Under the same sun and moon;  Alone I am, losing my way,  Hoping for fate to see you soon. ~ Suranya

As long as Hope stands, Faith lives. So does your Fairytale. ~ Suranya

The deepest secrets of your heart,  Are usually the things You don't even admit to yourself. ~ Suranya

How is your home? I am still looking for it. ~ Suranya

Some things linger on even after they are over. From the smell of the incense in the peace of the Pandal, which reminded us of all the Pujas that had gone by, making us nostalgic about our childhood and cap guns, to the smell of perhaps that one perfume that reminds us of someone we knew. Then there is the sweet smell of the seasonal flowers that bloom in the autumn, or perhaps a hug from mom that feels like home. Then there is the smell of Biriyani. The one thing that reminds you to screw your diet and will to look good, for five days a year. But then you know it's all over, and you are back to the usual routine of rat race and monotony. But somewhere you still pine for that feeling that seems to be gone too soon. The vibes of positivity and happiness that we wait for throughout the year. Can't we just be that happy all through the year? But then, perhaps we would forget to cherish these precious days. ~ Suranya

আজ মেঘের সাথে বৃষ্টির আড়ি;  সিংহ চেপে উমা এল বাড়ি।  আজ সবাই মিলে আনন্দে মাতার উৎসব,  ধর্ম বর্ণ আজ তুলে রেখে মুছে ফেল বাস্তব;  আজ ঢাকের আওয়াজ আর শিউলির গন্ধ,  মনে ফোটে অফুরন্ত আনন্দ।  নতুন জামা ভাল খাওয়ার পালা,  ডায়েট ছেড়ে দাও, এ কি বেকার জ্বালা!  আলোক পথ আজ শহরের রাস্তায় হৃদস্পন্দন,  শহরের আজ ঢাকের তালে নাচে মন।  আজ নীল আকাশে ভাসছে দেখ তুলো,  ঘরেতে আজ দুগ্গা বুঝি এল। ~ Suranya

Gauri was a very beautiful and wise young girl. A perfect combination of beauty and brains. Pampered by her doting father, her mere presence attracted a lot of attention. And like every young girl her age, she dreamt of Love. Gauri was a mere teenager when she first met him. The widower. The older man. Eyebrows were raised. Questions asked. Why was She trying to in over such a man's broken heart? Didn't She deserve to be someone's first? She had broken the stereotypes by marrying him. Gauri was strong and independent. She decided for herself. She didn't want a father, brother or husband to protect her. She could do that herself. She fought for her own rights. She made her own rules. She lived life in her own terms. She decided what she wanted to do. Where she wanted to go. She decided to have kids when she wanted. Gauri stood up against the bossy men who dictated the society. She came home when she wished to. She questioned everything at her own free will. She didn'...

 A crowd was gathered, busy making idols of clay;  She placed her luggage down there, looking for a place to stay. "Excuse me, can you help me out?" They scrutinised her in doubt.  Hair unbound, curls falling back on her waist,  "Tie it up, good girls don't let their hair loose." They said. Her skin was dark; she didn't care.  They told her, "Oh, true beauty is always fair!" Her attire was short and sassy,  "Clothes often make a girl easy." Her opinions strong, her determination fiery,  "Opinionated feminists are intimidating and scary." She stood strong, ready to do a man's job.  "You can't do what nature has decided as a man's work." She smiled at them, ready to take their leave,  "Oh, wait, where are you going, giving up so easily?" She stared back at the idol, almost ready,  "I will come back in a few days,  Or when you are less heady anyway." They frowned at her, got back to work, u...

 What is it in you that I fell in love with? I can't remember right now. Perhaps because you and I have had similar lives Betrayal, loneliness, misunderstanding Is this how love is supposed to be? Mundane, stable and unlike the slow-motion drama Rom coms promise you? No jitters, no fake promises No jealousy hidden in the facade of possessiveness, No entitlement or ownership  Just companionship with a touch of reality As long as it lasts? © Suranya

 I rose from fire and fire I am,  Witness my fight for right  Against this society and your scam; Everything you build in pride of might  All will turn to ashes in my sight. I stand alone, a pawn in your game,  Stripped, with all of you to blame.  Silent, shocked, watching them claim,  You can now hang your heads in shame,  But it won't bring back my lost name. I vow to God that you will pay;  You who stare at my tears in dismay,  You thought I would bear your little trick;  Here I am, a woman and 'weak',  Lest you forgot, I am Adi Shakti. Here I am cursing your Virtue,  And each one who stands today like a statue. You will compensate for the overdue respect.  Burn you will, in my flame,  I will smile and see your end. ~ Suranya

 A Fakira,  Cursed to be a Princess,  Lived and Died in Oblivion,  Her sacrifices forgotten  By those who wrote history  And sang the glories of the kings. ~ Suranya

 Around the bazaar of Love I roam,  Spotting souls for sale, guarded by gnomes.  Hearts are being weighed for sins and pleasures. Some sold away like valuable treasure. Exchange of valuables, time and money;  For keys to unlock the hearts of many.  "There is no guarantee", the sellers forecast,  "Take at your risk, they may not last." The gate of the bazaar has a signboard hanging.  On it lies another fair warning,  "Leave your brain outside for all seasons,  Here, there is no place for reasons." ~ SURANYA

In between the half-torn, half-lost pages  Of the past that once was, in ink and emotions I look for stories of love, life and chivalry  Amidst the soot bricks that I touch. A tale grows in my heart,  Waiting for the words to weave it together As I witness magic unfold. The wind wants to whisper to me  Stories unheard: Of moonlit nights when the ripples danced,  Or perhaps how a lover waited for romance. How doves carried messages across the land  Or wars were strangely the only survival chance  How years passed by in a trance  And homecoming was almost like a triumph. Upon the ruins of the once mighty fort  Now in rubbles and ruins  The magpie sings on the dome  As I sit upon its ridge,  Listening to the wind whisper a song  One that I could sing along. ~ SURANYA 

 Showed faith upon constellations afar,  The Sun, the Moon,  A universe ajar.  Cards, Crystals, beads  Telling the future of human beings  Claiming to be written in the stars,  Alas! None could tell the fate  Of a falling star. ~ SURANYA

I see the blue hue of endlessness,  I see You there, Adi, Ananth, Limitless.  O Blue-Necked One, Destroyer Almighty!  Tell me why You can't turn emotions into ashes!! O rattling Damroo, tied to a string of beads;  Why play like anger on His dancing grip  Why do You stir forgotten regrets  In the restless brain, breaking me to pieces? I see the grey clouds swirling in the storm,  I see the Dark One dancing in whirls.  O Cowherd, behold! Preacher of Love!  Why can't You teach to endure the pain it causes? O melancholy flute,  With a peacock feather on its tip;  Why do you play like pain on His fingertip? Why do you bring tearful memories  That strings this heart, shatters it. Does my agony amuse You?  Do my questions entertain  Do You know not answers I seek,  As I look into Your music for them? Rustling winds, playing nature's tune  Bring me Your notes in the afternoon  Pitter-patter raindrops on the mur...

 Tu Mujhme hai basa  Tujhe kaise dhundti rahi kahi aur? Kitaabo ke panno mein,  Kisse kahaniya, geet mein,  Har ek shakal mein. Kaise bhul gayi jhakna apne andar,  Jaha kahi dhadkano mein  Bas Tu basa. ~ Suranya

 The sound of raindrops on my panes.  Haunting wail of puppies in the lane;  The dark night in its silent, unwelcoming coldness, Existential crisis of mindfulness. No moon to muse on, no stars shining  Only the city is visible in the lightning,  Wide awake, not a wink of sleep.  Such are the days when thoughts run deep. I gather them together in the warm blanket,  Carefully hide them away in my emotional casket;  The mask of the strong has fallen for the weak,  The rain wipes it off like a magic trick. Slowly, I blend in the waters of heaven,  As it flows upon my cheeks  And I know for sure I must endure  In the path that I seek. ~ Suranya

Stories reincarnate themselves; with time, they refuse to perish. Instead, they change forms. From the wise men who once told tales, to the handwritten books and printed texts, audios, ebooks and visuals, Motion pictures and animation. Stories don't die. They always find a way to reach your heart. ~ Suranya

In between surviving the apocalypse.  Breathing and being unable to breathe,  Living yet not being alive,  Loneliness, depression, anxiety.  Sleepless nights and unsaid words,  Happiness momentarily stops by  As I find bliss in You. You soothe the broken heart with hope,  Mend the scattered dreams to cope  Let's not fool the world, shall we?  Let's not tell them we are alone in bliss. We crave someone to stay and keep. A hand to hold, a voice to reassure. A hug so warm that worries melt. Attention, validation, momentary crushes,  Temporary things can make you happiest.  Yet you crave the fights and hurt,  Permanent tattoos in your heart.  In a world where options are plentiful  Yet distances as a compulsion,  Never could be easy! Has the heart stopped looking? Has the soul stopped calling? Pray not, it keeps the kindled spirit burning.  ~ Suranya

She hid the bruises beneath the full sleeves. The concealer perfectly hid the blue patches and dark circles. Taking his arm with a smile, she walked into the party, ready to play the perfect wife. After all, her parents had reassured her, "It will be alright. He loves you." Of course he did. Every time he hit her and apologised. He said so. Voices echoed in her head every time she forced a laugh. "No one should know of this. You can't walk out just like that. We won't be able to show our faces in society!" ~ Suranya

 My salty tears turn themselves  Into oceans of turbulent emotions;  In the darkest night  When the moon cannot shine through,  Even the most transparent soul,  Thick blanket of clouds  Of doubts overshadow the light  You refuse to come to my view, O sleep! That takes me to lands beyond my reach,  The soul feels trapped in the mortal body now. Perhaps waiting to be released.  I seek an identity beyond this face,  A recognition beyond this name.  My hands reach out in the darkness in vain,  Find only names, titles, and relationships That sinks my soul further into mortality. © Suranya

We desire to be immortal,  Fear the claws of death.  What happens with it?  An end or a beginning?  The ashes, all that is left,  Perhaps become in themselves  Stardust in the Universe.  When the body is gone,  The soul becomes a part of chaos. Are you part of that chaos, too?  Today, now, in this moment,  Are you studying the Universe  More closely than you intended?  Realising how insignificant  Every cell of ours is,  To all its vastness? Realising, perhaps Murphy's law does work,  And it leads us where we should be.  A journey, a life, a destination,  Such small fragments in the scale of Time; Yet in this insignificant fragment,  A few leave a mark,  A few touch the heart,  And a few live on.  Even in Death.  That's how perhaps,  You live on. ~ SURANYA

For all the times I believed it true,  I had searched the world for You.  Up in the mountains, down by the seas,  Dense in the forest, by the fort's gentle breeze.  Dawn and dusk, winter and summer,  I have looked far and near. "Magic and love", they say, "are illusions,  Never stay in their delusions." But I woke every day with a faith stronger,  My heart couldn't wait for you any longer,  And in my darkness I looked for your sight,  In my soul, I sought Your guide.  It was just when I started losing hope,  It was then that I couldn't cope;  That You showed Your true sight,  Oh Beloved, blessed I am  Drenched in your light. My dawn meets Your dusk,  My morning meets Your night;  I dance and I sing,  In the joy that you bring;  And fearlessly now,  I proclaim to the world,  "If Love truly is delusional,  Let me be called His frenzied Lover." © Suranya

 This Fakira is like a fire-borne Phoenix,  Upon the red that shines through; And here she lies at your feet,  Her soul is willing to submit,  Hoping that her restless heart  Will finally be set free. © Suranya

The bells are ringing  Of ambulances and aid,  Waves surge over,  But of sickness in thousands. There is an unusual fire,  In anxious hearts and stressed minds. Not an individual in sight,  Just numbers on a graph;  As though scavengers are out hunting,  Not a fearless soul is in sight. Wails reach the sky  From the crematoriums and graves,  This is Apocalypse  But in a different way. The one they didn't tell you about,  The one that came out of the blue;  Unprepared, scared, humanity struggles,  What are we but fools and hopefuls  Thinking we have control over the Universe,  Until Nature turns us into chaos. Here we are fighting against each other,  Over caste, creed, religion and country  Created from the infringement of our minds; While Nature, to heal herself  Decides to lash out her wrath on us. You are still looking for your God, are you?  Crying to prove if the idol is better than a shr...

 The Storm gathered speed;  It roared in a ear deafening spirit.  It picked up droplets from the Sea,  Ready to destroy the Land  As his messenger of wrath. The Sea was fierce  Like a warrior focussed  To destroy everything around him. The Land stood like a silent saint. Guards let down,  Accepting the storm's message; Not scared of the noise,  Of what harm might come upon her. Destruction was her only way,  To soak in the love of the Sea.  Naive as she was to understand,  What she mistook as love  Was always the Sea's attempt  To display his strength. © Suranya

War and bruises, battles and scars,  The hope of returning home fades further.  But Home is where the palaces are,  The stone-cold walls and luxury calls?  Every soldier here, big or small,  Has someone to return to, Someone to hold on. Me? Their leader, a prince at war,  My home is further away than she appears.  There she sits, on the marble stairs,  Singing to her Beloved,  Soothing people who come to hear.  The only heart she can't calm is this,  For with every lyric, a flood of pain engulfs it. Yet I find myself lost in her thoughts  Feeling emotions raw and undeciphered.  Her touch is healing, pure and holy  Her words pierce through my soul  Touches me in places only she can mould.  I find myself at her door every night  But destiny is cruel, my life its prey,  I have given up this fight. For in my soul is a temple shrine  She is the God, my beloved divine.  In her soul, someone els...

 Oh! As the Raag Bhairava plays,  The emotions pour on the Syahi,  The string of hearts on the Sitar,  And the voice of longing wakes the sleeping soul;  The wind sways and the branches dance,  To the magic of music all at once. Hear! As the music picks up pace  Does your heart not cry to lyrics unsaid?  Does the Alaap not make you yearn  For someone lost, somebody beyond?  The birds sing along in the morning sun,  And somewhere the Beloved is summoned. Feel! The way your body lightens  Gives up on its worldly burdens.  Your soul twirls in a Sufi Whirl  And reaches out to Him. There you find yourself in Heaven,  As the music reaches its zenith. ~ Suranya

 There she danced, twirling away  Singing his name, evening and day.  There she sat, under his lotus feet.  The princess, the saint, the humblest to meet. Love, they said, was the strangest of things.  Sensual, spiritual or unconditional in being:  But the love she preached, unique it was.  For God became lover, and love a cause. But what about the world? She cared not.  What about the society? Scared it was.  For a woman stood, a woman chose Who she was against the odds. The woman lived, the woman sang.  The woman left them burning to the ground.  And she became an immortal being.  Girdhar's Meera, still searching for him. ~ Suranya

Art is like the soul to our bodies. It gives us imagination, wings to fly, and a happy escape if needed in the rat race of reality. Witnessing a pandemic, we are pursing our escapes of reality through poetry, Photography, painting, singing, dancing etc. to cope with the sense of fear and uncertainty. It is time to acknowledge art, that heals the earth, and is present right at its core, musing on the nooks and corners of nature. 

In the midst of my melancholy night,  When the crickets sing and the owls hoot in the distance,  Standing on the pavilion in anticipation,  I search for your face on the crescent moon. The gentle breeze whispers  Erupting my skin in goosebumps  As though you touched my soul again.  I shiver and wrap my quilt around my heart. I feel you in the excited beat against my bosom,  A tiny sparkle of a precious pearl drop on my cheek, My eyes drawn in Kohl smudged,  Yet a smile lingers on my lip  As I sing for you the holiest lyrics  Adjusting the strings of the Sitar  To that of my heart, calling you home to me. Did you remember me today  When at dawn the cuckoo sang? Or the waters of the Narmada  Splashed across your tired face? Did you whisper a prayer for me In your Namaaz today? Like I did for you before the Lord,  Who plays the flute in the music of love,  Just like we do? Do you also wait for me?  Counting eve...

Lost in the universe in specs of dust  Lies stories of the ancient past.  Or perhaps the secrets of the future it holds While the mysteries of Chaos it unfolds. ~ Suranya

 আজ বৃষ্টি ভেজা বেলায় যেন আলাদা একটা অনুভূতি হাত নাড়া দিয়ে গেল। বেরিয়েছিলাম কাঁদা জল এর মধ্যেই একটু কফি খাবো বলে। বাড়ির সামনে ক্যাফেতে খুব ভিড় দেখে ভাবলাম কি করা যায়। হটাৎ একটা গানের সুর ভেসে এলো কানে। দেখি একটা পুরোনো রেডিও বাজছে একটা ঘুপচি ছাউনি তে। হটাৎ দেখলে চোখে নাও পড়তে পারে ছাউনিটা। একটা ছোট্ট চায়ের দোকান। সামনে বিস্কুট এর কাছের কৌটো সাজানো, তার উপরে রাখা বান পাউরুটির সারি। স্টোভ এ বসানো ডেচকিতে ফুটছে গরম চা। আর তার ধোয়া দেখা যাচ্ছে ছাউনির বাইরে। একটা লোক সেন্ড গেঞ্জি পরা, গুনগুন করে সুর ভাজছে আর চা তে মাঝে মাঝে নারা দিচ্ছে। সামনের গাছের তলার ফাঁকা বসার জায়গা। এগিয়ে গেলাম সেদিকে। চেনা সুরটা আরো স্পষ্ট হয়ে উঠলো। আমায় দেখে সে ভাঁড় এগিয়ে দিলো। জিগেস করলাম কত। বললো পাঁচ টাকা। খুচরো পয়সা বের করতে গিয়ে বয়াম এর বিস্কুট দেখে ছোটবেলার কথা মনে পরে গেল। একটা চাইলাম। সেই পাঁচ টাকা। একটা নোট বার করে চা হাতে বসলাম। দূরে কফির দোকানে এখনো ভিড়। তবে আজ মনে হলো ওই দুশো টাকার এক পেয়ালা কফির থেকে এই ভাঁড়ের চায়ের মূল্য অনেক বেশি। তুমি আমার জীবনে সেই ভারের চা-টার মতন। বৃষ্টির দিন আর শীতের বেলায় স্...

 In between the lyrics of my favourite song  And the music that plays along.  Just when the night meets the day.  My emotions take me to places.  In the streets of Love I roam.  Looking for you in faces unknown  Beyond the ruined arches and domes  For a place to call home. Perplexed, I turn to the pole star thus  Wondering if on a night so dark  It could probably guide me through,  I didn't know why it led me to you:  At dawn among the sunflower blooms  Where our worlds synced in a tune.  As I stared at you from a distance,  Scared, I turned to what I knew best,  Thoughts unfiltered in ink, heart restless. ~ Suranya

 In the darkest room of the brightest palace Sat a princess in turmoil,  Her mind in distress  Questions unanswered  She lets her thoughts float in the night sky. "I often wonder if you forgot me  Every time you go back home  Every time you see your kin. Little by little, you perhaps realise How different I am from you. How different our lives are  No matter how closely entwined. I cry myself to sleep  Ready to give up on our dreams,  I move an inch closer to God  A mile away from you  And light years nearer to Love." Far beyond the valleys and plains,  Miles away from her sight,  In a palace above a plain  Stood a man in sight. The walls around him shone bright blue,  Pictures painted on the walls,  Some of him, some of kins  Others of stories heard and seen. Could he ever forget her? The smiling eyes he had seen? His fingers lingered on the farthest pillar,  Upon a painting hidden on the beam. Th...

 The soil of Mewar was mesmerisingly bright  In yellow, red, and green.  Giving the eyes a spectacular sight.  As the June rains arrived Washing the Aravallis in an ocean of beauty,  Beyond the Bhimlat's tranquillity  A fort stood in proximity. The land of Bijoliya. Somewhere in the palace, there  Amidst the bloodshed and might Lived a girl who dared to love,  The bravest the land bore in a long time. Her days would pass in waiting  And nights rereading letters  He had often sent without being discreet.  Words and feelings between the lines  Her hand traced the curves of each letter  As though she felt his fingers entwined. Every evening as dusk settled in  Or the rain blurred the horizon in mist  She stood there, on the highest Jharokha Eyes beyond the plains, far away  Where she could see the silver-lined way. He would one day come galloping down  The dust gave away his presence in brown. The people w...

 The darkness danced in the flickering light,  The music played as the breeze swept by  Dancing around was the water in ripples  And the jasmine cast its aromatic spell. The moon shone through the clouds that night,  Upon the walls of the magnificent marble  Of the golden-roofed palace  And the red stone fort is in sight. The Anguri bagh in fresh sown grapes  The wine cups tinkling, poetry going on till late.  Somewhere in the distance, the bells rang  She dipped her quilt in the bottle of ink and began.  A night of longing and of love,  Of feelings bound and desires cursed. Her soul was restless in search of her heart,  She placed the quill on paper But didn't know where to start. The ink blotted the scented papers blue,  Her words were scattered across the sky  Like the veil of stars shimmering bright. Had her heart travelled far across the land,  Rode on a horseback into his desert homeland? Followed his ...

EVERYTHING GOOD OR BAD ENDS SOMEDAY. SOME SLIP INTO OBLIVION. SOME SERVE AS REMINDERS IN HISTORY. ~ Suranya