Majnu

 He lived and died in search of Love, 

In love he wrote odes to the One above.

She was He and He was Her 

The mad man could not decipher, 

Why he searched for her in vain 

When she was at the tip of his pen.

© Suranya

Awakening

 I wander aimlessly in the thirst for knowledge

Aware am I not?

Questions shroud my sleepless nights,

Awakened am I not?

I looked for you in idols and stones 

Temples, mosques, churches and domes

I looked for you in the rain and the sun 

Seasons that change, time that runs.

In the chaos and the rules, 

In the wise and so-called fools.

Looking for a soul in despair

To answer what I ask in dare 

Alone, hopeless, I look into the mirror 

And there a soul I see very clear 

Enlightened, I smile, 

As You call from the Divine, 

Answering the riddles of Time.

I am You and You are I, 

Now I will not live any more in a lie; 

I am your seeking student, just like Rumi, 

In the path of Love, you show me.

You are my guiding star, Sufistic 

Like Shams, the mystic.

© Suranya

Love Tomb

 I had been a dreamer, a romantic lover 

Weaving stories and fairytales. 

You came along like a summer song 

And gifted me tinted glasses. 

I didn't remember in a love-drunk autumn 

That winter wasn't far away. 

Glasses broken, cold shivers running. 

I wait for warmth in the winter sun 

But you ghosted me on a cold night instead.

How many more hearts will you destroy 

How many more trusts will you burn, boy?

Dreams shattered, heart scattered, mind battered, 

Girl, wipe your tears and rise.

You now know better than to trust him 

That walking red flag! 

Sweet talker, charmer, scammer

Fake promises, white lies 

I don't know how blind I was 

Perhaps I can't see the Red 

Or am I attracted to toxic traits?

Winter wasn't far away

But you left me without a blanket.

Here I am, quilting my own

Here I am, warm and alone

I see you burn many more homes

But I know mine is unreachable,

For now, I know

My love for you is just a tomb.

No more burnings, ashes and urns 

The next one is the best to come 

I read love stories, hear the music 

And there he comes like a perfect ruin 

He has his scars, and I have mine, but

Together, we will fix it all 

Love is blind, but chances are that 

We make it through this one.

For my love now is 

The rose in the thorns 

Build upon your love tomb.

But let me ask you one last time, 

How many more hearts will you destroy?

Oh, how many trusts will you burn, boy?

© Suranya

Look Up

Since the COVID-19 days, I have limited my bus journeys unless necessary. After almost two years, I started regularly using the commute again, especially for long-distance journeys. It's on one such journey that I looked up to check the rain clouds and discovered that the journey looks so different if you keep looking up. The sun, moon, stars and clouds seem to travel with you, and as the branches in their geometric designs pass by, one can imagine oneself lying on a haystack on top of an open caravan or horse-drawn carriage being transported back in time. Come the tall old buildings of central Calcutta, and you can see their exquisite designs standing the test of time, a small, detailed motif or simply a name plate, almost faded into oblivion. The verandahs overlooking the busy streets full of traffic (which by the way I suddenly realised looks the same everywhere) are often filled with potted plants, discarded things or a broken railing, and sometimes an old man in his dhuti sitting on a chair sipping tea.

Come the highrises and shopping malls whose outer glasses reflect the sky or sometimes light up in designs or the green patches with open skies at the Maidan, Calcutta gives you your own canvas of every street, lane and road the moment you look up. And if you are lucky like I was that day, you can even spot a red sun setting right above the Bhagirathi Hoogly while crossing the second Hoogly bridge. You can see flocks of birds returning home.

From now on, every time I travel, instead of looking at the busy roads, hoardings and traffic, I will choose to look up and imagine a canvas of endless possibilities. Try to look up once, and see a world different from the one in chaos below it, standing in its stillness, witnessing history every single day.

© Suranya