Afterthoughts
When you are ready to give it all up and go to sleep
Try to wait for the song, after the long lull and a beep
It comes with no indication, no warning
Yet it is the most beautiful, most heart warming
Think of the reason why you crooned for so long
It’s because each one of us yearns for his very own song
A full stop is not the end but the beginning of a composition
Let the substance and not the punctuation, define the answer to your inquisition
– Ishan ‘tarang’
(Thanks to Naina :-))
Beautiful is this world, which I own
The ecstatic feeling, now so deep sown
But all it takes is a slight detour by the lines on my hand
Against the wind of change, I am nothing more than a grain of sand
– Ishan ‘tarang’
(Thanks to Maria for the status! :D)
Prologue
Still a mystery, what I like so much
My heart feels so deep a touch
I can walk with you forever
Wish the hands of the clock weren’t that clever
The first miles
I clearly remember the first sunrise
A coincidence and a pleasant surprise
The air and the sounds seemed new
Caressed you softly the wind that blew
From the first word to the last smile
From being silly to being juvenile
You never seemed like just an acquaintance
Felt familiar, every word and every sentence
Looking into your eyes
I saw how time flies
The paper planes whizzed past
Can’t seem to remember which one was last
Lost count of the miles as we moved forward
A sense of elation every time I looked inward
As the morning sun shone through the window
I felt you are the light that gave me my shadow
Butterflies in mind
The floodgates had finally given way
Overflowing emotions were holding sway
Though time wasn’t on my side
It was just beyond me to hide
Ask me no questions
The bridge of comfort was broken
Stranded at an end and badly shaken
Still tried to swim against the tide
With nothing in my heart, nothing to hide
Still the separation grows every day
As do the pauses between the words we say
A friend till the other day
Hard to see in the eye today
Arguments seen through the lens of the dry
Look like a mirage, like wet drops falling from the parched sky
Even my promises don’t seem to clear your eye
I sometimes wonder, did I ever lie?
I have come to prefer silence
Though my life is still music in essence
Like a nomad wandering between its tunes
Silent gaps are like oasis, floating between high dunes
Time always speaks up strong
But life is short and hesitations long
Only different routes, truth remains the same
Try not to have regrets, rest is part of the game
Epilogue
Life is more often about what’s not known
So celebrate the moments before they are gone
We may meet again or we may not
Remember as the friend who cared for you, no matter what
P.S
To my friend, sweet and kind
Considers me an acquaintance, nevermind
Not good with words, no I am not strong
But being the same outside as inside, is not wrong
– Ishan ‘tarang’
This is something I wrote while traveling from Chennai to Pondicherry for our outbound trip. Seeing the deserted roads, I just started writing! Not much thought put into these lines. I just wrote them as they came to me. Wrote as I saw. No editing, no corrections. And it wasn’t finished. Posting what was complete for the purpose of ‘keeping everything in one place’ 🙂 (like before)
Left on the way
Along the road
I see my brothers
Vast swathes of land
Hope in face of despair
Sun is already over us
We are running short
No dearth of gifts
Lacking only in will
Temples line up our paths
But faith seems to be deserting
Heart can only take so much
But the voice refuses to die down
Cars and billboards
Seem to be either ahead or behind us
At least the marks on the road know
where we are headed
Smiling faces peep from pictures
They claim to be our voice
Very much like movie stars
But this is real
Maybe we are approaching a big city
The road seems good
Only the huts lining it hold its glory back
Or so we think
Milestones betray the distance
That has to be covered
But this is the only road
As far as eyes can see
Can’t even make out
How far we have come
Still the same fields passing through my view
No landmarks for them in sight
(Incomplete till eternity)
– Ishan ‘tarang’
Written in office after seeing the status of a colleague (which forms the first 2 lines of the poem..and that’s why makes no sense! :P) who was obviously not too happy with CCI, a new software introduced for page-making purposes. Quark is the name of the old software which everyone was used to.
Written quite some time back (April 1) but posting here to keep everything in one place. 🙂
The quark days
I see sea
sea see I?
don’t wonder why
just look me in the eye
they say try or die
but it won’t help, fyi
you can fret, you can cry
it’s like spitting on the sky
no escape, you are just a small fry
you gotta have your share of the pie
at every mistake quit saying god oh my
morning it’s going to be just another sighhhh
don’t throw at me praise too high
get back to work, just say ty
and remember you can’t just let anything fly
you were warned, its the CCI!
– Ishan ‘tarang’
No words spoken
Just the inner smiles
Stem from the first step taken
More than the later covered miles
– Ishan ‘tarang’
We both are open books, the mind believes
But every attempt is met by blank pages, the ink deceives
I long stopped reading, but the mind perceives
Unable to choose or forget, the ink conceives.
– Ishan ‘tarang’
I love Besant Nagar beach…much more than any other place in Chennai. Apart from the obvious reason that visiting it is a soothing experience, I can’t really pin down why. Maybe someday, it will tell me. 🙂
(I have named it after one of my favorite movie series. If you guys can think of anything better, do suggest. Had little time in office! :D)
Before Sunrise, After Sunset
Yes, this place, I know the sand
I know it like the back of my hand
So many moments, so many dreams
Late night cold coffee and ice-creams
My place of choice to embrace the nights
Far removed, far away from the floodlights
Drowning the everyday noise, the procession of laughing waves
Shifts with uncanny poise, erasing signs of the way it paves
The motherly winds always tell me a story
speak to my heart, devoid of allegory
Like a child, I curl up inside the starry blanket
I hope, I hope of finding that elusive trinket
Mind is hooked onto the canvas, its eyes restless
Busy making the strokes, they seem flawless
For once I can stand, stand shadowless
For in the darkness waits the impending morning, waits sleepless
This is my Temple, this is my Home
Need no trails to find the way to Rome
Here lies my first love, my first steps
Will always come back, till the sun sets
– Ishan ‘tarang’
PS. Thanks to MLD (Ritesh Jain) for agreeing to be in the photograph! 🙂
This poem is dedicated to one of the best friend I have ever met. It was written independently initially but I thought the theme suited her personality well and so built on it. Passionate but a little unsure, extrovert but highly emotional inside to the extent of being confused, dreamer and a child you can talk to for hours. This is more on the dreams part. From my side. I am glad she will read it.
PAL
A new day
A new way
Don’t let the stream sway
Let yourself dissolve away
Let it go
Let it flow
Someday it will rain
Without any memory of pain
Not about end or start
It’s all about your heart
Follow it till you are gone
Your journey is what will hold on
– tarang
P.S I know the title is confusing to most :). Pal means three things…
PAL = friend (English)
PAL = moment (Hindi)
and …
PAL = Poem About Life! 😀
Let it go,
Let it flow,
Someday it will rain.
Another version:
Let it go,
Let it flow,
Someday it will rain,
With no memory of pain.
-Ishan ‘tarang’
Waves and currents 