A long awaited guest | Aiswerya Ramasamy

It was nearly six 'o'clock in the morning,

As I was buried under my duvet,

Like a bear in the period of hibernation,

I have never seen a sunrise before and this was my chance,

I was waiting for the sun like,

A hunter waiting to ambush his prey,

When I slightly pushed the window aside,

I saw that the sky in itself was in a riot of colors,

Waiting for the sun to emerge from the huge mass of clouds,

The time was ticking faster than a cheetah,

And I was getting curious than a cat,

Suddenly, out of the huge mass of clouds,

Appeared the sun as mighty as ever,

Shining in the sky like an emerald,

My joy knew no bounds,

As I got up from my bed to start a new day along with the sun

blue and grey! | Akrita Sharma

I extend my hands,

I know you are not there,

But maybe if I arch enough, I could feel you almost there,

Maybe the distance of across the continents will somehow seem less,

So, I text, take two steps forward,

I try to reach out,

And then I take three steps backwards,

Isn't this how you do it,

I type, I tell you everything, I cry, I tell you how much I miss you, and how mad i am,

Against some faint hope to get to look at you and hear your voice,

And then,

I erase it all, take all the steps backwards,

Isn't this how it is supposed to be,

I have given up on hopes of our reconciliation,

I can no longer fight,

So, I sit there

turning to you even when I cannot turn to you.

~and i have been caught again in the act!

The Unrequited Love | Sarthak Anand

Why does everyone ask me to introspect

They think they are ill and I am the one who infects

Isn’t it fair to give love and expect it back?

They leave me alone when its time to repack

They say I write as if I am stuck in some melancholy

But I can’t expect them to love me back equally

I can sugarcoat my words with joy lines

For example I am enjoying my life with a glass of wine

It is easier to pretend than to talk

They speak about themselves and when its my turn they put a full stop

Compared to last year we barely talk

it feels I am a complete stranger in her life who just stalks

Well they say let her realise what she has lost

Who is to be blamed

Is it her or I am the only cause?

Mind: A Creative Adaptation | Dr Adwaitha Shankar

Humans are said to be,

The most beautiful creation in reality,

With a sound body and a sound mind,

The latter being of less importance to the present mankind.

The world sees physical deformity as the only pain,

And comprehends the cause of mental deformity as any injury to the brain,

But it's not always that the amygdala or hippocampus has to be blamed,

Or that one's mental ill health can be self tamed.

'Depression' may seem to be an insensitive word,

Though it is a type of condition which cannot be deffered,

It is often blinded by people as a temporary phase,

But little do they know,dealing with it is not an easy case.

Increase in number of suicides day by day,

The world sees it all as destiny's play,

But do they know majority of them are due to chronic depression,

Here the importance of mental health is the actual question.

Be it anger,fear,anxiety or delusion,

Considering it a self treatable condition is an absolute illusion,

For the mind needs an equal care as the body,

Which is a true fact and not a parody.

Thus I wish the world would embrace,

And accept the true meaning of the phrase

"Your body hears everything your mind says"

No matter how long it takes,

I want the world to consider mental health as a primary preference,

For I beleive even a small change can create a big difference.

The Deep | Antara Mishra

There is this ocean,

Inside my skin, around my bones

Every tide hunting for calm,

Tides of violent grief crushing the cage of ribs,

Drowning the senses.

There is this ocean,

Where once a heart used to be,

Now I know-

Why the tears were salty.

सन्देश | Adwait Khare

परिवारों को साथ में रख कर, घरों को रिश्तों से जकडे हुए कैदखाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

मदद को उठते हाथ और ईश्वर को पुकारने वाली जुबाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

प्रकृति को शुद्ध हवा, साफ पानी, स्वच्छ वातावरण, के नजराने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

वो साथ में समय बिताना, पुराने खेल खेलना, बचपन के अनमोल ख़ज़ाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

अपनों को अपनों से मिलवाया, स्वंय ने स्वंय को जाना, सबको नई पहचानें दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

क्या अमीर और क्या गरीब क्या छोटा क्या बड़ा, सबको बराबर मापने के पैमाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

बच्चों का साथ, रामायण का प्रसारण, न जानें कितने बुजुर्गों को मुस्कानें दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले ।।

मंदिर, मस्जिद, चर्च, गुरद्वारे तो सब बन्द हो गये, पर ईश्वर को सबके दिलों में ठिकाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

शाकाहारी भोजन, कसरत करना, अच्छी आदतें और बंद मैखाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

मानवता को बचाने के लिए, कुर्बानी देने वाले डाॅक्टर, पुलिसकर्मी, सफाईकर्मी जैसे दीवाने दे गया।

बस बदले मे कुछ कमजोर जानें ले गया।।

प्रकृति तो अपना संतुलन बना ही लेगी, प्रभु का यही संदेश था, जो वो कोरोना के बहाने दे गया।।

In the air | Simran Kaushik

Something is in the air

that wants me gone;

They dislike me on a front chair

because I'm not a meek fawn

Something is in the air,

They want me to be quiet

but I do not care

and I say what is right

Something is in the air,

They want me to act dumb;

I am no tortoise or a hare,

To their pettiness, I grew numb

Something is in the air,

They want me to lose

But I know what's unfair,

My fate I get to choose

Something is in the air,

They want me to quit

But I don't mind the glare

I get when I use my wit

Something is in the air,

They don't want me taking space

But I know I am rare;

I ignore their jealous face

Something is in the air,

They want me to be small

But I'm proud of my hardware;

I will continue to stand tall!

Something is in the air,

They dismiss my mind;

Only viewing me as a mare,

such shallow beings I always find

Something is in the air,

My zeal they wish to steal

But I keep climbing up my stair

And brave it makes me feel!

Something is in the air,

They don't want me to heal

But so far I have fared,

I let karma make them kneel

Something is in the air

So I don't let them interrupt;

My esteem they wish to tear

but my anger doesn't erupt

Something is in the air

So I don't tolerate disrespect

I never hide it, I share

so it vanishes to a great effect

Something is in the air,

They want me to be dead

but to live on, I dare;

That's enough to make them dread

Something is in the air,

And enough has been said

Strength on a sleeve, I wear;

Never weak for the tears I shed.

Escapism | Sahithi Valluri

Off with the switch, I pull the plug,

called discussions are long debates,

zoom and repeat the dead statues,

I avoid anything that indicates hate.

Deaf opinions demanding the same,

hate, blood, war and assaults taped,

heinous crimes of this horrid world,

brothers are barred and sisters raped.

Big battles for the slightest change,

kings or kins, it's a constant fight,

times, when it's hard for defending,

this vigilante's vigil dims its light.

Tired and craving a moment of breath,

everyone's story, here's another one,

a way to cope and hope my dreams,

I'm bad at sports, but I always run.

Running through the rain bare feet,

running through the fields and woods,

running from questions that get too real,

running from reality as long as I could.

Palms in the chilly valley stream,

boots jumping on the rocks of the bank,

misty mornings with snow mountains,

moonlight walks! top dream to be frank.

Feet up on a swing that flies so high,

rolling on the grass under the tree's shade,

blue sky, cotton clouds and fireflies,

painting views that could never fade.

Windows changing from fall to winter,

humming on a swinging chair near fire,

holding a cup in a warm wool's hug,

dreaming new worlds, endless desires.

A wistful pull to a wondrous world,

back home, fighting alone in the play,

perpetual pain pulling me back,

I tend to run circles in a toxic way.

So I sleep between the lines of a book,

curling up under the blanket of tunes,

wording under the light of a torch,

to a peaceful escape in the built cocoon.

Alone | Vibhuti Choudhary

Alone, the only

kind of being

that renders one

to take unrevealed paths

missed on account

of collective timidity.

It imparts the faculty

to notice the unseen;

On tiniest attributes

compelling

the heart to be keen,

to catch sight of

a flurry of

golden leaves

In the midst of

gusty winds ;

to drift to the

magical rhythm

that nature brings.

Capable of

tormenting you still

oddly at times,

Muddling through

with wails and whines,

Wounds demanding

to be tended to by self

cry for help

however too hesitant.

Lost in maze

Of left and right

of faraway and the essence

one may lose sight.

There is one world

Huddling and

floating outside,

but to have woven

your universe

within you

swarming with

dainty

vivid musings

is a luxury

which cannot

be afforded

by the poor in solitude,

opulent in crowds;

a liberty

that can't be borne

by the one

steering the masses

but reckless in mirrors.

To gauge a room

From a corner

to the farthest

and bumping into

nothingness all along

a rarity only

some are willing to find

who seek voids

to fill them

with water hued

brilliantly with

red, yellow and blue

Unlike your typical

Pink, purple or green,

deriving jubilation

from none but within!

walking down the streets | Maria Afroz

walking down the streets

on those sunny breezy days,

we were just little kids,

and then I stopped in my steps and asked

“do you know me my friend?”

At that moment it was clear,

That it wasn’t breeze which surrounded me,

Rather storms of insecurity.

When I walked down those streets,

I walked away from me.

When I turned around, I was greeted with an unfamiliar face,

But I remember just moments ago,

We were laughing and playing chase.

I ran the other way,

Hoping I’d find, you tripped and fell

I’d pick you up, we’ll have a good laugh,

And walk these streets together again.

I look up at the skies,

Not as sunny as before.

I never found you,

It seemed you left me all alone.

Thick mist over my eyes

Or so I pretended

Just to ignore the fact that the unfamiliar face I had met

Was actually yours entirely.

The truth is, my friend

I never knew you, neither you knew me.

The truth is, dear stranger

We’ll never walk again those streets together.

We both set out to find each other in the storm,

But found ourselves instead.

नर्स तुम महान हो | Ankita Mishra

चेहरे पे मुस्कान लिए,

दिल में सेवा का भाव लिए,

निस्वार्थ काम करती हो तुम,

खुदा का भेजा फरिश्ता हो ,

उत्तम स्वास्थ का उपहार देती हो तुम।

बिना किसी भेदभाव के मरीजों का खयाल रखती हो तुम,

जनमानस के कल्याण के लिए निरंतर कार्य करती हो तुम।

कठिन परिस्थिति मे दिखाती हो शुजभूज के तरीके,

नर्सेज की महानता को भला कोई कैसे कम आंके।

सेवा कर्म हमारा है यही बतलाती जाती हो,

वक्त के साथ खुद को तो बदलती हो ,

नयी टेक्नोलॉजी के साथ कदम से कदम भी मिलाती हो।

कभी दीदी तो कभी सिस्टरजी, कभी ब्रदरजी तो कभी मास्टरजी,

ना जाने कितने रूप तुम्हारे है,

चाहे जिस भी नाम से पुकारो,

नर्सेज सदा खड़ी अपना कर्तव्य निभाने है।

नर्सेज सदा खड़ी अपना कर्तव्य निभाने है।।

कोरोना की इस विपदा मे जग ने तुम्हें खूब सराहा है,

निजी सुख को त्याग कर देश के प्रति प्रेम तुम्हारा निराला है।

इंसानियत की एक नयी मिसाल हो,

नर्स तुम महान हो,

नर्स तुम महान हो।

Moonlit Dreams | Shilpi Agarwal

Take me to a place where the lower moon is wet in the ocean,

Where its sparkles are scattered in the quiet waves.

And we will go there in a boat, just you and me with the placid wind.

I will take a piece of the moon, brittle and soft, and hot like the ice.

And some small pieces to leave a trail behind.

The one I keep, will be safe in a silk pocket as a taken of our memories ‘there’.

'There’, where it was just us, no words, no feelings, no touch,

Just our boundless spirits in their purity.

We in the world, and the world in us, in momentary eternity.

The silhouette of an elderly tree protecting us in its branches.

Oh! but I could see a lost bird coming back to its home in the tree.

And to our nests we should hurry, as the wind has become rough and waves in fury.

With the edged, broken moon we cut our boat,

Bid glances and rowed away, but the moon, it stayed,

For when it's whole and the wind is plain, we will be 'there' again.

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया | Ashitta Dubey

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया छोटे, घर आँगन सूना लगता है,

साँसें चलती है मगर धड़कन सुना लगता है

छोटे -इस मान पे मेरा बस नहीं,

जब देखो तुझे वापस बुलाने निकलता है,

तू हर बार मरे नाराज़ सवालो का एक मुस्कान से जवाब दे देता है

अब तू वापस नहीं आएगा छोटे, दिल इस बात को स्वीकार नहीं करता है

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया छोटे, मेरा जीवन सूना लगता है,

छोटे -मेरे रूह का हर एक अंश तेरी आहट ढूंढता रहता है

समय के विपरीत वह हर पल टूटता रहता है

दुनिया जैसे सिमट गए, तेरे बिना सब व्यर्थ प्रतीत होता है

चौखट वही, दरवाज़े वही, फिर भी साब बेगाना लगता है

क्यों छोड़ गया छोटे, मान इस जवाब मैं भटकता रहता है

तेरी आवाज़ गूंजती है मगर, येह तेरे दीदार को तरसता है

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया छोटे, तेरे न होने का खालीपन हार पाल खटकता है .

तेरे बिन आगे का सफर कैसे तै करू छोटे, तेरे सहारे बिन, संसार सूना लगता है

आब याहाँ से कहाँ जाओ छोटे तेरे बिन हर पल अधूरा लगता है

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया छोटे, घर आँगन सूना लगता है.....

तू यूँ जो साथ छोड़ गया छोटे मान बैरागी बना फिरता है

The Cherry Tree | Anneka S

Everyday she sits under the cherry tree

Admiring the landscape for hours on end

There wasn’t anything else for her to do you see

For she had not one friend

In her mind the painful memories were vivid

They walked all over her

Because she was innocent and timid

The tree listens to her worries

It is caring and patient

It is also wise and is quite ancient

The cherry tree is her companion

She loves it to death

And she will cherish it

Till her last breath

Showers | Kashish Agarwal

The breeze blew, and it came

As if I had my first breath!

I can scent something,

As tiger smells in the woodland.

SPARKLE!! the thunderbolt  was annoyed

The first drop touched my nose.

I smiled!

With bliss, my heart was filled and,

I can smell  the  moist soil,

It gives so much peace.

Soon puddles  were formed,

Jumping on it with glee!!

Is so much more fun.

Have enough of it!

My hair is wet, my feet are wet

I couldn't be much soppy.

But can't waste a jiff,

To enjoy this moment.

Oh SHOWERS !!Oh  SHOWERS !!

Came with force and love

Drenched us completely with glee.

As the  sound of thousand droplets  blanketed in the cool hum,

Affect everything in the way!

Leaving  happiness,

Taking the strain.

The Circle of Time | Akshay Goethe

It starts inside a dark room,

Where there is no light.

When you are feeble,

And your eyes are shut tight.

So you wait until its time,

Where you wait and grow a spine.

Deep in the dark waters,

Until it's the eighth or nine.

Then arrives the ninth,

And you're resurrected from the dark,

Out you come in light,

With some shine and spark.

You have a long way to go,

First, you learn to talk.

With the help of caring hands,

Soon you learn to walk.

You start living life,

Like it's a child's-play.

Without a worry in the world,

Always merry and gay.

Its time for you,

To hit the wild teens.

You go through the ups and downs,

And some fun in-between.

Before long,

You're called to be an adult.

Wavering and unwavering in confidence,

You learn to exult.

Amidst all of that,

you find someone who you call mine.

With whom you spend your life with

With some wine, summer, and sunshine.

As time passes,

You loosen the clutches of the world,

Then begins the inward journey,

Where your real being is unfurled.

The journey has been too long,

You feel old and have lost your prime.

Perhaps that's when it's reinvented,

The circle of time.

If I could write | Vishwa Gandhi

if i could write about you

i would write about

how incandescently bright your eyes shine

while looking at me

i would write about

how sweet your voice sounds

singing those songs you love

to me

i would write about

how dedicatedly you searched

for inane gifts you love

giving to me

i would write about the hours

i spent, looking throught everything i had

in my brain, and in the dictionary

for a word to describe this feeling.

i would write about thousands of hours

spent on thinking about the gifts to give

and then scambling at the last moment

to buy one, or to make.

i would write about the idiosyncrasies

i picked up from you

not realising, until

my friend told me.

but alas,

all the words forsake me

when i try to write about you.

so if i could,

i would write about you.

Broken | Aparna Singh

Dressed in a blue skirt and a white collared crips shirt

My daddy dropped me at school every morning,

As pious as its corridors were,

something unspeakable took place years ago behind its hallowed walls

I aimed to get perfect ‘A’s and always be punctual in class

A little girl of six, fragile as a fresh flower treasured in a vase

Learned to draw straight margins on my notebook

Memorised all the prayers and sang in the choir group

Right after completing kindergarten, I was in the primary school building

Here teachers didn’t feed us lunch, nor did they tie our shoelaces

They took revision lessons faster than the speed of the wind

But I always managed to grasp it well, you know, I’ve remarkable genes

Maths, English, Hindi, I scored well in my semesters

But yet my life subjected me to a faith so sinister

"An obedient clever girl", is what my teachers used to call me

But none of them made me aware of the misfortune that was about to befall me

It was the last day of school before the Diwali vacation began

Children in blue sweaters, carrying bags heavier than society’s moral standards, ran

Everyone was excited and so was I,

Wanted to go back home to my mommy and paint crafted butterflies

But life doesn’t go as well as they show in the movies

My plans altered because the worst was before me

The meanest girl in my class crossed my way to the washroom door

She made me trip, fall, and land on the cold hard floor

She purposefully banged her steel bottle right into my head

My vision blurred and for a moment I felt nearly dead

Blood was splattered across my face

I just wanted to go back to my mom because she was my safest place

The meanest girl got scared upon seeing my bloodstain on her bottle and ran away

But not before she dragged me to one of the loo-compartments

and stacked a lock to my dismay

My blood and tears formed a cosmic chemical that did not hurt as much as not being able to go back home did

Can you imagine the plight and helplessness of a six-year-old bleeding kid?

For hours I was locked behind the washroom door

My head hurt more as I screamed for help

Hours passed but no one came to my rescue

But when someone did, I was misused

She opened the door and pulled me out

Wiped my face and looked at me with a strange doubt

I started to beg her to call my parents, to take me home

She made me drink water while she also made sure we were alone

She asked me my name, my class, and how I got stuck there

But my voice was muffled under my giant tears

She carried me in her arms and tried to comfort me

But all I wanted was to leave immediately

She said she would take me home if I stopped crying

My childish intuition couldn’t tell that she was lying

She told to me part my legs slowly

I didn’t realise her intentions were unholy

Never in my life had someone subjected me to such brutality

For that woman seemed to have lost her sanity

For several long, painful, minutes I was taken advantage of

While a strange woman murdered my childhood on the floor

I screamed when the pain was too hard to hide

She locked her morbid eyes with mine

My tears froze on my moist cheeks

My whole body was a broken temple on a Greek battleground

Words couldn’t escape my mouth

She was a monster without a doubt

I cried and begged her to let me go

When my fragile body started to bleed at her mercy

She wiped the blood off my thighs and pulled up my tights,

Threatened me to never speak a word about this

Little did she know,

I hadn't learned enough words to explain what just happened to me

At six, you only know the words to survive and reach home

I once again begged her to let me go

With one last monstrous look at my face, she let go of me

I picked up my backpack and ran as fast as I could,

Never once looking back

The pain radiating up to my abdomen

Slowly making its way to my brain

Little did I know back then that I was scarred

And no matter what I do, I'll always carry that hurt

In the form of trauma or nightmare

The worst memory of my existence will always stay with me

That night wrapped in the comfort of my mommy’s arm,

I didn’t really sleep right

At the tender age of six,

I understood what being broken truly felt like

The Window | Swati Daftaur

There’s a smudge on the windowpane.

I squint and old fingerprints bloom against the sky.

The whorls have caught specks of dust, and I lift a hand to touch it.

My mark – yes, mine – feels like a tiny rebuke from my mother.

I’ll wipe it down today. But later.

Right now, something else has caught my eye. I draw my hand back.

Outside, on the other side of the glass that splits my home in two,

I watch a blur of grey, moving and then still – land on the windowsill.

There’s a glass between us, but that’s all there is.

I’d have turned away – there’s so much to do – but a thought stops me.

This is the closest I’ve been to a creature that never lets us get too close.

And now look – just a glass between us.

A finger’s breadth, and on the other side, a gift.

I don’t think it can see me. I don’t think it knows that I’m right here,

Close enough to see its soft shape lined in sunlight gold against the sky.

So close that I can see the gentle quiver of its down,

A bump on its beak – I must remember to find out what that it.

I’m so close that I can almost count all its colours before giving up

and wondering how, minutes before, they were all just grey to me.

I don’t think it knows that I can see it breathe,

First rapidly, still alert, still afraid,

And then slower, as the panic eases.

I see it turn its head, watching this place – my place – and tell myself that

I can’t possible know what it’s feeling. But I’m not convinced.

I think it knows it's welcome here, that it can stay awhile.

That I am just on the other side of this glass.

I see it’s sweet chest rise and fall, and something moves within me,

Like love, like fear, like a prayer.

I’ve never been this close, and I’ve never know, before this,

How they look when they feel safe.

Hope and prayer - Vaidya Shankar

Whenever I hear the doorbell ring,

My Soul, it begins to joyfully sing,

Hoping it be the man that gave my wedding ring.

But soon disappointed, my hands I do wring.

And when the phone begins to ring,

Wild hope again takes to wing,

Only to know that too was nothing.

In frustration, towards the heavens my arms I fling,

But still resolving- to prayer and hope to cling,

That some day, he will return,-my beloved man whom I wear as a ring.