PUNE...

Pune...
I miss you,
I miss you like an old lover...
I miss your cool breeze on freezing cold nights,
I miss your rains, early in the morning.
When did it happen?
I think the love was instant, at first sight.
The moment I saw you, I knew, you and I were meant to be.
You were always gentle,
and in your own ways you taught me to be independent.
Together we went through so many ups and downs,
We had our tough times too.
There was a time I hated you,
hated you because you changed.
There were times when I thought, I never wanted to see you again.
But now I wait...
I wait to meet you again.
To thank you for all that you did for me,
To say sorry for for all the foolish things I said.
Pune, I miss you,
I miss you like an old lover.

Shanti...

Its a lazy afternoon, as I sit chatting with Shanti.

Shanti, at her home I will be staying for around 15 days. I am here to learn a craft, bell metal, as it is popularly known. Her husband, Shabir bhaiya , is a master craftsman in Kondagaon, Bastar.

I arrived here some 4 days ago. A total stranger to them is what I thought I was.
Now sitting with Shanti, listening to her, I wonder if its true. I feel a connection with her, as if I know her feelings and she mine. She talks about her kids, Tareena, her 8 year old daughter and Sahil, her son, just 4 is learning to go to school.

I hear her concerns. Sahil is a difficult child and doesn't like going to the school. She wants Tareena to go to an english medium school, but it is across the road and Tareena will have to walk a long distance to reach it. She tells me she used to work with her husband. She left working so that she can look after her children well.

Shanti says they work so hard, so that their children can have the best in life.

An unknown fear grips me. She is innocent, unaware of the world beyond. A world that is ruled by power and money. Where there is no place for innocent dreams.

And yet I have a trust in a mother's dream. I see in her eyes a future, bright and joyful for her children and for mine.
I see so many women like her. In places, few people know exist.
These women are my inspiration.

CHOICE

So often I hear people say..."oh but I had no choice"
A victim of circumstances? Are we...OR is it a sacrifice for the happiness of others...Parents, Husband or whoever...Or are we afraid to make a choice...is it the fear of responsibility or the consequences that a choice leads to...

A person always has a choice...to be free or not to be.
Infact this is a choice that every person takes for himself...aleast u cannot shrug this decesion by saying..."I had no choice"

And here i am...making a choice...
writing here...opening myself to anyone and everyone ...
so cheers to the CHOICE I made today...!