Misplaced Belief

Its thick branches bent in submission by gravity

Were coming towards me

To bless me or to curse me, I didn’t know

Towering over everything around it

Nature, Man and God alike

It intimidated with its stature and spread

And all bowed to it

Praying for it to save them from evil

And deliver their wishes

Bestowed with scarlet vermillion threads

It stood strong secure in its power over the mankind

As if challenging the very nature

It was a bitter monsoon morning,

After a night of roaring thunder

A sound of commotion drove me out

Anxious voices filled with dejection and sorrow

Were moving in a direction

I followed

That banyan tree that was their savior

That fulfilled their wishes

Had bowed down to nature’s attack

Burned by Zeus’s lightening thunder

It was hollow

I felt the same.

 

 

Source: Google Image search

Yaadon ka storeroom

आज  यादों का storeroom खोला

हिम्मत का पत्थर मार  के

उसका वह ज़ंग लगा टाला तोड़ा

थोड़ा घबराते हुए उस अँधेरे में कदम बढ़ाया

 

डर किसी अंजान का नहीं था

क्यूँकि था तोह वह अपनी ही यादों का घरोंदा

डर था उस एक संदूक से टकराने का

जिसमें कुछ लम्हों को खुद से दूर कर के रखा था

वह लम्हें जो किसी और वक़्त की याद दिलाते थे

जो कुछ मासूम ख्वाहिशों की परछाई थे

जो कुछ बेबाक़ ख्यालों को पर देते थे

 

मैं संभलते हुए आगे बढ़ी

एक राह पड़े सन्दूक से टकराई

थोड़ी धूल हटी, यादोँ ने थोड़ी दस्तक दी

और हिम्मत ने ज़वाब दे दिया

Some doors are best not opened

 

Image source: Google Image search

Over A Cup Of Coffee

I don’t know how I missed it earlier. Maybe coz I was an avid coffee aficionado earlier- too engrossed in my hot cuppa to notice people around me. But yesterday while idlly sipping a cup of coffee last eve with a friend I noticed the varied section of audience that a coffee shop like Barista or Cafe Coffee Day n all cater to. These are the ones I noticed yesterday evening.

1. Ones who need a room- desperately
I mean seriously man…I have read the coffee is a great aphrodisiac but it surely can’t be that strong that you need to explore the deep end of your partner’s throat right in the coffee shop.

2. The Shopping Spree Aunties
They’ll be hogging one of the couches in the coffee shop (if not that, they’ll be sitting on the table right towards the exit) surrounded with atleast a dozen of shopping bags between them. Sipping on decaf coffee with slim milk, they’ll be reminiscing on the best deals they grabbed.

3. Meet the bride
This is a relatively newer segment that has hopped on the coffee shop wagon. While previously the arranged marriage meeting used to be at home over a cup of tea (that still happens though- read it here), the more so called modern people now prefer to meet on a neutral ground over a cup of coffee. It is as easy as a neon light mark to spot these people. Usually a group of minimum 6 people (average 8), half of them would be there early and other half would come later. The girl is a little too decked up and too quiet for a coffee shop environment. They’ll sit in one corner and usually have to join couple of tables to accomodate everyone.

4. The Workoholics
These ones either don’t have an office or are hogging the free wifi. They will have big cup of coffee with them and their face so bent on their iPAD or laptop screen that you fear onset of spondylitis for them.

5. The ‘cool’ bunch of college kids
Aah Nostalgia striketh. Average group of about 6, they will be the noisiest group sitting in the center. Number of coffee cups would usually be lesser than number of people sitting. The sole objective of sitting in the coffee shop is to plan the next destination- rather noisily

6. The Content Reader
They love coffee and they love solitude. One cup of nice coffee, a quiet corner and a good book. Unfortunately due to above mentioned elements, noise comes part of package. Though good at loosing themselves in the book at hand, you would see them glance at the noisiest bunch at times.

7. The Amused Observer
Yup, that’s yours truely. Sitting in the coffee shop coz my friend craved for a cup. Enjoying the conversation as much as the observations around me. A good coffee is part of the package but not something that holds complete attention. Coffee might not bring me to a coffee shop but the people- always will.

 

Did I miss anyone?

World passed by, as I saw it over steam of my coffee

 

Source: GettyImages.in