and when it stops pouring,

the wind evaporates
between buildings,

stealing the traffic
to suburbia.

wet socks and dripping

umbrella, you find yourself

square in the middle
of a bombay puddle,

with no ride back home.

Naivete

I believed if you were good at heart, meant nobody any harm and went about your life peacefully, you would be fine, that you would be -- if I can allow myself to say it -- happy.

I believed that love could never hurt, that it would never shrink the heart, that it was the most beautiful emotion in the world.

I believed that if you found what you loved doing, you never had to work a single day in your life, that you would relish getting up from bed and facing the world head on.

I believed that the world was a lovely place to be in, that people were mostly good at heart and believed in a honest life well lived.

I believed in myself, that no matter what, I would always overcome and triumph.

Now I know.

1. Give. Never take. Never want to take. Never ask anybody for anything.
2. Never whine.
3. Read. Everything.
4. Value time. And being disciplined. These are no-brainers.
5. You will never cherish being lazy.
6. Purity. Honour. Truth. Honesty. Integrity. Dignity. In thought, word and action. Above everything else. If you're not there yet, try and you will.
7. Ego. Desire. Anger. Renounce the ego. Desire and anger will disappear on their own.
8. Value people and relationships. But don't go overboard with it.
9. 'Silence is golden'. There's a reason why it's a proverb. Don't talk unless necessary. Allow for meaningful conversation to happen, but don't go looking for it.
10. You will never cherish watching TV.
11. Write. Everyday.
12. Hold your tongue. Don't gossip. Never speak ill of others.
13. Never give in to the lure of "cool".
14. Be warm, to everyone. But don't be stupid.
15. Help when asked for. Venture advice when asked for. Don't be presumptuous. But learn to judge when someone wants help or advice but is too proud to ask for it. Develop and use your discretion in such cases. After having helped/ advised, forget about it.
16. Learn from the past. Then forget it.
17. Be grateful. Always. Even for the tiniest of things.
18. Respect everybody. Trust nobody.
19. You don't know everything. You haven't experienced everything. You're not God's gift to mankind.
20. Everything passes.
21. Patience is a virtue. So are resilience and persistence.
22. Dream.
23. Eat well. Sleep well. Stay fit.
24. Refrain from judging. You're the pigeon one day, the statue the next.
25. Watch children. Listen to the squirrels. See birds fly. Gaze at the stars. Look at colours deeply.

The 100% Perfect Girl

Winter is still here. The park is frozen.

You're wrapped up in an old green sweater that smells like home. Your nose is runny. Your eyes are tired, your hair clumsy.

We've been sitting quietly all evening, the air between us heavy with distance. It feels like we have weighed it down with all the words that could ever be spoken between two people. It feels like we could go another hundred years without talking.

But then you turn to look at me.

Those beautiful big eyes blink into mine.

Before thought can spark into language and ruin everything, before the cold can clamp its claws around our hearts, before time can ply its trade and memory can trap us with its tyranny, our souls understand the simple truth in our eyes.

A smile seeks its way out, feeble like the sunshine. On your face and on mine.

And the walls crumble. Just like that.

I want to reach out, hold your hand in my hand, ask you how you are, where you've been hiding from me all this while. I want to tuck the stray strands of hair falling on your forehead behind your ear, tell you how beautiful you look even though I know you'll snort in disbelief. I want to tell you that I'm sorry, that I've been an idiot, that I didn't know what I was doing and all the usual lies men tell women.

But all that can wait.

I want to erase every memory, wind the clock back to the beginning of time. I want to take every word I have said and throw it back into the well of silence where it belongs. I want to hold you in my arms and never ever let you go; no, not even if you want to go sleep.

But all that can wait.

For now, all I want to do is gaze back into your eyes, smile till you start squirming despite all these years, till you start laughing and ask me to not look at you that way, till you look down and away, shy all of a sudden.

For now, all I want is this tiny piece of heaven to last forever.

Even spring can wait.

Title reference