The Dream that was not supposed to come true

It was the summer of 1990, schools were closed and we could visit uncles and aunts or have them over in our house. My sister and I walked down the Cowley Brawn  road in Coimbatore talking to an uncle who was visiting. The conversation was about 'dreams', the wildest ones and the ones that we were sure would never come true. I dont quiet remember my sister's or my uncle's dreams, but I remember telling them ' I heard on the World Service of the BBC that the Greenwich observatory will be closed down this year. My dream that will never come true is... to be able to put my feet on either side of the prime meridian in Greenwich and say I am now on both the Eastern and the Western hemispheres of the world'. My uncle smiled wisely and my sister went on to state her dream never to be.

Years went by and I happily forgot all about my wild dream. I visited London in the summer of 2007 and felt like Wordsworth as I stood on the westminister bridge. I heard G.B.Shaw's references to Piccadiliy and Charing Cross as I walked those places. I clicked pictures of Nelson in Trafalgar square and I stared at 10 Downing street and the Buckingham Palace. I even went to the Tower bridge but Greenwich never crossed my mind.

A couple of days ago I visited London again, went to all the places I had seen before and in addition saw the Crown Jewels.  I saw the Kohinoor diamond which most Indians dream of seeing.Then  took a boat ride to realise my wild dream. I went to Greenwich, for  in 1998 the observatory came back to were it was for 200 years after two attempts to move it elsewhere. So I put my feet on either sides of the Prime Meridian and said ' I am on the eastern and western hemispheres of the world at the same time'.

My dream  that never was supposed to come true, came true : )

Away from Bangalore(written on 13th of May 2011)

Exactly 10 days from today, I will leave Bangalore for good (well one can never be certain of that) and will miss a whole lot of people and places. The calm of the ECC road, the romance of the outer circle of whitefield with its ancient houses, the solace of whitefield memorial church, fountains in the whitefield park under which my son and I giggled as the water splashed. I will miss the whitefield market with my favourite butcher, fruit seller, vegetable vendor,grocery store and medial store.

I will miss the little sunbird that built her nest im my house, the hundreds of eagles that loomed over the Holy cross school ground, my son's teachers, my son's friends and the tales they told me. I will miss the ladies who took care of my son in his day care and taught him Kannada, the smiling faces of children that played with him everyday.

I will miss the many many old people I have met and made friends with in whitefield, the ladies from the Cheshire home, the ones that waved as they walked their evening walks.I will miss the families that took me under their roof in my times of lonely sojourn in whitefield, thier sons, thier laughter, their food, their love. 

I will miss ITPL mall, the Kadamba hotel, the Piazza hut and the ice cream parlour,the many team lunches, formal and informal, the ITPL christian fellowship, the Sabre office, the tea room and the tea time conversations with good friends.

On your death anniversary

More days will soon go by
And so will the years role by.
More folks the family will have
Smart,bright and surely brave.

Your children may remember you year after year
The grandchildren may talk of you here and there
You will soon be a memory- fading away
But a little of you will live in me alway.

For a new acquaintance

For 33 years and more I've been traveling.
Traveling in a train, kind of journeying.
Every now and then,in this train of mine,
People keep going out and coming in.
At every stop there isn't always a person,-but
Some passengers travel thru' every station.

Awhile ago my train did stop-and
You boarded in as new stock.
Have you come to stay?
Or, will soon go away?
I do not know, I do not care- but
Memories of you, I shall for long bear.

Friends

Some I call my friends- cos,
I've been with them forever.
Some I call my friends- cos,
I love their sense of humour.
Some I call my friends- cos,
Much love for me they harbour.
Some I call my friends- cos,
I see myself in him or her.
and the company of such friends,
I deem a great pleasure.

St.Valentine Weeps

This morning I met St.Valentine
Sad, sullen and in deep pain.
‘Cheer-up man! It is your day today’- I said
‘Gifts, goodies and cards -all in your name made!’


He wailed loudly
‘Puppy love, passionate cards and crazy gifts
Not lasting families, but dressed up dates
No love, no man, no wife, just party mates’


‘Oh tell me, tell me’ –He cried
‘Has reason been lost in my name?
Has love been diluted in my name?
Has purity been put to shame in my name?’


I shook my head and walked away.
How was I to console him anyway?