For you!

And I cringed
As I watched you go,
All this time with you,
And I still want some more

I held your hand for hours
But it was just not enough,
I miss your endless talk,
The childlike laugh.

I just can't seem to wait,
For the day when you will be mine.
Why does our love have to hide from the world
Is loving someone with all your heart a crime…

The time with you passed by in a blur,
Yet the time since then moves at a snail's pace.
I know we will meet again and soon.
And yet I miss the look on your face.

The look when I call you funny names,
Because I want to hide how enamoured am I.
The look when I tease you on your grammar,
Because if I don't I'd just stare into your eyes.

You asked me why don't I write anymore,
I do; it just can't do justice to how I feel,
Nothing will till I one day hold your hands,
Look into your eyes and before you kneel.

I think I know the answer, I think I always knew.
And yet with fear I hazard a guess,
That you too feel the same about me as I do,
And on bent knees I will hear a 'yes'.

But till that day comes I have sweet memories,
Of a crimson sky and a sunset kissed sea.
A day when we became more than friends,
A day of love, of happiness, even ecstasy.

Goodnight 'honey', sleep peacefully.
For all that you've given me, sweet dreams are due.
The world stands witness to a truth that you know,
Goodnight dear, I have and always will love you.

Did you keep quiet?

One day years later, the next generation will ask us.

Were you there when there was blood spilled on the tracks?

Did you keep quiet while poor people were dying?

While men walked hundreds of kilometres with kids on their backs?

What did you do, when the great pandemic struck?

What difference did you in life make?

Did you stand up and demand for justice?

Or did you write it off as a mistake?

Did you see poor migrants paying for tickets,

While the rich people flew for free?

Did you watch the mockery made of democracy?

Were you there when justice ceased to be?

Wash our hands with the strongest sanitizer we may,

But the blood will never ever wash away.

What happened to those people walking on the tracks.

Was one of India’s darkest days.

When a child collapses from walking exhausted,

He is after all collateral damage, a small price to pay.

They were anyway clogging up our streets,

They serve no purpose in our cities, jobless as they are today.

We forget the man who stepped into our gutters,

Cleaned our shit so that we may breathe clean air.

We forget the people who built our high rises by hand.

The woman who provided our children daily care.

This is a temporarily blip, solved by switching channels,

After all, ‘make in India’ will heal all that happened today.

And worry not today if they have no food to eat,

Tomorrow they too can sip on some ‘turmeric latte’

-P R

...such is destiny

It was not supposed to happen;

It was never ever meant to be,

Yet it felt like something was left incomplete,

A spoke thrust into the wheels of destiny

It felt like a majestic eagle, paused in mid air,

just as it dives talons reaching for its prey.

Part of me thinks the prey survived and cheers,

Part of me knows nothing stands in nature's way.

And why must we know what happens, 

Where is the fun in that which must transpire,

Nothing ever lives up to the climax, the uncertainity,

The ending never excites, never emotions does it fire.

For the drop is most beautiful just before it meets the pool,

Tantalising is the moment of impact, a moment of ecstacy,

The resultant ripples a dampner, dissolving into a pool of quite,

What promised to be a fierce storm, turns out to be a calm sea.

Which is why I must not read the last page,

The last page can only promise what it can never be.

It's a conclusion which is nothing but a logical end.

and logical ends always come with a finality.

Life never looks back, it never pauses, it never ends;

Finality is not life as it was meant to be,

A phoenix is life, rising from its ashes in glory.

Because life is meant to go on, such is its destiny.

So this chapter I close content in my intrigue,

Not knowing ever, what the next page was meant to be.

The suspense of not knowing the complete story,

Is sometimes what makes a simple life into a great destiny.

- Pranay

:)

Pages turning in the wind can't describe a life,
Nor can random pictures falling to the ground. 
Life is about real people with real emotions,
Words are just a medium, music just a sound. 

Waking up to sunshine is a wonderful feeling,
Only when what follows sunshine is bliss. 
Bathing in the moonlight is a joy,
When the night ends with a moonlit kiss. 

An emotion says more than a million words,
A smile warms your heart in the nicest way. 
A tear on a cheek is the greatest dampner,
A dreadful cold feeling on the warmest day. 

Life is a chain of changing emotions,
Shaped by experiences and choices made. 
Love, hate, angst, money and fame will come and go. 
Emotions remain as all the rest will fade. 

So choose well and choose wisely,
That which makes your heart warm not cold. 
Cos a tear shed in vain is a waste of pain,
While a smile is worth more than fame and gold. 

- PR :)

Through a mother's eyes

He picked up the sand,
And saw it flow out of his hands,
And looked at his mother and asked,
'Cant I take with me, a little piece of these sands?'

She smiled and she patted his head,
And then pulled his little cheeks,
Cause what she had to say needed decades,
And her little son wanted it all in a matter of weeks. 

She told him ' my son, the sand is your life,
Hold it in your hand and watch it flow. 
Touch it and feel its smoothness and roughness too,
Watch it in the twilight and see its mesmerizing glow.

Hold it too tight and see it spill out of your hands,
Too loose and watch it slip away slow
But hold it just right in the palm of your hands,
And quietly it will sit and never overflow. 

And with work and fortune in life lightning might just strike,
Brown sand will turn into a glass sculpture beautiful. 
And your life will be a delight for all to admire,
People will envy you, and your life wonderful. 

Even then don't hold too tight,
Because the glass could shatter and injure you too. 
Don't make the mistake of holding on too loose,
Cause what will be left will be pieces of sparkling blue. 

Life's precious enjoy it, cherish it forever,
And never become so careless that you forget the truth. 
That life's a treasure, and a special one at that,
Because gods greatest gift to you is you.'

The child picked up some sand from the earth,
And watched it in his little palm settle,
It was suddenly beautiful to him,
Beautiful as the sun, as a rose's petals. 

His mother then picked him up in the fading light,
As he was put on his bed, he smiled at her and held her tight,
She placed his sand carefully in a cup near his bed. 
Then she moved the curls of his face and kissed him good night. 

And she prayed in her heart as only a mother could 
He was growing up too fast crawling yesterday, running now. 
She prayed her little child would into a good man grow. 
His success being her greatest triumph, such is a mothers love. 

- Pranay Rao

India Shining

Tribals suffer while the politicians are busy mining,

Farmers migrate while agriculture is declining,

All this and the government is reclining,

Why bother when India is shining.

But don’t listen to my rhyming,

Cause it’s just a case of me whining,

After all theres a dark cloud to every silver lining,

And now it's time for India to be shining,

So watch the news while you're dining;

hear about a dead farmer’s wife pining,

and shake your head while sighing,

doesn’t she know India is shining.

And thank god for your perfect timing,

repeat it and please keep smiling,

After all it's all about aligning,

to the reality of India shining.

- Pranay Rao

In search of her laugh

The sunset looked a tad more crimson,

the waves a darker shade of blue,

The world reflected in her eyes,

provided a whole different view.

She smiled the most enchanting smile,

her enthusiasm bubbling as always.

the sea calmed down listening intently,

Her voice enchanting the passing waves.

She was right by my side,

and yet somewhere distant too.

Something holding her back,

Something even she never knew.

The trace of sadness was soon quelled,

by a smile for everyone to see,

She laughed her usual laughter,

her body exuding a positive energy.

She would smile with her face,

and her eyes would follow.

But her laugh lacked conviction,

starting strong but ending hollow.

She looked out to the horizon,

and I prayed that she find soon may,

The one thing that would bring back her laugh,

Bring her back that truly happy day.

Till then in vain I see her smile,

hoping that a laugh it will soon be.

The happiness in her eyes I know,

will one day turn into pure ecstacy.

- Pranay Rao

Smile

If every dream came true,
then dreaming wouldn't be fun again. 
What would pleasure ever be,
If to balance it there were no pain. 

Only the oppressive summer heat,
Makes look wonderful the sheets of rain. 
The mighty hills would be but an eyesore,
If viewed they were not from the humble plain. 

Sunshine can't be a forever constant. 
Dark clouds can't always be wished away,
Smile when the going is tough my friend,
Cause tomorrow's going to be an amazing day. 

- Pranay

The sunbeam broke into a rainbow before my eyes

It began with total silence,

Silence as deep as the sea;

Then the birds began chirping,

Rhythmic and yet a trifle noisy.

The sun had set an hour back,

And the moon never could conjure an emotion so;

What had catalyzed such a reaction,

My heart needed to know.

And then before my eyes I saw the reason,

I saw and I instantly understood too;

Her smile was like the first rays of sunshine,

of course the birds twittered, wonder how the sky didnt turn blue.

She saw me look, heck clearly stare,

and threw me a look of indgnity veiled in a 'I don't care'.

I gulped, proper impression this could not be,

Offended had I inadvertently, a maiden so fair.

By then she knew as all women do,

an art about which, we have no clue.

entrapped was I, a fly in a web,

I tried to pull back and slipped, how I never knew.

She burst out, the giggle turned into laughter,

And the sunbeam turned into a rainbow before my eyes.

I was embarassed and yet awestruck by her beauty,

The pain of falling, paling before a million sighs.

And then someone called her name and I paused,

For the name I had always known;

She walked up to me with a half smile in her eyes,

There was a little mischief in the sunbeam that shone.

She then came close and in my ear spoke,

The words I did not hear for the illusion broke,

Ironically it was a sunbeam that opened my eyes,

I lay there in the sunshine as I awoke.

It was a dream and yet the smile I had seen before,

The face though hazy, stood clearly apart.

Surrounded by a million smiles in the universe,

There is but one sunbeam in my heart.

- Pranay Rao

And I know not what to do

Continuing from angel who fell from the sky,

I like to call it love,
and yet it seems like destiny,
How it happened I know not,
How it will end is a mystery.

I still remember the moment,
The first time I saw her that night,
It was what people would call,
love at first sight.

Oblivious she was of me,
As I was of the universe,
She was this most beautiful poem,
and I a humble verse.

I looked,
trying hard not to stare.
Though even if I did,
She wouldn't have cared.

She passed by serene,
with an impatient touch.
That I was there, to her,
didn't really matter much.

I turned around,
and she was gone.
Leaving behind words,
which wished to be a song.

So on their wish,
I've composed this rhyme.
An ode to a vision,
to stand till the end of time.

Some memories remain,
pleasant yet painful too.
Cause the moment has passed,
and I know not what to do.


 - Pranay Rao

Temptations

And there she sat across the counter,
Alone, looking cold and yet smoking hot.
I looked, trying hard not to stare,
Her touch I so clearly sought.

Those curves looked enticing,
Shimmering was her skin under the light.
a hint of milky white with a touch of brown,
Trust me, there was no better sight.

I walked across the room, eyes transfixed,
I felt my palms sweat and my fingers tremble;
As I picked up my spoon and tasted the sauce,
Damn you hot chocolate sundae on the desert table.


- Pranay Rao

I will raise my head without fear

A stranger killed of someone's mother,
A child watched his father die.
They never believed that this could happen,
and they never knew the reason why.

Why is it that somebody can just walk in,
with a gun, a bomb and just kill anyone.
And all I can do is watch, listen and hope,
that the person who died is an unknown someone.

I have been taught to look around while travelling,
Ensure that someone doesn't get me that day.
After all it's my duty to be scared and tense,
My fees to be part of a Delhi or a Mumbai.

I dream of a day not too far,
A day when you and I will still be here.
A day when we will look up and smile,
And raise our heads without fear.

Till then I watch the news dispassionately.
It's no longer whether. Its when,where and how many.
Somewhere someone is playing a little game with me,
And I wonder whether he must find it funny.

That safely from a million miles away,
with a few rupees of explosives and firearms,
He makes a billion people shake in fear.
Little voodoo dolls are we in the grasp of his palms.

He threatens and a million quake in fear,
Mothers worry, children are scared.
Coming home everyday is a celebration.
to celebrate what they have braved.

But one day these billion people will rise,
and realise that they have had enough.
And that day my dear friend, I assure you.
It will be we who will have the last laugh.


Sooner rather than later

The first flight

It seemed just yesterday that he had broken his shell,
And now he stood at the branch, ready to soar.
His mother steeled her heart and nudged him.
For her little hatchling, she wanted more.


He looked back and smiled impishly,
For his nervousness, she could never know.
The sun had just risen, the sky was lighting up,
To see his first flight had come the morning glow.

He held his breath and spread out his wings,
Stood up on his little feet and jumped into the blue.
His mother let out a gasp, as her son headed to the ground.
She wondered whether it really mattered if he ever flew.

Her maternal instincts battling with her maternal dreams,
She reached the edge of the branch and looked below.
She saw his little body flapping his wings with all his might,
His movements were shaky, his reactions were slow.

And just as she was about to fly down to his rescue,
His little body straightened as he began to actually fly.
He chirped in delight, A chirp of exhiliration and sheer joy.
No longer was he a little bird, but the king of the sky.

The sun smiled as he saw this unfold before his eyes,
Even though he had seen this happen a million times.
The drama of the moment still got to his old heart,
And he cheered when he saw that the little bird was fine.

He saw that the little hatchling was now a magnificient bird,
Each time he saw it, it remained the most wonderful sight.
The element of drama, he knew was Mother Nature's little touch,
To enhance the experience of the once in a life first flight.

If I could re-live each day

I wouldn't want my life
to turn out any other way.
Not a minute would be different,
If I had a chance to re-live each day.

The successes would make me as happy,
The failiures would make me equally sad.
The sunlight would make me feel bright,
The soccer on rainy days would make me glad.

My handwritong would be as bad as now,
My shoelaces would still come undone.
My exam results would be equally erratic.
My life interspersed with work and fun.

I would still do what I love doing,
I would still hate that which makes no sense.
I would continue to dream dreams beyond my abilities,
I would meet the same people, make the same friends.

Life has been this most amazing symphony,
The tune just right, not a note out of key.
I have learned from each experience thrown at me.
To treasure what my life has turned out to be

Urban Rain

Life halted and everything came to a pause,
As I stepped out for a moment from this rat race.
I looked up at the sky, moonlight shining through dark clouds,
and felt the cold raindrops as they hit my face.

People stopped in their tracks, the landscape froze,
The traffic stopped as all life came to a halt.
I could sense every sight, every sound amplified.
The smell of the wet earth, the sound of raindrops on asphalt.

The concrete jungle revealed a heart of nature,
The birds twittered, asking each other the way to shelter.
The rain had come and wet their homes.
Now in terror they squaked as they flew helter skelter.

The pitter patter changed to a little roar,
and the raindrops changed to a sheet of rain.
The rain cleansed the city of all it's impurity,
Washing away miseries, washing away pain.

Mother nature smiled at the city in all her glory,
The city smiled back for it's heart was alive.
In the body of cement was a soul of opportunity,
where millions struggle, where millions thrive.

Every person in the city came with a different dream,
Each life in this city may have a different destiny,
but connected they are by the first raindrops,
that to their heart brings a childlike glee.

The rain stopped and all life was in motion again,
the sound of the city drowning out what nature had to say.
I slung my bag across my shoulder, wiped off my specs,
strangely, the rain drops were a spot of sunshine in an otherwise rainy day :).

The Battle in the sky

He pulls hard with the wind at his back,
It's a war he can't afford to lose.
His skillful hands manipulate the string,
the destiny of the battle he will choose.

He wipes the sweat off his brow,
and licks the bruise on his index finger.
The bruise burns as the fresh cut heals,
The taste of blood on his tongue lingers.

It's a taste not alien to him,
It's the taste of victory against the odds,
He squints as the sun enters his line of sight,
as he looks towards the abode of the gods.

The wind god he knows has been kind to him,
For the breeze lifts just as he has got the upper hand.
He pulls hard, concentration writ large on his face,
He tugs hard and his kite dives down towards the land.

The moment pauses as the final move has been made,
His little frame tenses up as the target enters his sight.
The string slices through in an arc towards the ground,
The enemy is pulled back and then goes limp in mid-flight.

He breaks out in a smile of little pearls,
as the little child in him comes to the fore.
His fist punches the air as he looks to the sky,
Another victory to add to his invincible lore.

I am what I Dream

I want to live a thousand dreams,
I want to set the sun on fire.
I want to reach out to the sky,
reach the point where I can't go no higher.

I know my life is mine to live,
I can become what I aspire.
I have my faith my trust in god,
which helps me attain what I desire.

Life has been a wonderful roller coaster ride,
With more highs than lows.
What will come tomorrow,
Is something I will never know.

My dreams are my oxygen,
the only thing that keeps me alive.
They help me face the really bad days,
In adversity they help me thrive.

I know my dream shall help me prosper,
I know my dreams shall set me apart.
You can never put me down,
As long as I have a dream in my heart.

- Pranay Rao

My City is burning again

Not another minute of silence,
Not another occassion to wear black arm bands.
Now the silence is getting deafening,
The stupid symbolism be damned.

I've got sick of the news reports,
The constant saluting the spirit of Mumbai.
I've got tired of the resilience.
The getting back to normal life, the next day.

I've got tired of the jingoism,
Surviving attacks is not our forte.
Let me lead my life in peace,
Just let me live, the normal way.

But what can I do, a non resident mumbaikar,
There's just anger and frustuation to vent.
I really don't expect any action,
After all it's not an attack on the bloody parliament.

Life will go on, never stopping,
Cause the city never sleeps.
Millions get back to work,
While the affected thousand weep.

Mumbai, I can't see you hurting,
I can't see you blotched by tear and blood streams
Mumbai, you deserve much more,
For a city which has fulfilled a million dreams.

- Pranay Rao

Destiny

It seemed like a dream,
And yet it was reality.
It was more than a coincidence,
It seemed like it was destiny.

It made me lose my ego,
and I even swallowed my pride.
What mattered most to me,
Was she by my side.

It seems like I knew her for eternity,
and yet there was so much more to know.
What was it that made her heart beat,
What was it that made her skin glow.

Maybe what she thought was a diamond,
Was but a mound of stone.
Maybe mine was not the heart,
She had wanted to make her own.

Thus ends what was a childish dream,
to think that this was destiny.
What was just a high note,
In life's sweet symphony.

the road of life is still long,
many a straight road, many a bend.
But in my heart of hearts I hoped,
That this high note would never end.

- PR

The day I set out to compose a rhyme

I thought it was time,

To compose a little rhyme.

Maybe a rhyme full of love. Maybe a rhyme full of hate.

Maybe a rhyme that would make me famous, one that would alter my fate.

A rhyme more rich than all of the world's folklore.

A rhyme which would rival a Tarentino in poetic gore.

So I sat down with single minded determination,

To weave a rhyme that would trigger fascination.

I plugged in my laptop because sheer genius must not be limited by battery.

The poem was to appeal to all; it was to be an ode, not just some form of cheap flattery.

And I began in earnest, with the only subject which came to my head.

Love it had to be, because that's what earns poets their butter and bread.

Love, beautiful , uncomplicated like that which a mother feels for her child.

Or love that makes strong men feel weak and makes nice girls go wild.

Love it could be for music, it could be love for food or wine.

It had to be a love I could describe, a love that could be mine.

It was then that I paused, for poetry requires that moment of inspiration.

The moment that would define the ultimate fate of my creation.

The pause was pregnant with uncertainties untold.

I observed as I felt in my mind the poem unfold.

My subject couldn’t be clearer, the lines stood out in bold.

A rhyme of such beauty, from this world I could not withhold.

My fingers reached the keyboard, but falter they did each time.

For what the heart wanted to say, the mind could not set to a rhyme.

The abilities of a poet, amateur as me could not define.

That which is so pure, so beautiful, so divine.

A poem I could write; a rhyme I could compose.

About the mighty sun or the beautiful rose.

But the very words rebel as I try to describe love in a rhyme.

They mock me and smile, telling me that it isn't yet time.

They tell me that wait and you shall see the day,

When even we shall respond to you; like to a potter, his clay.

And the time will come when your words will take flight like a dove.

And describe to the world, the beauty of love.

For now I rest, the promise of tomorrow easing the disappointment of now.

Fondly I shall remember for years to come, the day that I set out to write a poem on love.

- Pranay