A lesson of life

It was his first trip to the beach,
He had felt the sand in between his little toes.
At first he was fearful of the waves,
But had just gathered courage to get close.

He couldn’t let this wonderful day end
Just because of some fading light.
Little though he was in body,
His heart was full of fight.

‘If I cannot stay here any longer,
Then the beach must come with me.
I will carry home all the sand, the water,
And create at home my own little sea.’

He then got down to work,
And began collecting the grains of sand,
But each time he closed his fist,
The grains just slipped out of his tiny hand.

He tried again and again
The same thing seemed to happen,
Still the falling grains of sand,
Couldn’t his little heart dampen.

For there was the matter of the ocean,
Immensely beautiful and serenely calm.
Surely it wouldn’t matter,
If he borrowed a little sea in his palm.

So he battled the waves,
The mighty ocean against his little feet.
But gracious as the ocean was in allowing him in,
Their thoughts did not seem to meet.

Each time he would fill his fist with ocean,
And each time it would come out dry.
With failure, his heart finally gave way,
And as his anguish increased, he began to cry.

His mother not once intervened,
She knew with love he would be fine,
And he would forever cherish,
The lesson taught by the sands of time.

Those tears would teach him
Something that he had to know.
That when you love something dearly,
You also need to learn to let go.

-Pranay Rao

The rainy day Limerick

It was the best of times.
It was the worst of times.
It really was just another rainy day,
But then I needed a beginning that rhymes.

Let’s begin with the guy,
Cause even god started with Adam.
And once the plot is established,
We'll proceed to describe madam.

The guy was wet and cold,
N like most guys a little hungry.
He just had had the most scrumptious tea,
But the rain makes you hungry, you see.

He was waiting for the big red bus,
With letters on the side saying it was the BEST.
His office was just a short distance from home,
So frankly he was much luckier than the rest.

I am quite the animal activist,
So I really won’t say it was raining cats and dogs.
Let’s say that the rain was strong enough to create a jam.
The kind of rain when trains stop and every drain clogs.

It was then that she walked into the small bus stop.
Any other day and he’s have blamed her for the traffic standstill,
She was beautiful like most girls and even more,
Her sight made him glad; A sudden warmth replaced the rainy chill.

She looked impatient as most girls do,
Rattling her watch as if that would make time go faster.
He looked but tried not to stare,
Surely god had taken more than the usual time to cast her.

She looked reproachingly at the rain,
And then he wished he was god for a day.
He’d make the rains stop and light up the sky,
The clouds would pause while the winds would dry up her way.

Suddenly she turned to ask him the time,
With a smile which was even more radiant than the sun.
He struggled so very hard to find his voice,
For a moment he wished someone would shoot him with a gun.

And then after the most eternal pause,
He told her that it was a quarter past five.
She smiled her sweet smile and commented on how late it seemed,
He tried to make conversation, but alas he had seen his courage nosedive.

After an awkward moment of absolute silence,
She turned back and began to fidget with her cell.
He wanted to talk to her and hold her hand,
There were so many things he had to ask, so much to tell.

In the distance he saw that his saviour in red had arrived,
He would run into his bus with what he could salvage of his dignity.
When he saw her too move towards the bus, umbrella in hand,
His feet were stuck to the ground while his heart wallowed in self pity.

She never turned back as the bus came to a halt,
Her friend saw her and hailed her from the front seat.
The bus was quite empty and the conductor most nonchalant,
So they got rid of their sandals and put up their feet.

Her friend looked out in the fading light,
And it was our male lead that caught her sight.
‘Some interesting company you had’ she told her friend,
‘I know’, she sighed ‘for a moment I wished he was Mr. Right’.

- Pranay Rao

Memories

Note: Memories was created durin a very borin class on a day, I wasn't too happy. It was created for the alumni day PPT, which turned out decentish. Anywayz, the poems not much to read in terms of language, the fun is in the visuals, but we at K can sure relate to it

Memories of the 7 am class,
when keeping your eyes open was such a bother.
The tasty food served at the mess,
which suddenly reminded you of your mother.

Memories of the first PG crush,
the first taste of rivalry.
Memories of the CP King,
Who imparted Gyaan for free.

Memories of that surprise quiz,
Moments of activity interspersed by slumber.
The display of the grade sheet,
The realization that there isn't anyone dumber.

Memories of all night parties,
Ignoring HBR cases to be solved.
Memories of friendship and camaraderie,
Of bonds that slowly dissolved.

Memories of a 2 year quest,
Memorries of that wonderful day.
Memories of the pride, the joy,
of being a part of IIMK.

Memories that you treasure,
Experiences that we would hear and see.
Memories that would guide us,
as we carry forward your legacy.

-Pranay Rao

Transitions

Life is not always,
how its meant to be.
What you imagine,
is not what you see.

You learn to adapt,
learn to breath to live,
learn to apologize,
learn to forgive.

learn to treasure,
all that is close to you,
to cast not that is old,
yet seek what is new.

life is in motion,
in a state of flux,
exhorting you to innovate,
to focus on the crux.

nothing is a given,
nothing is ever done.
Life is but an enigma,
a state of transition.