One Christmas evening..

A Christmas of blogging cannot go without this one. I wrote this back in class 7 and needless to say I absolutely love it.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

The sky glowed with the stars at night,
The moon smiled splendidly adding to the sight,
The land hid under the blanket of snow,
I found my spirits suddenly rise and glow-
The echo of the jingling bells,
And the melodious carols sung by those dressed like fairies and elves,
As if the winds whispered in my ear,
Wishing me luck and prosperity for the coming year.
The Xmas tree was decorated and the gifts were exchanged,
But I waited for the moment,
When through the chimney of my room-
Would come my dear santa with a zooooom
And would put my gift on the bedside,
Perhaps even ask me for a ride.
While I was living in my thoughts,
I saw a streak of light travel across,
I shivered with fright and fear,
But it was a sleigh run by a reindeer,
I stared a while-
At the man who greeted me with a smile,
He flung a hand and bade goodbye,
While I still stood there wishing 'Hi',
Then away he went into the depths of moon,
Promising me that he would come very soon,
I kept staring with a long pause
‘coz I just couldn’t believe I had met a real Santa Claus!

A familiar place..

More than 5 years it’s been since I last set foot here. Nothing has changed, yet everything has. The king has left though he looks upon and would so forever, I know. The Queen knows he will never return but still she waits. The ring on her finger has been intact since the past 60 years. The sheen has not faded and nor the love. And yes, the king visits her in her dreams, she tells me, so she does not complain much.

The same destination where we longed to spend our summer vacations. The king was our master story teller- He told stories of far off places, of angels and demons, of how the hero struggles through oceans of dragons and snakes to get hold of an emerald that saves the life of his love, of how the stars at night turn into our guardians so we are safe at our homes. He would address all our new found fascinations about Urdu, Punjabi, Pakistan, Painting, God, reincarnations, aliens and what not. He would never tire. Never. He was our hero, our learned one, our King- Still is.

The “mohallah” is not all the same. New houses have sprung up. The all-pervasive pigs have miraculously disappeared and thankfully so. The grocery store “Bille ki dukan”, just a meter away, has been closed. He now makes bags and sells them, I m told. The residents have changed, some replaced, and some have just grown older. Our house is being painted after aeons it seems. As I sit in the drawing room on the first floor, I can hear the workers shouting. But more prominent is the gossip of the inhabitants- The Queen reminiscing her time in Multan, Pakistan; the kinsfolk scandalizing the remotest possible hearsay, the kids talking about how school went- all at the same time. White smoke comes out with every breath, as I speak through my clattering teeth, replying to their inquiring calls of where I have been. Sun has finally conquered the foggy morning- Time to soak up the sun.

As I sit in the car to head for the railway station, I look for a familiar face to peep out of the wall on the other end of the house as we speed past it, but he does not show up this time. In my heart I know, somehow he is still there, teary-eyed, saying goodbye, like always. I do not, however, know when I would return. I hope I do soon- To the most beautiful Queen, whose features I wish I had inherited, to the town that is never silent- The town of fairies at nights and kulfies and chats and loads of play during the day- The town of my childhood- The land of Yamuna. Yamuna nagar.

To, The Messenger..

"While the sun was away from you and
you were lost in your spaces and dreams,
I was here with him listening to his stories of you.

He told me of how shy he becomes,
when he looses to your bright smile.
But said he felt good as it has been a long time since he lost.

He told me how you befriended the moon and the stars.
They fools thought you liked them,
but you loved the spaces between them to travel away and far.

Now he would be leaving me,
and I will head for my journey left incomplete.
May be in dreams I might complete the distance seven seas apart."

-Moudgi
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I blinked and the sun was gone,
And I let him go too.
He had to brighten another world,
another dawn.

He lent me his best,
And told you he lost.
Humility is what is preached,
by the greatest.

Away I go,
To own the unknown,
more than the moon and stars,
I seek the light through the shadow.

Seven seas across,
When sun lights up your way again,
give him my best,
tell him he knew me well.

"Some of the fiercest battles in life are the battles within."

The dwarfs of Upkobtes :)

Long long ago, somewhere on the planet lived an evil demon named Buro. He used to travel from one place to another in search of targets and ways to execute his wicked deeds. Once he entered a silent little town named Upkobtes, inhabited by little dwarfs who had no cruel intentions. Following his modus operandi, the demon started to befriend the inhabitants by putting on the mask of a witty and amusing dwarf. One of the dwarfs named Yera who was ever so gullible and polite, was swept off in his scheme of plans. He made Yera a great friend of his and started telling him how everyone around hated him so much and had always plotted against him. Yera's earlier friends, who he no more played with, saw a drastic change in him. Yera now stuck with Buro in the mask of a boy and started helping him in his evil exploits. So, now they both were inseparable and spent most of the time scheming, and talking ill about others. Slowly and eventually, the dwarfs of Upkobtes started realizing their intentions and kept away from them. They sometimes dared to confront them but evil duo would scare them away. The dwarfs were in awe because Buro and Yera pretended they were smarter and wittier than others. The demon was more like a barking dog that never could bite. But his barking scared the others- Which is why, in no time he had played evil games with almost everyone and was still around the town looking for more ways to bother.

In Upkobtes, also lived a dwarf named Turf, who was not so friendly with the other dwarfs, but never hurt them intentionally. He was known for his reclusive nature and bad temper and the dwarfs seldom took pains to make friends with him. He knew about the demon and the growing atrocities that he vent upon the dwarfs. But he could not care less, as long as Buro did not mess with him. But Buro did. And Turf confronted him and told him off. The demon faltered a bit and started being wary of Turf. At about the same time, a small group of somewhat brave dwarfs also joined hands to fight against evil. But they had their own differences and Buro tried to use that by directing them against each other. The remaining dwarf population was either too scared or too lame. Despite the growing opposition, Buro and Yera manipulated, plotted and schemed. There was no stopping them.

A kind wizard, named Rhok who lived in the far corner of Upkobtes was a witness to the sad plight of the dwarfs. But he knew he was not a part of their community and could not do much. He contemplated a great deal on why the community of dwarfs, smarter than Buro and Yera, were not able to take them down? What was it that the demon and his new found friend did that made the resident dwarfs so disarmed? In order to find that out, Rhok invited Turf and Griw, one of the members of the brave dwarfs to dinner. Turf was adamant at first, but later agreed. Griw obliged too. Once inside his cave, Turf and Griw greeted each other superficially as neither was particularly fond of the other. Rhok offered wine to Turf and to Griw he offered pancakes. Griw finished his pancakes soon while Turf still had his wine glass full as he was already regretting having come for a dinner that was turning out to be such a drag. After a few minutes, Rhok announced that it was all a plot and that he had put a spell on them. The spell was that if Turf had not finished what he was offered and Griw had finished what he was offered they would both choke to death. Turf and Griw panicked and it was a matter of seconds before they felt a lump in their throats. They started choking and gasping for breath but none helped each other. The wizard then said that the only way the spell could be broken was if they both shared the wine equally, not a drop more not a drop less. Both were smart and managed to drink just the exact amount. They stopped panting for breath and the wizard directed them to sit down.

He told them they were responsible for both their actions and inactions. Action in case of Griw and inaction on part of Turf.
He also told them that only when they got together, used their wits and shared that they could save each others’ lives.
With a smile on his face Rhok then told them that he had never put a spell on anyone of them. He just scared them with his false claims. The lumps in their throat was nothing but their anxiety and apprehension. He advised them: Not to believe until you know.

Turf and Griw realized what this was directed at. They went back and spread this message amongst their peers. Soon, the realm of Buro ended. No one ever knew or tried to find out what happened to Yera. And the dwarfs of Upkobtes lived happily ever after.

Disclaimer: This is entirely a work of fiction. Resemblance to any person/dwarf living or dead is PURELY coincidental ;)