Soulmates

In this endless universe,
There are two stars shining bright…
They were, they are and will be…
The jewels of the night…

Minuscule if you please,
Or profound if you feel…
But they are limitless,
Not bound by time's reel…

They collide and create,
New worlds with new light…
But one without the other,
Just doesn’t feel right…

Those two stars are living
In the hearts of two lovers…
Soul mates…
Who complete each other…

Love is just a fraction
Of what they share…
All emotions meant for one…
Be it pain, anger or boundless care…

Stars keep shining,
But one day, they die…
And even when they are old and dying…
Its only a dusk for another morning sky...

I Seek

I seek the sun

When its still dark

I seek the answers

To questions I didn’t ask

I seek the rain

When it’s scorching hot

I seek the sunshine

When clouds and storms are tied in a knot

I seek solitude

When I am surrounded

I seek company

When I feel grounded

I seek the leisure

When I need to be on toes

I seek faith’s treasure

When I sense my foes

I seek engagement

When boredom gets to me

I seek a gasp of breath

When hectic monotony overpowers me

I seek love when I feel alone

I seek a bosom to cry

When life pelts me with stone

I seek for perfection

Though it’s still unknown

Contentment is not part of my verve

But never do I ask more than what I deserve

My search will go on

It’s on a journey of its own

Reaching a destination and setting off again

Is nothing but an addiction to which I am so prone!

Adieu, Ahoy, Wait…& a Li’l More

Adieu, I say

To yesterday...

To the years of joy gone by

And to the moments of dismay...

Farewell, I bid

To an extraordinary period...

Where I gathered many laurels

And emerged much experienced...

Ahoy! Calls up my today...

Chores awaiting, and a voyage to faraway

I buckle up my belt, all geared and ready....

Hoping success; prepared being castaway...

Living this moment, i cherish...

Because the next, the previous will perish

This cycle goes on, and I live on

Laugh away; smile a li’l more, no time to be boorish...

Looking at some distance, awaits my tomorrow...

I smile, anticipate what is to follow...

Be it sun or shade, will face it with gusto...

Will fill life with goodness, won't leave it hollow...

Future is a book, yet to be opened...

Read it well, right to the end.

Why guess the climax and spoil it all...

Turn each page, live every word and then comprehend...

Adieu, ahoy, wait goes on...

Wish we get richer as we carry on...

Learn the essence of walking this earth...

Spread love, peace... is all we need, a dawning across the horizon......

Expectations Vs Reality

"What happens, happens for the best" said all the wise men/women. Optimism at its best. So when life doesn't meet your expectations, you change the scale and call it delight? Who are we faking to? You don’t get a 100%, you are not into "MII". That’s it. And your life will be very different from those who did get.

Now, if we ponder on the reasons of not meeting our own expectations, we can have a long list… may be we were not realistic, may be our caliber was not up to it, may be we didn’t try hard enough. Same goes for other aspects of our lives when we feel let down, disappointed… The gap between our expectations and what the ground reality is makes for the end-of-the-world feeling. The larger the gap, the more intense the feeling of hurt. It is obvious then we should either accept the reality as it is or try harder to meet the expectations. But many a times, we don’t do either… I was wondering why?

When we build our hopes on illusions, wishful thinking and start living a lucid dream when the difference between the dream and reality becomes a blur. We start expecting results which are obviously unachievable by the very nature of the characters in that dream, after all they are a figment of our imagination, the way we see them. And the clashes begin. You wake up then… but soon enough you go back to sleep coz that world is so much better… and then you are jolted back again…

Personalities, studied in depth by stalwarts like Freud, are shaped by experience with the world, moral values passed on and the inherent needs of the person. And for every person, these three parameters have unique and permanent values because each one of us have different experiences with the world, our morals may be different too and our inherent needs of hunger, thirst, rest, etc are unique to us too. And once shaped, personalities hardly change. So, it is important to realize and accept the way people are and not the way we want them to be, to realize the way you are and not what you are expected to be. Then you take it or leave it… the world doesn’t end.

Yes, all of us encounter such clashes of The Expectations Vs The Real, reason being, at first sight you don’t know how big the gap is… and by the time you see it clearly, you are drained out trying to bridge the gap. Two people are like fingerprints… unique. So obviously there will be differences that give them the meaning of their existence but the question is to decide on the +-% of deviation you are willing to accommodate. And if two people are like the North pole and the South pole, they'll always be facing the opposite direction. The other person here can be a real person or the goals we wish to achieve.

So, to have a peaceful, fulfilling life, one needs to be very vigilant in surrounding oneself with people and goals which fall into that +-% flexibility… in all spheres, be it work or personal. Recruitment process also stresses on this particular alignment of personality and expectations and my HR friends would more than agree with the fruitfulness of it. I don't believe in pseudo optimism or consolations, but only if we could look at Life with such objectivity, manage our expectations and surroundings, there won't be a word in our dictionaries: Disappointment.

The Ghost That Drives you to Chettinad

1st day at the Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai; a new place, new people and this far off campus which is strictly not in Chennai. And bang! We were trouped in groups of Blue, Green, Red and made to participate in the Outbound/ in Campus training… which included rock climbing, hurdle race, weird dances, etc. It was definitely fun but not so much fun for one of our friend, Dang who became the first host to the ghost of the ligament tear and thus the Saga of the Ghost and the Glads began… The next in line was Gayatri, Abhay, Gaurav, Divyangana and I apologize if am missing out on anybody as the Chettinad Club is Big, so please feel included if u have been there :). Sometimes it was a funny fall or an Xtreme dance or a hyper baddy shot or a tight highway spot. It was always one after the other… as if the wheel chair couldn't bear to be left without an "owner", and the ghost hopped from one to the other. We started to believe MBA in Great Lakes is not complete without the MUST visit to the Chettinad, an Xray followed by some sort of plaster/crepe bandage... and I jinxed myself just a couple of days back. Initially I hardly suspected any pattern in this but after a series of consecutive "injured" pals in the campus, folk lore started(well I am starting now :P) that there is a ghost that catches a host. And I angered the Spirit by resolving to write a piece on this and Voila! The very same night I mysteriously twist the little finger on my right hand and go crazy with excruciating pain. I straightened my finger right away and popped a painkiller. And thus, I entered the Club, Xrayed, diagnosed with fracture and now sorta plastered…rather just reduced mobility with a bandage. Now this piece is rather personalized and I can write from first "hand" experience(pun intended) that it really pains(and obviously more so in bigger injuries) and my salute goes to all those brave souls who attended classes, did assignments, practically lived the hectic life out here, watched fellow Glads playing(Baddy/ FoosB, in my case), dancing, and yet holding themselves back to get better first. And sure does feel a part of family when everybody you know comes over and is concerned and wishes you to get better, when friends watch out in times of need, it sure feels a splendid bonhomie…And I guess these not-so-pleasant injuries also leave us some weird funny memories over and above all the unforgettable time we spent here that would remind us of the Amazing 1 year we All had. Cheerz to Us Gladiators!

The Road to Righteousness

The road looks rough,

I haven't got a ride either,

The sun is scorching hot,

There's not a tree, nor a river.

Highway robbers roam on the sly,

My shoes are wearing out,

My throat is parched,

Nobody's around that for help I can shout.

I am on my own,

With a knapsack of values,

A bottle of trust and faith,

A box of confidence and hope.

Now and then I come along,

Travelers like me, smiling in the sweat…

A content serenity running through,

Having lived a life of integrity and self-respect.

There is sweetness in the strain,

A burning flame in the rain,

Enjoying the freedom of soul...

I am walking the road to Righteousness...

© Manashi Pathak

Some Coffee and Tom&Jerry

Life seems mundane, and we bitch about it
Schedules go insane and we crib about it,
We plan and the plans blow up
As we chart out future, present shows up.

If every waking moment
We add something to our lives
Smile through the torment
Sprinkle some spice...

If only we embrace the sunshine,
And sip some coffee when it rains...
If only we laugh till it hurts
And watch Tom&Jerry when it pains...

Hold onto Hope and fasten the Faithbelts,
Let's ride along the sine curve of life...
Scream out crazy and loud with all your friends..
Let your eyes be shining, may you feel Alive...

© Manashi Pathak