Thursday, November 15, 2007

I, You ---- WE!!!

As she walked along the path of no return,
Her face revealed her fate,
It was clear in every tear
She knew no other way

Slowly she stepped towards the track
Peering for the train
To any other, just a commuter
Anticipating the usual delay

Two minutes on the indicator
Another teardrop falls,
She bows her head, hair covers her face
(Hope no ones seen it all

One minute left, it will all be over
Ease my leg towards the edge,
Now the timing should be right
5….4…321 goodbye!!!)


So caught up are we in our own lives,
Looking but never seeing ,
Brought up today not to interfere,
Fearing we’ll end up in between.

Aren’t we the same at some time,
Don’t we also fall?
Can’t we realize a simple ‘‘are you ok?”
Might have changed it all.




Love Apples……. Reach ………Musica !!!!!

The other day my boss, my colleague (friend) and myself went out for a stroll in the lanes near the place where we work. My boss had a craving for ‘guavas’ (‘amrud’- hindi translation). While we desperately searched for a cart that sold that fruit we discussed our childhood and the things that we used to do. The conversation went from school days, to the commonality between the phrases used by our parents, finally drifting towards how we used to climb trees are pick the fruits.

As we walked along there was no sign of the guava seller only apples and bananas being sold until, I ended up making the following statement, “ I can see so many fruit , apples, bananas and now sweet limes except guavas” (ok ,it was a large distance away and it turned out the sweet limes were really guavas, which we realized a few steps later)

Muching the masala and salt coated guava, we discussed how we used to sneak out and pick these fruit from the tree as kids. Happily contributing to the conversation, I shared another childhood story, talking about how we used to pile open umbrellas and cover it with a bed sheet to make a tent. Continuing I spoke about how we each used to bring something to share from tamrind , to sev , to rasna (in those days a loved drink), to bimblis, to love apples…….. Now here is where the real story begins ………….

Neither of them knew what ‘bimblis’ or ‘love apples’ were, and for the life of me I did not know the Hindi translation for the same. So they happily started stating that I had invented a new fruit, with a fond fascination for the word ‘love-apples’. My bright spark colleague tells my boss, you see she may be using the wrong name and happily narrated the incident where I called turmeric – saffron. To try and salvage what little of a face I had left I asked two other colleagues near by for the translation. (Knowing that they had probably heard of the fruit). They didn’t know the Hindi work, but at least they new the fruit!!(Ha, I can show my face in public again)

Today, my boss started asking a few other friends if the knew what ‘love-apples’ were, my colleague( friend) joined in hoping to have some fun. Little did she realize how the conversation would turn….. So they started (btw the Hindi word I found out is ‘Jamb’), and moved to the desk of another boss who heard only ‘love-apple’ to which she asked.

(ok I was trying to avoid using her name but its going to get too complicated – my colleague (friend) is Sangeeta). GETTING BACK

“Sangeeta produces ‘love-apples’?”……my boss added “Sangeeta, produces ‘love-apple’!!!” We took one look at each other and burst out laughing. Another colleague Rama added “Sangeeta produces ‘love-apple’ in her backyard?” While another colleague Arati repeated laughing “Sangeeta produces ‘love-apple’ in her backyard !!!”. With yet another colleague joining the conversation hearing the laughter at this end.

“Sangeeta produces ‘love-apple’, are you talking about the thing that appears when she smiles?”. We all laughed ever louder while Vicky added “Adi, are you trying to flirt with Sangeeta” . Adi’s reply , “ you know I once wrote a poem about a girls smile”……my boss, “you wrote a poem about Sangeeta?” . By this time my boss and I had tears rolling down our cheeks as we laughed ….sangeeta laughing too, trying to cover her cheek to hide the blush that was coming on. Adi “the poem that I wrote earlier was not about her” so my boss added “so, are you going to now write a poem about her – three key works – sangeeta , love- apple and smile” . Adi, “I’ll use Musica , after all I can’t use her name in the poem , have to conceal her identity !!!”

By now I was holding my stomach and tears of laughter were rolling down my cheeks, -were we all in splits. We were creating a loud racket at this point, and slowly started to disperse before the HR –dept came down to scream at us. But the one thing we all did not forget to do is bid farewell to ‘Musica and get one last glimpse of her ‘love-apple’ producing smile’

(NOTE: I think this ‘love-apple’ word is only know in the Goan community , cause no one else in the office has heard it being called by this name.)

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Parallel Lines

Different worlds, different tastes,

Different marks upon our face.


Parallel lines they sometime say,

Those two darn ideas, two separate ways.

They never touch, only extend,

On and on, they never bend.

So tell me how we redefine,

Circumvent the concept of parallel lines.



Now there’s a flaw with people’s thoughts,

They rarely think out side the box.




For human beings, although geometric designs,

Have a multitude of factors, unlike theories in time.

Though each one different, we’re all the same,

We’re parallel lines on different planes.

So there are instances it happens such,

That parallel lines they sometimes touch.









Note :

While in Euclidean geometry two geodesics can either intersect or be parallel, in general and in hyperbolic space in particular there are three possibilities. Two geodesics can be either:

  1. intersecting: they intersect in a common point in the plane
  2. parallel: they do not intersect in the plane, but do in the limit to infinity
  3. ultra parallel: they do not even intersect in the limit to infinity

In the literature ultra parallel geodesics are often called parallel. Geodesics intersecting at infinity are then called limit geodesics.


Thursday, August 2, 2007

Through his eyes.....

“Today I’m goin off site, no more classroom…..”

“I can hear these people talking about trains … I love trains …..thank god I be seeing a real one instead of that toy that they give me ....”

“Hmm ……sooo how am I goin to worry her today …………..today she definitely won’t be able to sit down!!!”

“maybe I won’t on second thoughts …..let’s see…”

“Now that I think about it, I ‘ve put her through a lot …she still loves me though….I wonder why ????”

“ have to admit , ….seriously thought that she’d give up…..broken nose on the first day ….. she never saw that coming……..hehehehe……..”

“people for a long time have never understood me ………..I guess I just got fed up tryin to make them ……”

“They speak a different language ….and if they only left language aside, they’d see what I mean…..”

“Ohhhhhhhh nnnnooooooooo, its happening again….., not now please ……owwwwww….nnnnnoooo…..the pain ………it hurts ………….my head ……my arms….my chest ……my legs…….I can’t even cry …….I’m trembling badly …….

(Thump)- (curled on the floor)

Nnoooooooooo……….I want the pain to stop……this seizure is my worst one ever …”

“They’ll leave without me ……I always miss the good things……..I don’t want to stay here alone with the nurse……..I must just give up …..make things easier for all……”

“Maybe someone form the unit will sit with me as well………yesh ….as she would say ….what am I thinking …..who would want to sit and listen to screaming …….. I wish they understood …….sometimes I feel she does…..”

E- “ I can sit with him , catch someone from the classroom”

G- “ they are going off-site today , A is never going to spare anyone ….you know how b****y she can be at times , and even if she did , no one will volunteer to stay with ….HIM …all day”

E- “look I’m not sitting , if you want to , be my guest”

“what do they think I am …deaf ….can’t believe that they still think I don’t understand”

“ she’s coming ……she’s willing to stay !!!!!!!!.......she really is mad …..or maybe she’s the only sane one…”

“ hello mr lee….you love keeping me on my toes, don’t you , my cheeky little lump ….”

“god she’s cute…”

“owww….. owwww……….owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww……”

“Another one……is it ever goin to stop……”

“ stu ….stu … think stu …. Come on focus on me…..

Come on stu , I know you can do it , I know its bad …. But you know I’m here …come on me little rascal…..who’s goin to worry me all day…….i’m here stu ….i’m here…..”

Singing - (Step by step we’re moving forward , little by little we’re gaining ground…………..………………………………tumblin down and down and down )

“I love that, song …. she knows it …..she knows me ……maybe there is hope ….maybe she’ll make the rest of them know me too…..maybe I’ll keep fighting ……maybe life isn’t that screwy after all………”

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Lost Moments........


I’m rushing to meet him, the excitement and anticipation is killing me ….. Nearly a month since our last encounter and it feels like ages apart. There are moments I awake in the night and reach out only to see my cat sitting beside me.

Have you ever experienced those really bad days where you just question your existence, moments where all you need to do in sink into a loved ones arms and lie there without uttering a word ???? …… Those are the moments that I miss, but the wait is over……I surprise him ….he been so busy recently, we’ve hardly even had time to have a proper conversation ……….we can also pick up those glasses, my clothes, go to the that place that he raves about to watch the sunset……, oh! and I just wanna have that burger at that ever so famous place………its finally happening,…… I’ll be there in just fo……………..

Why is time standing still? Whats goin on? Who are these people around me?

“Madame, can you hear me?…….can you hear me?…….we need to contact your family ………madame”

I stare at them blankly …….. “family?” ……….

“She’s fading again…….when is it goin to get here….”

“Damn rains, everythin comes to a standstill…….”

“Mumbai me isehi halat hoti hai”

“Every year it’s the same old story, they always say that they’ll do something and every year it’s the same old story……”

“She’s coming to again!!!!..........”

“When is it goin to get here…….. the bleeding just won’t stop…….”

“Try and keep her awake……..”

“Madame…….talk to me!!……what is your name ……..are you from Mumbai ……”

I utter his name, “I need to see him……..”

“I neeeeed tooo…….”

“Madame …..madame …………………….madame………………………………….”.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

My friend, my lover , my teacher….. Lessons learnt

There are a few people in life that help define our characters, helping us grow and learn about life. Some of us are lucky enough to find them not just once in our lifetime……..a few years ago , you would have seen a hopeless romantic fighting passionately about love , friendship and hope………..sadly today she still fights for the same thing. Maybe, its a select few of us that are still insane or maybe there is a whole breed of us out there…………. I guess I’ll find out soon enough…..

They say that one never really gets over their first love ………I beg to differ.

It’s happened to many of us at some point in life, we ‘fall in love’, falling being the operative word …….. I can’t really help but relate it actually falling down as a kid and bruising that knee for the very first time,……..the way we howled , probably sittin on the ground clutching our knee as it bled……..but ask me bout the second time it happened ……I don’t really recall the pain as much……….

As we older I guess, I don’t think we realize these lessons we learnt until we fall again………so what happens when it’s with your best friend ……… and what happens when fairy tales are aesop’s fables, with those morals at the end …….

He taught me to trust my instincts…….the very ones I regret dismissing when most required, he taught me to love….. only to make me hate, he taught how to believe in myself ………as he crushed my spirit , ……..he taught me valuable lessons in life …….he taught me how to survive in this world without losing myself.