The Girl with Messy Black Hair

As I passed by her house everyday,
In the mud and the grass, I would see her play,
In her frilly little frock, that pink little frock,
She was there, the girl with messy black hair.

Sometimes, she was all immersed in her play,
with her dolls and her toys she would talk all day,
happy and content, with her own little friends,
She would be, the girl with messy black hair.

Sometimes she would be like a butterfly,
grinning and waving at every passer-by,
hopping around, flying all over the ground,
In tow, all of her messy black hair.

One day she gave me a shy little smile,
Then lowered her eyes, stole glances for a while,
Then again surfaced, with a lit up face,
Her face, the one with messy black hair.

And then one day, she wasn't there playing around,
Then the next day, and then the whole week round,
She made my day, and now she was away,
unknowing, the girl with messy black hair.

On Saturday, I went there, looking for her,
And I saw her walking back with her mother,
They were chatting together, her hand on the finger,
As I searched, surprised, for her messy black hair.

She now wore a blue frock, pleated and neat,
She had a bag on her shoulders and shoes on her feet,
On her hair was laid, in a neat little braid,
her shock of messy black hair.

Raindrops..

Press your face against the window pane
and listen to the pitter-patter
of the raindrops

Carve your name on the misty window
and look through the clear glass
at the raindrops

Watch the streams trickling down
and watch your name dissolving
in the raindrops

Open the windows wide
and spread out your hands to feel
the raindrops

Go, run, stand in the balcony
lift your face and feel the touch
of the raindrops

Look at the rivulets, the natural drains,
the streets overflowing
with raindrops

Get washed, get fresh, get lost
in the memory lane, travelling
with the raindrops...

Numb

So dark and dreary was my path,
My heart's still full of fears..
Just trying to think about them,
Makes way for more tears..
So dont try to understand me Ma,
Don't try to reason why..
Tonight don't ask me why mamma,
Tonight just let me cry..

What shall I tell you Ma,
Of the suffering and the sorrow..
The regret of yesterday,
And the fear of tomorrow..
But now I'm safe at home Ma,
I've said all my goodbyes..
And tonight I'll just cry mamma,
Tonight don't ask me why..

Although now I'm home Ma,
And all around me is laughter..
My heart feels this is a calm..
Before the storm, not after..
Will this calm ever stay Ma?
Will this storm ever die?
I'm scared, don't ask me why mamma..
all I want to do is cry..

Soon I will be out again Ma..
And life out there is rough
Inside I'm still your kid Ma,
Though I pretend to be all tough
Things will be tougher this time Ma,
But my tears have  now gone dry
I'm scared but I'll stand tall Mamma,
This time, I don't wanna cry..

Ayushyawar Bolu Kahi

(Lets Talk About Life)

Come friends lets talk about life. You don't have to talk just right stuff. Some wrong things on the way will also do. Come, lets talk about life.

Your feelings keep getting lost in a maze of words. You keep using your words, and the labyrinth complicates. But keep talking, for you only have to talk till that one moment comes - when your eyes meet, and the feeling are through. But till then friends, lets talk about life.

In the face of storms, all the ships ashore become alert. Its no different from what we humans do when problems come along. But for now, lets just face those problems. Let them disappear from the scene. Then, and only then, will we talk about them. We will talk about life.

Humans are weird sometimes. They like to talk about the worst times of life almost as if those sorrows are close to their heart. But if talking about these sorrows makes you feel light-hearted, then come on friends, lets talk about them. Unwilling and reluctant, your words wont come out easily, but still, lets hear them out. Lets talk about life.

Just how much will you worry about tomorrow? There's always a tomorrow you know, and then there's a day after tomorrow.. So just give it a rest. Lets not talk about tomorrow. For now friends, lets just talk about life.

Its a dark journey up ahead and the road is rough. So make a staff out of your words. Talk, talk it out. Talk, about life. You don't have to talk just the right stuff. Some wrong things on the way will also do. Come, lets talk about life...

This is the translation of a Marathi poem 'Ayushwar Bolu Kahi' by Sandeep Khare, later sung as a beautiful song by Saleel Kulkarni. The song, just by its sheer music, has comforted  and inspired me for a long time. So I asked a Marathi writer, father of one of my friends, to explain me its meaning, and here it is now, put into English. here's a video of the song, if you're interested:

Nightingale

Oh love, you are my dearest,
You're the nearest to my heart
Even though you're so distant
And ever so far apart

You open my eyes to a new world
But in love, you make me blind
In you I lose everything
In you, everything I find

You make me lie awake at nights
And lull me back to sleep
With your eyes you calm my heart
With your eyes you make it leap

You kill me with one look
And bring me alive with another
Your touch makes me so restless
Yet sometimes kills all bother

With you, the moment stops,
With you, time flies by
With you, I am so carefree
And with you, I'm so shy

You're the laughter in my voice
And the teardrop in my eye
The absence and the emptiness
The content and the joy

I smile at the times we spent
Though they also make me cry
To you, till we meet again
I now say goodbye...