Works of RK

Utramel Temple is the designated aboard for the soul of my grandmother to rest, until it is its turn to be born again. I went there today with my dad and my uncle, three people she loved beyond human reason. In Utramel rests some ten generations of elders of our family. Its a small temple, a little unkempt, with very dense foliage in the boundaries. I asked my dad why they don't keep it clean? The "Kavu" is never cleared, he said. The dead are resting there, you don't want to disturb them, do you? I don't know, I said. If my disturbing could bring grandma back, I would. We walked back home, her two sons and her only grandson, together.

May some dreams perish For new ones to take shape From the Ashes of the ones that we buried In hope of better tomorrows. Death is the only guarantee To new life. Kill me...every time you need To be born again.

Some day I will sink into your past Like a forgotten memory misplaced And when there are ripples in your lake You will remember of me In its little dancing waves. On cold winter nights When you light a cigarette The smoke that gets into your eyes Will make you cry And leave you wondering if it were the smoke Or some memory that got dredged up in time This will happen. And now that I need to exit your tomorrows I will continue forever in your yesterdays. Live long...for with you I live along.

Once the last of the lamps had given up their lights And the last of the crackers had petered out, The warm flow of togetherness From a family getting together Survived to prepare all of us For another grueling year ahead. May our tribe prosper.

May The sunlight in your eyes Sparkle and lend light To Anaars Phuljhadi's and Thousand lights. May the anklets you wear jingle and spread baby smiles. May your loved ones be with you As you celebrate This festival of a billion lights .

Will you come with me To those far off places in my mind Where beautiful memories of long journeys Of trains, steamers, boats and the countryside lurks. When I see you I remember My life from some other lifetime The time when the sky was golden And there was sunshine. When my grandma waited at home For I and my little sister To return from the lake With our puny catch of fishes for the day. I was a good man then And it was a good life once You remind me Of my forever times.

The next time we meet, I shall ask you to walk with me. Walk through the paved lanes around Hussain Sagar and sit on the mildly moist grass with me again. I am beginning to forget the last time we did it. There is some distant memory of warmth and cuddle, of some relationship that used to make me laugh in my sleep. Let's explore if those people live within us still. Let's sit by the lake side and watch the kids. Hand in hand, let's sit still.