Introspection

Triggered by the situations,

When reactions created chaos,

gathering and ruminating over the shattered pieces, it was time for introspection. 

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Flashes of light, the golden wisdom, filled the cracks and turned them into priceless experiences and learnings.

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The world mirrors our perception. What is outside is our reflection. 

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As we took a journey within, some parts known, some unknown kept revealing till acceptance seeped in. 

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It was all meant to be, the way it is. To own the responsibility, we learn to respond, not to react. 

-payal

#ALSNaPoWriMo2023 #Day2

Autism awareness.. Do not light it up blue

 Today, On Autism awareness day,

Do not light it up blue.

There are other days too,

when the society lives in ignorance,

Of the struggles of the moon,

that needs light of extra love and support,

to keep shining through the night.

The calm of blue, reflects in the sea,

Blue is sadness too..

Feminity is pink,

but Krishna and Shiva..

poison gave them the hue.

On this day of awareness,

let's shift our attitude,

from deviation to inclusion

not just today, but throughout the year.

With sensitivity,

respect the emotions,

Do not light it up blue for them,

They hold a rainbow of hope within.

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To be true,

to create awareness 

I've written on this topic

In all these years,

On this particular day,

But I still say, 

I know nothing about you.

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You are another human, 

another beautiful soul 

born with deep thoughts 

genius in your world,

I see you walking with your mom,

This is all I know.

To be true, 

I know nothing about you,

So this time on this day,

I will not light it up blue.

-payal

#TSLNaPoWriMo2023 #Day2

Prompt by: Dr. Ampat Koshy 

"Power of miracles"

O' man! Trust that power

that in the desert, form sand dunes,

In mud that makes the Lotus bloom,

that helps a seed become a tree,

that which sets us all free..

Look.. 

The fire of passion grows within you,

Air writes a thousand notes on your skin,

Pristine flow of water purifies your body,

The sky, the earth, it all creates symphony.

You, O' man, are a magical being,

Know the power that you hold within.

Miracles, they do happen,

Believe in them, keep your heart open. 

-payal 

#ALSNaPoWriMo2023 #Day1

Scream- A phoenix rises

 Have you heard of the silent screams?

That rise like tides and crash at shore?

Held back at times in silent tears,

in ashes of memories deep in the core.

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The screams of innocence lost in midway,

Screams of anger, hatred and fear

Screams of closed hearts with mistrust,

Screams of ego from far and near.

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Strengthening the bond with oneself,

Scream to silence becomes a journey

A path of faith to be walked upon

Wearing smiles bright and sunny.

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A phoenix rises, finding peace in chaos,

Soul awakens, and mind evolves. 

Screams of joy, with love and abundance,

Clarity seeps in, and pain dissolves.

-payal

TSLNaPoWriMo2023 #Day1

Creativity

I hear you.

Listen,

When passion takes the backseat 

in absence of guidance,

the light dims and slowly fades.

It all seems dark, gripped

in the clutches of monotony.

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Creativity never dies, it stays within,

hidden in the crevices 

of the golden chest, 

self-sabotaged, 

behind the veil of ignorance,

waiting for the light to shine 

on the hidden treasure.

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Rekindle the light,

with faith.

A life full of passion 

is a life well lived.

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Work hard,

Surrender,

Believe,

Let your light shine.

-payal

It's day 1 of #OctPoWriMo. 

Love songs "#NaPoWriMo2022 #day30

 Love lost and found

in the geometry of relationships,

Old souls met, 

with instinctive feelings,

Loving in old ways.

Nostalgia! How I love these love songs. 

Some songs played in a particular sequence,

as soon as I switched on the channel,

bringing back the memories 

of the days, when in hot summers,

love was not just a name,

but had a balming effect 

for all the pains. 

It soothed the senses, 

and made the hearts happy. 

Selfless, divine, heavenly, pure 

that kind of love..

where two souls seems to

know each other since ages.

Love that fills the eyes, 

and the fragrance 

spreads all around,

Love that's difficult to hide, 

and reflects in the glow, 

Love that's a feeling, 

where happiness knows no bounds.

Where silence speaks, 

and understands, 

Where words find their meanings.

That love overflows, 

in changing times,

in new ways, 

emotions take different shapes. 

Nostalgia keeps the spirits alive.

-Payal Agarwal

For the love of love songs...

Roseate Sonnet" #day29 of #NaPoWriMo2022

 

There is comforting warmth in the air

This city defined my early years

Remembering the times, when souls laid bare
Hearts entwined, subsiding fears.
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In an empty room, I stood for a while,
Feelings brewed and brimmed in eyes,
You stood there beside me, holding my hand
In the summer's heat, I felt relaxed in homeland.
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There the travellers, with fragrant thoughts,
Shared a tale of love filled existence with smile.
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Romanticizing with the words
Often the soul tasted love
Spring defined the growth in colours,
Enriching life with experiences.
-Payal Agarwal

Roseate Sonnet: A poetic form created by Dr. Koshy.

From my pen.. #NaPoWriMo2022 #day28

 

Come on, let's grope again our hearts today,

Fearlessly reveal some secrets.

In a deep breath

many twitching, silent moments,

handful of words,

speak through the ink of my pen.

Come on, let's open the clenched fist today.

What's left behind, what did you bring along?

Why to think? What's next,

what's the past, it's just today,

let's talk today.

Come on, let's stir the colors in today

Come on, let's grope again our hearts today,

Fearlessly reveal some secrets.

-Payal Agarwal

मेरी कलम से..

चलो, आज फिर दिल टटोलते हैं

बेधड़क कुछ राज़ खोलते हैं

एक गहरी साँस में न जाने

कितने मचलते गुमसुम लम्हे

 मुट्ठी में दबे चंद अल्फ़ाज़

मेरी कलम की स्याही से बोलते हैं

चलो, आज बंद मुट्ठी खोलते हैं

क्या छूट गया,  क्या साथ लाये,

क्यों सोचना? क्या अगला,

क्या पिछला, बस आज है,

आज ही चलो बोलते हैं

चलो, आज में रंग घोलते हैं

चलो, आज फिर दिल टटोलते हैं

बेधड़क कुछ राज़ खोलते हैं

-पायल

"For God loves foolish people."

"Then came the next part of my life,

childhood was over, I realized."

******

With a book in hand, I sit here,

reading line after line,

travelling places with the writer,

feeling the emotions, 

and then.... a line that read,

"Then came the next part of my life,

childhood was over, I realized."

I paused..It had hypnotic effect on me.

and I travelled on a long road down the memory lane, that I had almost forgotten.

Wondering...

Much is left behind,

We lose,we find..

The mirror breaks,

and the reflection shines 

through every fragment. 

The way we think, the way we feel,

name, place, family, friends,

and with them we leave 

behind a part of us.

All in the name of love..

for a new family..

We grow up, we learn, 

we share, we mature,

as responsibilities enter the door.

Life moves to another phase.

How life kept changing from one phase to another,

How with a little support our lives kept moving further.

How hands trembled in the grip of an unknown fear while returning the calls.

How dreams draped in 6 mt. silk suffocated within kitchen walls.

How breaking the walls created boundaries.

How destiny played its part, and had set it all free. 

Bringing my attention back in now,

with book in my hand,

I shed and wiped off the silent tears.

Knowing the time has changed.

We created a new world, where

Dreams follow us, and we value our spaces in between the pauses.

Knowing the difference between the two worlds,

We travel between dreams and reality.

 Dreams become our reality.

Change is the only constant.

-Payal Agarwal

"Hope rises" #NaPoWriMo2022 #day 26

 

" And hope within a deep, dark grave is laid"

Do you know what happens 

when nothing seems worthwhile,

and hope within deep, dark grave is laid?

When it all turns black and white,

and all the colours seem to fade?

During adversities, writing tales of flesh and bones.

Lighting the spark within, finding strength to cope.

Earthy experiences blended in sepia tones.

Black and white life finds a ray of hope.

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Standing on the edge, saved by grace.

Creator's precious piece of art.

"Thy will be done." A faint voice echoes.

 From the deep, dark place,

buried in the crevices of the heart.

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 The treasure enveloped in light shines

 giving hope to the hopeless wings.

 It comes into existence

as gentle reminders

in form of worthy omens.

A smile, a word, a phrase, a sentence,

That kindles the spark again.

You know how it all works,

Gratitude soon takes away the pain.

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Hope emerges with strong will,

When chaotic mind is calm and still.

Believe, it all heals with grace.

In its own time, at its own pace.

-Payal Agarwal

The rebellion #NaPoWriMo2022 #Day25

 "Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors."

- Khaled Hosseini. 

Growing, carrying the weight of your unfulfilled dreams,

to reap the fruits of your unfollowed passion,

Sacrificing their lives, unknown of their own qualities,

Unaware of what they want, how to choose.

Believe in your children, listen to them patiently, guide them.

"Give your children the values that will stay with them throughout their life, and will help them to be good human beings, as you let them fly while being with them silently, allowing them to paint their world confidently with new perception, new vision, new energy." -Payal Agarwal

-Payal Agarwal

This poem is written in Daipayan Nair 's new form of poetry Inquilab( the rebellion)

SQ—8-8-8-8-10—YQ 

I'm not sure how much justice I've done to this form, but I tried to write what I think, feel and do as a parent. 

 

"A Dream"-"A sight to dream of, not to tell!" #NaPoWriMo2022 #day24

I had a dream early in the morning 

Morning star was shining brightly,

The moon was hiding behind the clouds

and Sun was rising in all its glory.

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On a narrow bridge by the riverside,

I clicked a picture of the dreamy scene,

Last night it rained heavily.

I was with you in my dream.

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.. A sight to dream of, not to tell,

I was with you, and in love we fell.

.

With moist eyes we sat there.

 in heart's space, I had let you in.

It looked like a quiet place,

Where we both in my dreams had been.

I sat there in front of you, 

with a throbbing heart in an open shack.

with a white wall at a distance.

creating a boundary with sea at back.

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In a gathering I asked you,

to take care of your health too.

It was a crowded place,

and feelings shown were true.

A sight to dream of, not to tell,

In that room, we got bored as hell.

We were waiting for someone in heavy rain.

When you saw a little child on a long black boat.

We ran there to save the child

I couldn't climb, you did, it started to float.

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Weather got scary,

Before you could get down,

In the turbulent water the boat shook hard,

You sat there, struggling, looking at me, asking me to follow, and meet in town.

 I took another boat, and followed you,

The dream abruptly ended there.

 To the sound of lightening and thunder,

 My eyes opened, and it rained here.

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Many a dreams in a few hours sleep

With you my love, I see,

All I gathered from my dreams

Let's row our boats gently.

-Payal Agarwal

Clash #NaPoWriMo2022 #day23

 In the ego clashes,

often the unfamiliar

faces of personality emerge.

The way you are,

the way you are not.

What you think of yourselves,

and what the world thinks you are.

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The dinosaur and the deer

Lived together in a world

unaware of each other's existence,

or just maybe, they knew each other,

In Mrs. Jeckyll's story, where

Mrs. Hyde hides too.

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Was it the coping mechanism?

Or the survival of the fittest

in an odd situation?

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Mrs. Hyde and Mrs. Jekyll,

Always had a tough fight,

Sometimes, she was a fiery inferno,

Sometimes, a sweet loving wife.

It was all dramatic

when Hyde became Jekyll

and Jekyll became Hyde.

Within minutes the mood swings,

"All by the rules abide".

"Oh, I love you so much" types.

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They pulled the trigger, 

and the dinosaur survived.

Upsets were the outcome,

and the deer staked its life.

It happened again,

The dinosaur raised its head,

Mrs. Jekyll shot it dead.

Everybody

believes the underdog 

will eventually survive.

For both coexisted 

in one life.

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No more upsets, and no more pain,

Jekyll's efforts never went in vain.

But wrongs were still 

not welcomed in her world.

Like in autumn wind, the leaves swirled.

A part of dinosaur laughs, 

when a part of deer dies,

Though it's still believed that

the underdog will eventually survive. 

-Payal Agarwal

Emoticons #napowrimo2022 #day22

 

"Passion" #NaPoWriMo2022 #day21

Barriers and boundaries

created around,

all comes down,

as I let you in.

It will never again be the same,

like it used be before

Love, thy name,

You touched the heart's core.

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You carry it in your heart,

but seldom you show.

Passionate dreams,

Of a better tomorrow.

The seeds you sowed,

Grew in the rain,

Love, growth happens,

while growing through the pain.

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Sitting in silence, swallowing pride.

Your name brings calm, peace reside.

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The more you water, 

the more it grows.

Love, thy name..

that tames a haughty soul.

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Love, you hold the key, 

unlock the treasure

that lies deep within.

You come as spring,

splashing the colours around,

Then stay through the seasons,

Till the lost are found.

Through the phases of life

You show the way,

Surrendering to you,

Heart dances and sway.

O' Krishna, you keep 

restlessness at bay.

.-Payal Agarwal

"Colour palette" #NaPoWriMo2022 #day20

In the colour palette was some gold, silver, and copper. I squeezed and added a few more colours later.

I remember, I made a golden tree while sitting with my friend, in her garden, one summer evening, by twisting gold wires, with beads and golden leaves. It rusted with time, but it's still with me.

I remember, the flowers from our garden that completed the colour wheel with white border of tiny little blooms. I forgot its name.

I remember, the turquoise and pink saree  that I bought with my hard earned salary, soaked all the tears that welled up. I wore it on my engagement day.

I remember the rainbows that kept sparkling everywhere when I went deeper in my being. 

That maroon lipstick, I'll never forget, I applied on my mother's lips while performing her last rites, and sent it with her, along with her things, for they asked me to do so. She left us all behind.

I remember tearing off some yellowed pages, and let them flow in the river, that mingled with saline, seeking forgiveness. How do I tell, how sacred it was? I hope you understand how spaces are made.

Then, like a Sunflower, I turned to the Sun. It filled me with positivity. 

I remember that cold November morning when I went out wearing a white chicken kurti with light mehndi embroidery that he gifted me. I didn't need a sweater as it had the warmth of his love. My friends teased me.

Some colours never fade. 

Calm of blue that held my hand, peace of the white, reminds me of the fragrant days, elegance of black stays and guides, the soothing green, the earthy brown..

all these colours

fill my life..

-Payal Agarwal

"Untitled" #NaPoWriMo2022 #day19

 "Asleep, but not oblivious of the unslept, 

unsleeping.." -Adrienne Rich 

I fell

asleep,

but not oblivious 

of the unslept, 

unsleeping.

Of those who lost themselves many moons ago, and found themselves awake in the smile of the flowers.

Of those who are awake in the dark of the night carrying burden on their hearts, of miseries and curses, with noone to share. 

Of those who wish for a miracle to happen, and take away the pain that keeps them awake as they shed silent tears.

Of everyone who thinks that those who sleep are the ones who are oblivious of their surroundings. 

Yes, I fell

"asleep,

but not oblivious 

of the unslept, 

unsleeping"

-Payal Agarwal

Here I am... Tanka- Prose #NaPoWriMo2022 #day18

 

Here I am, sitting in comtemplative mood during this hour of the night, after finishing my artwork that needs to be sent early in the morning. 

I'm watching the moon play hide and seek. Almost half of the sky is covered with the clouds indicating that monsoon is near. When the monsoon arrives, it stays here for some months. 

It drizzled last Thursday. I saw the lightening, around 8 o' clock in the night. 

The ground was wet, the smell of petrichor, mingled with the breath, and soothed my senses. Rain became my muse.

Rain becomes my muse.

As the rain lilies blossom,

our hearts sing in tune.

Different facets of love.

in my textured expressions.

 I am sitting here, writing a prose, and counting syllables. Well, it feels good to take up a challenge and finish it. 

Music, art, poetry, prose..

I feel, it's all interconnected. Isn't it?

Today, I switched on the music channel on TV after a long time. A journey unfolded from one song to another. How beautifully relaxing it is when some good memories start surfacing while listening to the songs. 

Subconsciously,

Seeking intuitive guidance,

Two hearts beat as one. 

Beautifully unfolding,

A journey of I to We.

The moon and the stars, they are hiding, they are obscured by the clouds, or so I think, but I know, they never forget their purpose. They are quietly doing their work, and that reminds me, I still have some work to do, though I just finished a piece of art inspired by my muse. 

It's hot and humid,

Watching the night sky tonight,

purpose of life found.

When rain shower as blessings,

My heart fills with gratitude.

-Payal Agarwal

Albatross #NaPoWriMo2022 #day17

 A life of calm, 

a flight with huge wings, 

living in the world, 

with the birds eye view, 

with love in heart, 

fidelity in relations,

promises of togetherness,

Ah! What else one needs 

to live a good life?

Love, love like an Albatross!

Devoted! 

-Payal Agarwal

Limerick #NaPoWriMo #day16

 1.

With long braided hair and tattooed skin

He was the villain who wanted to win.

"The world is my territory," said the hero

Villain thought he was a zero.

Both of them were committing sin.

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They all were fighting for the gold.

Chapter after chapter the story was told.

He promised his mother that he would reign

Was he a hero or a villain

Yet there is more of it to unfold.

.

2.

There was a detective from Bombay

He saw something fishy on the way

sound was coming from the closed shop

He saw the shadows on the top

He'll find out the mystery come what may

.

He banged and knocked at the door

Just then some metal dropped on the floor

He saw a tiny opening in the door main

a little boy was picking up a keychain

He wanted to know more.

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Through the window he entered by luck

 the boy told him that he was stuck

He was hungry and ate the bread

The owner of the shop locked him and said,

"I'll make you work till you payback my buck.

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The boy was alone

Locked in no humanity zone

This detective rescued the boy 

filed a complaint against the culprit with joy

The boy then asked for his phone.

3.

There were sound of gunshots in the air

People were frightened in the fair

They all looked around

But no-one was found

The goons were chasing a man in red hair.

-Payal Agarwal