Aboard this long, moving train,
What are we chasing?
Windows of opportunities,
Some constant amidst the changing landscapes,
A break from the rhythmic monotony
Or mere doors for escaping?
The momentary pleasure of company
In this journey of solitude
Moving incessantly, to a destination unknown
Leaving behind the trees,
Competing with the streams
Traversing the valleys, gaining the altitude
The heart smiles in rainbows,
Weeps with the rain
We exchange stories and anecdotes
Of might and valor and pride
Of pleasure and of pain
What are we chasing?
The musing leaves me distraught
When the motion suddenly ceases,
My brain finally eases
As the engine whistles,
Breaking the train of thought
Is it rightto let go and step out of the picture, when it starts getting too abstract; when it doesn’t look as you’d imagined; or must you stay and keep trying to find some interpretation, force some vague clarity out of the mess?
Instagram- @the_pixelated.palette
After pondering for a long, long time, I started a painting; Taking myriads of different shades and tones and tints, Having a perfect visual note of what it’ll look like, I held a blank canvas, and started tainting.
Absolutely drowned in the colours, in the strokes; My hands were flowing, Acquiescently marking lines and shapes and dots, Until the picture didn’t match the imagination, And then suddenly, the brain revokes.
I stop, stare and wonder; When did my perfectly planned painting, Turn into this abstract image Which line was a mistake, which stroke, a blunder?
Standing still, deep inside the canvas now, Should I step out of my perfect painting? Or force some vague clarity out of the chaos? Must I let go of the brushes; if yes, how?
Finally, out of the colours I leap A last view, of the version the mind manifested, And the one that reality painted; Then turning to a new, blank canvas, The old one too, I decide to keep.
You went by too quickly, yet you seemed like forever. You gave us precious time to spend with our loved ones, but you also distanced us from people we saw everyday. You taught us to enjoy the little things, to slow down, and you also taught us that no matter what the times bring, life must go on, we must mold ourselves. You made us try new things, things which wouldn’t fit in normal routines, and you allowed us to recollect and reconnect with some of the old ones, the ones which were lost in the crowds of other, seemingly more important things. You obstructed us from exploring places this year, from checking destinations off our bucket lists, but you gave us a chance to observe our own beautiful surroundings, which very often went unnoticed. You taught us to hope for better, hope for sunshine after consecutive gloomy days and you taught us to be grateful , even for a single ray of light through the dark clouds. You were, an unusual, a tough year for all of us, more for some than others, but you were definitely a blessing for the earth, giving it a break, some time to rejuvenate.
“It was made familiar to us like any other piece of news,
It kept growing day by day.
It felt unreal and unimaginable
Until we realized it was going to stay.”
The corona virus pandemic is growing as I write about it and it has brought everyone’s lives to a standstill. While we stay at home, quarantining, self isolating and distancing from each other, our minds are occupied, thinking of the uncertainty of the situation, thinking of the change which will set in after these times are gone and of how we can be prepared for such an epidemic in the future( or if at all we can be prepared ).
After the news of the 21 day lock down in India has come out, all I can think of is not what I’m going to do during these days but of what would happen after these 21 days. This lock down has surely made us take a pause in our lives, given us time to stop and think, and actually learn to value time. It has brought us from planning our lives around calendars to losing a count of the days in a week. In the hustle of our busy lives, all we wait for is a holiday, we often find excuses for not being able to take out time for our passions, our families, or for just looking around us; but now when life has come to a halt, when for once the clocks seem to have stopped and we’ve started engaging ourselves in new stuff, it never seems to fill the time. This is pretty evident when I, spend hours gazing at a kitten playing in my garden (well I would have done that anyway I guess) or when my dad watches old classics and documentaries on the television.
We used to seek time for the things we loved, And now, we seek those lost interests for the time we have.
A walk till the end of our colony gave us a view of the totally empty road outside, silent, deserted and for once relieved from the never ending movement. The data from countries which are hit harder keeps on giving us a reality check, so that we continue to remain serious about this issue, so that we are reminded that it is happening and it may reach us. Due to the lock-down, the pollution levels all over the world have drastically reduced, it’s as though just like us, even the earth has gotten a break, it’s as though it was a way to give nature time to replenish itself. I wonder if after the passage of this difficult time, will we revert back to the original, will nothing change. Gray clouds and rain in my hometown seem to dampen an already slow week. I realize now, how we fail to acknowledge how important it is to stay connected to the people who matter to us, just because we are privileged to see them every day. Currently, playing games like psych or just video calling my friends brings such a huge smile on my face. It makes me learn to value the little things in life, which I hope to keep coming back to even after this phase passes. Let us all hope to defeat the invisible enemy attacking our world, stay inside, and stay safe.
Shruti's Blog 
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