The girl who reads :)

My sister, Rhuta, writes, and writes beautifully, at that. So here goes, a post from her ...

I love to read. I used to try to not let that define me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be known as ‘the girl with the book’. Surely there was more to me than that. But as the years passed, it struck me - what better description could there possibly be? Books are, in a word, magical - even when they’re not about magic. That girl with her nose buried in the book, she can never be one dimensional. There are so many aspects to her character, so much depth, so many things about her that you can only guess at. You might think she doesn’t have a life, you do not know how many she actually does! On the outside she may seem dull, boring, bookish - so to speak. Look a little closer and you might see that slight smile playing on her lips. Don’t you want to know what caused it? The secret is in those pages. Join her in them. Pick up a book! If you don’t have one handy, ask her if she has another. She usually will.

I am not defending myself, I’m trying to explain. Yes, I am the girl with the book. I’m trying to convey just how amazing it is to be that girl. I’m telling you why I wouldn’t want to be anyone else. It’s not because I can’t imagine being anyone else. Oh no! I have lived as so many characters in so many worlds that I can imagine being almost anyone. What I want is for you to experience what I have experienced, to share in the magic that these pages hold. I want your life to be enchanted, the way mine has been so far. I want you to at least give it a try.

If you ask me to pick between books past and books future, I don’t think I possibly could. There’s so much more to read and discover. So much joy to find! And at the same time there are all those stories in my past. Those books are my friends, they made me who I am today. I need the books I’ve read so far and all of those I shall read in the years to come. I relish the thought of coming across all those as yet unknown treasures. Unknown in the sense I know they exist but where and in what form, only time will tell.

The thing about books is they’re always there, waiting for you. I’m never lonely, even when I’m alone because I have them with me, always. If not in physical form, they’re there in my head. They’re a refuge, an escape, a haven. Nothing can compare to the comfort of curling up with a good book. It’s the simplest pleasure you can ever receive, and in my experience, the best. But don’t let me be the one telling you, come find out for yourself. Choose a book. Read.

It’s never too late to read a book. They don’t recognize age limits. Oh, you missed out on Winnie the Pooh? No harm done, pick up a copy now and you can casually walk into the Hundred Acre Woods. You see that door? It’s magical, it never closes. Anytime you feel like it, they’re there waiting for you, tireless and uncomplaining. They have so much to offer, give them a chance. Learn to love books and let them love you. As they have loved me for all these years. Make them a part of your world and they’ll make you a part of theirs. Embrace the joy of reading and no matter where you go, you will always be at home.

--- Rhuta Deobagkar

Another of R's pomes :P

(An old poem by my lil sister. Found the original handwritten one and laughed over it so much today. Here's to memories of childhood fights and her ability to still see the humour!)

'Tis a night like every other,
'Tis time for my nightly fight,
I must fight for my rights wi' my sister,
She just refuses to put out the lights!

I shout, I argue, I coax
But all of it is in vain.
She just yells right back at me
And tells me I'm a royal pain.

That's it. It's over. Stop it.
I've taken about all I can bear
Now its time for us to call the referee.
And decide exactly who stands where.

Our mother marches in and glares at us,
And berates us for making a din.
We both start pestering my sister
And she eventually caves in.

But she refuses to go down gracefully.
She still will put up a fight.
She bangs about as long as she can
And then reluctantly puts out the light.

And then when the night is almost over,
And when the joy of the fight starts to pall,
She comes and sleeps right next to me.
I mean, we're sisters after all.

--- Rhuta Deobagkar

'Ek Gypsy ahe majhya khol manaat dadoon'

It has been an interesting few days now. First, it was lovely to be with family after a long, long time! Lucky me :) The only one missing was R but guess no matter the time between our meetings, we shall never have problems of communication and shall never lose that special something we have between us. What say, little miss?

In some ways, going back home makes it easier to let your hair down. You realize that you do not have to always be all grown up and proper. You can be silly and childish, and even terribly temperamental and lazy for a lil while. Laughing over silly old jokes, remembered embarrassing moments, even teasing aai and ganging up on her is fun. Unexpected, but even being scolded by the parents is something I have missed. Just knowing that these are people who are not going to bother whether I get mad or not, but are still going to scold me and put me to rights coz they care for me is enough to make me fall in love with them all over again! It is nice to know I can always go back, that no matter what happens in my life, there shall always be a place to go back and rest and recharge.

Another reason why the last few days have been so different for me is the incredibly unexpected experiences I have had. Discovering so many little things about myself, getting to know new people, interesting ones, even hoping for the beginnings of new friendships... Its been a time for jumbled thoughts jostling for space, tons of self-doubts, indecisiveness (more because the enormity of the decisions frightens me even though my instinct tells me that my decisions shall be right), and yet a time for beautiful moments. A time that I know I shall never regret, perhaps even shall cherish :) And another good thing is that I started reading poetry again. For a while in between I had forgotten about that. Read Mangesh Padgaonkar's "Gypsy" all over again and realized that some things never change, I still love that particular poem. Hence the title for this post.

Saying it Silently...

I was in the car, next to my sister, on the way to the airport and both of us were sitting quietly, each deep in her own thoughts. The minutes were ticking along, yet neither uttered a word. And then it struck me that between us was a special type of silence... not uncomfortable... perfectly companionable and funnily enough so much was being said, communicated without a word or a sound. Brain waves perhaps? Partings have always been difficult for us and knowing that we may not meet for more than six months was weighing heavy on our hearts. Yet some things should not be said aloud... they lose their significance and dignity then. In fact, some things are better said in silence.

Silence is a funny thing... how does one perfectly describe it? As absence of sound? Or does it have a positive definition of its own? Sometimes silence is warm and light-filled. Between lovers when nothing need be said, between friends when everything has been said umpteen times... those silences are beautiful and vibrant. They donot leave you wracking your brain for something to say. They are complete.

Then there are those silences where strangers meet and are ill at ease, perhaps because they pick up the wrong vibes, perhaps because they have confidence issues... or because they discover that in reality they have nothing meaningful to say. Not that all conversations have to be or are meaningful, but at times even small talk is painful. And so the silence is like a gaping valley... deep and yet empty.

But the worst kind of silence is when people actually want to say something, they know exactly what they want to say yet are unable to get the words out. Fear, the risk that once the words are out there you cannot call them back, fear that everything will change forever... that is what keeps this silence unbroken. And this can be painful both for the person who wants to say stuff and the person who knows that something needs to be discussed out in the open, aired, gotten over with and yet the situation festers on till it becomes uncomfortable and drives people apart. These are the silences I hate, the ones that can destroy friendships, tear apart relationships and leave a mess behind.

Silence and speech are both double-edged swords... each can be used to hurt and each can in turn soothe and mend the hurt. Be careful!

My Secret in Silence

- Lorelei Pablo

You came into my life

Quietly, Simply, Placidly

And my words stood still...

I couldn't express in words

Or even simple gestures

The secret I kept in my heart.

So I loved in silence

Admired you from a distance

Dreamt of you afar.

I wanted to say I love you...

I wanted to say i care.

But cowardly, maybe, you'll laugh at me.

In silence then I will love you...

In silence then I will care...

Ruts' Poetry :) :) :)

My sister writes poems and has kindly (:D) allowed me to put them up on the blog here...so here goes...

 
FREE FALL

I’m standing on plain ground out here
I’m just an insignificant girl.
Yet every time I stand like this
I feel on top of the world.

It doesn’t look like I am moving
I seem rooted to the spot.
But I feel like I’m in free fall.
It’s an illusion, just a thought.

And when the wind blows through my hair
I feel free without a care
It’s like the world’s in sync with me
I’m free falling through the air.

Maybe coz I’m just one person
There’s no real difference I can make
But when I’m free falling, I’m flying
I leave a trail of happiness in my wake.

UNTITLED

The darkening clouds hang overhead,

All my prospects seem so bleak

Water pours incessantly

Heaven's pipes have begun to leak!

At times it seems, it's not a leak

It's like there ARE no pipes at all...

For there is no steady drip drip drip,

It's a downright waterfall!

I know they TRY to repair it

For it stops from time to time.

But their efforts are miserable; puny at best,

Their plumbers not worth a dime!

It's at times like these that I feel so sure

Heaven can't be all that great...

I mean no place with such horrible plumbing

Is going to find me knocking on its gate.

UNTITLED

When I lie on my bed each night
Sometimes I suddenly think of you
Then I smile to myself and wonder
If you're thinking of me too.

I sit up and hug my knees
And think of how very nice it would be
If precisely at that moment
Your thoughts would drift to me.

I walk over to the window
And drink in the beauty of the night
I feel certain that I'm in your mind
Because everything seems so right.

There's something precious in that instant,
Something bewitching about the stars
It's a special magical moment
Because it's a moment that's just ours.

Rhuta Deobagkar