The house is not the same without you anymore

Like sand through an hour glass

Standing and staring through the window pane,

Flowing continuously and pouring out of the brain.

Meandering from carefree to anxious musings,

A string of waves and wool-gathering.

Some as light as a feather and could be dusted with a blow,

Some as heavy as an elephant and cannot be drove.

Some brought a smile and gleamed up the eyes,

Like a shining ray in a cloud of reverie.

Its effervescent nature could not stay longer, 

With an intruding click, it hindered the swirl.

A pause, a break and occupied again.

Like a strong gush, it brought a storm,

Time passed from minutes to hours. 

Stashed in a corner of brain,

Splashed like a color balloon.

Oh! these thoughts passed like a sand through an hour-glass.

The Rain

A gush,
A flying curtain,
A mizzle,
A petrichor,

A nimbus,
A cool breeze,
A lightening,
A thunder,
A door slammed,
A roar,
A noise,
A giggle,
A frolic kid,
A paper boat,
An escape,

A downpour, 

And the earth soaked in beautiful rain.

Rain Rain

From a blazing day, it slowly turned dusky,
Temperature dropped from 40 to 24 degree.
Leaves and branches started waving.
The air carrying a petrichor,
A long string of light, and then some rumble.
Ramped towards the window and saw few drops on the glass,
Tried making a face, suddenly it rained.

A sudden relief from the parching sun,
Everything appeared fresh in a fraction of seconds.
Dust from the buildings and bushes is washed off.

The spluttering sound seemed to be raspy, 

But in chorus some hidden cheers.

Wheels splashing the water and roads are flooded,
Drivers adjusting and wiping the rear mirrors,

Headlights are on and the flapping wipers.

The agitated mob running around,
Some smiling and some looked frowned.
Men folding their trousers and women squeezing the stole,
Slowly, the rain became heavier and everyone was drenched.

Beautiful weather and a lovely sight. 

Back to Basics

With the spread of novel corona virus, it has become extremely important for all of us to take precautions and be healthy.
Dozens of messages have been circulated on social media platforms about cleanliness and hygiene.
While reading all this, I realized if we follow what our elders were doing, we can protect ourselves from contagious disease.

My grand-mother never allowed us to wear slippers inside the kitchen. By mistake, if anybody enters the kitchen with the slippers, she would refuse to eat meal that time. At times, it was annoying, but if you consider cleanliness and today's pollution, there is nothing wrong in keeping shoes and slippers outside the cooking space. Similar to this, there were many rules, and the most important rule that I can relate with the current condition was - wash your hands, feet, and face as soon as you come from outside and DO NOT enter the kitchen till you clean yourself. Basically, first clean your hands and feet, then touch anything in the house.

Wonder, why we all had Maharaj (pet-cook). For any occasions and events, they were the trusted members, who will not only prepare food as per our taste, but also will maintain the cleanliness and hygiene; not all caterers were preferred.

Earlier, people used to rarely eat outside and preferred cooking their meal. Now, people often eat outside, especially while travelling. We have number of reasons to avoid cooking such as birthday, anniversary, promotion, guests are around, bored of eating certain cuisines, no-time to cook, and the  monotonous "Thank God Its Friday"; just greedy to have food outside.

Remember, our parents always packed their eatables. Definitely, the unavailability of fast-food restaurant chains in abundance can be the reason, but we have made our habit of being dependent on these restaurants. There is nothing wrong in eating outside, but don't make it happen, just because you have food-ordering system.
Now at least because of waste issue, many of us started carrying water bottles to reduce plastic waste, otherwise, keeping a bottle was also a burden for us.

It is time to follow the discipline or should rather say "healthy habits" taught by our elders. When asked, they could not give proper reason, or most of the times, they relate it with their religious practice. But, nature is supreme and forcing us to follow the basics.
Keeping yourself clean and maintaining hygiene do not just mean using sanitizers, but it includes many more.

• Cook your food and eat healthy: When you prepare your food, you generate less waste, and you gain healthy weight. You know the greens and the beans, you need to eat. You know the right quantity of oil, salt, sugar, or spice to put in your food, which no "calorie counted meal" can match. In India, we have food for every season and even the food-combination, which sadly the buffets do not follow or should I say, we hog whatever we see on the table.
• Manage time to clean your house and de-clutter it: Remember maids only do sweeping and mopping", you can only do proper and deep cleaning of your house. Moreover, it is a good physical exercise, so even though, you skip your gym a day, you were physically active. De-cluttering will remind you to avoid unnecessary shopping. Buy what is required, this definitely reduces waste. 
• Spend time with your closed-one: Family members ensure caring and this improves your health. You pick up healthy habits from them. If they are doing something wrong, you can certainly stop them, which you will think twice before asking or reminding any third person in the social gathering. Imagine, "Asking some random aunt to clean her hand or to stay away if she is unwell", or "Reminding your kith and kin to avoid close contacts and stopping them from touching anything if they are not clean. Which one is easier to handle? 

Balance out everything and respect the nature, otherwise, today it is Covid-19; tomorrow it would be something else. 

Insta Disconnect

Friend list is long and a legion of followers;

Countless messages and umpteen quotes.

Amateur, cacographer, connoisseur, demagogue, chauvinist,

Part of a group and getting into a tiff.  

Multifarious topics and knowledge sharing,

Good night messages and early morning greetings.

Wishes on birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, and celebrations,

Countless likes and comments on the latest pictures and events.

Yes, a crowd where we have friends, relatives, and acquaintance,

Eventually, everyone is a stranger.

Nobody remembers the last message posted on the web links.

Not a surprise, for aught they know about other person’s life or the current state of mind, 

Still wishing, liking, and commenting on their timelines.

The tone, which you hear after every few seconds

is merely a high-pitched sound echoed from a device.

This sound is expressionless,

Whether it is a birthday wish or a condolence message, it remains the same. 

Oh, it has a representative called as “emoticon”.

Unfortunately, it fails to reach human’s heart.

Cry, shout, smile, laugh, and scream, it fails to connect;

Though, it succeeds to beguile. 

Shocked to see an active social media user fails to mingle in a small group people.

Women's Day Special

Placing herself on both sides of the bar;

Called delicate, nurtured and grown a new born;

Tagged as emotional, left her parent’s place and bonded with acquaintances;

Addressed as talkative, kept mum to disguise her pain;

Titled as privileged, worked from dawn till dark;

Known as impulsive, knew what her priorities are;

Labelled as weak, became the pillar for her family in need;

Judged as a bad driver, balanced her chores from home to work;

Looked upon as needed attention, neglected her health while caring for others;

Classed as “bad with numbers”, managed her household expenses during crisis.

Nothing wrong in being imperfect sometimes,

Distribute the task and encourage the balance.

Join all to celebrate the epitome of beauty, strength, and grace!