Legal versus Illegal

A number of Shops destroyed,

Hundreds of People left unemployed,

Thousands of Families impacted.

 

During all these years, were all these shops and extensions really illegal?

If yes, then was accepting bribes and filling to your hearts content with freebies legal?

Administration’s actions how much ever justifiable are certainly laughable.

 

Its so sad and depressing to see these ruins almost everywhere,

Moreover as we citizens patronized these shops and paid them their fair fare,

We did not even know that something about these shops was illegal (isn’t that the administration’s job?),

What we did know was that they worked hard to support their family, which is definitely legal.

Context: Anti-encroachment drive conducted at Dhanori

Diwali in 2020

What a year we all have witnessed,

And the fact is that it’s still not finished.

Many have personally borne the brunt of the virus,

Be it the rich or the poor, the virus has not shown any bias.

 

Hopefully, the virus is controlled and eliminated sooner than later,

And we can breathe freely without a mask as intended by our creator.

There’s so much negativity and darkness all around,

That even festivities are impacted in the current background.

 

Diwali seems such an apt festival at this point of time,

When we are all waiting eagerly for some brightness in our life.

I wish that Diwali can bring peace, joy, and good health to all people,

And after this current pandemic ends, we no longer have a sequel.

Hope: The Elixir of Life

Dreams are shattered,

Plans are battered,

Life has come to a standstill,

Feels like everything is going downhill.

Most amongst us are still alive,

We must hence continue to strive,

Slowly but surely, we will overcome this strife,

Until then let’s make HOPE the elixir of life.

Prayer

A family of four,
Split by events galore!
Trouble them, no more!
Show them the shore.

A year worth dismiss.
Feels like an abyss!
What test is this?
Please give them bliss.

Stay safe

Life, all of a sudden, has now come to a standstill,

A few of us wonder what is going to be God’s will.

It’s in each one’s best interest now to maintain social distance,

Coz this is something that will ultimately decide our existence.

Hopefully, a vaccine becomes available at the earliest possible time,

And we can live our lives outdoors without feeling it’s a crime.

I just hope that the spread of the virus is contained somehow,

Till then remember that each one of us is not safe for now.  

बस कर सेड्रिक

वो भी क्या दिन थे,
जब वह मेरे बस में थी.
साथ में सफ़र कटता गया,
वक़्त युही गुज्ज्जरथा गया.
अंत में फिर वह दिन अहह ही गया,
जब वह दूससरे कंपनी के कैब में चली गयी.
Bus Car सेड्रिक :P

Happy Women's Day!

To every mother, sister, and wife…………..

You are the reason why I exist,

Into your loving arms I was first kissed.

What would I be without you I wonder,

Thank you for everything in my life, my mother.

You were always like a second mom to me,

Always caring, confident, and hardworking was she.

Here’s me wishing the best of everything in life to her,

Thank you for everything in my life, my sister.

You gave up many things to be my life partner,

No words would be enough to simply thank her.

Wishing us many years of togetherness in this walk of life.

Thank you for everything in my life, my wife.

Face your worries

What are you running away from my friend?

Is the fear of the unknown too difficult for you to comprehend?

Facing all your worries with open arms is something life recommends,

Lessons learnt because of this will definitely give you high dividends.

Running away from anything is never a solution,

It would only lead to despair and mental confusion.

Face every challenge by thinking that you are on an excursion,

Overcoming such hurdles in life will give you much needed motivation.

Start afresh

Leaves have become dry,

They had their time under the sun.

Everyone has to finally say good bye,

No matter how much in life they had fun.

Why can’t we just be thankful for being blessed?

Why do we get arrogant when we feel we are superior to some?

Have empathy towards others rather than just being self-obsessed.

Being rude to others is something one must try to overcome.

Live in a way that you will be missed when you are not around,

Will this not be better than being continuously frowned upon?

So, start afresh from this moment and don’t be a letdown,

Try to be someone whom people can always count on.

Thank you and Goodbye

Some people come into our lives and have an immediate impact for the good. This might be the case both in our personal and professional lives. One such person is Neeta Seth.

She had joined Avaya, Pune as an Editor around eight years back. She was an experienced editor and was in her mid-50s when she joined. She was the first professional editor with whom I got a chance to work with. Since she was a few years younger to my mom, I always treated her with the same respect.

Despite her age, she was able to get along with the much younger team very quickly. We as humans are usually resistant to changes in our lives. However, she adapted to all the new editing software tools very fast and became quite proficient at that. During her tenure at Avaya, she was instrumental in making writers follow a few editorial practices.

Many of us who worked and still work at Avaya will always be indebted to her for where we are today as professional writers. Her continuous feedback, sessions, and guidance have been very helpful.

I chatted with her on Friday to check if she is available during the Diwali week as I wanted her to review a few topics. After her confirmation, I assigned these topics to her on Friday. 

She passed away on Monday evening. However, we got the news about her demise only on Tuesday afternoon. In fact, I assigned more topics to her after her demise and before we got the sad news. That's how unexpected the news of her passing away was to us.

A person who seemed so hale and hearty until a few days back passed away suddenly. Life is so unpredictable.

Thanks for being the “Editor” in our lives. We will miss you Neeta. RIP.