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I traveled.
alone.
I wanted to travel till the wheels of my vehicles collapse.
I wanted to travel till I reach a dead-end.
I realized.
there is no end.
leaves fall, both green and yellow.
But. the tree remains.
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His face was full of smile.
We were sitting in a countryside tea shop.
He did not let me pay.
When he opened his wallet to pay for the tea and snacks,
I saw three crumpled ‘Ten Rupee’ notes and a dark fifty Rupee one.
finally, what left was his innocent smile….
I envy the fallen 2 Rupee coin…!!
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They came running. Two of them.
dark skinned and energetic. Above everything, Happy!
the smaller one was covered in brown sticky mud.
he was afraid to touch my bike. In his eyes, I saw a twinkling..
the one I had when I first saw my vehicle.
the he asked me, “can I blow the horn once?”
I nodded and he put the indicator!
I showed him the button to be pressed and
he pressed!
I saw him becoming the ‘King of the World’.
———————————————————-———————-
A house.
It rained.
the smell of earth was gripping the village.
green paddy fields with yellow top.
Their top side was hanging down.
He said, “The Harvest is in two days”.
he was both anxious and happy.
We went to the fields for a walk.
I did not wear my shoes.
I touched the Earth and was amazed by the warmth,
comfort and protection emanated from it.
I walked fast and a glass piece pierced my Skin.
I bled.
First time I inhaled the smell of blood mixed with earth.
nobody believes me!
I would want to bleed in mud any time in my life………….
Mud covered the wound.
The wound was gone in the morning…Only
A Scar Remained!!
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I traveled!
I sat under trees.
Drank water from farmers and road workers.
took photographs and showed them.
They were happy.
I told one woman that I will send her the photograh
to her address.
she replied,
“I have no Address”
———————————————————————————-
Day 3.
No food. No water.
A hungry pilgrim enters the land.
He wasn’t sure if he is right!
The questions were never answered!
Nobody stayed.
The one who stayed became Myths.
The one who passed became Legends, and
The one who was forgotten became Memories….
What am I searching for??
————————————————————————————
“You are not alone…..!!”
the brown tops of distant temples told me.
the yellow bulbs from tall streetlights told me.
the strangeness of fellow passengers told me.
the bleeding wound of a dead dog told me.
the forgotten deity under a banyan tree told me.
the mute beggar boy’s brown eyes told me.
the fainted old woman’s broken gold bangle told me.
when they all got tired and stopped,
My heart stopped beating and told me,
“You are alone”.
———————————————————————————–
I don’t love the
Minutes I spent in a crossroad.
One going to my home and the other
going inside mine.
I don’t love the
Men who stabbed my heart to see if the blood was red!
Women who knew it was Red and the
Monster who sipped it to see what it tastes like!
I don’t love the
sword my ancestors used
the lives they slain and the stories they have written
for us, to define us.
I don’t love the
blue veins running in my right hand, and the
blue ones running in my left hand.
They don’t match!