The Rat Race

Dear self,
People think that I'm weird. Maybe they are right, for I don't understand their ways. But I think that, for me, they are weird, for I understand my ways. 
I stand in a corner and watch them hurry. I observe them rush and sweat. They're all busy in the rat race. So, in this air of panic and haste, I quietly sit at my place. I try hard to figure out their paramount purpose. Their uneasy faces tell me that they're nervous. So, I do away with my cloud of confusion and finally decide to draw a conclusion. Their lives are surrounded by worries and  fear. That's why, they keep running like a ghost is near. They're so afraid to look into the mirror that they prefer to live a life of horror. The reality continues its zealous chase, and they needlessly keep increasing their pace.
While this crazy bedlam goes on, I rest behind the curtain and yawn.
Amrit Versha

The Test of Love

Sometimes, I think how easy it is to love a jolly person—someone who is as lively as a bird singing in the dawn sky. Loving becomes so effortless then. But, what if this luminous face turns into a pale desert one day? Well, that's the worst thing about life. You trip over a spiky rock when you think how smooth and soothing your path is. As the cliché goes, nothing is permanent. Life changes its hue just like the leaves do. People smell like roses in the spring of their lives. But, then, autumn arrives and takes its toll. It leaves them devoid of their sparkling smiles. So, I wonder how much you can love when it is not easy anymore. Would the flame of love begin to flicker in the stormy night? And, if it fails to last till the end, then does it even deserve to be called love?  

Because love cannot fade...
It cannot waver...
It cannot fail...
It can survive the longest nights...
It can fight the wildest storms...
True love can bravely stand the tests of time...

—Amrit Versha

Crush

Dear crush,
The crowd is same, and same is the place. But now that you're gone, longer are my days. My crazy heart has lost its waves. You are what it desperately craves.
With you around me, everything was incredibly fine. It always felt like I was on cloud nine. But now that you're away, I've lost my way.
An unhappy song keeps playing in my head. I toss and turn all night in my bed. Your sudden absence haunts me all day. I wish I could stop you from going away.
I always failed at revealing my feelings to you. So, maybe our moments together were meant to be few. That's what I say to comfort my sullen eyes. Oh, I try my best to be strong and wise. But the flashbacks of you make me want you more. So, I've decided to wait for you at the door.
Let the seasons come and go.
You will arrive one day, I know.
Your secret admirer,
Amrit Versha

Would She Win or Lose?

Dead and blank is her face.
Dull and empty are her days.
Missing her past, she begins to think.
Hours pass by, but her eyes don't blink.

Brutal assaults of life have made her numb. 
To all the demons, she wants to succumb.

Quivers her mind with the echoes of screams.

Bleeds her soul for all her shattered dreams.

The liquor of memories she continues to drink.
Would it one day make her fall off the brink?
Feeble she has grown by lethal plight.
Does she still have the nerve to fight?

Garden of her hopes is now sterile.
Would all her struggles turn futile?
Trapped she is in a quagmire of fear.
To her aim, would she ever get near?
Like a loser, would she face a tragic end?
Or her torn life would she finally mend?

Amrit Versha

A Group of Friends

I was sitting quietly in a cafeteria with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. The place was teeming with a variety of people. All I could hear was the indistinct chatter. I started sipping my mouth-watering hot chocolate. I was looking around casually when my eyes fell on a small group of two girls and three boys gossiping together. They were making small talks with widened lips and sparkling eyes. They laughed, ate, and drank with the most friendly gestures. I noticed those high fives, hugs, cheers and handshakes. They were so full of energy. They looked happy together. They were definitely good friends. I couldn't take my eyes off them. 

One of the girls was tall and lean. She was wearing a gorgeous red dress. Another girl was short and skinny. She wore a pair of spectacles and her get-up was rather simple. After observing this group of millennials for a while, I realised that not each one of them was really happy. Whenever the girl with eyeglasses tried to say something, she was abruptly interrupted. Her eyes had clear expressions of disappointment, alienation, and sadness.

But, her lips managed to maintain a plastic smile. When they were frequently taking selfies, she was rarely included in those clicks. I knew that she felt isolated. Even though she was a part of that group, she felt distant from them. She was trying hard to fit in, but it only brought despair to her. But, she hid all her emotions under that smiling mask. 

With this experience, I realised that smiles could be deceptive. 

Not everyone who smiles is really happy. And, most importantly, it is futile to try to match the people who just leave us with a feeling of exclusion. Friendship doesn't require efforts. This bond grows naturally. It is that simple!

Amrit Versha

An Unheard Tale

Oh my firmament so clear and blue,
where would I get to find you?
Oh my sweet and bright sunlight,
you deserted me in this dull night.

In the quest of a silvery shine,
I've lost a lifetime of mine.
Inferno is my mind of thunder and spark,
where melancholy is its tyrannous monarch.

Sinking I am into the depths of hell.
Unseen are my tears, unheard is my yell.
There in my heart lies a divine tale.
A saga of courage, a saga of wail.
In the chaos of my head lies one clear view.
The world will some day know my story, too.

Amrit Versha

Where Are My People

Tell me where I can find people like me...
Those who never easily believe what they see...
The ones whose minds are in the clutches of doubts...
Those who are lost in the worldly crowd...
The ones who are searching for their whereabouts...
Those who yearn to scream out loud...

Tell me where I can find people like me...
Those who crave to set themselves free...
The ones whose minds delve too deep...
Those whose eyes see beyond the surface...
The ones whose souls are never asleep...
Those whose hearts flame like a furnace...

Tell me where I can find people like me...
Those with whom I could readily agree...
The ones with whom my soul could talk...
Those with whom I could happily flee...
The ones who believe our world is like a lock...
Those who are desperately looking for a key...

Amrit Versha