My Dearest Poopie

Someone asked me, why I'm still single,

I replied quickly, "I'm not in a rush to mingle,"

Had I met a man, who was half as nice as you,

I would feel less blue,

Someone called you my ex,

I almost hit him on the face with a chair, like a rabid T-Rex,

Someone asked me, if I'm still hung up on you,

"He was the love of my life" I replied, straight from the heart, truer than true,

While the concept of marriage is great,

I'm willing to wait,

For some version of you,

That still exists, from my point of you,

Until then, I'm happy to be single,

Reluctant to mingle.

Rocky Aur Rani

If you must love, love like Rocky,

If you want to be brash and cocky, 

Be as successful as Rani,

If you must create waves, be a Tsunami,

If you must be fearless,

Be fearless,

Like Rocky choosing Rani,

Every single day, whether it's rainy or balmy,

If you must eat mithai,

Eat so much boondi laddoo, that you can get a sugar high,

If you must get married,

Get married,

Next to a large ocean or lake,

Or at least next to a sprawling man-made lake,

Inside a palace,

Wear so much lace,

That you look like a vision,

Making kids envision,

Their wedding ensembles,

The entire event will be far from dull,

Just like Rocky aur Rani kii Prem Kahaani.

Reebee, the Baby

The greatest blessing of my life has been my son. He is my All India Radio, my 24*7 commentator and the disruptor of all my calm thoughts. The noise in my house from 5.45am is deafening. The minute his eyes open, his mouth opens too and it doesn't close until he finally falls asleep by 9.30 in the night.

He brings his semi round, googly-eyed face right upto mine and squeaks into my face, until I pay attention. "Why does Mumma hate me?" he hounds, the minute my eyes or head turn in the opposite direction.

Attention seeking and noisy, he's a human sponge. Quick to pick up conversations and chatter, his antenna ears are always tuned in on the adults of the house. 

Mostly calm, playing with his kinetic sand or slime, he sometimes gets into various modes of destruction, such as tearing up money or abruptly punching people on their bellies.

Cute and gentle looking on the outside, a typhoon from inside, his energy is boundless. Refuse a snack and he climbs the kitchen counters and opens the snack boxes himself. 

On rainy days, he zips around the house on his scooty. On other days, he is taken to his favourite play gym or Agasthya's house. Agasthya is his little best friend, who is as noisy as him. 

Riaan's brain is a minefield of imagination. "Can you grow another baby inside your tummy?"             "Do you know why airplanes have oval windows?" "Do you know why planes are shaped like a cylinder?" 

"Can you open the bonnet of my car?" and so on.

I had Riaan after six years of marriage. My life felt complete when he came along. It almost felt like I was born just to be a mother. "Let him live the way he wants and marry whoever he wants", was my late husband's first reaction when he saw my bond with my child. 

I can't imagine my life without a dusty kinetic sand filled house, a debris of toys and incessant baby chatter. Reebee short for Riaan baby, is my partner in crime for life. There is some method to his madness, I'm sure I'll eventually figure it out. I only have the rest of my life to crack this formula. 

The Elephant

My mind hoards memories,

Events tumble out in big fat paragraphs and not mere summaries,

The good, the bad, the evil,

My mind's an angel and a devil,

I forget nothing,

I feel everything,

Is this a blessing or a curse,

To live in reverse,

I hold onto people and things,

Like they're precious stone filled rings,

Unable to truly move on,

I cling on,

To moments in time,

They stick to my mind like slime,

Gooey and difficult to scratch away,

But fling them I must and live in the today,

Nothing and no-one is dependable,

Self reliance is the answer, throw those memories away, they are expendable. 

Binge Eating

Too much Biriyani has been eaten,

The body is beaten,

There's too much acidity and gurgling,

From the pits of my tum, the mind is hurling,

Countless abuses at me,

Just let me be,

It's Chitti's birthday,

I promise to never eat like this ever again on another day,

But today the decadent cheesecake beckoned,

My mind, body and soul, didn't hesitate for a second,

I attacked that gooey delight,

Savouring bite after light bite,

Pausing only to see Singham's smiling face,

Which is when I decided to slow my pace,

Hardly paid attention to Shina,

Inside Ascendas food court which was as crowded as a market in China,

What a beautiful day has been had,

Too much food has been consumed which has made me slightly mad,

But it was all worth it, 

I'll go back to being fit,

Tomorrow, today is for burping,

And allowing my mind to continue slurping.

38

Happy 38th, my dearest poopie,

There's been no time for tears, moping around or being droopy, 

I've had to become you and me,

Despite all the debris,

There are brief moments of feeling overwhelmed,

But I quickly regain control of the helm,

I hope someone's throwing you a house party in heaven,

I've had the pleasure of throwing you a total of seven,

Those were crazy days and nights,

Today, my heart strangely feels light,

I feel peace,

A familiar ease,

It's your birthday,

I'll celebrate all day.

Thank You

Thank you for loving me whole and soul,

With all my quirks and moods, without a single eyeroll,

You took note of all my sadness,

And my happiness,

You took me seriously,

We loved each other deliriously,

In hindsight, what were we thinking,

We took every decision boldly without blinking,

We rocked each other's world's,

And witnessed things unfurl,

You're still not gone,

I feel you at the wake of every dawn,

You give me the strength to move on,

Even if there are moments I feel torn,

You are missed everyday,

Especially on special days,

The pain vibrates inside my chest,

Until I force myself to give it a rest,

Thank you for the love,

It still keeps me warm and cosy, like a familiar, well-worn glove.