So spake a building you think is one.

You think I don't know a thing, that I don't feel beyond what I'm made of. That's not true. I've experienced more than anyone of you can ever see, feel, hear or grasp. I've heard so many squeals of children running around, their cries when they fall down, the laughter of the old ladies who think they're cracking jokes when the younger counterparts grin in quiet tones at the befallen comment that isn't close to humor, the shouts of the people calling out to one another, the singing on one side and the instruments amplified in the presence of my greatness.
 
           I've seen many traditions, rituals, too many silent tears in the washroom confining many a people, individually, all of them crying inside and yet on the outside, pretend to be strong and smile in each others' presence. I've seen colour always : of flowers, clothes, lights and faces and what they contain, beautiful smiles of  blushing brides and more moving energy than all your lives put together in one fleet of running parents, striding across my magnanimous being to greet people and attend needs.

       Yet, after all the time I remain where I am, I still cry soft tears to see her go. A bride in her mother's arms seeking comfort and merely a shoulder to cry on. She cries, the one leaving 'home' , having to shrug all that responsibilities as a daughter to being a wife, though I know a daughter shall never forget them, and shall remain a daughter forever. I see mixed emotions in her eyes, that glint with happiness during the dance with her husband among the huge crowds that surrounds to cheer her and a large sense of sadness attached along with anxiety and fear. I've seen of every single 'Her' : a silent thought not to cry and induce the mood into others and yet breaking down at moments many. I sense, every single time that she can't sleep in total peace like when her father covered the sheets around her with a goodnight kiss, for she doesn't know if her husband shall do the same.

          I'm not concrete and brick. I'm emotions many, if you pause to rest your shoulder on me and look around. If you press your ears against my pillars of strength and listen. With every footstep you take, I have had so many others jumping on the same.. where you stand, that was where one girl fainted in her father's arms.. where you laugh-many have cried and where you hug, many of them had to be pulled free. I am not what you think I am.

         I've seen a little girl pulled free of her father's arms and thrust into another mans'. How the father has taken care of her, I've always seen.. it shows in the eyes and the tears and smiles she sheds. How the man does, I never know, for none of them fulfilled an obligation of coming back to me to whisper how they are. They think I don't live, they think I don't exist. I don't blame them,  for they are daughters leaving home. I shall remember every one of their tears that had been wiped off my floor with a mop, not knowing it had already reached my insides creating an imprint.
       With false promises and some true ones, they take her away from whom she loves to someone she'll learn to love. She cries, silently and breaks down again as she gets into the car to drive away into nothingness for a few more minutes before she realizes what's happening.. and as the car gets out of the driveway I tend to hear loud cries and huge tears from the sisters of the bride... ones who, with great difficulty held them all back so that they don't cry in front of her making her departure more painful.

   I see this, day after day, hour after hour.. one wedding after the other. I never shall get tired..for each bride has a tale to tell, moments to share, hours of fatigue, and one instance that they all share.. leaving home. At that juncture, I become their homes, for the second they wave a bye to their crowded families, who with moist eyes and a smile on their lips, wave back till the car goes out of sight and sometimes even minutes after.
   I hope they are all happy somewhere, with children who'll grow up to get married the same way they did. They have always been my favorite. The daughters leaving home..
  Even if they're across the road with roaring traffic, I shall still hear them say with nostalgia  :
"There! That's where I got married"
   

This was my entry at Saarang Writing Awards 2013

Of Creating a Memory

Take me, with my eyes covered, so I feel and know you are always there next to me..

Take me, anywhere, where the sounds cease to exist

throwing the music of silence into our ears, amplified,

that way, every word you say, will reach my heart.

Let's go around the same way, describe what you see, 

'cause I'm comfortable with my eyes closed and hearing you say 

things you don't even see. But, I'll believe you anyway. 

Let's go away from prying human eyes and live, 

with no cameras to record the moment, 

no sketchbooks to replicate..

Just you and me. 

Now, that'll be a memory I'll never forget.

 ~Hemu 

I Wish I Were a Waitress

I wish I were a waitress, in a swishy skirt and an apron,
a ceiling above my head and a floor I can skid on,
to run around taking down requests for consumption
and not orders, for I shall say they're long gone.

I wish I were a waitress, with a smile on my face,
jumping from table to table, lighting up their day.
"Oh, how are we today?" I shall ask, with some little ace,
Now, who bothers about that, as long as I can keep their frowns at bay.

I wish I were a waitress, for a childhood fantasy of balancing trays
should probably not go in vain, but if I go ahead and fall with drinks on my dress,
I shall still smile and clean it up.. I tried atleast, and shall say my prayers
to stay further and shall always try again, till I get it right for the best.

I wish I were a waitress, to meet people old and new,
to look at their countenances and see what they have to say.
For, discoveries shall be many as I shall write them down as the coffee brews,
so that I can do little things that I may, like perhaps wish them a 'Happy birthday'.

I wish I were a waitress, for a selfish reason of seeing around,
people as they are and people they probably ought to be.
To see if I am wrong at being so shut, to be in solitude even in a crowd,
or if I should be singing with them all for a great day to follow, whoopee.

I wish I were a waitress, for a simple little joy of wearing hair bands everyday,
not that I can't at an office desk on the eleventh floor,
but for lame reasons to match my equally lame colours at a small cafe,
then, life probably shall not be such a bore.

I wish I were waitress, I shall always stare at the presentation of my dishes,
which shall only connect as one semi-solid mass on the insides..
I think that is how I want my life, handed out on a clean plate and decked with wishes,
but to realize it's all those put together that gives me the taste. Sugar and salt.

I wish I were a waitress, for more reasons than one,
for I can play with little babies's cheeks as I pass,
to sometimes skid my shoes through the floor and sometimes run,
to hop on one leg and sometimes even do a chasse.

I wish I were a waitress,
so that I shall never be in distress,
 and even if I do, I shall drink down a gentleman's tea,
and be as happy and full as I can ever be.