Hello dear friends and readers! It is the season of holidays and festivals, some of us in India celebrated the Gudi Padva, and some are going to celebrate Good Friday and then Easter, I am sure the Jewish Passover was also celebrated, recently. What does it mean? All these beliefs are celebrating Spring ! That is, newness, rebirth, planting of crops, etc. This got me thinking that we all believe in the same things, and that all the sacred  books/ text  impart the values of goodness to all and love for nature, and yet we still have problems, with one another?

The three main books; the Gita ( as a base only, Hindus have many books), the Bible, and the Koran, all ask you to respect all people, animals and things. We read of these concepts in the story books and fairy tales we listen to as children, most of the morals come from such stories, which are reflected on a higher and deeper level in the sacred texts.Thus,all these books/texts reveal the ideal values, yet as adults we are failing to understand the real truths,. The truths are lost in our own interpretations. And like all books/text we try and judge which is the best one? I have read all three and each one has something unique to tell us. So read them all and see how hard it is to judge the 'best one'!

The original Book of Revelation is a book which talks about the future, anyone interested can have a look at this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation, you can also look at the origins and a  list of  western fairy tales at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fairy_tales, and if you really, really ,are intersted in looking further you can also read some Indian fairy tales at http://www.bharatadesam.com/literature/indian_fairy_tales/indian_fairy_tales.php . The Indian stories are more complex, than the Western stories.
 So grab a cup of Hot Masala Coffee (see the receipe here http://www.indiasnacks.com/recipe/530/Masala-Coffee-(Spiced-Coffee).php)  and read my poem below, and also don't forget to read the next adventure of The Fable of the Fantastic Cow on my blog of Short Stories on the right of this page!

Enjoy and let me of the poem and also how your coffee turned out!

Books of Revelations

I opened a new book,which was very old

It revealed to me all theories,new, old and bold,

Turned pages and pages of thoughts a new,

Opened windows in my mind,

Like cold wind the ideas in flew!

A mind enlightened is a very unique feeling,

Like jumping from mountains and holistic healing,

You  start to understand all life’s meanings!

All books have philosophies for one and all

Even for those who are very small,

How Humpty Dumpty will always fall,

How poor Cinderella felt at the rich mans ball,

How Snowwhite ate the forbidden fruit,or was it sin?

How a beautiful girl or love can turn a frog into a Prince?

And the lessons we learn from Rumpelstiltskin?

How not to eat others porridge,

To make a house not of hay or wood, but of stone

And to be aware of wolves when we are alone?

Some books we read and ,

The real meaning we don’t understand,

The spiritual reality is lost,

Like sands through our hands!

We read many stories from books when old and young,

But in time we forget their sweet truths and life’s fun,

And instead fight over which is the better one!

The April Fool

Dear reader and my friends, today was April Fools Day! So , a little late, but I have written a poem in its dedication,it was written very fast, about ten minutes, at four in the afternoon, while I waited for my car  to go and attend a meeting with the soldiers wives. So have fun, today is not the day for serious poems! Check out the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools'_Day, it has some really interesting information on its history ,origins, and some real shocking news on that day and some real famous pranks. Just make yourself a cold creamy coffee and enjoy!

Today is April Fools Day!
Beware of what people say!
Today is April Fools Day!

Today is April Fools Day!
Tell you husband you have concieved another one,
Phone your boss that you have died,
But just make sure, at the end of the day,
They know you have lied!
Today its April Fools Day!

Today is April Fools Day!
Tell your friend that you are getting married and leaving town,
The the mother in law, your marriage is breaking down,
Then tell her its April Fools Day!

Today is April Fools Day!
Tell your child you have lost his sweets,
Or tell him you had found him on the streets,
But tell him FAST-  ITS APRIL FOOLS DAY!

Today is April Fools Day!
Post on your blog when you have nothing to say!!!
As today is April Fools Day!!!!!


You can also read the Fable of the Fantastic Cow and her next adventure, on my other blog : http//crazycrackersncola.blogspot.com/

My new blog crazycrackersncola

Hello! My dear readers,my friends, I have now started a new blog of short stories, kindly have a look, it is at http://crazycrackersncola.blogspot.com/, I will be posting my poems as usual on this blog, of course! I have written the first part of a story called the Fable of the Fantastic Cow, I hope you like it!

love
Ashwini

Hi my readers my friends! I have been travelling for a week and I am back refreshed! My family drove all the way around the hilly mountains of Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from the beauty, I found that there exists still a hand to mouth existance in the poorer people. I actually saw, women and men carrying a least two meter by two meter dry branches and tree shavings on their backs, climbing very steep mountains! All this effort for firewood! So inspite of having a hydro electric dam in the state near by, there are still people using dry wood for household fires ! So I guess progress and poverty co exist in all of India and the problems of subsistance remain the same all over the country!
I was so happy to come back and spring is in the air, and most importantly my maid arrived to help me with the cleaning!! Hurrah! So today you will read a poem dedicated to all the maids who come on time and don't take a leave! Its spring time so its a fun poem, in the poem I have attempted to show the contrast of two stratas! Its again a long poem so, grab a strong Mocha!
Enjoy! Why dont you write some fun things about your maid in the comments section?

Maid in France

It happened all very suddenly,

It happened quite by chance,

Our maid had won the lottery,

And off she went to France!

She got on to the clean airplane,

And her heart skipped a beat

on the start,

But then the hostess smiled so sweet,

and walked down with her cart.

'The sweet lady does the job like mine', she thought,

'Wears good clothes,helps,and serves food on a tray,

Next time I serve tea to Madam', she thought,

'I shall serve it in the same way!'

Paris, then came in view, all grand,

And she looked down the plane like all,

She tried to spot in the morning haze,

The Tower they said was tall.

Her cab sped away very fast,

The huge airport at the back,

She saw the wide road winding away,

And now knew what her country lacked!

The city was bustling with activity,

The streets and building were beautiful like a dream,

She saw the bridges over the lovely Sienne,

And tried some crepes and cream!

'The Louvre is so big and plentiful

I wonder who keeps it clean?'

She went to all the great designer shops

And saw things so exquisite, then she had ever seen!

She thought that the Arch was very royal and grand,

And walked with the people on Champs Elysee,

And saw all the fancy shops on the way,

There were people here and there, there were people from everywhere!

She smelled the whiffs of perfumes,

And walked through the fragrant shops,

She made it a point to go around and visit all the hot night spots!

She suddenly remembered to go back home,

and water her Madams pots!

Her gaze followed the tower everywhere,

She went right to the top,

She remembered, as she saw down the twinkling lights, back home

 ‘How lights go off a lot?’

That night she slept on a bed so soft,

And saw her family in her dreams,

She took the next flight back home,

With many stories of all she had seen!

Today, I thought I will post a poem I wrote some years ago, when a tidal wave struck the southern coast  of India and caused a lot of pain and suffering to everyone. I thought I would post this poem as the earthquake in New Zealand and the tidal wave in Japan, have awakened my fears, if our creator/nature is trying to give us a message. Just today in the early morning in Northern India we had a huge hail storm for almost an hour and it is still dark and raining, as I write. This kind of weather was never heard of at this point of time when we in India celebrate Holi, and welcome the spring and summer.My maid told me how she is worried about her wheat crop going bad, and I was worried and sulking about my sunflowers and roses which were completely destroyed today! The people of Japan now suffer from cold weather and the danger of death by radiation, and I have also heard that the earth axis and its turning has changed due to the tidal wave. And that is not all , more tidal waves and changes in the seasons are expected to occur in the future.

Sorry to talk about things as if dooms day has come! But, all images are scary , so lets enjoy each day and meet and make as many people happy as we can from now on, I know I will!

In the poem below I have taken two lines from Coleridge's, 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', kindly see wikipedia for the poem details http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner. Its a long poem which I have ryhmed in some places and in some places it is free, so grab a cup of strong coffee and enjoy!
To see a report on the destruction caused by the Tidal wave in India see http://www.undp.org/cpr/disred/documents/tsunami/india/gov11.pdf

Natures Wave

Water water everywhere,

And not a drop to drink,

Water water everywhere,

And Oh! Our lives did sink!

All were enjoying the festive season,

All across the land,

Then came that mighty wave,

and stuck us in the sand!

Oh God! What did we do to deserve,

such a  slap so hard?

Where is my house ?

Where is my tree ?

Where are the books and toys ?

Where is my spouse?

Where is my hearth?

Where is my life?

And my children who played in the yard?

Away!Away! All washed away!

We all are dazed,

The day passes to the next day,

Land and sea still rumble now and then,

We are now all cramped,

Like pigs in a pen,

Waiting for help and hope,

Help trickles in ,

Too late, too little,

And then too much!

Help in India always comes late,

They wait, watch and wait!

Till the disaster comes,

They watch the disaster,

Till their hands become numb!

No, no, no Tsunami or enemy will never ever come!

And the enemy through history has always come!

Nature cannot be stopped!

But let us pause and think,

What has been so good about all this?

There have been acts of kindness, bravery and compassion,

The world has come together to help and aide,

the affected nations!

Do we need a disaster ,

To come and help each other out?

Do we need tall towers to fall?

And the ground to shakes us all about?

To help each other and come together

only when we fear, we will be wiped out?

Tears will be shed in the east and west,

Maybe it’s a test?

A call from nature,

To make us wake up,

Or ,maybe it is to tells us that

Man can try very hard,

To control nature,

To pollute natures air,

To pollute natures land,

To use and pierce through the earth and cut green,

For our own comfort,

and give nothing back?

We build satellites and communications in air,

But we forget to talk nicely to others,

We build bridges and building on land,

But we cannot find the right way, and develop a good society,

We pack and purify water,oil, diamonds and gold

 But we don’t try and purify our souls.

Yes,we have come together,

in time of crisis,

But let us come together,

at other times too!

God helps those people,

who help themselves and others two!

Man cannot conquer nature!

And that’s true,

They say that time and tide wait for none,

And nature, never does too!

Water ,water, everywhere,

And not a drop to drink,

Water ,water, gone away,

Let us stop and think?

Why is it that all man come together?

Only when we all fear we sink?

The Ides of March is Here ! The Spirit of Caesar Speaks !

Hi all ! The Ides of March is today! So, I have penned a few lines on what I think would be what Caesar would have asked Brutus. This idea of the great Shakespear is like a metaphor of how we get decieved because of our own arrogance or stupidity, in believing people. They say Caesar died because of his own arrogance, and similarly a lot of great leaders have died because of their devil may care attitude of their own security , a very good example in India would be , Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

But I have restricted my writing on how it hurts when a trusted friend decieves you. It has happened to me, many times. I believe in friendship without any attachments, a true friendship, call me a fool but thats the way I am. So, I guess I get hurt more often! Anyways, I have learnt my lessons ! So after you read the poem, see if you can pen a few lovely lines on the comments area on this topic, this week! Good luck and happy reading!

And please, I am not competing with Shakespear, I hope he will feel happy in his grave, if his spirit ever reads the poem !! How wonderful it would have been to have Wordsworth, Shakespear, and Keats writing blogs!!! .........Read on!

The Spirit of Caesar Speaks

You too Brutus ? Then fall Caesar!

As I fall down on the pulpit,

My spirit comes out and stands,

To ask you some questions,

So answer, I need to understand!

Look Brutus, look! I lay there dead and cold,

The stabs are running and bleeding,

Just as the Soothsayer had foretold!

But you? My friend! My enemy?

On what grounds do you stand?

You listened to my flatterers evil stories!

Now my blood is on your hands!

For the good of Rome you thought?

Rome was not built in a day!

And even if I had not been Caesar,

It would still remain, after our days!

Did  you think about our friendship,

when we rode and conquered lands?

I had planned a glorious future,

But, now my blood dries upon Roman sand!

So all Ye who loved a friend!

And gave him your heart and soul,

Beware of your best friend and not you enemy,

As with a friends stab, you die a thousand fold!

Seven Years of Saturn

Hello everyone! Today I am posting a poem which goes on to a very random thought. I wrote the poem after a family member went through a near fatal car crash. It is about what some of us in India believe, in the Seven Years of Saturn. We believe in the Shani God or the Saturn God, who enters all astrological signs and stays for seven and a half years, divided into sections of  2 1/2 yrs + 2 1/2 yrs +2 1/2yrs. This God gives the results of your previous and present deeds and hence one has to be very careful during this phase. You are punished and also rewarded at the end of the seven and a half years, till he moves to the next sign and so on, and comes back again into your sign. For more details you can do a net search. The car crash, some told me had happened as the family member was on his last phase of his Seven years or 'Sadesati'. And I myself got married at the start of my Seven years of Saturn and I am still in it. I never believed this at first but, yes, I have been troubled in this phase and went through some emotional hell, with the baby inside. The poem has no philosophical meanings, it is in tribute to Saturn and a thank you, for all the good things which have also happened. As for believing in this astrological concept, I don't know?
You tell me!

Seven Years of Saturn

Here he comes his rings in sight!

He vanquishes all without a fight!

Till now all your stars shone bright!

You’ll reach the stars,or burn in plight,

Saturn is on his turn!

Here comes Saturn and be aware!

Even the Gods he did not spare!

Do all your actions with great care!

We mortals will always have fright!

Two half years,too good,

Two half years just two bad,

The remaining two left to add,

May give you fruits, well and good,

In these seven years run.

Do all right!

Do no wrong!

Saturn decides where your fruits belong,

So do good my dear friend!

Hurdles come and so do gains,

Falls you’ll make,

Endure deep pains,

Be careful, and you’ll be through!

Test of time,

Promotions on line,

A marriage divine,

Could come in seven years hence!

And so in the seventh year,Saturn departs,

And will leave you good things to start,

A home or a car to claim,

Your struggles will seed good times and fame,

You’ve stood the test of time!

Saturn tests you till you burn

Makes your juices chaff and churn

A chapter in life you have learnt,

Do good, as Saturn returns again!