Unforgettable Innocent Craze

It crawled into the courtyard and sneaked into the sun soaked afternoon,
It was the childhood I can never forget..
It smelled the aroma and kissed the magical hands that blessed the kitchen ,
It was the childhood I can never forget...
It swung happily on the swing hanging from the mango tree and often used to steal a few delicacies...
It was the childhood I can never forget...
It was sweeter than the sugarcane dipped in tubs and as joyful as the song sung by a group of ducks,
It was the childhood I can never forget..
It was as pure as grandmas prayers and as white as her shiny hair,
It was the childhood I can never forget...
It danced like the smoke from grandpas chilum (part of a hokkah-traditional smoking instrument) and twirled like his unchanging decorum,
It was the childhood I can never forget...
And today when I see a smile on a little one, I can hear life singing to the same rhythm, and then my heart dances to the tune of the days, when life used to rejoice with an innocent craze.

A Smile is Contagious--Strive to Spread it :)

The bond between a child and an adult is ironical, not just because of age gap, but because it's from a child that an adult learns the selfless meaning of a smile..I still remember the days when grandpa was not too well and preferred staying in his room, my little cousin used to bang into his room and would announce his presence "dada I , your friend is here"..which would be accompanied by an enthusiastic Salaam. All the other adults would stop him from making too much of noise, since they thought that he would be disturbing grandpa, but one could see the beam of light that used to spread on grandpas face, it came with the fact that this little kid was full of hope....hope that gave grandpa the strength to get up and give him a tight hug with a big smile, something that had become quite rare because of his ailment.
I remember what someone told me...prefer the company of people who make you feel happy..it's not that you should not be there for the ones who are in pain, but people who have loads of complaints every now and then are the ones that curb your enthusiasm, so much so that you stop enjoying life.
Now I know why grandpa was loved by one and all...his enthusiasm, positivity and so called childish pranks, made everyone enjoy themselves and left a beautiful smile on their face.
So friends stay happy, spread happiness, spend time with little angels and let life dance on the tune you play.....coz the time that goes away never comes back!

The lasting fragrance

Childhood is the most beautiful phase of our life. We blossom in a secure environment and bloom in our courtyard..it's just amazing. Everything tastes better and more valuable, be it a pack of chips or the food at our neighbours place, which we savour without letting our mother know about it, and then to be scolded and coming to the conclusion that mothers are magicians, one can never hide anything from them.
There was something about aunty that always made me go to her house, her daughter was my best friend and aunty a fairy godmother in disguise. We used to play in her courtyard, I and her daughter who was a year younger than me. Whenever sweets came in their house, a share was kept aside for me. Uncle was a bit..umm..well a little scary...it sometimes gave me the feeling that aunty was like Rapunzel, caged in his three room castle. Nonetheless I was a regular visitor at auntys place. I still remember the day before my birthday, when she asked me what I wanted as a present, I quickly replied..a doll!! Instantly my dad who was standing next to me , pinched me on my hand .. what a perfect pinch it was..aunty could never get to know why I changed my mind instantly and refused a gift completely and my dad could never get to know that I still haven't forgiven him for hampering my prospects of getting a doll :( but I got a nice one on my birthday nonetheless!
There are some people who carve out a special place in our heart and mind, and they never leave it..aunty is one such person..though the visits have stopped.. the memories still linger on in my minds eye.
I can never forget the hands that fed me amazing rice and veggies with a dash of ghee that came from her village, I've never tasted such amazing food ever after that..
Was it the taste of food, her love for me or the innocence of childhood that had cast the magic spell..Now when I look at life as an adult, maybe the picturesque charm of the bygone days has given way to an alert mind, wary of people around me, but certain things never change, a stranger with a lovely smile still makes my day...love can never leave this world coz we thrive on it :)