Salt—Poem

Na/GloPoWriMo 2021 #6 It feels so cathartic to finally be able towrite about lovewhen I know you aren’t readingever since I’ve been eating cold ricehot ones sizzle in my strawberry mouthyet warm is too saucy to suckthat I get remindedIf you really wanted me to cook that dayyou might as well have left cardamomon the […]

Salt—Poem

In the house next to mine.

In the house to the right of my house, the single mother lost her job a day before yesterday. Amantha’s boyfriend left her when she was seven months pregnant, her kid is now four and will be starting school tomorrow. //We play fifa together.

In the house to the left of my house, a couple recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. They have two sons, well settled with fancy car and big offices in NYC. None of them called to wish their parents on their anniversary. //We discuss life and politics together

In the house in front of my house, is a library, which is not exactly a library, but Rebecca buys a minimum of three books whenever she goes to the bookstore and she goes to the bookstore at least twice in a week.
Rebecca’s mom is battling cancer and Rebecca can’t even go and see her because of the abusive past she had with her step dad. She introduced me to Murakami. I’ll ask her out someday. // We talk Bukowski, Plath and Yeats.

In the house miles away from mine a boy is planning to come out of his closet. His family is very conservative and consider being gay as a sin. In his mind, he is going through all the possible ways his parents can react after hearing about his son’s sexuality.

Somewhere, someone is vacating their house and migrating to a new country, leaving all the stories of that home behind them.
And in my house, I sit on the couch everyday and think how perfect is everyone’s life.

Syria 2018

“Future poets, artist, scientists, doctors and engineers, died in the bomb explosion yesterday night.” reported a news channel.
100s of dream died that day, kids with dreams.

i.

06:00 AM on a sunday morning,
Zhara woke up.
One weekdays she wakes up at 6,
alarm clock is her enemy.
Sunday morning, she planned to sleep late,
She was tired, working late.
*Sounds of bomb explosion*

ii.
ZHARA IS DEAD.

“SYRIA WAR- another bomb blast kills hundreds of people.”

iii.

In hospital, there is complete mess, doctors haven’t slept in weeks, nurses working 24*7. Dead bodies everywhere, parents crying, children weeping.
Few news reporters can also be spotted.
One news reporter is asking a women whose is child is admitted in hospital day before yesterday.
This is how their conversation goes.
“How is your son now?”
“I’m waiting for my son to die.”
Silence.
*kids crying, parents weeping*
News reporter couldn’t believe what he just heard.
“Why mam? He will be get better.”
“No, I want him to die. At least he will be free of pain and suffering. I was just making bread from him when the roof fell in. At least in heaven there is food.”

iv

25 missed calls from DAD
20 text messages from Faizan
Zhara was supposed to leave for Jordan today.

“Countries around the world condemn the killing of civilians because of ongoing civil war in Syria. Twitter flooded with #PeaceForSyria messages.”

v.

Sit on your couch, relax,
Play some music.
Take out your phone,
Oh it’s already in your hand.
Open twitter,
Type a sad message, with a #PeaceForSyria
Close twitter.
Go to Facebook,
Change your DP to black.
Congratulations
You just played a very important part in stopping ongoing civil war in Syria.
You are a hero.
Sleep peacefully.

vi.
To hell with the humanity.

Book review – GHACHAR GHOCHAR

GHACHAR GHOCHAR BY VIVEK SHANBHAG
RATING – 4/5

This short yet gripping novel follows a family journey from being too poor to rich in a very less span of time. Once poor, surviving in only four rooms that connected front to back, a mother, father, sister and brother as well as their uncle all live together. All this changes when the father loses his job and the uncle has a plan to commence his own business. His uncle’s business starts making profits. Suddenly their lives change, more money, better place to live, but while much is gained, much is lost.

This is why I love short novels, in less than 120 pages, Shanbhag manages to craft a narrative that is poignant and filled with humor and warmth.

GHACHAR GHOCHAR is a nonsense term used by the narrator’s wife, which means entangled. And the title perfectly describes the book. How everything in their life gets messed up once they become rich. “It’s true what they say — it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us,”
Things left unsaid is what makes this book more magnificent.

FINAL VERDICT –
HIGHLEY RECOMMENDED. This novel has been called as The Great Indian novel by New York Times. So, do not miss reading this masterpiece.

I’ll posting book reviews too from now on. If you guys love reading then please follow me on Instagram where I’ll be reviewing books. @diaryofabookreader

Things will get better

​

“Hey am I speaking to Kevin.” 
“Yea” 
“There was a car accident at Broadway an hour ago and we found three bodies and I’m sorry to inform you that one of the body was of your father’s.”

NUMB, n u m b, numb. 

I was 16,
When I lost my dad. 
On the birthday of my mom,
She died, when I was nine. 
I hated her when she died. 
I hated her that she left me all alone. 
But dad never let me feel alone. 
Now, that he is gone too
What am I suppose to do
I’m all alone, stranger to myself. 
Should I hate him too
For leaving me all alone 
in the middle of the sea. /I still hate him for that. 

Two girls,
Tried to molest me, 
When I was 19.
I went to my friends, 
To tell them what happened. 
“Damn it, two girls, you must have had fun.”
Numb, NUMB, n u m b. 
Horrified, 
Thinking that, Mom and dad 
Was just a cut or jump away. 
I attempted suicide. 
But I was saved,
By a girl 
Aged 19. // the pain is still there, 

I’m 54 now, 
Both my daughters are getting 
Married tomorrow. 
They are happy, 
We. Are. Happy. 
Tonight, 
I’m writing this for them 
So that 
They know, 
It gets better,
no matter, How bad it gets 
/// two times it didn’t get better one time it did. 

Things I want to tell you.

1. You are beautiful, no matter what people say about you. Always remember you are beautiful both from inside and outside. never ever doubt that.
2. Life is too short to begin the sentences with ‘If’ or ‘What if’.

  // Say things you always wanted to say, if you love them, tell them, don’t wait for the perfect time, perfect time is a non-existent entity. Say I love you often and always end the conversation on positive and happy note, there might be very much possibility that you may not talk to them again. Ever. 
3.  Fall in love with strangers. 

  /Share your naked truth with strangers, and if they talk to you after knowing your naked truth, believe me, you will be friends for a very long time, maybe forever. 
4. Treat heartbreak as comma and not as full stop. 

 // They say ‘time heals everything’ I don’t agree, I belive it’s not time but people who heals people over a period of time. 
5. Don’t take life seriously, but always take reading seriously. 

// read books, a lot of books, you don’t have to finish every book you start. Every book you read makes you a better version of yourself so Reading book is like having a software update. KEEP YOUR SYSTEM UPDATED ALWAYS. 
6. Travel. 

  /Not necessarily to far away places but travel. Explore your city, discover hideaway places, talk to older people and try to know their stories, once in a while visit café alone(take books with you obviously), read and observe people.

Scribble – 3

​Introvert for the world,
Extrovert for her diary. 
Thankfully, Diaries don’t judge people, as the world does. 

In the end.

​But darling, 
in the end, 
out of all the chaos
You will find  the peace. 

in the end, 
You will realise, 
Some questions 
are better unanswered. 
Life is unfair, 
And that’s fair. 

in the end, 
the keys of your happiness,
won’t have any duplicates. 
Out of nowhere,
you will find yourself 
Somewhere. 

And that end
Darling, 
Will be your new beginning. 

​THE FELLOW PASSENGER ON A CRASHING TRAIN

**This is the excerpt from one of my favorite book which I wanted to share with all of you from a long time. Enjoy reading and do answer the question asked at last.”

Even though I’ve just met you, I believe we will be friends.

First, I will tell you something about me, then you can tell me something about you, as that, I believe, is how friendship works.

Here is something I believe: I believe that people don’t know how people work when they’re young and maybe that’s why we’re so reckless with each other when we’re young.

I think people think that people come and go, in and out of life and I think that school teaches them that, that life changes in big annual movements, that one year you’re this and the next, you’re that. But life blends into itself as you get older and you realise, you will watch a few, if not many, of your friends get old.

You will watch them lose their minds and their hair. You will watch them get sick and get better. You will watch them succeed and fail. You will watch them get married, get divorced, get pregnant and yes, eventually, you will watch them die. Or they will watch you die.

So this is what I believe friendship means. And I’m sorry to have to put such a heavy burden on you. But you have put the same burden on me.

Now you can tell me something you believe, as it is your turn, and this is how friendship works.

Ever and forever.

​You remind me of home, 
Of all the comfort I find there, 
My heart skips a beat, 
whenever I see you. 
You keep me wild, 
You keep me young, 
All I want is, you. 
Forever and ever.