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The clouds are dark and weary. Complaining? Oh no, that would be silly Tell me, would anyone be?  White crystal drops contaminated brown  House, open house.  to white clouds and whispering winds  Bookworms, chai and everything cosy  There's just one thing, I've left to complete. A O-mouth binge of roadside Pani puri  Spicy, melt-in-your-mouth, soft or crunchy I day-dreamed " Bring it on. I want all of those munchies"  I call the Mr  Hello, a dark chocolate deep toned voice   Mind we step out. I quickly clammer  I need to have my elixir of desire, gosh! Sure, we can. We'll decide in a few Abrupt. the syllables a few That was enough.  Like a lemonade squooshed  my joy hula-hooped Through twisted roads and mud, our vehicle turned Infinite horns and no empathy slow moving cows Finally I spotted the infinite brown craters mounted on a stool  My eyes popped out and my mouth fo...

My first stint with cycling began 20 years ago. But I guess somewhere along the way, life caught up and I was more enamored by sturdier wheels of a bike and then a car. But that’s not nearly important to this story Zoom ahead to 15 years later. My friends and I decided to participate in a cycling expedition at Leh. Now I was nervous. From what I read the route presents challenges of high altitude, freezing conditions, uncertain temperatures and long stretches of unwinding roads. I remember a friend telling me. “ Brown will be your new colour. Bleeding from your nose isn’t uncommon. Don’t fret.” Of course I did. It was time to pull up my socks and prepare. This was my foundation. Little did I know that no matter how much you practice, you’re never going to be completely prepared. Or that there was no looking back. Our training began 6 months in advance with progressively longer rides. 20 kms on weekend one to 70 on weekend five. Staying in Bangalore for more than 25 years,...

In this Chaotic dust All I ever want to be is the grains of sand on the sea. Static. Watching. Observing. Experiencing Absorbing songs by the birds and the trees Sprinkling grains of laughter amongst the whispers of the breeze Cajoling the stars and the sky as the sky enjoys the tease Exploring the diamonds in the sky while the sun and the moon play a game of peek-a-boo Only I am witness to messages in a bottle unfolding countless dreams Oh chaotic world! What will it take for you to come and be Still with me.

Casually I walk into my cycle store to get some accessories. I observe several persons glued to a screen on the wall. Hey, I thought India was playing that nail-biting match on Sunday! no?. As my curious sight fixate on the screen to get a grip of the excitement, I recognize it was a CCTV camera. A young guy in a red tee walks back and forth next to a car standing outside the store. Play. Rewind. Play. Perfect. This is a busy main road. On mute, apparently everybody appears to mind their own business, moving in their respective directions, as cars, two wheelers, animals and trains whisk past back and forth on the screen. At one point a man points out "Wahi Wahi hai". Like a soap opera on television, my interest intensifies. A young boy maybe in his twenties walked towards the car from a distance of approximately 100 meters. Appearing casually at first, he then surreptitiously scrutinizes the road. The world is too busy to notice him ignorant in their unfettered world. ...