I will rise

You try to bind me down with your lies

Tie me up with your deceit 

You may try to tear me down 

Break my body 

But inspite of it all, I will rise

Your words like a sword 

Driven straight to the heart

Leaving me bleeding and wounded

But I will not succumb 

To the pain you inflict

Cause you may try to break my body

My soul will forever be free

You lay a trap to ensnare me

Stabbing me in the back

With the dagger that you wield

You cage me, bind me in chains

Lock me in the dark recesses 

What ever you try to do to me

I shall always find my way

Cause I know I shall rise

Like a dead weight you drag me down

Into the depths of despair

You make me feel pain

Like I have never felt before 

Pushing me into the darkness

But somehow I'll shall find the light in me

And banish the darkness that engulfs me

You try knock me down

From the pedestal that you make

That I didn't ask for, but you put me there 

You judge me, mock me

You call me names 

Make fun of who I am 

But you'll never try to   understand me

You say I am different, I am not normal

Causing you to Zumba 

Start calling me names

Your words like stones pelted my way 

Causing me to bleed, causing me to fall

But through it all I shall not give up

Cause I know that I shall rise

You don't approve of the things i do

You call it something of no use

Just a waste of time of a fool

Nothing good will ever come 

from the things I do 

But I know, inspite of all your take downs

I will a rise for all to see

I shall walk with dignity

With my head held high

Being who I should be 

Being who I want to be

Who I choose to love

What I choose to do

Is a decision solely 

For me to make

And I will not anyone 

Take that away from me 

Cause I have the utmost faith in me

And will never loose hope in me

But then there's a you

That cares for me

That supports you, makes you feel safe

Never ever leaving your side

Holding you close in a warm embrace

That fills you with positivity and hope

That you once knew

Never truly letting go of you

Giving you the love that you need 

Cleaning your wounds when you bleed

But through it all will stay with you

Cause with their love We shallYou try to bind me down with your lies

Tie me up with your deceit 

You may try to tear me down 

Break my body 

But inspite of it all, I will rise

Your words like a sword 

Driven straight to the heart

Leaving me bleeding and wounded

But I will not succumb 

To the pain you inflict

Cause you may try to break my body

My soul will forever be free

You lay a trap to ensnare me

Stabbing me in the back

With the dagger that you wield

You cage me, bind me in chains

Lock me in the dark recesses 

What ever you try to do to me

I shall always find my way

Cause I know I shall rise

Like a dead weight you drag me down

Into the depths of despair

You make me feel pain

Like I have never felt before 

Pushing me into the darkness

But somehow I'll shall find the light in me

And banish the darkness that engulfs me

You try knock me down

From the pedestal that you make

That I didn't ask for, but you put me there 

You judge me, mock me

You call me names 

Make fun of who I am 

But you'll never try to   understand me

You say I am different, I am not normal

Causing you to actbstrange

Start calling me names

Your words like stones pelted my way 

Causing me to bleed, causing me to fall

But through it all I shall not give up

Cause I know that I shall rise

You don't approve of the things i do

You call it something of no use

Just a waste of time of a fool

Nothing good will ever come 

from the things I do 

But I know, inspite of all your take downs

I will a rise for all to see

I shall walk with dignity

With my head held high

Being who I should be 

Being who I want to be

Who I choose to love

What I choose to do

Is a decision solely 

For me to make

And I will not anyone 

Take that away from me 

Cause I have the utmost faith in me

And will never loose hope in me

But then there's a you

That cares for me

That supports you, makes you feel safe

Never ever leaving your side

Holding you close in a warm embrace

That fills you with positivity and hope

That you once knew

Never truly letting go of you

Giving you the love that you need 

Cleaning your wounds when you bleed

But through it all will stay with you

Cause with their love We shall risea

The Lotus: Symbolism

Bloom where you're planted

Rise above the murky, muddiness

That tries to engulf

But stay afloat with your head held high

You may not have had a choice

Where you bloom

But you don't have to be

Like the place where you bloom

Though you may be surrounded 

By mud and grime

You stand tall with beauty and dignity

For all to behold and inspire

You let all things bad 

Just roll off you 

Not letting negativity and pessimism 

Blemish or sink you

You radiate the beauty and peace

No matter where you stand

But even in all your beauty

You never forget your roots

For you all the world is one

You don't discriminate 

Everyone is equal 

No matter who they are

You don't know discriminate 

You know no gender, age

For you, preferences, orientation

Colour of the skin doesn't matter

So bloom where you are planted

Shine brightly for all to see

Let your beauty and peace radiate

Making this world a better place to live in

I've got you Babe

There's this person 

Who will always be with you

No matter what you go through

No matter where you go

They'll never ever leave your side

Through good times and bad

Through the thick of it all

Though people may desert you

Some may even walk away from you

But they will forever be by your side

They will always be there

To console you when you're sad

To hold and cover you with their warmth

Giving you a helping hand 

When you're fallen on the ground

Often picking you up

Dusting you off and helping you move on

They are your biggest supporters

The voice that eggs you on

In the darkest hour

They bring you hope 

Give you the faith that you lost

And provide you the will to move on

When you feel all hope is gone

And there's nothing else to live for

Like the little voice of reason

They will help you through

They see you through it all

They know your every whims and fancies

They see you bare to the bones

They know who you truly are

Nothing is hidden from them

Though you may deny or hide

They see you for what and who you are

They know what pleases, What hurts you

And through it all They take care of you

Often rationalising with you

When you veer towards the irrational path

They steady your shaky ship

And blow into your sails

Righting the wrong course

They care for you, they love you

They whisper words of wisdom to you

If you could only be quiet and listen

They have your back

Where others may stab

Never ever giving up on you

Cause they know what you are capable of

And they want to see you be that

They are your best friend

Your greatest love

You biggest support

You cheerleader, your lover, your friend

Like a shadow, always at your side

Never ever leaving you

'Cause that person is YOU

The Mystery of the Missing Pavements

A muggy post-rains evening, you are making your way through traffic. The muggy weather, the conditions of the roads and metro work has screwed up the traffic have got you all flustered. 

So you zig-zag pass countless vehicles, as two-wheeler can only do, to move ahead. All of a sudden your path is blocked by a lady walking slowly. Clearly she's jay walking, so you gently honk your horn trying to get her to give you way. She turns and gives you the look as if you have committed a cardinal sin and are totally wrong. You try in vain to get her to move and helplessly listen to her lecture. Your hapless self try to explain that you are on the road and she is in the wrong by jay walking on the road. You try to indicate that there's a place for her to walk. But then you notice that's something is amiss, something is not there. And low and behold its the pavements that's missing.

So like an unsolved mystery you wonder, where have all the pavements gone? And then you have Paula Cole's Where have all the Cowboys gone, buzzing in your head, followed by Adele's Chasing Pavement. 

Surely this is a mystery that needs to be solved. Where's Sherlock when you need him? Even ACP Pradhyuman or Daya or Fredrick would do. So you have the mystery of the missing pavement on your hand, life is now going to get interesting.

As you dwell deeper into the mire you realise that the pavements haven't gone anywhere, just we humans have gone everywhere. The poor pavements have become more multipurpose than they were intended for.

So where you had walkers treading on them, you find open manholes and broken tiles. They have now become the dwelling place and outdoor relieving place for those who can't afford a place. At many places they become a workshops and bike repair, at some places they seem to have become a garbage disposal place and quite a few area, the road widening has lead to pavement shrinking.

In such a situation poor walkers have gone from ordinary to jay walkers, often risking life and limb, often in frustration as they clash with traffic trying to make heir way through the crowded roads.

So there you have it, the mystery of missing pavement is solved, laid bare for all to see. Now the question is what needs to be done to get them back. Something you and I would  not know what to do... or so I assume...

Lip Sinking Feeling

First thing first, I am no fan of Indian television shows. For me the current crop of shows lack originality, quality, production values and above all simple logic. Ever so often I feel like I could tear my hair off its scalp from the stupidity they pass as entertainment. They feel outdated, over the top, melodramatic, preachy, Holier-than-thou and an insult to the demographic they target. Ironically the Doordarshan era had way better and original shows.

That said, just the other day came across the advert for a new show call Lip Sing Battle, which I assume takes the concept of Lip Sync Battle, an American show that's hosted by LL Cool J and co-hosted by super model Chrissy Thiegen. The Indian version seems to be hosted by Farah Khan with Ali Asgar and Bharti appearing in the promos too. The promos had Farhan Akhtar, Parneeti Chopra, Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor, featured on it.

The concept of lip sync has two performer lip syncing two songs and the audience decides who wins. If the promos are anything to go by, this appears to be one dreadful show masquerading as something fun. Let's face it, Farah Khan can't host a show to save her life and both Aliasgar and Bharti seem to have fallen into a rut with their acts which seem like two days old stale biryani.

Most of the people who will be appearing on the show already make a living from lip syncing songs, so there's nothing new or novel there. So that takes away the uniqueness and fun element of the show. Where the American show seemed fun and irrelevant at times, Indian one feels made up and over the top. To add to that you have Karan Johar dancing which I know is cringe worthy.

So you have Farhan Akhtar doing Breathless or Parneeti aping Govinda, or Karan Johar dancing, you have seen them do this in movies and award shows and other reality shows.

So you don't have the fun elements like Channing Tatum dressed up as Elsa and having a blast lip syncing Let it Go and then following it up with lip syncing to Who runs the World while riding a unicorn only to have Beyoncé appear at the end of the performance. Then you have Jenna Dewan Tatum recreating her husbands routine from Magic Mike, Ann Hathaway embracing her inner Miley right to swinging on a wrecking ball and licking a sledgehammer, Emily Blunt getting in touch with Janis Joplin, The Rock lip syncing Taylor Swift and Clark Gregg dressed as stewardess lip syncing Toxic, and finally Spider-Man, a.k.a. Tom Holland transforming into Rihanna to showcase his dancing chops to Umbrella.

Let's face it, the Indian pales in comparison before this, if the promos are anything to go by. Where the American is fun, hilarious, surprising, entertaining, the Indian version feels like a sketch from one of the shows of Kapil Sharma. So you sorely miss the global appeal by the cameos by Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, in their place your have Priety Zinta and Bappi Lahiri (who is actually made fun of).

So if the promos are any sign of things to come, I actually I dread the show. Anyway I pray my mom doesn't decide to watch if...cause if she does then I will have to catch a few glimpse of it.

This is entirely my view of Hindi serials... 

Life from both sides

As I stand at the cusp

At the turn of another year

To grow a year older

Never knowing if I'll be wiser

Even though I know I am not 

Turning a new leaf

Cause I don't know what all to change

The year gone by

 Took me through hell

Made me feel pain 

That I thought would never end

But somehow I made it through

I glad to have known it all

The flames that I have been through

Have made me change 

From the man I once knew

To the one I became

Forging my will

Making me strong 

Helping to restore my faith in me

I seen my life through both sides now

Through ups and downs

I have seen it all 

I have no illusions 

Of there being a change

But still I hope and keep the faith

Somehow I'll find my way

I longed to say "I love you"

And hear it said back too

Even though I knew it very well

This was a foolish and selfish thought

Not hearing it made me lonely and insane

I have made mistakes

I have stumbled and fell 

Sometimes headlong 

Into my personal hell

Darkness was what I felt

I longed to put an end to it all

Not knowing when it all would end

If there'll be light

To banish the darkness I felt

Cause the mistake I made 

Left me feeling ashamed

I wanted it all to end

People thought they knew what I felt

Telling what I should do

Never really caring to know well 

The pain and loneliness I felt

Telling me that I need to change

They didn't realise 

That advice was not what I needed

Just a patient ear

To hear the pain that I felt

For companionship 

Is what I longed for 

Cause love seemed far from me

Broken and battered was how I felt 

Down in the dumps with no will to spare

But then friends came to my aid 

Love helped me find a way

Restoring the faith that I once had

They dusted me off and wiped my tears

They gave me hope, 

helped me get back to my feet

Without a judgemental word

They showed that they genuinely cared

Love embraced me and made me see

What a foolish boy I had been

Through fears and loneliness

Love was always there for me

There may have been change

But change is part of life

Is something we've got to accept 

Without a fret

Not knowing what what will happen next

Cause love gave me a reason to live 

Love gave me hope and banished despair

Showed that it will always be there

When I need it it will always be there 

I just need to reach out and it will be there

I've looked at life from both sides now

From subtle breeze to stormy clouds

From the highs and lows that I have known

I finally found way back home

Now I have no fear of the dark in me

Knowing I'll never let it conquer me

For friends and family are my support

Love will always be there for me

Always leading me on.