So long as I can hold on to my smile!

A million marathon I would run,

Setting my wandering feet in jest and fun!

Conquering the distance mile by mile,

So long as I can hold on to my smile!

An eternity I would spend teaching,

Concepts that need practicing and preaching!

Correcting the papers, pile after pile,

So long as I can hold on to my smile!

                                                                                  

Countless cases I would fight,

Placing my points to champion human rights!

Pouring over every fact, file after file,

So long as I can hold on to my smile!

My days I would spend doing my job,

Gearing up to face the struggle without a sob!

Curbing thoughts, negative and vile,

So long as I can hold on to my smile!

The Ultimate Giver

After a week in bed, my son got to his feet after the dengue fever. He had some notes to be photocopied and both of us decided to take a short stroll.

Once the job on hand was done, we began our walk back and as always my son’s foodie feet started slowing at the sight of a food stall. I let him take a look. I just wanted him to get back to normalcy.

Though in his early teens now, I feel emotionally drained when he falls sick.  He wanted to eat something hot and I stopped near the corn vendor. The lemon and chili powder that the street side vendor rubbed over the corn made our tongues water liberally.

I asked my son to head back home, while I stood there patiently waiting in queue, behind the others who had placed their orders before me. When the guy ahead of me had to pay, he realized that he ran short of Rs.5/-. The corn vendor told him to give it the next time he bought corn. I was awestruck at the generosity of this road side vendor.

Instantly, I decided to pay an additional Rs.5/- along with my share. He accepted it gracefully and I proceeded. As I neared the next stall that sold flowers and greens, I realized that I needed coriander and curry leaves. I asked the vendor to give me a bunch of each.

I opened the purse to shell out the money. As I fumbled, I realized that I was running short of Rs.5/- !

“Bring it along tomorrow,” I heard the generous vendor say before he proceeded to serve his next customer.

Stranded with a single strand!

King Vallabh Verma was getting old, though his queen did not think so. One day, as luck would have it, the King encountered a demon which agreed to be the King’s slave, provided the King kept him engaged with some work. Only too delighted with the constraint placed by the demon, the Kind took him along to the palace.

The next two months saw the tired King enjoying his retirement, while the demon carried out the King’s orders to near perfection. Soon, like a storm in a tea cup, trouble began to brew.

The demon began completing his assigned tasks faster and with better accuracy. The King was running out of jobs to keep the demon engaged with.

He called for an emergency meeting and the best of his ministers were told to keep the demon engaged. But soon, they too ran out of tasks to keep the demon busy.  The palace was running from pillar to post, finding new jobs.

Finally, exasperated, the King narrated the happenings to the Queen.

The Queen tried hard to suppress her amusement. She then told the King to bring the demon to her chambers.

“Are you sure, my Queen? He has me all tired within just two months. Ruling the kingdom was not as difficult as keeping the demon engaged,” the King confessed.

The Queen was sure that she could tackle the situation. The demon was ordered to meet the Queen in her chamber. As soon as the demon was in, the queen pulled out a silver strand of hair from her wise head. She gave it to the demon and asked him to split it length-wise into a thousand parts.

It is believed that the demon is still hard at work, while the King ruled his kingdom with renewed energy.

The King is believed to have asked the Queen how she had managed to tackle the demon.

“Experience,” she had summed up!

Leathery Finish!

A drop of water left the friendly firmament,

And fell on the brown earth as though God sent!

The soil sizzled with relief, nay excitement,

Life awaited the moment to spring, humbly bent!

Green and brown danced in a holy tune,

Prosperity would join them with glee, jolly soon!

Cooling the earth on a hot summer noon,

What joy bring these to life, an incomparable boon!

A hurried silver drop followed her peer,

As rain drenched the thirsty earth without fear!

The rivers swelled up with pride and cheer,

Once upon a time these resources were not so dear!

Flora and fauna thrived with each other,

As the blue sky was adorned with colorful feather!

The tilted axis offered the right weather,

All until man wanted his needs fulfilled in leather!