The Separation Saga

Solitude to her was synonymous with peace

Although living by herself was no easy feat

But she could sing, dance and do as she pleased

Yet she'd spend hours dreaming of turning a new leaf

With a fairy tale wedding her dream came true

She gleefully watched as life changed and time flew

Her heart was joyous that she'd never again be blue

Worries and troubles were finally far and few

Little did she know what life had in store

Her lovely companion had a world of science to explore

She wanted to accompany him but she was so unsure

Before she knew it she was left alone like before

Peace and solitude were no longer the same

Leading life alone was now a depressing game

But she watched and beamed as her soulmate rose to fame

To admit that she needed him, she was not ashamed

She thought to herself-"It's time for action"

Her time was up weighing her emotions

He welcomed her to join his exploration

And her resolution finally ended the saga of separation

Dream Chronicles: Psychic Tendencies

Umpteen times I have noticed that I get bizarre dreams and eerily similar incidents happen in my real life the next day. It has always intrigued me as to whether this qualifies as pure coincidence or something paranormal, something like premonition.

Some such dreams and the corresponding life incidents I still remember. Last year I dreamt one night that I was in Mumbai, resting in the sweet comforts of my home, laying on the couch reading a book while my brother watched cricket. I further dreamt that my parents came home from somewhere and had loads of bags in their hands. Groceries, I supposed in my dream.

My mom started unpacking the bags and stuffing the fridge while my Dad dumped his share of bags next to Mom's and sank into the couch next to my bro watching cricket. I lectured my Dad in my dream that he should help out Mom as I went in to fulfill my girly duties helping her out, while the guys of the family assumed the roles of couch potatoes.

When I awoke the next morning here in US, I wondered what a weird dream that was. I spoke to my Mom that night and our conversation went around our daily routines just as usual. I asked "What else did you do all day?". She said "Oh we went grocery shopping. I had a big argument with your Dad. I was as tired as him when we came back home but he asked me to put away the items while he rested." I heard with eyes wide open. I asked her "What was bro doing?" And she replied "Oh when he watches cricket on TV, he doesn't hear anything. I didn't expect him to help in the least."

I told her about my dream and she was dumbfounded. She believed me but most people wouldn't. It's just like hearing ghost stories.

Although this was the only incident bearing the most uncanny resemblance to my dream, most other of my dream-life correlation occurrences share only a character or place. Most likely it happens that I dream of a person whom I haven't seen or heard from in a long time, and I either see/get news of/meet/get a call or email from that person the next day.

Last night I dreamt of this lady, whom I haven't spoken to in a year. She is on my facebook friends' list and I haven't interacted with her there at all. I got a dream last night that she sponsored a honeymoon suite for me and my husband as a wedding gift (We got married 2 months back). She gifted us a suite in Courtyard Marriott, a very plush hotel with a chauffeur driven service for the newly weds. I was thanking her and asking her not to do it for us in my dream when I finally woke up. I literally laughed thinking of the ridiculousness of the dream.

Today I go on Facebook and I find that she has 'liked' my wedding picture that I uploaded last week. And 'commented' on my wedding life event wishing me and my husband a very happy wedded life. It struck me once again that this is probably the second most stupefying dream-turning-into-reality event for me (the second most significant one that I can recollect). Not only did the lady appearing in my dream communicate in real life, the situation involved me, my husband and her. And it involved something along the lines of a sweet wishing gesture for my post-wedding time.

So in my dream chronicles that I record from time to time, I have decided to put down writings of all such crazy deja vu dreams too along with describing the masala-movie type dreams I get often.

Looks like dreams hold a very special place in my life. No wonder then that I love to sleep. It's like going to a cinema free of cost. Only the movie never reaches 'The End'.

Rose and the Rain

There stands a rose, alone in the fields

Awaiting her life's first rain

While vivid memories, from her previous life

Truly drive her insane

She remembers his charm, His undying love

His looks are engraved in her brain

Would he come by? Is he too far?

Or is she on the way to pain?

She shirks from touch, She's withered away

Deadly thorns alone remain

The wind makes her cold, The sun melts her skin

But his thoughts can make her sustain

And then one day, she watches the path

Leading up the rocky terrain

It could only be him, she thinks as she sees

A prince on a horse with rich mane

He gallops to her, surveying her face

While she looks on in dismay

The looks aren't the same, And the charm is nowhere

But she wonders if his love is the same?

He lowers his hand, To take her along

And all she can do is refrain

She looks for a sign, to ensure it's him

And looks heavenwards to complain

As if on cue, the sky changes hue

And down pours her life's first rain

She smiles knowing it's him, And gets on the horse

And off they gallop across the plains

Time is the killer

The lab looked no different from a warehouse. Papers, journals, heavy books, cables, bottles and monitors lay everywhere in the room. The digital calendar flashed the date '5 OCT 2047' in an ominous fluorescent glow. Dr.Chabra was deeply monitoring Dr. Swamy's vital signs.
This was a dangerous experiment the duo had indulged in. To conquer mortality.

Dr. Swamy started perspiring clearly out of last minute nervousness. He was to be injected with a small dose of a chemical composed just for the experiment, to simulate death. Simulating death amounted to being devoid of heart beat for a small period of 15 seconds. In those 15 seconds Dr. Chabra was to test the magic of the experimental serum that was meant to resurrect the dead man. If everything went as per the theoretical results, Dr. Swamy's heart was to start beating again between the 10th and the 13th seconds. They had tested this multiple times on small animals and reptiles. For human testing, they did not have any one but themselves, for the government did not approve of lab experiments meddling with human life. The experiment was as illegal as it was lethal.

Dr. Chabra took a deep breath and instructed Dr. Swamy to relax.
"It will take only 30 seconds for me to completely inject this as you must already know. But the most important point is- don't breathe too fast. I know you know this, but I am just reiterating. If your heart rate increases, the whole experiment would fail."
Dr. Swamy knew really well what it meant. If his heart rate increased during the process of injecting the death simulator, the difference in Oxygen intake could make fundamental changes to the chemical composition of the liquid and he could lose his life. It was inexplicably important to stay calm and breathe slow.

Dr. Chabra started the process.

10 seconds.
"Things will be OK. We have tested this multiple times", Dr. Swamy's thoughts ran.
15 seconds.
"Dont think. Dont think. Stay calm", he told himself.
20 seconds.
"I never said goodbye to my son."
At that thought his heart rate increased a tiny little bit.
"Please stay calm." warned Dr. Chabra.
25 seconds.
"This is not done. I should have bid goodbye."
26 seconds.
"This is irresponsible. I am a bad father."
27 seconds.
"I don't want to die."

Dr. Swamy's heart rate rocketed with all those stressful thoughts and Dr. Chabra went frantic trying to reverse the procedure because he knew it was all downhill from here.

Despite all attempts to stop the circulation of the deadly liquid in Dr. Swamy's blood stream, the inevitable end was looming ahead. Dr. Swamy's eyes rolled within their sockets and he seemed to be entering a trance.

The monitors showed a blank beacon indicating the horrifying truth in a matter of seconds. Dr. Swamy was no more.




Harish stared at the digital clock ahead. It had a bright ominous glow. It flashed the date '5-OCT-2067'. This lab was his home. He had heard stories about the infamous experiment of a genius duo-Dr. Swamy and Dr. Chabra. His respect for the place and the people who once occupied it had increased manifold after he had read through the details of their experiment. He felt honored and privileged to have procured the permit to acquire the lab for his own experiments.

He felt that he was no great scientist himself. But the place had made a tremendous physiological difference to the success of his experiments. His work had progressed at the speed of light from the moment he had stepped into his new lab.

People talked. There were umpteen stories about Dr. Swamy's spirit haunting the lab for the past 20 years. He did not care. For a scientific person like him, stories such as this were only mildly amusing if anything. He was a big fan of the scientist duo. To commemorate the day the duo had tried their most ambitious experiment, he had chosen the very day to venture into his own big one.

He had invented a time machine. A partial one so to speak. It could travel only into the future. The day had come to test it out.

The experiment was low key and top secret. Only his closest friends of the science fraternity knew about it. His phone rang that morning as he was fine tuning his instruments one last time before the big afternoon ahead.
"Hello Harish" his friend spoke into the camera-phone. Harish looked up at the video screen. His friend looked nervous.
"What's up Prakash?" asked Harish, looking down again continuing his touch ups.
"Why did you have to choose this date? You know what my lab mate says? That Dr. Swamy's spirit will ensure the experiment fails."
Harish felt annoyed immediately.
"Thanks for the negative energy, but tell your lab mate to mind his or her own business."
"Look, the lab is the negative energy. First you chose the sinister lab. Now you choose the very date the big disaster occurred."
"I dont believe in these things. Neither should you. You should be ashamed to call yourself a scientist." snapped Harish without looking up again.
"Well, I just wanted to persuade you one last time. Goodluck anyway...." said Prakash and hung up.

Harish's blood was boiling. He hated diversions like this on a big day.

Luckily he had found his subject for the experiment. Neeta- his girlfriend.

Like a typical scientist he wanted to keep his experiments and studies within his close circle for the fear of leaking his research ideas.

His lab door rang. He checked the digital viewfinder synched into his wrist watch to see Neeta standing  outside the door.

He pressed a button in the wrist watch to open the door and let her in. Neeta walked in looking confident. Harish beamed at her. "Good morning, sweetie! All set?" he asked, like this was nothing more than a dental visit.

"Yeah" she said casually. Harish beamed at her again. She was a scientist's daughter herself. No wonder she was used to the lab atmosphere.

"I will walk you through the equipment and concepts." said Harish and took her hand to walk her upto the main equipment.
They stood before a gigantic capsule, just large enough to hold a person. It was hardly visible due to its transparency. Inside the capsule was a standing space suit armor, white in color. There was hardly an inch between the suit and the capsule. Neeta stretched her hand to touch it, looking inquiringly at Harish for his consent.
Harish nodded with a "Go ahead" and she touched the capsule. It felt like a light fibre, like the softest, thinnest satin ever made.

Harish cleared his throat to begin the lecture. Neeta was not a scientist herself. She was an adventure traveler. Harish had to explain things in layman terms for her to understand.

"Many decades ago, a hypothetical particle called the Tachyon was theorized. It can travel faster than light. A decade ago, it was successfully generated in lab. This gave time machine scientists a new direction."

Neeta looked on with utmost concentration.
"A Tachyon can travel faster than light. So technically it can reach a point in space before light could reach it. Now when you look at a building across the street, what you are seeing is light rays that were reflected from the building. If a Tachyon particle reached the building before light reached it, then the particle is actually in the future."

Neeta nodded partly understanding what he meant.

"Now, this capsule I created can hold Tachyons. I will charge it up with Tachyon particles using my generator here. The moment it is all charged up, I will select the time I want it traveling for. If the Tachyons travel for say 6 minutes, then you would have reached upto an hour into the future. So, If I want you traveling 1 day into the future, I would keep the Tachyons traveling for 144 minutes or close to 2.5 hours. Got it?"

"Yes" said Neeta looking a little nervous for the first time.
"Any questions?" asked Harish.
"Yes, would it hurt coz I'd be traveling real fast?"
"No, thats what the suit is for. It would protect you against forces from inertia and pressure changes. It also has a built in oxygen cylinder in case you have difficulty breathing"
"What if I have to contact you?"
"There's a built in satellite phone. You can call me. There is also a GPS tracker so we know where you are after you reach."
"Where are you sending me?"
"I won't be sending you very far. The direction and time settings should take you to an abandoned air field in Sri Lanka."
"I hope I won't be tresspassing." quipped Neeta
"Dont worry about it, it's not a military base or anything" smiled Harish.

Neeta smiled for the first time. For some reason her instinct was warning her about something she could not understand. Her gut feeling told her to back out. But she did not.
"Did you hear about the ghost stories?" she asked, opening her mind for once.
"Atleast you dont believe in them."snapped Harish.

"Alright, get in." continued Harish sensing her troubled mind.
"But its only noon. We scheduled it for 2.30" said Neeta nervous again.
"It doesnt make a difference."said Harish casually shepherding her into the capsule before she changed her mind.

Neeta got in and stood clumsily in the tiny suit. Harish pressed a button on one of the panels and the suit started locking itself in place. An earphone set over Neeta's ears and she could see a blank screen in front of her eyes that just flashed the current time and showed her current location on the globe.

Neeta jumped when Harish's voice boomed in through the earphones.
"I will be talking to you as and when needed. The screen in front of you will flash messages necessary for you to understand and follow."

Neeta nodded.

Harish pointed at a pouch in front of the suit.
"This has the satellite phone and GPS tracker device"
"OK"mouthed Neeta.
Harish hit another button on the console and the capsule and suit started moving across the room. A door was sliding open at the far end. It was then that Neeta realized that the capsule was meant to be in the open before it launched.
A huge balcony loomed into view. A long track projected from it and the capsule rode and stopped at the end of it. Neeta looked around. It felt like hanging in mid-air.

"Ready to launch?"came Harish's voice.
Neeta shuddered. She was doing this all for the adventure freak in her. She did not quite understand how she had become ready to enter this dangerous agreement. But there was no turning back now. Harish had started the countdown.


10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 ....

Neeta closed her eyes.

She felt a jerk before she passed out.

She opened her eyes after an indefinite time. She looked around breathing in from the oxygen cylinder.
She could not recognize where she was and how long had it been.The screen in front of her showed a random time-11.30 p.m. The entire globe was gone from the view.  '10-OCT-2067' flashed at one end. It looked like the experiment had succeeded. She had come 5 days into the future. But she had no clue as to where she was. The land and terrain looked different from her home country. This must be Sri Lanka, she thought. There were just rocks around and the horizon could be seen all around her.

The capsule was completely missing. She was just in the suit and sprawled on the ground. She got up and took a step, fishing out her phone as she tried walking. She completely lost her balance. That's when she realized she was perched atop a steep slope. Before she knew it her cell phone went rolling by and she gasped. She tried running after it and rolled and slid behind coming to a halt on a huge rock.

She took the phone and grasped it in her hand. She looked into it and her heart froze. There was no signal whatsoever. The GPS tracker wasn't working either. Hitting "Track Me" was doing nothing. She tried again and again, fighting tears.

Finally she gave up. It was dark by then. Night sky loomed over her. She sat under the rock crying her eyes out. She slightly lifted her digital screen and looked up at the sky. She stilled, gripped with panic. All hopes of ever surviving were lost. She knew she was dying soon.

The unmistakeable view in the sky told her where she was. The earth was shining above the horizon. A beautiful clear view of blue and white. She had left her home planet completely. Her eyes hovered over the bottom right of her digital view. The oxygen cylinder was almost exhausted, 5% remaining. She closed her eyes ready to bid goodbye to her life, counting her minutes.

The oxygen kept reducing. At 1% she opened her eyes to see a message flash before her.
"Neeta, this is how Dr. Swamy felt. Goodbye, Neeta Chabra..."

Neeta closed her eyes knowing why she had to face this. This was Dr. Swamy's revenge on her for her father Dr. Chabra's mistake. Although Dr. Chabra had not intended the fiasco, he had been selfish and not opted to be the subject of the experiment. She actually felt better knowing why she was dying. And she felt strange thinking the ghost stories had been true.

Her oxygen was down to 0% now. She remembered her father. She breathed her last.

Back in the lab Harish held a photograph in his hand. His eyes were still wet from crying.
"This was for you Dad. Your son Harish Swamy succeeded in his experiment. And his revenge."

Peace of Mind

A dark cloud of envy

enveloped the young girl,

when she witnessed the silks, the jewelry

and beautiful hair in curls,

Her friend looked stunning, She pondered,

"Why can I not be more like her?

Oh lord, I just need peace of mind.

So what if I have no beauty, diamonds or pearls."

A dark tunnel of anger

invaded the young girl,

when she watched success, prosperity

and a pompous show unfurled

by the inept and unintelligent, She wondered,

"Why can I too not be a pretender?

Oh lord I just need peace of mind,

So what if I am not a desperate winner."

A dark smoke of sorrow

engulfed the young girl,

when she beheld death, pain and suffering

of soldiers battling the world.

"While people didn't care to save each other", She wondered,

"Why can I not be unbothered?

Oh lord I just need peace of mind,

So I can be different from the others."

A white light of divinity

surrounded the young girl

when she dreamt of the Lord Himself

towering over her

"What is it that you really need?"

softly asked the Creator

The young girl tried to think over

But felt a change of mind

"I need a pretty face

So I don't feel jealous", she sighed

"I need wit and some cunning

So I can beat this world's pride,

I need to possess apathy

So I can live, knowing that people died."

A light gentle breeze

touched the young girl,

when she heard the Lord's answer,

As He smiled at her

"Are these what you really need?",

gently asked the Creator.

"You don't need a pretty face

For it is an illusion of the eye

You don't need wit and cunning

For you can defeat dishonesty if you tried

You can forever be kind hearted

And always help the mankind

All you need my child,

Is just some peace of mind."

Dream Chronicles: The mystery of the coffin

In yet another occurrence of a bizarre dream, I realized how deep some thoughts could be. I fail to understand what I could be imagining in my subconscious state to get such dreams that baffle even the most insensible side of me.

I realized this dream deserved being logged owing to its uniqueness and completeness. So here I am, writing down the second piece in the series of my dream chronicles before the memories of the dream get drained away.

I was with a bunch of childhood friends from the great 'BARC Colony'. We were on an 'industrial visit' to a place that had no industry in sight. It was a vast barren land with pieces of rocks lying around. The rocks in themselves were humungous in size, almost as big as us or even bigger. One of us had apparently been to this place before. So, she guided us as to how the rocks 'worked'.

We were to touch any rock and stand still and the rock could take us back in time.  It was a time machine rock. Within no time we were trying it out. I touched a big rock and stood there with my hand on it. Within a couple of seconds I was in kindergarten, remembering and seeing things I did not even know I had experienced- Playing hide and seek with friends, all of us pretending to be woodcutters while one friend pretended to be the ghost, ready to pounce from behind the tree. I had almost forgotten this game. It was like playing a sophisticated version of hide and seek, with a tinge of masala. The woodcutters had to run and hide while the ghost tried to catch.

My friends in the dream agreed that they could see kindergarten too, although we all had our eyes wide open (while in reality I was dreaming with my eyes closed).

As we went ahead marveling the time machine rocks, we saw something that made our hearts freeze. There was a big water body in front of us. A large ship was anchored in it. We were engulfed in a weird fog that had come out of nowhere and through which we could hardly see. A 'thing' started emerging from the ship. It took us a while to figure out what it was. It looked like a fellow human being but as the creature came forward, we heard him letting out a roar. We screamed and realized it was something evil. It was a zombie but nothing like what I had seen in movies before. It was mere skeleton and nothing else. But its bones were red in color and its face was ghastly. He was no skeleton. He was a 'Mummy'- without the wraps.

We turned around and ran and ran until we reached a graveyard. There we saw the most unearthly sight. Another bigger zombie-mummy walking towards us. As expected, he came towards me. I was petrified and stood rooted to the spot, ready to lose my life. My friends in the dream had mysteriously disappeared. The creature walked towards me steadily. As I prepared to scream again, all of a sudden he stilled and fell back to the ground with great force. I looked around to see who killed him, when a man came forward. He was no mummy, he was normal and looked like a priest of some sort.

He explained to me that these mummies have existed on earth forever. Only we humans never knew about them. He explained to me that "A zombie-mummy is born after some years of a human's death. They break out of the coffin and come out to lead a life again. However since they are devoid of any flesh or supporting organs they fail to live long and die within a day."

And I realized in my dream with supposed enlightenment that this was why some religions buried and not burned the dead, so as to give them a second chance to live. I was touched.

The man then told me that some of the zombie-mummies could kill humans out of envy for the normal life we led; and I suddenly forgot my enlightenment and sympathy, to wonder if it was better to burn the dead. No worries about zombie-mummies being re-born.

When I thought of this and smiled I heard another roar and turned around. A zombie-mummy was on its way towards me. I stood smiling waiting for it to fall behind and die, but that was not happening. I waited and waited as the mummy got closer and closer. I looked around to ask for the priest's help and saw that he had disappeared too, just like my friends. I heard the roar of the zombie-mummy close to my ear as I dreadfully understood its proximity to me.

That was the end of my dream. My fried brain probably cursed me for dreaming nonsense and woke me up.

I lay in my bed once again wondering "What was all that about?".

And I idly wondered what in the world I did to deserve such dreams. Well, the passion for horror is probably embedded deep within me, so when I dont watch scary movies my mind produces one of its own. Complete with script, screenplay and direction. The only thing missing is a title. So here I give that in my blog - "The mystery of the coffin" :)

Long live scary movies!!

Who is blind?

To some, darkness is a fear
An unbearable fright
In the absence of light
While to some others
Darkness is all there is
In the depth of their eyes
Where light and dark are much the same


To some, elevation is a fear
Trembling on a cliff they climbed
Atop the summit after a hike
While to some others
No elevation hints
Any meaning to their eyes
Where sky and ground are much the same


To some, fire is a fear
Whining to go where the flames rage
Fearing the heat they'd face
While to some others
Unseen is what fire is
While dancing in front of their eyes
Where fire and ice are much the same


And again to some, death is a fear
Dreading the dark that follows
When eyes close tomorrow
While to some others, liberation it is
Like a new journey on the same ride
Carrying ahead the eternity for the blind
Whose life and death are much the same