A memory from Langkawi

In the stillness of the ocean bed, I saw the marvel of nature.The huge waves crested and broke tumultuously over the surface. The roar of the waves asserted its powers on us, mere mortals. The subtly different hues of blues and greens of the water around gave me the impression that I was looking at the entire spectrum of the blue-green wavelength. A peep into the ocean proved me wrong.The fish in various colours, swam around in orderly schools. The fish were coloured brighter than the brightest blue of the ocean and duller than the dullest green of the ocean. I was transcended into a mode where I felt like I was watching tantalizing colours dripping into a giant blue tub of water and mixing rapidly to form the most beautiful patterns and shades.

A few laps, and innumerable heart beats away, the dull corals came into view. now, the colour palettes wove in and out of the complex coral structures.

A baby shark swam by, sending a school of fish swimming away in a flurry. The white sands at the very bottom glistened with all their abundant knowledge gained from centuries of looking up at the world above. Except for the fish swimming around, the world in my view was absolutely still.

I couldn't help but marvel the fact that this calmness was hiding, deep in its loins, capability of mass destruction with just a gentle shrug.... All sounds ceased to exist... the colourful tranquility wedged itself in the crook of my mind as I lost control over my snorkelling gear and surfaced.

Did it really happen?

The roar of the wind in my ears reduces the conversation in the car to a mere buzz at the back of my mind...


the breathtaking scene unfolding in front of my eyes has my entire attention in its jaws. I can only stare helplessly as my senses try to grasp the magnificence of the beauty that lies around me, in all its glory...

I am an insignificant speck amidst all this!

the river - muddy from its travel over the mountains and miles of plains - flows gracefully, navigating the bends regally. The tall pine trees seem to show what pride really is. the mountains reach up, piercing into the clouds and rising even above it, making the clouds seem easily reachable....

The fresh air rejuvenates every cell in my body - every cell that has undergone the strenuous cycle of routine over the months...

The clouds gather and open up slowly.... the steady drizzle starts getting progressivley stronger and blows the golden droplets on to my face, in the moving car...

My father, worried about my health. sternly asks me to raise the window glass... the buzz at the back of my mind is back to the foreground and becomes an understandable conversation - a conversation, whose main focus is me.

insignificant speck, indeed.....

..

It started drizzling. She glanced outside the huge French windows, rooted to the spot she sat. The beauty outside did not register on her already saturated mind. The winds started off gently and then began howling... Her preoccupation snapped. She yearned to walk to the windows, hold on to the grill, feel the drizzle on her face , enjoy the scent smell from the first few drops hitting the ground, and sing a song - from the heart.... but the 4 chat windows and the 3 web browser windows held her back.

Her attention was back to the black box, the product of technology, on her lap.


****BANG****

Everything went dark for a moment. Power failure!!! But the next instant, the inverter at home started its function loyally and turned on all lights and fans. Even the dead baterry of the black box started getting recharged.

By a twist of fate, the inverter got screwed and it was pitch black again!

Now, the moonlight had no rivals to steal her attention from itself.

The moon shone in all its glory.



The winds howled through the tress, sparing no leaf. How she wished she were a leaf, caressed by the wind!

The drizzle steadied itself.


Sounds except the wind's tantrum ceased to exist!

The heart finally sang.....
A moment of pure and eternal bliss...joy...
The magic never changed... it never failed to amaze her...






The drizzling stopped....
The trees became still...
The moon hid behind the clouds....
The lights, fans, laptop and TV, were back on.

RAIN

A million thoughts were running through her head….The drive had been good... She got out of the car and felt the first drop of the rain fall on her shoulder… she looked up and was rewarded with a few more drops that were starting to fall at an increasing rate…The drizzle became a shower…the street was becoming empty fast.. everyone was running for cover….

She would never ever understand why people would ever want to stay dry and not get wet in the rain.

She stood there.. lost in thought… the “million thoughts” in her head were being washed away by the magical drops from the sky. She started walking… away from her home…in the opposite direction, onto the road, a road devoid of people, of vehicles, ignoring the are-you-crazy look many people were giving her… all work lay forgotten..

A clasp of thunder and a bolt of lightening jarred most people and made them look for safer places to stand. ..but.. to her.. it was music.. a theme befitting the magic of the rain… she walked on.. her clothes drenched thoroughly…her spirits soaring…her heart singing with joy.. her face revealing the happiness.. the kid in her unleashed… rediscovering the simple pleasures of life…

She reached her favourite place- a place that frequently saw her – in her happiness and sadness…. She stood at the first stair of the long winding fleet and looked down at the world lie beneath her in all its glory… the deafening fall of the rain playing tunes in her mind…

The simple pleasures of life… AH!

Life is beautiful after all…

" Rain drops and Dance.... A Strange kind of romance..."

The Rainy Day

The Rainy Day……

All sounds ‘round me begin to fade away

As I’m transported into a new world of grey..

I look out and see sloping roofs, in shades of red,

The trees clustered together, a canopy of green bed…

The skies grow progressively darker

The gentle breeze gets enjoyably sharper…

The clouds pregnant with liquid gold,

Ready to rupture and shower – to put life on hold..

The yellow ball of fire usually so bossy and loud,

Now gets so shy and hides deep inside a cloud!

The world now is so pretty and sweet…

Oh! How I’d love to live forever in this retreat…

The clouds finally open up and sprinkle the world with its essence

Arising from the ground are the tantalizing scents…

The shower gets stronger, the winds more powerful..

blowing the droplets on to my face, awakening emotions so beautiful.......

In this world of mine, I can hear a voice calling out to me…

Asking me to slow down and live life carefree…

In this depth of silence I can hear the beautiful song…

The song emanating from me, buried and hidden so long!

I fall in love with nature ,over and over again…

As it fills me with radiant bliss and slowly erases all pain..

SLOWLY……

- L Preetha

arms outstretched...
reaching towards the glorious sky...
starless..
yet i cannot tear my eyes away from the tantalizing velvet of black.
the pleasant breeze carasses me...
not a sound to be heard around...
my mind is blank..
not a thought drifts by...
oblivious to any sign of life around me....
is this what is called heaven?paradise? bliss?suddenly...
i hear a familiar ringtone n jerk back to reality and pick up my noisy cell fone...
"hi appa"
"hi Preetha... wat r u doing? "
"not much dad.. just lying down outside Yong Siew Toh conservatory of music.."
"hey ..isnt it 1:30 am there?? make sure u don't catch a cold..take care.."
"sure pa.. ill take care... na apram pesaren... ill call u in the evening 2morrow..."
"ok .. odamba paathuko!"
"ok pa.. bye..good night ..sweet dreams..."
"good night..sweet dreams..."
i come back to my own world..
but this time..
my mind is not so blank...
it goes into a whirl of thoughts...sweet and sour..
random people walk in and out of my thoughts..
some significant people stay...
making me muse overwhats actually happenning in my life..
the wind gets colder and rushes thru...
i turn to my side and curl up..
suddenly aware of a pair of eyes looking at me...
YIKES! the security guard from inside theYST conservatory of music gives me suspicious stares..
i then drop my reverie..
and decide its time ot get back to my room..
switch on my laptop....
get back to the real world..
where things are very different from what i just experienced.....