I wish instead....just a rant

• I wish during my early years in Shimla instead of pouring all my attention on books I had explored the fun outdoors more.
• I wish when single I had travelled more instead of worrying about a career.
• I wish when young instead of valuing people for their achievements I had valued them for their essence.
• I wish instead of being just an armchair activist I am able to do something to make a difference to a girl child's life other than my daughter in this lifetime.
• I wish instead of the boundary walled apartment complex and the hostile-to-women city I lived somewhere I had a beach for a safe evening walk.
• I wish instead of following the Indian style of parenting including "protect the child" I had travelled and gone out more with P.
• I wish instead of this list I had written something better.

:p

DELHI - First impressions, second time

• MIND OVER MATTER You may value your marble floor and wood work a lot but they can't make a meaningful conversation.
• RESPECT A barefoot child selling some random item on the signal deserves more respect than a man spitting out pan from his expensive SUV.
• FEMINISM A plumber works day and night to give his only girl child a college education and a man with a few factories just wants to add a few more zeroes to her dowry cheque.
• LIFE Possessions are just that , first you posses them then they possess you.
• HOME Bricks and cement, price tags mean nothing if they do not have the warmth of human souls.
• LEARNING The more you learn the more you must unlearn to uncomplicated and live a life free of prejudices and baggage.
• DELHI A city can be a friend, a frenemy, a teacher and all of the above.

Vignettes

I
a lone lamp flickering
darkness ends
where light begins.
II
life packed in boxes
boxes of life
labelled.
III
The decay
the leftovers
the giveaways, the takeaways.
IV
questions, answers
rhetoric
noise to
avoid being killed by
the silences.
V
addresses, faces,names
words, songs, places
ennui.