I visited my grandparents in village

After a hectic week of monotony

I stepped out to the surrounding in one evening

What a breathtaking beautiful transformation

of the simple village to a silvery wonderland

It was indeed a luxurious midnight feast to break my monotonous routine

The moonlight night was a time of rejoicing

With all soothing scenery in front of me

The croaking of frogs, the sharp chirping

of grasshoppers  and myriads of other night insects

broke the eerie silence on and off

I remember   during the school vacation

how we were singing to the silver moon

 which seemed to be looking down on us lovingly

how we ran with the moon peeping through trees and clouds

What a wonderful playmate the moon could be with little children

Gazing up at the sky which was peaceful and serene

how I wished I could be one of those little fleecy clouds

 kissing the moon’s face as it sailed along

Immersed in the milky white glow my heart again sang to the moon with joy

I sat under the lovable bamboo grove

Closed my eyes and listened to the soothing,

lilting melody Which I knew at that moment

 was meant to me

The bee and the pigeon

One day a bee was flying above a stream. Suddenly it hit a branch of a neighboring Oak tree and fell into the water. The bee could not fly as its wings were wet and struggled to come out of the water. There was a pigeon on the branch of a tree and saw the pitiable bee in the water. The pigeon felt sympathy for the bee and dropped a leaf from the Oak tree nearby the bee.

The bee who was exhausted after the struggle to get out of the water, got on the leaf and managed to save its life. The bee’s wings gradually dried and after a while, the bee’s wings were not wet anymore and he could fly. The bee thanked the pigeon for rescuing it and flew away.

Several days later, a huntsman came in to the forest looking for a wild animal. Unfortunately, he was unable to hunt any animal for his meal. He sat under the Oak tree and rested a while. He saw the pigeon sleeping on a branch and thought of hunting the pigeon. He took the bore and aimed at the pigeon. Then the bee, rescued by the pigeon was flying nearby and saw the huntsman. The bee bit the huntsman and he screamed in pain. The pigeon was awaken by that scream and flew away thanking the bee.

Sita Speak

Sita, speak your side of the story

We know the other too well

Your father married you to a prince

Told you to be pliable as the bow

In your husband’s hand

Didn’t you notice Ram broke the magic bow?

They say you the ideal daughter,

Bowed your head in obedience

As you were sent away

With your husband you choose exile

Suffered privation, abduction

And then rejection-

The chastity test of the scorching flames,

Could those flames turn to flowers?

Without searing the soul

They say you the ideal wife;

You questioned him not

And let him have his way

The poets who wrote your story

Said: a woman is not worthy of hearing

The Ramayana; like a beast she is fit only for beaten

Could such poetry ever bring you glory

Yet they spoke their verses without challenge

And with such falsehood got away

Sita speak

You who could lift the magic bow in play

With one hand

Who could command the earth with a word

How did they silence you?

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY

During the last weekend,I found a chance to have a chat with my niece who had recently returned to Sri Lanka from Germany for a vacation. While discussing about the life in Germany she declared that “Tomorrow is the grandparents’ day akki”  

Then I replied “Oh! Really. That must be really a new experience with excitement”

“Yep akki!!! In German for grandma and grandpa is oma and oppa” she added

“You know. During kindergarten we had the opportunity to listen to grandparents’ speeches on Grandparents' Day. It was infact interesting to share ideas, views and experience within two different generations. Some of them can still remember the distant times before the first space flights. Also some grandmas and grandpas still go to work and keen on sports and about their health. Many of them go jogging engage in cycling and swimming” she explained

“That’s really good. Of course, we all have a lot of things to learn from their experience.” I appreciated it

“Sure. I missed our grandma’s fairy tales a lot there.” She was worried

 Then she explained” The holiday on grandparents’ day is a lot of fun. All grandmas and grandpas look their best –they have special lovely badges, pins gifted from their grandchildren, greeting cards and invitations from various kindergartens. Once a grandmas received thirteen flowers from her grandchildren.”

Grandparents’ Day is a really good idea, don’t you think? We can visit our grandparents, greet them and help them with various things.
Hope we would be able to celebrate Grandparents' Day soon in Sri Lanka....

Touched by a guardian angel

I feel you in my breath

My life is hidden under your shadow

I pray to be there as long as I live

cos your soul in me is too deep

The invasion of flashbacked perspectives

are the mementoes of your great

spiritual bond with my heart

The intensity of your charming smile

equates the twinkling stars

lying in the Milky Way

which glow to monitor my life

even during an eclipse

Your luminous gazes

abundantly affectionate

with an imprint of a magical touch

sieve the most tender sun rays

with which I mount up the chores in my day

Your nursery rhymes echo vibrate

as a lively melody when I close my eyelids

and approach me

like a white fleecy clouds

kissing the moons face as it sales

I still cling to you

to be immersed in a silhouette

I still imbibe strength

from your scriptures

like a pilgrim resting suavely

I still wonder how to pay you back

Oh! Amma

I am touched by your naïve innocence

You are my angle

You are the queen of my heart !!!

The Night Guest

Once when I was at kindergarten, I had to stay in my room alone for the first time. With a fluttering heart I went to bed. At midnight, I was awaken by a mysterious sound and I could not understand where I was.

The moon was shining through the window making all the things look utterly strange in its silver light. The wardrobe at the corner of my bedroom seemed to be a castle in a fairy-tale. The big mirror on its door turned into another window with yet another moon. I began to sense something extraordinary and furtive. Then I happened to gaze at the chair beside my study table. What did I see? A long-bearded dwarf in a hood there staring at me. Believe me! He was shaking his head and dangling his legs. I wanted to jump out of the bed and scream as loud as I could. Will it let me go safe? Surely, it will hurt me if I scream now. I wanted to cry loud, but instead I was sobbing quietly on my bed unable to move.

Having heard my sobbing, my mother came rushing the room and turned on the light. Then I saw my clothes: a frock in a mess, the crumbled dressing-gown, and the tights hanging loosely from draught. My mother saw me crawled in bed screwing my eyes. She came to me and asked me what happened in a soothing voice to which I did not answer. The only thing I did was gazing in surprise. Then my mother put the clothes in order and then said “I’ll be there with you. Do not be afraid my dear”.

Sure the night guest comes only to those children who do not put their cloths in order. After that I always make sure that my room is tidy and organized.

Bon Appetit (Good Appetite)

“I don’t want porridge amma!”

“Come on putha, eat it up, it is really tasty”

“Oh, why was I born now and not in the future! There won’t be any horrid porridge to eat then! People will just swallow a special pill and that’ll be it”

I overhear this conversation in one morning when I visited my little cousin brother who recently recovered from cold. He was making a fuss over his breakfast making his mom run around the garden to feed him.

Aha,I thought “This chap must have been watching science fiction cartoons and has got things muddled. He thinks that in future instead of soups and porridge, all we’ll eat is powders and pills.”

Mind you, he is not the only one who is mistaken. Several decades ago even scientists thought this way. They declared how wonderful it would be: three tablets a day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also, on special occasions like birthdays, we’d have a tube of vitamin paste. Then what about New Year kaum kokis, and asmi? Christmas pudding and cake?

Just imagine. You eat pills for one day, then another, then a third. To begin with, it would be alright to try and experiment. But by the end of the month? A plate of rice with sombol, dhal and dried fish prepared by mom would seem like a feast and believe me you’d begin to have dreams about your favourite milk shake, chicken curry and the desserts.

That is the whole point. For centuries man has grown used to grains, buns, salads, potatoes, sandwiches and fruit drinks. It would be no easy matter for him to start just eating pills and powders!

For sure, my brother and cousin would really miss the potato chips which they make vanish in few second while watching TV.

However, if we could artificially produce the ingredients for our food, that would be another matter. They would be cheaper and thus be more accessible which would mean everyone on the earth would have enough to eat. A good news for Arabic countries where people are starving, right?

We already know about soya meat made out of soya beans, chicken cubes which offers the taste of chicken curry and various kinds of candies such as chocolates, ice creams and drinks with the flavor of natural fruits. Infact, nowadays we consume more artificial food than the natural food.

So let us wait….what kind of food are yet to come….

   OR

The grasshopper and the ant

Once upon a time there was a grasshopper who lived happily singing and roaming around every day. One day when the grasshopper was merrily singing, she happened upon an ant who was toiling in preparation for the rainy season ahead.

She asked of the ant, “Why do you work so hard on such a pleasant day? “Why not sing and dance and sing as I do?”

The ant replied “I need to plan and prepare for the rainy weather to come”

The grasshopper laughed and danced away. When the first rains fell, the grasshopper perished.

The ant, snug and secure in her well-provisioned nest survived well. Indeed, she proposed oblivious to the tempest outside her home.

Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for days of need.

So which are you? The grasshopper or the ant 

The mother eagle and the little ones 

On the top of a high mountain lived a family of eagles. One day the mother eagle called her little ones in the nest and said “The time has come, you must learn to fly”.

“But how?” replied the young ones with a little uneasiness in their voice.

Then the mother eagle explained “You must go to the edge of the cliff and throw yourself forward into the wind”

The young ones looked at each other with anxious eyes. Then they walked to the edge of the cliff, looked down very carefully and quickly rushed back to the safety of the nest. The next day again the mother eagle reminded her little ones that the time had come for them to fly.

The little ones full of fear replied “It is far too high, we might fall. We are frightened.”

But the mother eagle again insisted “My dear little ones, come to the edge. Do not be afraid.”

She took them to the edge of the cliff and gently pushed them. As they spread their wings, the wind lifted them and they were soon flying!

Once upon a time there was a prosperous kingdom ruled by a wise king. The king had a handsome son. Unfortunately, the prince was born with a hunchback and this was obviously visible as he grew up. The king consulted the best doctors in the kingdom for his son. 

The doctors informed the king that the prince’s hunchback could be rectified with a set of exercises. The king encouraged the son to do the prescribed exercises faithfully. Moreover, in order to give the prince a self-image the king called the best sculptors to prepare a statue of the prince with a straight back. 

Whenever the prince went out into the garden he gazed at the statue and wished he could be just like the statue. So he began to spend more time by the statue along with the prescribed exercises done, with the desire and determination to achieve the goal. Then after several months,in one fine morning something remarkable and miraculous happened. The prince was standing straight looking tall just like the statue!!!

Ready to Fight

Once a upon a time, a huge shaggy cloud was drifting boastfully across the sky and met another cloud.
"Hi! Get out of my way!" he shouted.
"You go away" the other cloud became angry.
"Oh! Just you wait !"threaded the first cloud and shoved his foe.
"You are spoiling for a fight !" the second cloud got into rage,blackened and turned into a storm-cloud.
The first one also grew dark, frowned and became another storm-cloud.
The two giants collided so fiercely that they saw stars.
The people in streets threw back their heads and said"Well! This is lightening !"
Some shouted "There is thunder! It will be a thunder storm"
Indeed,in a moment the two angry giants burst into tears.
"Rain! It is raining !"People laughed putting their umbrellas and the storm clouds could not stop crying.
"Look, they are melting away . Soon they will vanish!",the people said.
Perhaps it would be the so but for the wind which drove the fighters far away.By then there were no longer the huge storm clouds,but turned into small humble white clouds.

It's time for the wind to take over the fight now.We all feel like that.Don't we?

Why cats wash their faces after meals?   Have u ever wondered..........

Once upon a time, a great many years ago, a sparrow flew over to a wheat field and set about pecking the grains. A cat was lying about nearby. Hearing the voice he got up and saw the sparrow. A swift maneuver, and the cat grabbed the sparrow by the tail. When he was just about to put the bird in his mouth, he heard a voice saying “Oh, really! Don’t gentlemen wash their faces before meals?” .Then the cat promptly dropped the sparrow and started cleaning his face. Meanwhile the sparrow spread his wings and was off in a minute. The cat saw that the sparrow had fooled him and was desperate about his mistake. He swore that a thing like that would never happen to him again. Indeed, since that cats always wash their faces after meals. Even today!!!

The sun god has sent down
specks of light
in all mysterious glory
rising slowly,gracefully
to meet a new day

The beams danced away gaily
in the center of the front yard
smiling merrily with
the trees like green umbrellas

Under the trees light has dropped
from the top of the sky
light like a green lattice of branches
shining on every leaf

The dew drench grass
under that heavenly sight
looked like a green cloth
specked with minute crystals

Above this green cloth
the bevy of butterflies
flying very closely together
appeared like iridescent
silk scalf preciously
being carried away in breeze

Up the laden orange tree
a golden veil came sweeping over
creating a gorgeous sight
magnificently touched with gold

The joy in my heart
became a chanting bird and
began to fly all over
whole countryside which
reminded me of a shy
beautiful village bride

I'm still cozy in bed

awaken by the nonstop twittering of 
the mom sparrow and the little ones 
perching on the branches of hibiscus trees
Their symphony of lilting melody
fills the chilly morning air with a rustle

Alas !

The dramatic entrance of the vermilion tint
in the eastern sky has dispelled 
A grey veil comes gracefully instead
whilst I gaze startled

Rain falls in dizzles
Trees and branches are in pride
Grass pins come straight
as if they are reborn

I waltz to the window curtain
inclined to glance at the vicinity of the pond
one of my own special domains

Deliberate rain drops pouring over
as the fish perform water ballets
To the swirling chores the wind provides
lotus posies are lulled rollicking

I turn my head skywards
The constant pouring has diminished
Just the juicy droplets drip occasionally
The mist shimmers away from the mountains
as the drops of  water glisten
on the blade of furny grass

The luscious earthy smell,spiced 
with the fresh fragrance of  the blossoms
reaches my nostrils
as I inhale with an invigorating joy

What a blissful omen to meet the daybreak
with cherished plentiful of nature

Through my insight album

I flash in my inward eye
The treasured moments in my life
gush with a magnificent vitality
like  bubbling dream

Gosh !

I sigh,amazed in admiration
gazing at the back eyed lass
tossing her head to keep her heavy,black hair
out of her gleaming black eyes

It was me......

Amid the echoes of mother's endearing,
lyrical lullaby overflowing with charm
Amid the echoes of father's 
soothing words laden with tenderness
Amid the heroines of grandma's 
enthralling fairy-tales

Then I stroll mesmerized

Among the teachers and fellow students
Sheltered by mother Ananda 
Among my days at school
scented with fragrance
among the kids in the temple premises
spell bound by the spiritual tranquility

I let these impressive memories rip
What an embodiment of a rejoicing past !!!