Random Thoughts

From the unblemished childhood
Through the years of fragile adolescence
As time leads man to the threshold of adulthood,
Swelling with the sense of self-pride
He leaps out to welcome this new change.
And like a bird on its first flight,
His mind sets out to capture greater heights,
to explore the vastness beyond the horizons
with the eagerness to take in all that life could offer.
And, riding on this spirit of newfound freedom
with an insatiable quest for adventure
and an unquenchable thirst to achieve more,
he builds his dreams to eternity.

-BK

The moon smiles,
as it cradles in the arms of the night.
My heart cries,
as it realizes your absence by my side.
All the sweet kisses,
I gave you in my dreams.
All the beautiful dreams,
I had dreamt in your name,
How feebly have they all,
shattered before my eyes,
and how helplessly I realize,
that you will never be mine again.
But with a thousand
moonlit nights in your name,
and a thousand
beautiful dreams in my heart,
I’ll wait for you…

-BK

It would sound highly cliched if I were to say that I had always dreamt of spending Christmas in the Vatican. Honestly I never had such a dream. But ever since I knew that I would be in Rome during Christmas, I had made up my mind to visit the Vatican on the 25th.

This Christmas was special for me in many ways both good and bad. Firstly I was in Rome, in the vicinity of the Vatican, the heart of Christianity. Though I am not a very religious person, I still found it very exciting. Secondly, this was the first Christmas I spend without family, far away from home. And finally things were not well back home, dad was not keeping well for some time now.

My original plan was to attend the midnight mass on the eve of Christmas, which had to be abandoned since everything in Rome had closed down for the festival.So the 25th morning I took a bus to the Vatican city to be among the hundreds of thousands of people who have travelled miles to spend their Christmas in Vatican.

As they say " All roads lead to Rome " but on Christmas all roads in Rome lead to Vatican.As I got down from the bus and walked towards St Peter's Basilica, I could hear the distant sound of bells. From a distance I could see the Basilica, a standing testimony to the splendor and elegance of medieval architecture.Thousands of people gathered in the huge courtyard in front of the church to get a glimpse of the Pope as he appeared at the huge window of the Basilica to address them. This was something I had seen on TV for so many years and today it was happening right before me. I was in Vatican City standing in front of St Peter's Basilica on a Christmas morning watching the Pope deliver the message of God to the millions of believers across the world. I muttered a silent prayer. A prayer of thanksgiving , a prayer of forgiveness a prayer that got drowned by the chants of the exuberant multitude and the rhythmic tolls of the church bells...

I feel a sweet softness within me
as the milk of love, flows through the intricacies of my heart.
The hardness around me melts into a soft tenderness
and a strange weakness grips my entire self.
My breath becomes heavier and deeper
as, for hours I stare into oblivion.
My eyes now thirst for one vision
and my mind is filled with that one thought
and amidst this peaceful chaos I realize
That unknowingly somewhere I have fallen in love.

-BK