FORTY WINKS

    Presenting the complete article , part of which was published in  www.timesofindia.com  Hyderabad edition  on September 20th , 2023.   It was a chance visit to Auroville , Pondicherry in the December of 2022 that awakened inside me a quest to unite my mind, body, soul  with mindfulness of time , space , surroundings and consequences of my choices. When Ms Smita my friend who is a certified yoga expert offered to assist I began learning restorative yogic practices at the age of 45. For past eight months that I have been attending yoga sessions. The outcomes are apparent- lesser episodes of headaches, thoughts less jumbled, body more flexible with definite inch loss. Yoga is much more than a framework of complex asanas or chants or speedy toolkit to nirvana. It is about realization and reorientation of our inner energy. There is a need to dispel misconceptions around yoga being meant for older people, skinny youngsters or for the ones lookin...

This poem is contribution by my teenage daughter -  Ms Snighda Sharma.  An engineering student who likes to play guitar and write  poems when she is not doing the regular teenage stuff.  😈 The Trigger whoever said t'was supposed to be easy trying to find your path create a life of your own remove the shackles of your binding mindset behind whoever said t'was supposed to be easy never pondered enough on what is like to find the trigger that binds you to your old habits preventing better ones to flourish whoever said t'was supposed to be easy never struggled or slogged never had sleepless nights or wandering thoughts never held a pen or lifted  a weight lived as easy as a feather's touch little does he know that feather or nail hold equal weight struggle is struggle however small however great. 

Mirage  ( published in Anthology) by https://www.verseskindlerpublication.com In the counselor's office, 19-year-old T.J. sat in silence, his gaze fixed on the wall as he waited for his turn. Draped in worn-out blue overalls, he bore little resemblance to the once handsome and hopeful teenager he used to be. The weighty framed quote adorning the waiting room wall seemed to bore into his very soul. A sharp, shooting pain pierced his head, causing his hands to tremble and agonizing spasms to wrack his abdomen. Desperate for aid, he looked around but found no one willing to lend a hand. Yet, such distressing scenes were a common sight in the rehabilitation center. His impulsive decisions, like abruptly dropping out of school because he found the curriculum ordinary and rejecting the traditional family system as outdated, led him to a life of seclusion. While seemingly liberating at first, these decisions soon revealed their true cost. He found himself isolated, his friends disappearin...