Happy Birthday Payal :)

Happy 21, Three cheers to you girl, [my best friend!]

Technically, I know you since nine years. Same school we used to attend :-D
 But trust me, the last three years with you have been a total roller-coaster ride!

You are special, I don't need to tell you that; here are the reasons why..

You have put up with all the crap I made you go through..
You have been the shield that protected me from any evil..
You support me into anything I believe in..
You snap me back to reality incase I get too drifted...
and continue to be the friend I never had..

You trust me with your life..
I trust you with my deepest darkest..
We speak everyday till we hang-up..
You read me songs from your entire music collection just because I need something new..
You stay up all night to calm me down..

You talk to me when I am lonely..
You are perpetually around,
to catch me when I am just about to fall..
to make me laugh when I am on the verge of tears..
to make me realise that I deserve the best..
to genuinely take care of someone as unpredictable as me..

and most importantly
You are there when I need to shop
when I need some coffee
You are there to gimme all the "gossip"
You always drop me to the metro station ;)
And I miss you when you aren't online

So,

Happy Birthday Payal:-)

May you get all that you deserve ;-)

and may I be able to feel the same way for you, another 20 years down the line.

Love

Gone are those Early Mornings...

It's a foggy winter morning
The ones when I cannot imagine waking up at six
And dressing myself into a school uniform.
And yet I did the same
for ten to twelve years

With the sleepy eyes, a heavy head, palavering mum
A hot cup of milk waiting for me
Bag packed by amma and lunch made my mummy
Off to school in those foggy mornings!
O what fun it was! Hoards of students waiting at the bus stand
At six fifteen.. Those frigid mornings, papa standing beside me
making small jokes, pointing a cat here or there,
We dreamt big on those cold mornings, we still do.

And then the bus would come, and I would rush
Leaving him behind and jostling my way in the crowd
Once I am inside, wave him a smile again.
He would always wait a few minutes after I left
Lest I would jump back again for want of change,
Or a forgotten book,
Or with a frown say, 'no mood', I want to go back home
He would wait till he was sure I was safely on my way.

I would have lost my sleep by then.
And then get worried about the books
for forgetting them at home again.
We walked our way from the bus stand to school
and walked the way back, aashish and me.
After that running about the school campus,
I would finally slag up to the class.

Friends would give me a fond smile that said, 'Forgot again!'
I would scutter for a text book
And then Deepali or Nishtha or Garima would slide their text towards me
We would push and thrust the book on our sides and thus would start a game;
And giggle and talk in whispers till teacher said 'ssshhhhh'
Then after the lunch break, we would get rid of those maroon sweaters
Knot those on the shoulder or the waist
Or simply dump them on the bench and gossip about at length...

Gone are those early mornings of rush that I try to get hold of even now
Those were different winters, this is a different cold ...