Ink & Parchment

  What better picture to depict the passage of TIME, than the crisp autumn leaves on the branches with that orange hue and vintage vibe? This picture here was clicked at the Nursery of my institute, CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology, New Delhi. And Time is a dimension that intrigues me the more I give thought to it. Penning down a few lines, with the search for more clarity still on... The first gulp of air and that blessed cry,  Your life click is set in motion You have a past, present and a future, All decided by the sole factor  'Time'. What is Time? The reading in your watch? Or the invisible movement of moments? Maybe the result of those celestial motions? Or the inability of universe to stay frozen? Time waits for none, we have often heard. Can't go back in time to see the Past. Though some claims of insights into Future The Present is all you are allowed to see. The Past is a Memory and Future a Guess; Time always spans between these pins. Marchi...

The 2018 Kerala Floods saw the greatest destruction ever in the State due to torrential rain. Landslides and rising floods caused thousands and thousands of people to be stranded dangerously at various places without any food or water. The delay in deployment of the Army, Navy and the NDRF started raising the death tolls by the minute. At this point, the state witnessed one of the largest voluntary civilian rescue operations ever carried out - 65,000 people rescued by 4500 fishermen in 700 boats in just 3 days! (Source: TOI) They tirelessly worked day and night, trying to reach the nooks and corners of crowded villages and towns, unreachable to the copters or large boats. Their selfless gesture portrayed the unity among the people of Kerala with a very apparent bridging of the extreme societal strata. This is an ode to those unsung heroes of 2018 The Children of the Sea, caressed by the Sun, and the salty winds, directing them onward. The grains of sand made their way into the grooves,...

  This is not an 'abandoned well' as the lines below indicate. It is my ancestral home which is more than 120 years old with a kitchen-attached well. But looking deep down into its bowels, it used to evoke a sense of fear, insecurity and at the same time, a great place to hide things I didn't want others to see. (Yes, I did throw a couple of things in there. Shhh :P) The structure itself is so old with plenty of plants and brambles growing along the edges giving it an eerie look, especially if we stare right down for a really long time, So this picture definitely did seem befitting to mirror the following lines, which I feel, many of the readers can definitely resonate to. "An abandoned well, in the middle of nowhere. Deep, dark, eerie, and intimidating, Its walls lined by deep-rooted greens, Even thorns and brambles all around. My pupils search warily inside, dilated, For a possible bottom, dry or submerged. It's a dump ground for everything futile, And even for t...

  This picture was clicked in the 'Lockdown' times of 2020 when we were too lazy to sweep off these leaves from the ground. That was when my friend came home with her brand new OnePlus 8 Pro, and I knew I had to experiment with its awesome camera :)  One year later, while going through the old pictures, this click here did pique up my curiosity about the life of these Fallen Leaves.. . "Fallen leaves on the ground, faded, brown and crisp,   Each one of them has its own story to tell.  Days of dewdrops, dawn, and dusk,  Tales of naughty squirrels and chirping birds,  Rough patches and many hours of turmoil,  When clinging on and resistance was the key.  Dancing in harmony, swaying to the rhythm,  The soft rustles and the music of their souls,  And when its time, they drop down, gracefully,  Adorning the floor, now a reflection of their past."