Shishukunj

Compassion in a War-Ridden World

He shook with fear and cried softly
As he sat in a dilapidated camp
His calm life had been as short-lived
As a flame in a kerosene lamp

As a child, he was showered with affection
His joy increased with every fond look
He thought that people lived in harmony
Till the day his entire world shook

It’s not just his story. It’s the story of those
Whose lives are ruined because of apathy
Peace would be more than just diplomacy
If our hearts were filled with empathy

If only we placed ourselves in the worn-out shoes
Of the powerless who suffer every day
We would strengthen our resolve to save them
And keep distress and despair at bay

So let us treat everyone with compassion
Let us understand each other’s pain
Let us connect souls with love and peace
Instead of breaking fragile hearts in vain.

For an Artist, From an Artist

Oh the emptiness in my heart,

I guess it’s time for a fresh start,

This isn’t my best piece, but one in a long time.

When I left, it was Winter Savoury,

but now it is Summer Thyme.

My questions to an artist, an innovator:

Is every piece of your creation the result of a traitor?

Do you too lose motivation?

And do you always come back greater?

I’ve had these lingering questions and nagging doubts in my head for too long.

Do you, like me, sit in the dark,

where once was a fire, now leaves no mark,

Wondering if you’ve lost your way,

If inspiration’s led astray?

Do you also look at your hands which once created magic?

Do you recall the tales they wove?

Do you recall the whispers you heard?

Or am I just absurd?

Since my childhood I was fond of the oceans, the blue waters always attracted me. I was very much a sea animal. Riding the waves always excited me. Sitting on the deck of a yacht on a sunny day and sipping mojito was my dream evening.

And today was the day I was about to fulfill my long-awaited desire, after years of search I finally found a beautiful, luxurious yacht that would fit my budget.

When I first saw the yacht, I thought something was wrong. It was too beautiful, too luxurious and far too cheap, It was surprisingly affordable, I thought, “why is the owner giving it away for such a low price”, he was probably in need of some quick/emergency cash, as he wanted to close the deal as soon as possible.

At first, things looked suspicious, so I hesitated, wondering if I should buy it or not. But it was a great deal and I could not say no to it. I eventually made the deal. I was excited to get on it and on the very next Sunday morning, I decided to take it out.

Filled with excitement, I stepped aboard the yacht and pushed the start button. The rush of blood in my body increased and I was filled with happiness, enthusiasm and eagerness. For 2 hours straight I sailed across the sea, riding the waves, cutting through the ocean water. The high tide made the sea a little choppy; that added to my joy of owning the sea. It was a thoroughly satisfying day, until I decided to use the washroom, the lock of the washroom was jammed and the knob was stuck.

It must have been a bit rusty due to moist air. I felt like something was stopping me from moving into the washroom, eventually the knob gave with a crackling sound and I finally got inside the washroom. While using the washroom, I saw a cupboard in the washroom and out of curiosity, I thought of checking it out, maybe it stored some toiletries. As I approached the cupboard, a gush of cold wind blew across me, sending chills down my spine and suddenly things turned gloomy, as if someone was warning me of the consequences of opening the cupboard.

With shaking hands I approached the door of the cupboard and opened it. To my shock there lay a knife covered with blood stains. My heart was in my mouth, my hands trembled, sweat ran cold down my back, and I froze, staring at the knife. Deep red stains were communicating the violence that might have happened. The blood looked relatively fresh. I was taken aback and stood there in shock, until I heard a loud, deafening sound.

I rushed to the window of the yacht and was frightened to see a gigantic cargo ship approaching the yacht, they were continuously blowing horn. The horn roared like a beast warning me to get out of the way. Vibrations rattled the yacht, but as I was in a state of shock, I didn’t hear the horn on time. The captain of the ship tried to maneuver his way around the yacht, but the inevitable happened and the cargo ship hit the yacht.

The collision shook the yacht, rocking it like a duck toy in a bathtub. Steel railing on the deck fell like ninepins, a part of the side of the yacht got ripped off and the water started rushing in. Before I could gather myself and comprehend what had just happened, the yacht started sinking. I rushed to open the door of the washroom to get out, only to find the door of the washroom jammed again.

I started looking around for things that could help and I grabbed a steel rod and immediately ran towards the window to break the glass to escape. I hit the rod against the glass repeatedly until shards exploded around me. The window was small and the cramped space made it difficult for me to move out. I squeezed through the jagged frame, saltwater clawing at my legs, threatening to drag me under. The same seawater that was part of my dreams was suddenly becoming a nightmare.

Fortunately, I was able to get out of the sinking yacht. A lifeboat from the cargo ship was waiting to rescue survivors and found me on time. After gaining my senses, I wasted no time and rushed straight to the nearest police station and narrated the whole incident to the officers. The police started investigating the matter. Divers attempted to recover the yacht from the sea floor to collect the evidences, and for days, investigators scrolled through minute details and eventually, the truth surfaced. The previous owner had been using the yacht for smuggling and other illegal activities, and to protect his secrets, he had committed several murders. To escape suspicion, he had sold the yacht quickly at a bargain but committed the mistake of leaving the blood-stained knife behind.

The authorities arrested him, and justice was finally served to the victims. The police rewarded me for help in uncovering the truth. I chose to donate the money received among the families of those who had suffered, hoping it would bring them peace. As for me, the same sea that was a dream for me was now a nightmare that will live with me forever.

That is how it is

A typical day in my life is awash with monotony and certainty,

Predictability disconnects from a task any emotion,

Not a day goes by without me feeling empty-

Drifting in this lifeless ocean.

Everyday from this ceaseless foreknowledge I demanded liberation,

Craving cessation of this forced apathy,

But this seemingly perpetual farce

never failed to strengthen my frustration.

Oh! How I wish the universe had some empathy.

Yes, that is how it was!

But then, the board exam results were released!

Finally it had arrived! My long needed rapture!

Beyond any description I was pleased,

For it was a feeling no words could capture!

Soaring through the clouds was my mind,

Envisioning the termination of that wretched recurrence,

But the light of pleasure made it so blind,

It expected nothing but blissful permanence.

Yet deep within, the joy was not but a fleeting

Mere and momentary high,

Minute-by-minute that bliss was depleting,

And soon, the vessel of emotion was again dry.

An absurd notion! I dismissed with a frown,

Hiding behind the shield of ‘unfulfilled expectations’,

But the truth spared not even that shield from breakdown,

And revealed the supreme principle of god’s creation.

Incredibly bitter is the wine of victory,

When one feels/understands its transience,

Never did I know that existence is this contradictory,

When I was in my blissfully ignorant ambience.

Yes, that is how it is!

The ego was soon reduced to dust,

Destroyed were the daydreams and fantasies,

Silenced was my fragile mortal lust

When the truth disproved the glorious fallacies.

Predictable and monotonous remain my days,

Unchanged is my apathetic state,

But no longer do I burn under expectation’s blaze,

And no longer do I treat foreknowledge with hate.

For now I see the bigger picture,

With a mind unswayed by the external,

The truth preached by many scriptures,

Nothing Is Eternal.

Yes, that is how it would be.

Wings of Devotion

One dawn the flies rose to heaven’s gate,

their fragile wings were heavy with desire.

“Grant us the name the moths await,

let us be creatures the night admires.”

The divine voice thundered, calm and slow

“Seek every flame till the sun appears.

Return at dawn with the lights you know,

and I shall weigh what your worth declares.”

The flies went forth through the velvet deep,

from trembling candles on windowsills,

to lanterns small that the breezes keep,

they counted each glow on the darkened hills.

At dawn they came with a numbered hoard,

their wings dusted bright in a borrowed glow.

“We have gathered them all,” they proudly roared,

“See how full our night has grown.”

But silence lingered, the heavens stayed still,

till a voice like a whisper broke the sky

“And where are the moths who obeyed my will?

Why do they not return, fly?”

The answer drifted through shadowed air,

ashes lay quiet beneath one flame.

The moths had found their altar there,

and burned for love without a name.

The flies had gathered the scattered light,

but moths gave all to a single fire.

Their wings were consumed yet their vow held bright

such is the madness of the soul’s desire.

The Nightmare

After a hard night’s sleep

I opened my eyes in a place where I’d never been

An otherworldly place it was in a way I’d never seen

I cannot describe the skyscrapers there

Extending beyond the cloudy layer

Though the houses rose to a boundless height

There wasn’t a lone bird in sight

Miles away, I saw a sickly stream

Stumbling as though with great grief

How will it quench a creature’s thirst

When it couldn’t renew a single leaf?

There were towering chimneys poisoning the air

Crumbling leaflets yearning for care

Scarlet smoke and scorching heat.

Where was the flowers’ scent fresh and sweet?

There wasn’t a sign of mankind there

Cars, cars and cars everywhere

I stared with awe at this machinery age

How could humanity reach such a terrible stage

This couldn’t be my home, such a monstrous place

Of our dear planet Earth there wasn’t a trace

I had started to lose trust in my belief

When suddenly, I took a sigh of relief

There I was, watching the future’s deeds

What it lacked is the only thing it needs

And I was back in my bed, breathing fast

It was just a dream and I was home at last

I had learnt the most important lesson of all

But I could still hear mother nature’s grievous call

As, closer towards the nightmare we edge

Man must take a revolutionary pledge

What’s the use of such progress

Destined to cause nothing but distress?

For if you tamper with nature’s might

It wouldn’t give a thought to your plight

If compelled to show its almighty wrath

In its wake it’ll leave a terrible aftermath.

So now let’s grab our hands, o’ mate

And work together before it’s too late

Make your foes and pals aware

Or your home will become your bane, beware

Let “Save Our Earth” be the motive of our team

Our Earth is unique, life’s only beam.

And I am truly grateful that it was just a wicked dream.

Hardship

Rain

When the leaves sway in the wind,

The trees laden with moisture,

The soil with a pleasant smell,

The drops of water,

A reflection of you.

As the sparkles of rain,

Drop the sky to the earth,

The sky erupts to a silent lightning,

The sound of a thundering thunder.

A wish to go,

A wish to leave

Like the tears of a man,

Hidden but true.

The azure remains only blue.

Hardship

In the times of hardship,

When the sun stakes your work,

When the rains see your ships,

When the clouds applaud, applaud thy self,

Shadows are formed, in the lurk.

They eat away the joy of love.

Standing alone in this path.

No one understands the pain you do.

The sweat, trickles from the rain,

As if some man just suffered some pain.

In the light of the sun,

You shine.

In the darkness of the moon,

You cry.

The ink you wrote, flows,

Through the very papers that’ll now

Encompass a failure.

The platitudes aren’t what I require,

From the gods, who rest above the sky,

I seek the truth.

Fate is lying,

Hard work is in vain.

I just feel sheer pain.

For in the times of the hours,

I seek myself, crying for bars.

Monday Morning

I woke up in the middle of the night

To a thundering storm, and rain outside.

I checked my phone to check the hour,

It was 5 o’clock- not what one would desire.

I planned to sleep again, wake up at nine-

Then play some games to pass the time.

As I was planning this dream day down,

My mom came and said ‘Wake up! It’s already dawn!’

I thought to myself ‘What’d mom just say?!’

Then I remembered it was a blue and boring Monday!!!

Chilling in Hot Summers

Birds seem quiet,

while the sun

seems to be yelling

in anger.

My throat is dry,

dogs are asleep.

I decrease

the AC temperature making the room

cool as a cucumber.

I switch on the T.V to

watch my show,

I can hear

mom in the kitchen

getting us all ice cream.

I am relaxed-

no worries on my head and the

only thing I’m concerned about

is what movie I should

watch next.

I wonder how long

it has been,

the slow moving

days of the

sweet summer of 2016.

Let’s go to Saturn

I said it once, not because I had a rocket ready but because Saturn felt like the only place far enough. Far enough from the 6 am alarms, far enough from the assignments piling up, far enough from the late night spirals about whether you said the wrong thing in a five-word text. It was a joke. Kind of. Maybe I was too influenced by SZA singing “Life’s better on Saturn.” But Saturn wasn’t a planet or a song at that moment. It was an escape hatch.

And then, months later, came something I wasn’t prepared for. “I hope you find someone, or people, worth going to Saturn with.”

It sounded simple, but it stuck. Because isn’t that what all of us are really chasing? Not grades, not likes, not followers, but people who make you forget, even for a second, that Earth feels so heavy.

The thing is, we don’t live simple lives anymore. Gen Z feels everything at full volume. One text, “seen at 11:37 pm,” can ruin your entire night. The difference between “okay” and “k” can sit in your chest for weeks like an unpaid bill. We’re dramatic, yes, but we’re also painfully aware. Hyper-aware. Every glance, every word, every silence feels magnified under some imaginary space microscope. No wonder Saturn sounds easier.

But let’s not romanticize it too much. Saturn is, scientifically speaking, a giant ball of gas. If you really think about it, it’s useless for survival. You’d get there, stare at the rings and then wonder why no one told you they’re basically cosmic jewelry. Gorgeous, but completely unhelpful when what you really need is someone who doesn’t flinch when you say, “I am not okay, but I don’t wanna be alone.”

And yet, Saturn lingers. Because what we want isn’t really Saturn, it’s permission. Permission to drop the act, to admit we’re soft even when we’d rather be sharp, to let someone see the cracks without rushing to glue them shut. Vulnerability feels like standing on stage without remembering your lines. It’s terrifying, but it’s also the only way anyone believes you’re human.

Nietzsche once said, “Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” Maybe Saturn is just shorthand for those invisible threads. The unexpected friendships, the “khaana khaa le” from your mom, the people who make you laugh so hard you forget you were ever afraid to speak in the first place.

We might not have Saturn. But we do have these strange, messy, sometimes painful connections that keep Earth from collapsing under its own weight. Sometimes it’s a sarcastic remark that lands harder than it should. Sometimes it’s just the quiet hope tucked inside a sentence like, “I hope you find someone, or people, worth going to Saturn with.”

Earth has its own kind of magic. Sunrises spilling gold over restless oceans, forests that breathe for us, monsoons that carry the smell of wet soil and skies so stubbornly beautiful they make you forget, for a moment, about everything else. Saturn might glitter from afar, but only Earth knows how to hold us.

So, is life better on Saturn? Probably not. But maybe the point was never about actually getting there. Maybe it’s about finding the people who make Earth feel a little more bearable, even when everything else is spiraling.

And maybe that’s enough. Because until Elon Musk figures out the whole space travel thing, I guess we’re here. On Earth. With each other. Looking up at Saturn and thinking, “yeah, maybe someday.”