The Kajal Eyes

The poetic eyes span unfazed,
Black kajal lines lacing its beauty,
To look at them and be lost amazed,
Is a necessary act of duty.

The beauty in them,
This parented dream and art.
The blink in them,
This gave rhythm to the beating heart.
The shade in them,
This subdued color for black and white.
The twinkle in them,
This brought the stars to light.
The depth in them,
This defined love, joy and pain.
The tear drop in them
This taught heavens to rain.

But see what irony the Nature plays,
Opposites it puts in one place -
How such powerful eyes,
Can tender eyelashes give company?
How such soft an eye,
Can pierce my heart with arrow?
How such delightful a creation,
Can provide tears to partner sorrow?

And what injustice the Almighty plays,
Idea of equality he betrays -
One stern gaze she beholds on me,
My entire mind she unfolds from me.
And when her depth I try to measure,
I only submerge more in her treasure.

Logic, reason, emotion - all I sold,
Still can’t grasp what they hold.
But still I toil-on with all my eager,
For it will be so less than meagre,
To lose the earth, heaven and all its gold,
But be the one her eye beholds. 

The Ear-Ring

I could only catch a glimpse of her from the side;
but that was enough ....

A look at her and the moment froze
Her tender ear as if a white rose 
So tender that it swirls with the breeze
Still holds that ear-ring with graceful ease.

The earring –
It sings as if a sparkling jewel
In the breeze it dances and dwells
Sometimes it kisses her hair
Sometime her cheek
Heaven on earth it knows how to seek.

And then the ring
Whispers something in her ear
Perhaps it warns her –
Of the observing intruder so near
And No!
She starts to move away,
And I am left so much behind.
How much I envy the ring
It is so close to her all the time

And as if my spell curses the ring
The ear forfeits it, downward it slings
The graceful one walks away in bliss
Not having the idea of what is amiss
I run to grab the ring so round
After its journey from heaven to ground

The ring and I now hand in hand
So close to heaven and yet on land
We stand alone though we are two
And watch her go away from view
Our memory gains her forever beauty today 
But alas! Our heart is taken away.

Thousand Women in One

 This blogpost is contributed by Marilia Magdala, Brazil. Visit her blog  Little Lights.

The stories that I read in my childhood have made my imagination fly higher than the magic carpet of Aladdin...

Aladdin, Ali Baba and the 40 thieves, Sindbad the Sailor, 1001 nights and others have provided enthusiasm and inspiration to my life..
These childhood stories always made me dream about the female protagonist. One moment I would be charming Princess Bela , the very next moment, I would be the innocent Snow White. Then I would be the constrained Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella waiting for a prince to come  -- a handsome prince, rich and nice, who would save me  from all dangers and bring about the happy ending  ... "and they lived happy forever".

But of all the female story characters that once marked my childhood dreams, the two that have fascinated and inspired me the most are : Jasmine and Scheherazade.

Jasmine was a rich and beautiful princess. She could have married any wealthy groom chosen by her father and led an easy life; However, Princess Jasmine was ahead of her times. She was courageous. She chose to follow her free will. She chose to explore the world outside her charmed palace. She chose to discover her own choice. And discover she did -- Aladdin.

Aladdin was no prince but a simple lad.  He did not have the luxuries of life. He came from a life of suffering, But in his heart, he had greater nobility than had the princes who were born in golden cribs..He was noble, smart, funny, bold, courageous, and a devoted friend. all at the same time - an ideal reward for the courage of Jasmine.

I could spend hours talking about this couple and their stories as they are my favorite.Who can forget Aladdin’s adventure with his fast and faithful monkey Abbu, Who can forget Rajah, the great and sweet tiger who was the intimate friend of Jasmine? Who can forget the fights and the beautiful swords and the music - so strong and intense? And spare a thought towards the story's Oriental charm - "If you had three wishes, what would you ask for?"

Did you ever wonder what the true meaning of this story was? What wealth Aladdin gained after meeting the smart and lovely girl who at the same time was charming and stubborn ??!!

And now finally, let me tell you why I admire Scheherazade. I can go on for pages but I will just give a glimpse of her splendor.

Scheherazade was a beautiful and intelligent girl. She married the vengeful and bitter Shahryār, the Persian King, a man angry and scorned with all womankind. Under his reign, women have little or virtually no choice, opinion or voice in society. But the voice of Scheherazade was to change her fate forever..

Scheherazade is a proof of the intelligence and imagination of women. She choose a marriage which seemed imminent death. But Scheherazade was above death.Scheherazade enchanted Shahryār with exciting and interesting stories which the world came to call as the Arabian Nights - tales full of mystery, surprise, music, danger, adventure, friendship and love. Scheherazade re-inflamed the human emotions in Shahryār and made him believe in the love, happiness and a reason to appreciate life.

Scheherazade is an icon for women still oppressed today,more in some places than the others. The charm of the culture and provinces brought to light by Arabian nights has been dwindled by the constant laments that the war has brought about in Karachi, Kashmir, Kabul, Gaza...When will the thousand and one nights be recreated in Baghdad? When will the sisters of Scheherazade come to life once again? If only we would know......

And finally,I leave with admiration and respect for the many Scheherazades perhaps still unknown to us. The Scheherazades who use their insight, patience, subtlety and persuasion while facing opposition,  but who constantly strive to bring about a better tomorrow for everyone.

More than everything, we need to have ability with words, because good words can change everything....

---------------------
Dedicated to the 3 childhood's friends: Shobhendra, Shalabh and Sanjeev.

-Mari