Before we met

I often wonder...
Who we were before we met.
Every dream I had until now,
Everyone I loved, cherished, desired-
Seems in the distant past
Blurry, unreal.

The forms of black smoke
Gliding over me
Vanished in the light of the day.
But their screams remained
Resonating in my emptiness.
I held onto it because that is all I had.

On nights like this
I walked through the empty halls
Running my fingers on the peeling walls.
In desperation, I wrote ‘I believe!'
A thousand times over
On my body with a black marker.

I wanted to believe
That a different life was waiting for me.
I deserved to be happy.
I deserved to be loved.
I deserved to dream a little
Of you by my side.
.....

Though it is by no means a poem, a friend picked a few lines from my composition and posted this. Thanks Chitra!

The Violinist

I heard Grammy-nominated Philippe Quint play the violin tonight at Flint Center, Cupertino. And what an experience it was! I feel extremely moved by good music, books,  films. In fact, I like to give in to the power of any kind of beautiful expression. Today was no different- my eyes welled as I heard the fiddle virtuoso recite Violin Concerto No.1 in G Minor, Op. 26, (originally composed by Max Brunch).

I discovered that Phillipe plays an antique Antonio Stradivari violin -"Ruby" (1708), on loan to him through the Stradivari Society. After receiving a much-deserving standing ovation from the audience, he played  for us The Red Violin ( composer John Corigliano) from the 1998 Canadian drama film, which was inspired by one of Antonio Stradivari's violins- the Red Mendelssohn (1721). I don't think Phillipe's choice of that piece was a coincidence.

I always had a desire to learn to play the violin. I heard that my father used to play it a long time ago. He took guitar lessons after he retired from the Indian Police Service. Every day I try to dream of at least one seemingly impossible thing or at least something that requires a long-term commitment- this gives me something to look forward to; today it is going to be to play the violin- no matter how long it takes.