Sangeetha Kamath

The clackity-clack of heels echoed on the cool marble floor as Avantika sashayed from her cabin to the conference hall. At 5’7” with waist length hair, the colour of a raven’s wing, her skin honey toned, she was the cynosure of all eyes today as she stood in front of corporate honchos to seal the deal of the merger and acquire multi million dollars worth in stocks and bonds.  With the initial round of heady cheers and toasting of champagne, she quietly made her way out and slumped into the welcoming recliner in her cabin and closed her eyes. Memories of the past flooded her and she suddenly felt warm hearted with gratitude. Margaret…the blonde-haired missy who had visited her village three decades ago had taken upon herself to take a team of pre-teen girls under her wing and educate them. Avantika had taken a fancy to the kind lady who looked starkly different from the people she usually encountered around the hutments. The lessons had begun with great fervor and excitement. Avanti...

With an exasperated string of words, Nolan jumped to his feet and stormed towards the front door. The ringing was persistent and looked like whoever it was outside wouldn't let him have a Sunday morning slide in peace.  He had returned here after a year and the house was kept in pristine condition by the cleaners who would come in at regular intervals. Who could be visiting him at his farmhouse when he had told no one about his month long retreat? His getaway from a stress-filled city life and a job that sucked the life out of him was a plan he confided in no one. Upon opening the door in one swift swing, he found a package wrapped in a simple brown paper lying outside with his address and a ‘Welcome Home’ card pasted on it. He carried it inside and wondered what could be inside and who would send him a homecoming gift.  The contents revealed an easel, a canvas, a branded box of paints, palettes and paintbrushes of every type and size. Nolan's eyes shone with delight at this ...

  I trudged through withered bracken and the frosted winter parade As ice-storms swept across a barren, icicle'd glade A hushed midnight and the gloomy woods were bathed in a dull pallor of the gibbous moon Melodies lamented and moaned an endless, melancholic tune ‘Twas a lone walk through pastures of wilted blooms Solitude was a friend in the summers of honey breath in the deep green woods Swept away by the currents or blown away by the torrents As twilight lazily rested on hillocks and in the amaranthine dells Like a laden cloud I cascaded down when the load was a dead weight I had gathered pieces of myself and strung them together with a parched wreath  Pensive was the boon of listening to rumbling whispers  Like a dimpling stream I flowed and carved my own trails Like the ocean arose and crashed to write my own fate, Letting the sun guide my way and the moon shine on my rugged path Now I ask all the pulsing stars to sing of my struggles,   The forests to hum...

Scritch-scratch…scritch…scratch.. I scribble away with my pencil for want of nothing better to do. Building my word bank, writing fiction, creating art…or just writing about the mundane rise and close of my day.  Scritch-scratch… Dear Diary, Word of the day today is Kenopsia. It’s a new-fangled word which I chanced upon quite recently, all thanks to the pursuits propounded during downtime and this inescapable lockdown. I took upon one of them to building my vocabulary. Though this word was a novel one, the sentiment associated with it was not alien to me. I just didn’t have a name for it back then. Looking back, during my school days, I had always dilly-dallied on the last day before it closed down for the academic year. While everybody just couldn’t wait to rush home or to hang out with their friends, the arcane sentimental in me would always wait it out until a major part of the crowd had dwindled. I would get captivated and drawn to the emptiness and vacuum of the classroom, whi...

Oceans of cosmic might Sky awash with Northern light Oh! What a mesmerising sight! Heavens fires bright, daylight on a magnetic midnight Colours abound in the mystical Tundra Poured out from a celestial amphora Of the Goddess of Dawn, Aurora It's a spectacularly hued, divine opera The violaceous skies of deep amaranthine Lavenders, magentas and mauve divine Reminds me of cherry glows and plum wine Amid trails and swirls of glistening tangerine and smaragdine Arcs and curtains in the horizon At the edge of the sky, crystals frozen Pirouettes and twirls as the empyrean redden The glow of twinkling stars magically deepen. ©️ Sangeetha Kamath  Pic Courtesy:Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

  The yacht, brand new, bobbed in the pale gray waters where it was moored. Freshly painted in chrome, Contessa was going on her maiden journey today with a family of three. Alan Barlow had purchased this beauty for a few million and before holding a party aboard with friends, he wanted to take his wife Ana and seven year old daughter to the middle of the sea to show them dolphins and seals. Family getaway. Or was it his guilt for not giving them quality time in the race for raking in the moolah and to stay on top of the Forbes list? The press was all over the place and that was all that mattered to Alan. Publicity! Glamour, glitz, ambition, millions…billions! The Barlow family posed on the pier for photographs with the gleaming yacht in the background. Ana’s white, flowing summer dress billowed in the soft breeze and her chestnut hair shone with streaks of gold like a halo against the sun making a slow, shy appearance.  Rosamund had an excited look on her face and was restles...

Life as a forest ranger was challenging, stretching one to the limits. But Louie had a deep calling to be one with nature, in the midst of the Savannah driving for miles in the vast grassland trying to spot injured animals or worse still, be on the lookout for poachers. He had to be vigilant every step of the way and watch his back at all times.  Armed with a rifle and his most prized possession, a camera to capture wildlife he set off every morning. It was a taxing profession when he had to work night shifts on some days.  Of late, there had been a spate of killings for ivory and rhino horns. This distressed Louie to a point of breakdown. He felt incompetent at his job as he couldn't save those innocent lives. He didn't know where the next target would be and when. Something had to be done to bring the culprits to justice. He drove down to the tribal village upon the suggestion of Jabari, a team member and met with the chieftain. They had long meetings on how to curb these il...

                               SMILE ! I have no memory of who clicked this picture. I have no memory of even who this man sitting beside me is. Is he a dear friend, a husband…but then why don't I get the feeling that I'm a married woman? There was no wedding band on my finger when I regained my consciousness in a hospital room with strangers around me. He is looking at me now, worry and concern writ large on his face. Fishing out the wedding ring from his pocket, he says it was removed when I was taken into surgery. He has been saying so for the past one week. Should I believe him? If only I could get one hazy fragment of my past, I would. I turn my face and he sighs, slumping on a chair nearby. I return the picture to him apologetically. At the back of my mind, I do know that he must have been an acquaintance but in my current state of mind, I wasn't ready to accept just about anything, anyone told me. And...

                      Here she was praying for a stranger. A stranger who put his life on the line for her.  **** Stella walked down to the neighborhood cafe where she always met Alan for Friday night dates or a cup of coffee and warm snacks in the late evening when she got off work. She spotted him sitting in the far end towards the wall, scrolling down his phone, eyebrows knitted and lips pursed in a thin line.  It was unusual of him to choose that spot from their usual place by the French windows where they had a view of the quay.  Sensing some unpleasant news coming her way, she walked up to him anxiously. He gave her a wry smile and fumbled with his words. Finally he handed a letter with a sheepish look.  Her worst fears had become her reality. This was certainly bad news. Alan had been distancing himself from her and try as might she couldn't get through to him. This day had finally come when they ended the...

                         COBALT SHEEN  A writer lives a million dreams With their blue-black inked fingers scripts about the trees, The autumn breeze and the winter's chilling and freeze They're artists, they're poets and lyricists Drawing worlds of fantasy, they also give voice to reality, daring it The moss covered woodland ground The ivory welkin laden with a metallic cloud Nature to them is a song and To every emotion they belong Donning many hats and in the shoes of their character Their pens scorch a trail when the words tumble down on paper Of sun-drenched rivers and melancholic skies Winter's frost after the last jewel tinted leaf flies  The sun dips and the stars twinkle, yet they write by light of the moon Painting a masterpiece with colours using only black and white They treasure their manuscripts like a priceless heirloom. ©️ Sangeetha Kamath  Pic Courtesy:Image by jarlina from Pixabay

                         DRIPPING STARS  Teardrops are like a shimmer on a rain washed sky They're the reason for the rainbows of memories sparkling bright A star, is my frozen tear that keeps twinkling and pulsing  Like pearls incandescent and diamonds on a hyaline night On a midwinter night among a chorus of stars serenading the moon A scorch of enchanting ethereal silver  Blazed brilliantly across the indigo in a dash of glitter "Make a wish" my heart did whisper  And so I with my fragile courage, did muster I wished upon that star and asked for a wand so powerful to turn back time  To send you back to me, my heart pleadingly did chime. Or a crystal ball so magical, to find you and seek you…never let you go To cast a spell and make all my dreams come true or stay there forever with you. I wish I could hear you one more time as you say  "Let me tie up your hair, you won't feel hot on a summe...

                        PEACHES 'N CREAM  In another time, I will follow you to the edge of tomorrow  Look at you tender, stand with you steadfast through summer and snow  The quartz skies and clouds citrine Reflect in your pretty hazel eyes and heart pristine I will rejoice in your wild that sets me free The dripping rain in my heart that will  finally a sun ray see A sky full of stars and a river full of dreams Soft whispers and warm embraces, my world is painted peaches 'n cream A throne I want not, nor a diamond crown You hold the key to my heart, your love is a jewel Sparkling in the moonlight are sugar dust twinkles Etched in the air are the sweetest songs of the nightingales  Caught in a swirl of an ecstasy of a fairy tale script Fiercely I will love you from this life to the next I prance through the cobblestone streets and tree lined boulevards  Rapturous in my world, there's love on the c...

                      TANGERINE CHIMES  The sunlight wanes on jeweled landscapes Murals and mosaics of fiery glades Flamed wands of burnished copper and russet Autumn dresses in scarlet and dazzling gold Harvest moon drips pale silver drops On pumpkin patches and fields of tall cornstalks  October glows like a mystical wonderland The caramel toned leaves carpeting the woods so grand  Dainty mists bathe the valleys and hills in amethyst and amaranth Frosted winds and clear cloudless skies are cerulean coruscant  The soft hymns through the Lindens and Willows Summer's end heralds a carnelian radiance in cherry sunset glows With a gold tipped paintbrush the trees are swathed in auburn, tangerine and hazel The barks shimmer with rippling cracks of pearl and opal The first rays of dawn are peach and pastel rose on these glorious mornings  Through the pine trees, the stillness is celebrated with lullabies of breez...

In all her bridal finery of reds and golds in a soft serenade When autumn limbers in, in an amaranth brocade Regaled with a bounty of towering flamed foliage, I walk in the fall rain, soaking in the crimson herbage Before they become one with the sable carpeted quilt mingled with hues of umber There are joys of sitting in front of a fireplace, sipping a mulled apple cider Fresh batches of cinnamon, vanilla and pecan cookies on a blustery day; Fragrance wafts from my kitchen like a dreamy tale Wooly socks! Thrown around to snuggle into, are plaid blankets I watch the soft-spun clouds and fading sepia sunlight     How hushed the world is with the pause in birdsongs and scampering of critters Nature hibernates to preserve the acorns and holly-berries  The October wind whispers her secrets and hums her bronzed melodies Until spring bursts forth again with a bountiful floral cornucopia  Seasons come and go, changing from russet, gray to fuchsia I venture into the jew...

                         ENCHANTED The colour of my brightest dreams were encrusted on my bangles How the sunlight danced on them as they jangled They held the laughter of my mother and my beloved grandmother The signature of my feminity as they were laid out on a velvet laced platter Studded with rubies, opals and exotic jade The gold 'Kadha' heirlooms from the days gone by were custom made Sometimes of clear glass or ceramic to go with my mood Sparkles of light added a charm and my wrists looked quite good Beaded with my favourite crystals rose quartz or tourmaline Occasionally a moonstone or a vivid red carnelian  Gold, silver or an entwined Celtic knot with gemstones These antiques were beyond precious and sprang to life of it's own How eye catching is an enamel, lac or stringed river stone pebbles My collection now holds a 'Saankha Pola' made of red coral and conch shells A tight hug from another world are my bra...

                        SHOWSTOPPER  October is the showstopper of a grand finale, A triumph splattered on the hills and in deep valleys When autumn limbers in with grace In all her bridal finery of reds and golds in a soft serenade Regaled with a bounty of towering flamed foliage, I walk in the fall rain, soaking in the crimson herbage Before they become one with the sable carpeted quilt mingled with hues of umber There are joys of sitting in front of a fireplace, sipping a mulled apple cider A fresh batch of cinnamon, vanilla and pecan cookies on a blustery day; Fragrance wafts from my kitchen like a dreamy tale Wooly socks, thrown around to snuggle into are plaid blankets I watch the soft-spun clouds and fading sepia sunlight     How still the world is with the pause in bird songs and scampering of critters Nature hibernates to preserve the acorns and holly-berries  The October wind whispers her secr...

   SEPTEMBER MAGIC  Love came knocking on my door Lost and wandering looking for stories galore Set in gold, a whisper of a dream embroidered on organza regally  Falling in love was sweet, feeling free and light finally  Cozy fireplaces were ours to reminisce the summer laughter; lilting September in her carnival clothes quite breathtaking and stunning  Autumn skies and pumpkin pies Guitar-strumming bonfire laughter and moonlit nights Watching a thousand sunsets, horizons streaked in ribbons of blazing glitter  With promises of a prussian canvas and diamond dust splatter Flapping their wings furiously above me were a convoy of starlings and geese In search of warmer kingdoms to escape the November freeze Timeless, no beginning, no end… Every day, every moment, every uphill road and every bend After walking miles in the arid deserts, I had a thousand reasons to go; a million to stay  The stars sizzle to a vapor at dawn, retreating and coy Giving w...

HYMN OF TIME Take me home to yesterday when I would sail paper boats in the rain  Fly paper planes under the sun again and again Climbing trees in the apple orchards and scraping knees against the walls Falling with a thud on the ground didn't deter us at all Tripping on pebbles and hobbling on paths Evenings were for outdoors or a cozy gathering full of  cheer and hearty laughs Hearts melted when baby birds chirped or kittens mewed Counting stars by the night and watching clouds during the day, happy was all we knew to be even as seasons changed Plucking flowers and tucking them in my hair Gazing at colourful butterflies as they fluttered and flitted in the air When reality melded into dreams and nothing seemed to matter No lies to be exposed, no facade to shatter Deep inside lies a sweet memory, a whisper of the past  A fairytale, grown up life is not, good girls always finish last No kingdoms with rainbows, unicorns and happily ever after Courage is to be drawn from wi...

                          BLUSHING SEA  When I'm by the seaside nothing else matters Fringing the garth of shiny pebbles and seashells are heavenly aquamarine waters As the pearly sky blushes a pale peach and coral Faint flecks of sunbeams tiptoe upon the liquid hills of violescent and beryl The dawn soon breaks through into a crisp saffron, setting the sky ablaze Tinting the waves a majestic emerald and teal with frothy misty veils When the vanilla foam laces around my ankles My footprints in the grainy sun-warmed primrose sands, merrily swirls Droplets of sunshine waltz on the rising surf of a mighty roar  The salty spray celebrates by twirling in my hair and crashing on the shore Like the ocean of my heart deep, holding dreams and flavours  A vast empire of hopes hides in the royal blue depths of shimmering colours Restless and ready for adventure I await my ship Sailing in the distant horizon lapping the...