I stand musing on this side of the ocean, listening to the secrets that the waves whisper to me. One wave after another, they all have something to tell me, stories from the world on the other side of the ocean. I see just a silhouette and a few shadows and the waves tell me tales that I otherwise would not know. Lilting melodies, soothing hymns, disturbing turbulences and discordant noise, I hear them all…I ponder that there will come a time when these waves will take me over to the other side, delicately, so that I would not lose my grip or myself in the journey…and then I would be in a different world, hopefully not as a different person.
The other side of the ocean, which until now was a symphony of sounds that I little understood, vague melodies that I overheard with mild curiosity, will now be my sanctum and I shall become the shadow on the other side of the ocean and the waves will carry my voice to yet another soul tentatively preparing herself for her journey to the other side of the ocean.
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- RS
- Silly, serious, singular, sensitive, !sane and Bitsian all the way :) You can reach me at mail.AT.ramyasethuraman.com
15 comments:
hey congrats!
Hoping that that yet another soul who lies in wait in this side of the ocean always gets to hear a melody from your side!
-Raapi
To rajesh, Thanks! More my general thoughts on marriage than an announcement though :)
I like how the title just colors (or rather, lends meaning to, not just colors) the entire perception when you read the actual body of the post! Nice! And congratulations too :)
RS, Congrats! A eloquent piece of writing. The ocean has always been a love affair with me. And I've felt as you do even now, in different contexts, as if the sea was passing on its eternal wisdom to me.
Not to deviate completely from this blog but still out of curiosity, have you read "Apostrophe to the Ocean" by Byron? Your words reminded me of that all time favorite.
To rtd2, thanks :)
To subha: Thanks! I read this after seeing your comment, it is beautiful:
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not the man less, but nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.
--Lord George Gordon Byron, "Apostrophe to the Ocean"
If it were not for the title, I will be thinking about oceans and seas and whispers and noise and going from Shore A to Shore B. The title changes it all. Beautifully done.
nice metaphor...hadn't thought of it this way...
- Lakshman
.oO ( hmmm wots this post abt )
.oO ( Expectant optimism. )
.oO ( wots dat? )
.oO ( Happiness. )
.oO ( i shdnt post my stupid sad thots den? )
.oO ( You shouldn't. You'll just spoil the mood. )
.oO ( but I told her I react to her writing )
.oO ( But you don't have to post all reactions. )
.oO ( y? )
.oO ( Sadness should never be a response to happiness. )
.oO ( but dats just wot I feel )
.oO ( That's just your business then. Isn't it? )
.oO ( hmmm... wot if I ask her b4 I post? )
.oO ( Trust me. Don't. )
.oO ( ... )
Beautiful !
RS,
well well.. if the other side is marital bliss and this side is bachelorhood.. which entity is the ocean metaphorically speakin ?
anonymous, so how does it end ?
To Satheesh: I would assume the ocean is what am crossing now :), life as I lead it now...with stories I hear and see about married life, some happy, some not so; I think the ocean is also the journey that we take with our (future) significant others, the very process of getting to know him (her)...its also a metaphor for marriage itself - the ceremony, the bonds associated with it...
To a no nymous:
.oO ( hmmm wots this post abt )
.oO ( Expectant optimism. )
RS.oO (do sprinkle bits of anxiety and anticipation...)
.oO ( wots dat? )
.oO ( Happiness. )
.oO ( i shdnt post my stupid sad thots den? )
RS.oO (I did not think him stupid till now, but if he thinks his thoughts are stupid...:))
.oO ( You shouldn't. You'll just spoil the mood. )
RS.oO (You will not, just like you have not in the past)
.oO ( but I told her I react to her writing )
.oO ( But you don't have to post all reactions. )
RS.oO (can I disagree here?)
.oO ( y? )
.oO ( Sadness should never be a response to happiness. )
RS.oO (If you notice carefully, sadness is already a part of this post, which is what makes the happiness stand out, if there were only happiness, how would we know we are happy?)
.oO ( but dats just wot I feel )
.oO ( That's just your business then. Isn't it? )
.oO ( hmmm... wot if I ask her b4 I post? )
.oO ( Trust me. Don't. )
.oO ( ... )
RS.oO (Trust me, expectant eyes await your response )
Sometimes, when I'm trying to decide if I should post something that I've thought about, the imp on my left shoulder prevails in his battle with my better judgement on my right. This post is the aftermath of one such battle. Apologies in advance.
Isn't it strange how the same sentiment, the same metaphor, can arouse two starkly different emotions in two different readers? While some see the sea as a journey to the other side, to others it is a chasm that separates. And, while happiness is usually contagiously uplifting, sometimes, it only deepens the despair you've managed to hide away in the dark corners of your heart. What follows was seeded by RS's post, and encouraged by one line in the poem that Subha mentions.... "There is a rapture on the lonely shore". Only in this case, the rapture is grayer shade.
She told me a thousand stories by the starlit shore,
Her eyes weaving a million whispers into more.
But then she took a boat to the other side,
Watching without emotion, as I cried.
And now I ache, walking these lonesome sands,
For a sight, a sound, a touch of gentle hands.
I hope, sometimes, that she will come back to me,
And to this beach, and to the waiting sea.
But then I realize, that I am all but forgotten,
A distant memory, with loneliness unbegotten.
To RS: I know marriage is serious business. Which is why I did not want to taint this post with this despair. But, maybe, in a way, it'll serve to show you exactly what place companionship commands in our lives. So, here's wishing you all the happiness and joy that companionship and marriage bring. If congratulations are in order, "congratulations". If not, best wishes for the future that lies ahead.
To Satheesh - THIS is what "it" ends in.
And to all - sorry for inflicting that upon you.
To a no nymous:
After seeing your words, I can almost feel the depth of emotions in you that must make you write so achingly. I am sorry that sometimes my writing makes you revisit dark corners of your heart that you would otherwise not, but at the same time, I cant help feeling overwhelmed by how well you write...
"And now I ache, walking these lonesome sands,
For a sight, a sound, a touch of gentle hands."
@ a no nymous,
That couplet pretty much sums it up neatly. Also, I'm glad the imp took over else we would have missed this nice piece. One word - Kalakkitta !
@ RS,
Thanks for that clarification, I was thinkin you meant the same too (Ocean being our current state of mind and life in all its complexity) - but just wanted to reaffirm the same.
Keep'em coming !
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