The wait

I've been waiting
But the time won't seem to come
It seems frozen
Not letting me see through some
I've been dreaming
With my feet firmly on the ground
I can feel you
Sense you somewhere around

I've been asking
Questions who's answers I can't find
It's so simple
Yet, it beats me all the time
I've been counting
The days that have come and gone
Hopes that crumbled
And the ache that leaves me scorned

I've been calling
On to you, come find me when it's time
I'll be ready
To hop on, once I see the sign
I've been thinking
If you'll sweep me off the ground
Lift me up
Turn my life around

Terminal

Begin.

I'm excited.
Seated on a comfortable chair
That leans backwards
Spins me around
Phone plugged to a charging point
That's unnoticeable under the table
Reading and answering
Posts on Quora
While a sea of people pass by
Speaking their own tongue
Children, adults and elders
Some copassengers, some not
I'll never know, because
I've buried myself in my book
In the game of thrones
"Call home." A voice rings
I hang up after a good 10 minutes
Sneak a peek at my boarding pass
At the clock on my phone
Raise my head to look around
In no particular direction
For no particular reason
While the clock ticks, I pen
These words down
I say, "The life of an urban man"
Many words written online
Many scribbled as statuses
Many sarcastic, many funny
While an elderly gentleman
On the next table wonders
where spoken words have gone.

End.

Simple cream of Mushroom and Spinach soup

Ingredients: serves 1

1 tablespoon plain flour
2 tablespoon vegetable/olive oil/butter
2 cups milk / 250ml
1 cup mushroom
Handful of Spinach
8-10 pepper corns
1 bay leaf
1 Clove Garlic (optional)
1/2 onion

Method:
1. Saute mushrooms (halved) in 1 tablespoon vegetable/olive oil/Butter
2. Once tender, add Spinach and saute until leaves are cooked. Keep aside
3. Boil milk, Bay leaf, onion and pepper corns. Simmer on medium flame while stirring continuously.
4. 5 min after the milk begins to boil, filter the milk to separate the spices.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable/olive oil/Butter. Once hot, add pain flour and roast by stirring continually.
6. Once flour turns brown and smells nutty, take off the flame and keep aside.
7. Mix 1/2 cup spiced milk with roasted flour and stir to remove lumps.
8. Add the rest of the milk, sauteed mushroom, spinach, salt to taste and simmer on medium flame.
9. 2-3 min after the milk begins to boil, the mixture thickens.
10. Blend the mixture and serve with a toast.

Grapes and Watercress salad

I fell in love with fruit-leaf-cheese salads few years ago when I had the watermelon-feta cheese-arugula salad at Prost. I might have tried every outlet in Bangalore that served the salad - some nice, some a feeble attempt to just bring it to the table. My best was at Big Brewsky, until the restaurant got busy and didnt get the measure of the ingredients right anymore.
Funnily enough, this is not the receipe of the WFA. It's something I invented on a beautiful spring afternoon in Ingrave, UK. The reason I can confidently take credit for the invention is simple - I looked it up on Google and didn't find anything remotely similar.

Receipe: For 1 person
16 grapes cut in quarters/halves
A palmful of Watercress
A palmful of mixed baby leaves - spinach, red chard, lettuce (avoid iceberg)
1/4 Red/white onion Or 1 shallot, cut length-wise
1/4 orange/red bell peppers, cut length-wise
2 tea spoons grated cheddar cheese

Dressing:
2 tea spoons of lemon juice
1 tea spoon of white wine vinegar. In case the ingredient is missing, add 1 tea spoon of lemon juice and 1 tea spoon of water.
1 tea spoon of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of fresh ground pepper
1 tea spoon of water

Method:
Mix all the ingredients, but the cheese. Once the vegetables are coated with the dressing, sprinkle the cheese and toss the salad a couple of times.

Early bird!

I love the morning calm,
that's so hard to find around.
I love to wake up to chirping birds,
The sound of music, so divine.
I love the empty streets,
The space I need to breathe.
The unending roads that curve ahead,
The smooth rides, fairly said.
Gusts of wind brush my face,
The stench of yesterday washed out.
Sunrise reminds me of abundance,
While the light gets me on and about.
The changing colours of the sky,
So beautiful, yet so shy.
The lifeless concrete, in the background,
That reminds me of the world around.
I love the fresh air,
With every breath I prepare,
For another day that awaits,
A new beginning, a new start,
Countless opportunities apart.