In My City

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 4/23/2013 4:27:00 PM

'I am living what seem to be the last few days here in this city. And yes the reference to the Priyanka Chopra Hall of Crap was just coincidental. It has a life this place like those scary horror movies that claim houses have spirits. Only this city is not scary, in fact it is the contrary. It lives and breathes every day. It sits with you in empty auto rides smiling and hugs the ocean on the Marine Drive from sunrise to sunset.You can choose to be anyone here because the city is lik(...)'

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Age of Treason

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 4/18/2013 1:57:00 PM

'We are a hypocritical culture. We have always been one. And by that I do not mean our country. Somewhere in our evolution since the “Early Man” days we have suddenly developed the urge to point fingers and blame people. So because we continue to look to blame, we end up being paranoid.Few days ago when the Boston bombings happened, a handful of messages were sent to my relatives in or near Boston wondering if they were ok. Minutes later a journalist in Times of India chided the Indi(...)'

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FIXED IDEAS

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 4/10/2013 6:02:00 AM

'1. Everyone is nice unless proved otherwise.2. No one is out to get you (unlike what you believed or were made to believe as a child)3. Sometimes we love people even when we hate them. And at other times we love them when we love them.4. Childhoods can in fact be happy.5. Good memories are hard to come by. We should pen them down the moment we remember them. We should not write down the bad ones because they only instill revenge6. Revenge is a useless weapon. It’s a double edg(...)'

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From Anne to Sylvia

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 4/2/2013 12:05:00 PM

'We walk through our valleys of fear Into the dying dawn It's all just peaches and pears Until you find everything around was wrongFirst it's hundreds then thousands in the mind The thoughts of death Running crazy and blind "We are not to die", she said"Not so quickly in life" I am in a deeper myth my friend For you I walked past the knife Little, of course, can you say to thisYou who embraced it like a friendYou who looked past the ignoranceStraight into a peaceful end You who claim(...)'

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The End of a Friend

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 3/25/2013 6:12:00 AM

'Lines across the face The stones on the path They don't have to be a story Of a life that doesn't last A friend is still a friend Even if they don't think of you As the place to run and hide When they have nowhere else to goThey walk in with a crown of thornsClaim the throne and shut the door They walk right past your fear And start exploring death some more A friend is still a friend Even if they think of death And you want to claim their lifeAnd bring them back to their gasping br(...)'

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A Suitable Girl Part 2: The Digital Paranoia

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 3/19/2013 9:08:00 AM

'"Does your Facebook account have things people wouldn't want to find out?" He asked the other day. Well, first of all, what is it you think I do that could interest anyone on Facebook. I do not put up pictures of me sunbathing on the beach, frankly, I don't even remember the last time went to a beach(which is not Juhu beach!) Then he gets all defensive and sweet and goes oh no not you! Maybe someone else did it. And all the Criminal Minds episodes I have been willingly trying to for(...)'

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The Writer: An Afterthought

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 3/12/2013 6:48:00 PM

'There was once a little boy, crying in the highlands of a wolf that didn't exist. He scared his little brother, bullied him to no end, and sometimes secretly hated his mother. The little boy grew big and tall, scaring the town with his stories. His little brother remained small and spent most of his time writing mysteries.One day he walked through the park, hearing stories of the woods and saw his little brother hiding away in a hood. He followed him in silence and whispered through(...)'

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The Writer: Part 5: Tonight

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 3/11/2013 8:09:00 PM

'He wakes from his moment of bliss to see what the pen and paper has conjured up this time. Another Story.***The room was a well lit white. The stack of books in the corner was beginning to gather dust. The tiny window at the top of the room was merely for the tiny ray of sunlight that stole itself into the room. He looked up for a moment; the rain had splattered the dirt from the road on to the window as if the white of room was fighting against the filth outside. The door was ajar,(...)'

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The Writer Part 4: Reality

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 2/19/2013 4:28:00 AM

'They found her hanging by the hooks, as if that weren't enough, on the wall were the inscriptions, "Set you free"Now in the hindsight, the writer wonders why no one saw the connection. His poem had been published and accolades came pouring instantly. An underground cult was brewing in the town and everyone wanted a piece of his words. All connections were lost until the high school rock band decided to sing his words and dedicate the song to her. She had been beautiful, thought the (...)'

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The Writer Part 3: The night

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 1/16/2013 7:16:00 PM

'Dream a little dream of meOf a red roomBursting at its seamsSpilling over its doomIt's an average dayBy the HudsonOnly it doesn't end the average wayAfter endless conversationsShe walks into the houseKids asleep upstairsShe swallows away her petulant poutAnd waits for parents who don't careAt length the sleep comes aliveShe hears noises she can't seeShe doesn't quite know it yetBut she is dreaming a dream of meShe knows not Where the blood comes fromFor it’s just the pain that’s se(...)'

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The Writer: Part 2

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 1/8/2013 7:28:00 PM

'He looks back at the day he wrote his first story and smiles. The books they mock him, like pictures in his mind they come back. Here he was the best selling writer in America and yet, all he ever waited for was the next vision. Every word, every sentence was a new life, a new death.The first ever story got published in the local newspaper thanks to his mom. She was so proud, they even framed the story. He still remembers the picture up on the refrigerator. The story was your averag(...)'

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The Writer: Part 1

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 1/5/2013 7:20:00 AM

'He had always been a scared child. Even before he had known of existence he had been scared of things. He assumed the worst when his father drove him to school. His mother protected him of all things evil for she knew there was something about him; something that bordered on greatness and glory. She had dreamt of the best things for him. And, fate as always obliged. Now, 30 years later, Writer thought how true his mother was when she saw all these things for him. He briefly smiled a(...)'

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A suitable girl: part 1

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 12/14/2012 5:49:00 PM

'Meet Your average Jane, only she is not that average, she might be a bit of a recluse. Also, a little bit of a general freak of nature but those are just terms of endearments she calls herself. She works at a big shot job and is, by most people at work, called a little too loud in her dressing. No she is not a, hmm what's the corporate word for it, "slut", she doesn't go about suggestively in the office at random men. Instead, she just dresses loudly and immerses herself in her job (...)'

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An ode to a friend

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 12/12/2012 6:45:00 PM

'Ain’t worth your timeThis lost hopeIt ain’t worth your painNot worth your soulLife isn’t a boxNor the world an oysterBut when it breathes in joyDon’t you forget to remember -- Nothing’s worth these tearsFor now just hush and smileFor the love around youWill make it worth your whileIt’s not about the people who leftIt’s about those who areDon’t you close your doorsDon’t shut out your heart. You are always the love for someoneAn exotic mystery with no cluesYou will always be(...)'

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The Minute before...

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 11/21/2012 3:53:00 PM

'Take a deep breathand fall apartYou now know this wasn'tdestined by the starsYou have walked throughWorse and been togetherSo take a deep breathand fall apartYou are wonderingIf the blood is worth the timeYou are resentingThe pain that is yours and mineIt was neverA question of the heartSo take a deep breathAnd fall apartA life judged by the knifeA soul scarred by hateAre all reasons your mindEndlessly makesThis pain is for nowAnd won't forever lastSo take a deep breathAnd fall apar(...)'

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Dewarists Season 2: The story of the World and its subjects

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 11/19/2012 6:05:00 PM

'Its rare that a song fits almost as if it was coincidental with the life and death of a totally unrelated figure. Of course, the second episode of dewarists wasn't about the death of a populist leader (whom I am scared to mention for the fear of my own life), but listening to the song Tom, Dick and Harry, it was suddenly so apt.What's different about this collaboration is that it isn't about the music. It's about the poetry behind it. That's why rappers (if they bother to write inte(...)'

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To Delhi

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 11/3/2012 5:42:00 AM

'I dwell in silenceseach step away from homeis a sword through these rusty bonesEach road less traveledturns this sorry heart to stoneThe skies are the only constantin this ruthless existencemy breath, a painful reminderof life and of distanceI love the citylike it were meI hate it for its my ownIt has stood the test of timeand has always given me whats mine'

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The Walking Unread

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 10/5/2012 10:11:00 AM

'It starts with one transition. And before you know it, you are staring at empty pages and wondering how in that brief momentary weakness, you thought you could pursue hobbies like writing, singing etc in this lifetime. Very recently I heard Vikram Seth give an interview. He had started off in a 9 to 5 job, realized he cannot work in a place like that and started writing instantly and like a writer's fairy tale he was instantly picked for publishing. He worked and still does in a dif(...)'

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September Rain

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 9/21/2012 2:51:00 PM

'She came last SeptemberRipped my heart outShe drowned out all words and soundAll the desperate screams and shoutsShe was born on the day as IA sorrow in SeptemberWoeful with the widowed windWaiting for her past DecemberAt length she bled right outTrampling the ground beneath my feetMy empty house now standsA ruin of crumpled sheetsWould she come againAround this river bendWould she walk aloneOr still be married to the windI look to the skiesHope perched high in the sunYet I remember(...)'

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Portrait of a Lady

Author : Swati Thampan      Blog : The Mind's Endless Mirror      Date : 9/20/2012 12:37:00 PM

'I whisper in the treesacross the hillsI run and hide in hearts of desireI bow my head in peace and contentmentand on lonely nightsI set some souls on fireI am a dream for somea myth of a dark mysteryand in the cold distant stories of woeI am the portrait of a lady'

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