Deepavali major

Galaxies of light

throng the crystal atmosphere

in brilliant shades

incense, prayer, crackers and kids

a teeming vortex of life.

Deepavali minor

Gradual, sombre

a single diya explodes

in the dark stillness

an effulgent precursor

to the festival of lights.

Night flight

Plovers harangue the

night sky, dense constellations

expand the mind’s eye

plaintive echoes receding

on a thousand ganglions.

Dhan Teras

Visions of childhood

incense, prayer, vermillion

shimmering jewels

an annual offering

for Laxmi’s benediction.

Bamboo child

Slender and yellow

a bamboo shoot emerges

from the thicket

drenched, a hundred peridots

glisten in the morning sun.

Karva chauth

An annual fast

for my husband dearest

prayers for a good life

unbroken, parched till moon rise

each breath etched in memory.

Shelle & pearl

Two decades and five

desolate, a broken shell

solitary in the sand

a little pearl floated by

nestling in her ever since.

Autumn moon

The moon a gold coin

a pearl in an oyster shell

throbs in the night sky

expectant and quivering

awakened by her lover.