Hi!
When I came back to Odisha (at the end of 2017) on a work sabbatical, birthdays for me until then, were regular annual affairs that were to be celebrated with the usual thank you messages and an odd get together with family and friends.
Not to say I did not look forward to them. I did. It was a special date in the calendar and once my boss had joked that he had recruited me because the date (19th) added up to the digit One which he considered lucky!
However, after my health suffered a serious setback in 2018 I started to realise the beauty of life. My perspectives changed. The small things in my daily routine began to matter and I started appreciating them and being thankful for my existence.
Till then my physical body had been just a medium to perform the usual biological functions for which it had been created for. Now, I became more aware of it. What I ate, how many hours I slept, the daily exercises to keep fit – they all began to matter.
I started loving life and prayed to God to keep me alive till such time I am really old 🙂 🙂
I decided to live life to the full and so birthdays assumed a greater significance. To celebrate each milestone I began drafting short poems and posting them with my pic on social media. The poem tried to capture the essence of what life meant to me in the past 12 months.
So, presenting below are these poems since 2019. I hope to keep updating them each year and hopefully God will be kind enough to help me in my prayers.
Cheers to Life! Hope you enjoy reading them.
Life has been beautiful, what else can I say? For all the small miracles that come my way. HE listens to all that I ask for and plead, Such Graciousness; perhaps due to past reflections or my good deed? On my Birthday today, as I look upwards to Heaven; I send God a flying kiss of thanks, as I turn 40 Seven!
Just 'parking' my thoughts on my Birthday, Life seems so full of possibilities at every step of the way. There are unfulfilled desires and dreams to live, Incomplete works to which I need time to give. The mind keeps travelling to places known/ unknown, Yet bound by current situation I am home. Sometimes I fret about the small things going wrong; Yet there are people with bigger worries but still going strong. For life and death, happiness and despair are all part of the mix, As time rolls on, today it turns me Forty 6.
Can there be smoke without a fire? Does a heart beat without desire? At sunrise today I turned Forty + 5 Thankful to God for His bounty; for being alive! Life's a maze - smile through the joys and pain, Live-in the Now, for this moment will never come again!
What is Age? It is just a number Time keeps rolling on from Jan to December, AT 44 today, I am a lot wiser but still not old, All my life's learnings have turned into gold.
That Odia Boy 
Lovely, short and sweet poems. They encourage us to lead our life enthusiastically. Ofcourse there will be hurdles which we have to overcome with patience and perseverance . Your poems clearly brings out your faith in the Almighty.
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Yes Api. Indeed HE is the most Beneficent and most merciful. Thank you so much for reading my post and sharing your thoughts!
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My Dear little Bhanaja/Putara,
You don’t know how much I love & remember you. I don’t know why, but each time I am under the shower, I remember you. I don’t quite know what is the cue or a link… Much like, I recall a girl named Geetanjali Nanda- a school time crush who I automatically recall when brushing my teeth! 😁😂😂😂
Okay, tell your boss to hire me too, my date of birth adds up to 1 (one). A great jyotish once told me, you share God’s number. That’s why I don’t believe Astrology.
Why haven’t you gotten serious yet? Because you’re a good 9-10 years down, I can’t speak to you in Sanskrit 3rd Paper!
Listen, you don’t have to go to work, market for your household grocery, lu ok after your daily chores, you better be A Prose writer, I wouldn’t say, don’t write poems because many Publishers want to avoid that.
Now, listen: 1). I am sending you links to writing Short Stories, Novels etc Watch them religiously & read voraciously: everyday.
2). Start with a set of short stories (write 4-5 A4 sized pages or less per day). But start!
3). Don’t edit until you have put the skeleton down.
After having published the Novel, I came across Jerry B. Jenkins & Stephen King on YouTube. Follow the former: Jerry. He is a great enabler.
You have 2 things on your side:
1). Age & A relatively hassle free life (presumably).
2). You write well. You can write much, much better.
So after finishing that book (Adam, Eve & the Jungle Station), start on my sage advice.
All the best! Cheers Love you, Sahir Mamu,
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Hello Sahir Mamu!
Yes indeed I must always practice writing and read more – only then I will improve as a writer.
These poems are just short description of my feelings on each birthday – primarily for social media. Just thought of collating all of them together here in my blog 🙂
Thank you for the encouragement and love!
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