Thursday, June 5, 2008

THE TAIL OF A TRAIN

"To see the tail of a train
we should always wait for the curves."
Father told me this when i was a child.
But my mother never allowed me to do so.
She said "whenever the curves come,
close your eyes and pray"
So i never had the courage
to peep at the tail of a train.
When i started travelling alone
i could only think about bogies and tickets.

And now,
whenever a train takes the curve
i am old enough to know it.
Because i am grown enough
I stopped praying and start peeping.
i tried a million times or more
and wondered why it was not seen.

Three months back i became a father
and was enlightened by three truths.


I was never in the engine room
as i always dreamed and believed


My parents always knew my coach number
but never told me because of the love that only parents can sense.


Because of the bogie in which i am sitting
I will never be able to see the tail of the train !!












123 comments:

deepsat said...

if words could speak, this is one of the best read ever!!

Congrats on your fatherhood!! and those truths are wisdom to remember!!!

Take care!!

man in painting said...

@ satish
Thanx
How was ur exams?

deepsat said...

Still on the way! not yet done!! busy preparing for that!! :-))

Sucha said...

Nice piece..Emotional and real! I have also updaetd mine..ofcourse some serious stuff..@sucharam.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

How a man always searches for something...
finds something and fails to find something...

how true..

gud

keep writing
:)

WritingsForLife said...

beautifully said... wonderful metaphor!! :-)


Cogratulations on the birth of your child. This is one of the best things that could happen to us :-)

Anonymous said...

father's philosophy are always too cool... Nice blog.. Will keep visiting it often :)

polona said...

this is a great metaphor for life...
congrats on your fatherhood!

test said...

am not over reacting if i say this is the best metaphor for the knowledge we seek.. and learning.. hey congrats on your fatherhood!! and come back with more of your splendid works!! check my interpretation of life in my post When i walked with my eyes closed..

i was thinking of reading a poem today and visited ur page for a new post and got what i wanted!!

tunafish said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tunafish said...

The circle of life... goes on and on and maybe you never get to see the tail as it will spoil the fun and thrill of trying to catch it each time it turns. you never know... your kid may read it years from now.

Congratulations on fatherhood, on a lighter note as Mattew Brodericks says on his parents in laws now - "having a baby changes the way you view your in-laws. I love it when they come to visit now. They can hold the baby and I can go out.

man in painting said...

@sucha
Thanx
@Insider
Thanx
@raaji
Thanx
@polona
thanx
@vidhya
thanx

man in painting said...

@mano
I was eargerly waiting for your comments.I am happy you liked it.
Thanx a lot for your appreciation.
sure.After this,i am going straight to 'justified absurdity'....

man in painting said...

Hai Tuna,
i loved the way you cared the lines.
And thanx for that innovative information.Very good idea.LOL..
i am going to try it sure...
Now all my days are nights and nights are days.....
Thanx buddy for all the care...

maverick said...

Hey Mr. Man....
loved ur interpretation on parenthood.. and many many good wishes to you for having entered this new realm of life...
keep up the good writing... cheers

Sashu... said...

Liked de way a deep fact of life is stated, in all innocence! nicely done!! :)

Unknown said...

its reallyy touching .. must sayy.. gives such a different aspect to things you see..

and congrats on being a father.. am sure it is a whole different experience..

man in painting said...

@maverick
I am really enjoying the new role.
thanx.
@ani
True.It is a wonderful feeling.Enjoying every moment of it!
Thanx for the wishes..

man in painting said...

@sashu...
Thanks for the compliments...

Noobcode said...

very wonderful and very true...loved it...once even my father told me that, not to peep out the train door, may be cos my mom would be around...but at the same time i had the privilege to see and count all boogies. my father would be holding me tight and our both trust to each other held us safe...

congratulations on being a papa...

P said...

Ahaa..so there's a child in painting now,eh?

I love the way you write..It has a drift..planning to blog tonight...

Jyoti said...

so, you have become a father and growing to teach your kid new lessons..huh ;p

Congrats !!!

man in painting said...

@priya
Sleepless nights for MAN IN PAINTING......I think SHE is just re-drawing the whole painting !
thanx.

man in painting said...

@jyothi
Only learning...
Thanx for the care...

man in painting said...

@Idrish
It is wonderful to get connected..living is all about relating...
Thanx

Anamika said...

hearty congrats on ur fatherhood...i bless u long sleepless nights, and endless eras of diaper changing :D

abt the poem, nothing much expcept th from the forst time i sat on a train till now, i eagerly look out for the tail and the head of the train...and it never fails to fascinate me...needless to say, i enjoy train jouneys better than anyother :)

thank u for such a nice post :)

man in painting said...

Yeah.. The great era of daipers has just began!
Thanx...

Lena said...

so much said just in few words... beautifully expressed :)

Matangi Mawley said...

tht was such a lovely post!
keep postin!

ps: i m sure u d b a gr8 dad! :D congrats!

the-sagittarian-blogger said...

Thnx for dropping by :)

and such a beautiful write-up, very nicely expressed.

Sweety.

Unknown said...

Iam a person who loves travelling in a train,but had rare opportunities 4 it.While travelling in a train or watching a train passing I always used to think that a train can take us back to our nostalgic memories,some unforgetful moments in our lives.But after going thru ur wonderful philosophy I understud that even the tail of a train & even the small things told by our parents often which we 4get,or dont take into account can ENLIGHTEN our minds ,which will be a beam of light in our dark moments.

Pls do keep writing such realities,that can provide some useful informations 4 all humanbeings.

SuperMus said...

brilliantlly written... beautiful!

Akshay said...

This just brings back so many memories....things learned and un-learned....i like that a lot...

Congrats for the baby..

aria said...

When I read the first few lines I was reminded of my train journeys as a kid .. on a curve my sis told me to peep out of the window and watch the engine.. I was so excited by that site.

for poets and artists everything is a metaphor and how interesting it is that this led to 'this train of thoughts'
I quite like it and yes congrats for fatherhood..

Casperbaba said...

And now,
whenever a train takes the curve
i am old enough to know it.
Because i am grown enough
I stopped praying and start peeping.
i tried a million times or more
And wondered why it was not seen.

For u have given up the faith to xplore something new. May b the reson u still haven't seen the end of the train is because u didn't kno where to look? but now that ur looking your sight would someday or the other pickup the sight of the trains tail... for some curves are curvier than the other....!! more the bend better the possibilty!

nd yes.. god blessed u with a soul... i guess u already saw the trains tail... coz now u;ll tell the same stiro to ur creation. god bless!

Shailendra said...

Hey!! Thanks for dropping by n for the appreciation..

Finally u had that "CURVE" in u r life, where u can fall back on the past and check that u r parents where right on most of the occasion.

Congratulation on taking the hot seat where once u had once put someone.

Nice Read :-)

gypsy said...

metaphorically beautiful

Unknown said...

This actually reminds me.. of what my mom keeps tellin me..

You won't realise how it is.. until and unless you become a mother.. well a parent to be precise.. But then when i was taking care of my nephew.. I realised to an extent what she meant..

Its just a different feeling..

FreaKo said...

When we chase the dreams through the lanes of life, often forgeting our way back, many a times, it is experience that takes us back and makes us realize!

Congrats on being a Dad!!!

You have been subscribed :)

siddhu said...

superb!!!!!!wonderful metaphor!!!!something that each person can relate to in his/her life.
But I don't think everyone can write in the same way as u!!!gr8 piece of work...
&congrats on your fatherhood.

www.siddhumokkai.blogspot.com

g-man said...

I was never in the engine room how true...but why would you want to see the tail of the train? you know its there...

man in painting said...

@casperbaba
May be because of the bogie in which i am sitting,i am not seeing the tail...
Thanx
@lena
thanx
@mathangi
thanks for the wishes
@sweety
thanx

man in painting said...

@chindu
Thanks.
keep reading.
hope you too start writing

man in painting said...

@hai casper
The secret lies in the bogie in which i am sitting....That is why i am not seeing it.
thanx
@Supergirl
Thanx
@aria
thanx
@sinner
thanx
@shailendra
thanx

Beauty and the BEast said...

Trains taught me about travel
About eating without spilling
About balance
About not talking too loud
About being heard above a din
About moving on
About destinations and journeys
About finding peace in commotion
About rambling on

I love trains

Engine or not :p

Congratulations on becoming a Father!!

man in painting said...

@green alien
Thanx for the visit.
@siddu
thanx
i am going to visit it.
@beauty...
Thanks for the " wisdom train "...
@g-man
Because i am grown enough
I stopped praying and start peeping.
Thanx
@ani
Yes,family is everything.
thanks for coming back...

One more blogger said...

Nice post. Particularly the end. I was thinking all three truths u mentioned are more or less known to all of us but we still behave as ignorant to them.

Indrani said...

Wow! I didn't know trains can inspire such beautiful flow of lines.

"When i started travelling alone
i could only think about bogies and tickets." I think I am in this phase now, except that I am not alone.

Congratulations on your new status!
You are a very gifted writer. Thankyou very much for visiting my potpourri.

Anonymous said...

i wonder what you mean by the last fact, really!

you can always seethe tail of the train isnt it? may be i am unable to read between the lines!

but it was so sweet i love the metaphor! how can you think so creative, wow!

congrats on your fatherhood, is it baby boy or girl?

Gagan Gaba said...

hey, i just loved ur work...!!! congrats for this one..;) keep it up.

Sangeeta said...

Congrats on becoming a parent. Isn't it a wonderful and yet scary feeling. Love your blog. pretty deep and intense. have gotta add u to my list :)
Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment :)

man in painting said...

@.a.
LOL
That is the secret!
"Because of the bogie in which i am sitting..
i will never be able to see the tail of the train.."
thanx

Shini said...

Ahh, so you "managed" to read my blog entry... I mean becoz you are a wonderful writer yourself! Anyways, thanks for visiting my blog and congratulations on the "father-hood" :)

man in painting said...

@shini
at least in this blogosphere we shouldn't have the idea of good,bad and ugly.
Nothing serious.
we just read,smile,laugh,slap and kick.
just like playing.
We all are enjoying the mid-day break in the school ground....
thanx for the visit.

Sunil Kosuru said...

awesome, good work and congrats

Macadamia The Nut said...

Brilliant post!! You managed to convey SO much .. especially this line "Because i am grown enough
I stopped praying and start peeping."
It holds true for so much more, innit?

Tairebabs said...

very nicely written! Congratulations on becoming a father.

vanilla sky said...

beautifully written!

and congrats! :)

Andrew F. Alalade said...

Congrats on being a dad! Nice poem....you write well.
Thanks for stopping by on my blog.

man in painting said...

@sunny raju
thanks for the visit.
@geetika
thanx
@Indrani
all the phases will just come and go in circles....
Thanx
@sangeeta
yes,it is a wonderful feeling.True.little bit scary too!
Thanx

man in painting said...

@gagan
Thanx
@macadamia
Yes,guilt,ambition,fear...prayer,peeping...
thanx for the reading.
@tairebabs
Thanx i always miss my nigerian days..
@vanila sky
Thanx for the visit.I am happy you liked it.
@andy
Thanx

Unknown said...

It's not very often that a piece without a rhyming scheme is so smoothly written that the reader eyes simply flow through the whole post. Thanks for the wonderful experience.

Do keep writing and I'll look forward to read about what it feels like when you get to the bogey that gives you a view of the tail, cause I'm sure you will.

man in painting said...

@tridip
Words are just "fingers pointing to the moon"(thanx to the zen sayings).Most of the time writing is just a sharing of celebration.
Thanks for joining the party.

Jo said...

Oh my!! Such deep thoughts expressed in such lyrical tones... I'm so glad I've found you and you've found me... I too will be back and am adding you to my blogroll!
Cheers!
- Jo

K.C. said...

It is so different how we see life once we are the parent. It IS surreal. Beautiful, beautiful poem.

The words you left on my comments are so encouraging to me. I am thrilled to be living my life this way. I am thrilled to be sharing it. Keep pinching myself... Kayce

K.C. said...

Came back and read much more of your blog. To see life from this perspective is really something.

Would have never thought to take this veiw. So imaginative. I could just picture the woman across the street who picked up the milk, was it? So descriptive and well written...

Again, your comments to me were encouraging.. they do help such a great deal.. Kayce

Travel Foodie said...

Hi friend....
Nice blog and layout....
Interesting and knowledgeable posts on ur blog...
Keep going..
Show ur presence on my blog too by leaving a comment.
Congrats on your fatherhood and those truths are wisdom to remember!!!
Plz leave a message f u wanna xlink..
Thnx
Neeraj
http://neeraj4frnz.blogspot.com/
http://keithalwazchill.blogspot.com

man in painting said...

@Jo
Thnx for your generous comment.we will continue to be in touch.
@kayce
Thanx for the visit.happy to know that you start seenig the world with out judgement...
@neeraj
Thanx.

What's In A Name ? said...

very deep and meaningful . Glad to have hopped in here.

Tara said...

Very beautifully written, truly! Congratulations, on becoming a father! Great, keep up the good work!! Is it a boy or a girl?!

The Reluctant Rebel said...

This is the fifth post iv'e read about trains in the last week. Wonderful thngs aren't they?

Priya said...

U no more see back coz, u know what goes ahead is beautiful than the past/ or tail isn't it.

J' said...

Need I say that you write very well???

Beautiful usage of words...

man in painting said...

@what is in a name?
Thanx
@Tara.
It is a girl.
@rahul
True.
@priya
Loved your interpretation.
Thanx
@j
thank you.

Unknown said...

hey ya.. i have tagged you :)

Anonymous said...

hey thanks for visiting my blog... ur work is very nice... shall definitely keep visiting to see ur new posts....

MY THOUGHTS!! said...

beautiful!

its a very interesting blog!

congrats on ur fatherhood!:)

god bless!

man in painting said...

@ani
thanx.
i will do it.

Swati said...

nice post :)

man in painting said...

@vinay
thanx
@my post.
Thanks for the visit.
@svathi
Thank you...

Sayani said...

wisdom !!!

i loved the insight you shared here.
quest and fear walk so side by side i wonder ,but then ho step over fear and follow the quest emerges knowledgeable.is not is ?

:)

Mysterious Mia said...

Awesome read.

hey but i didnt really get point 2.

man in painting said...

@Sayani
You read it very well.Your comments gave immense satisfaction.It was always about seeking,guilt,creation of myths,love,realisation,fear....
Thanks.

Preethi said...

that was wonderful!!!

man in painting said...

@mia princes
Wait till you become a parent.
you will naturally know it.
LOL
thanx
@Preeti
thank you

Xorkes said...

Whoops what a thought..
I could relate to point 3..
Point 2?? Maybe bcoz d parental tag is missing.. Hehe
hey by the ways, congrats!

man in painting said...

@xorkes
Wait!
LOL!
Thank you

humbl devil said...

congrats on ur fatherhood, buddy...
the world sure has changed a lot for ya...
:)

btw, i used to make excuses to go to the washroom, and used to go stand at the door..as a kid :D

CRD said...

interesting post man.

i used to love watching the curves. still do :)

man in painting said...

@humbl devil
thank you...
yes it changes everything...
Your perceptions,pace...
@crd
curves...
dangerous but always exciting
thanks for the visit dude..

Jaime said...

Hi :)

Thank you for visiting me and leaving such a wonderful message.
You have a beautiful blog. I love what you write.

And a new baby! Congratulations!

UTP said...

thats amazing...well written Sir...

PG said...

Congratulations on the birth of your child! I guess, it is inevitable that fatherhood will make you more and more wiser and give you many more inspirations!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
A nice blog you have here. Have to admit, poetry and the art of writing and the understanding for it were never my strong points. So, that explains my style of writing too. I remember in school I could never understand in my English or Hindi classes, why do I have to write twenty sentences for something when I could do with two! :)

Steve Isham said...

It's everything is there is someone to know your coach number. That way, peeping and praying can go together. The train is a superb metaphor.

arunima said...

wow!!! that was some poem...loved it!!
it was so unique and different!!!
blogrolling u!!
hope to c u around!

Unknown said...

Wow...beautiful lines to read...

Also thanks for the comment on my blog! Hope to see you around!

Rajesh said...

superb one dude....even i had such an experience wen i was a kid..thanks for visiting my blog...do visit often...do read the article ' When I knew only laughter' in my blog...i'm sure it'll b very funny..do read n leave ur comments...

Anonymous said...

This is truly wondeful...truly...its amazing how so many of us can think so well,so nicely...actually i liked the effect and auro as also the tone,although maybe i dont agree with the logistics

geeth said...

Beautiful writing. I beleive in becoming a father, you will have more to write :)

insanely~positive said...

beautiful post :) congrats on being a father...

Rajesh said...

hey... I've tagged you...so read the latest article in my blog.. :)

Fantasies of a Lifetime said...

That was beautiful :D. . .it reminded me of my trips to ooty as a kid. .its this really small steam engine and on peeping out of the train at curves, we could see both the front(with the steam)and the rear ..
Congrats on your new born :D

Rashi said...

mum !!

every word is beauty...amazin'

man in painting said...

@jaime
Thank you...
@utp
Happy to know that you liked it..
@pg
Thank you for the compliments..it is a great responsibility...but i am lioving it !
@ish
Knowing that somebody is always there for you unconditionally....
thanx..

man in painting said...

@arunima
i am happy that you liked it....
@curious
Thank you ...
@Rajesh
thank you for tagging me..but i am sure you will give me more time...
LOL
@ayushi
Thank you for your observations.They were valuable.The important thing was the undercurrent...you read it well..

man in painting said...

@geetha
Sure,i am planning something on babysitting...LOL
Thank you..
@:)
Thank you
@vishnupriya
Small train..wonderful experience insn't it?
thank you
@rashi
Thank you

alx said...

hey awesome.....obviously pple f ma age wil njoy reading dese....bookmarked

man in painting said...

@alex
Thank you buddy....you too write pretty well..

Usha Pisharody said...

This is amazing!
A sheer delight, and one of the finest poems I have read!

May I, with your permission, allow a student to recite this for an inter class competition? He's in the +2, in my school:)
Waiting to hear from you!

man in painting said...

@usha ji
I consider your comment as a great honour...
Sure...You can.
Convey my best wishes to your student.
And best wishes for the competition....

Anonymous said...

could i blogroll you??

man in painting said...

@vinay
Sure...

Shruti said...

the best i have ever read..am honest to the core of my heart..
congrats on ur fatherhood

man in painting said...

@shruthi
Thanks a lot.I am so happy you likd it.The joy of writing doubles when somebody share the happiness of creative wisdom...

Anonymous said...

i love trains and railway tracks....they ae the best part of the journey...loved what u wrote

and congrats on being a father

Charu Sharma said...

Touchy.. Metaphorical.. pleasurable..

Congrats for ur fatherhood.. Best f Luck..n hope u r Enjoying..

man in painting said...

@ a girl with a zillion namesake..
Thanks.
@charu
Thank you...

Prince Charming said...

Amazing analogy!!

man in painting said...

@prince charming
Thank you...

RiverSoul said...

Hey do visit my blog.:)
I have posted again. :)

Sameera Ansari said...

That was so beautiful!

Congratulations!Boy or girl? :)

Blogrolling you btw.

The Seeker said...

Only a dad can feel so!!!!
and so profound!
tail of a train!
reminded of me, asking my dad, in my first trip!!!!
where does the train end!!!!

man in painting said...

@rishabh
Thank you..
It never ends..
@sameera
its a girl
thank you for blogrolling..