Waiting for my daughter in a college campus
I had in hand three hours to kill
With a novel in my hand I proceeded
To find a comfortable place to sit.

Far away I saw few people waiting.
One particular lady is what my eye did catch
Nothing special yet intermittently I kept watching her
While reading the novel in my hand

Shifting places to avoid the sun's rays
I found one to seat myself comfortably
Within few minutes she came near me
And left her bags in my possession

Mumbling something she went away
And soon I saw her strolling around.
Wondering what it was she did
I drove my attention to the book again.

A little later she came to sit beside me
And soon opened a conversation
But what surprised me was the act
Of the security directing two puppies to her

She opened a packet of biscuit
And offered them to the puppies
She does it frequently she said
When she saw an amazed look in my face

She was here waiting for her daughter
And decided to put the time to best use
Feeding stray animals and helping them
Is what she does during her free time

Pathetic she said were the lives of stray animals
All they receive are physical abuse from human kind.
Her selfless act impressed me a lot
And instantly I was drawn to her.

How many of us would do I pondered
One man can start anything she said
You don’t need to find an NGO to start
You start then the NGO gets formed.

It is not just feeding or helping animals
Any act of kindness makes a difference to all
Her words deep in my heart now
I intend to feed at least one per day.

Litter Free Zone

Walking along the roads of our city

What greets us is the garbage strewn

It is not the garbage that strikes our mind

But the attitude of the people around.

We accuse the government of its failure

When they are unable to create a beautiful city

Who is to blame, if we really wonder?

It is we, devoid of basic cleanliness.

We have garbage bins at all nooks and corners

But we use it better to play, aim and throw

Miserably we lose in the game we play

Thereby spilling the garbage around.

Neatly written on wooden boards we find

Words that say "Litter Free Zone"

What we seem to understand by the phrase

"Here's a place where litter can freely be thrown."

Travelling on his two wheeler

He happened to come across a temple

But too hasty was he to reach his destination

To stop and pray he failed to find time.

A hand on the accelerator,

And a leg on the brake

Head turning 180 degrees

He offered a salute to the almighty.

While performing this hasty task

oblivious was he of the traffic ahead

For fast approaching towards him

Was the tanker he failed to see.