Koulaborative Kommunity

19/08/2025

13/08/2025

After a long break, after life happens to you!

Translation:

If Only
He lives
on the yellow wings
of the winds of tomorrow
She lives
on the pale parchments
of the memories of yesterday
Just that there is no today for them to meet...

Music credit: https://youtu.be/c6L5t8i4mWo?si=4-wOee1MnHjA-4YR

21/03/2025

Ah! what pleasure it is to converse in many tongues. Smile has no language but then the excitement of greeting a person in their native language and seeing their eyes sparkle elates my heart. May be I was made for it, to make people feel home! Continuing this journey, my love for Turkish has only grown over the years, I feel it is my home. Here is my first attempt to write and recite an original piece of Turkish poetry. It's the first step and one day I hope to write a book full of Turkish poetry.Poem Translation:The words don't fall into a line anymoreThey hang by the threads like thisHeavy, not withholding their weightLike someone giving up alreadyLike a tired traveller seeking restLike the dying loveLike a dying lover

16/02/2025

I choose to love you in silence…
For in silence I find no rejection,
I choose to love you in loneliness…
For in loneliness no one owns you but me,
I choose to adore you from a distance…
For distance will shield me from pain,
I choose to kiss you in the wind…
For the wind is gentler than my lips,
I choose to hold you in my dreams…
For in my dreams, you have no end.

12/02/2025

Empty Shells

A book just turned me inside out
Clear skies now shrouded in cloud
It said people are just living ghosts
Of lives they once cherished the most
A turn point, an upheaval or a sharp bend
An enormous change they couldn’t circumvent
That day, that month or that year
That place, that person or that fear
Happy, sad, angry or indifferent
Their souls hang onto its every bit
Living that day every day
Whatever price they may have to pay
For world they move like a pendulum
Back and forth in their life’s humdrum
Beware! It’s not their body but empty shells
Left on the shore by the sea that swells
—Monika Koul

08/02/2025

Half-read Book

Searching my bookshelf
Found a half read book
The bookmark still lingers
At the page we parted ways
Time froze as I skimmed through
Attempting to recognize an old familiar face
These words feel like strangers
Walking on a busy Tokyo street
Their faces straight, their stories veiled Contemplating, do I stop here
Starting all over feels like an ordeal
Isn't it same with people
The best buddies become strangers
To meet them again in the now
We must meet all the people they have been
Between now and then
The strangeness then melts away
Like these words smiling at me
It needs a will to be curious
To love a half-read book and
To find a long lost friend again

-Monika Koul

06/02/2025

Infinity Pool

Oh the kitchen sink
It stares at me as I dare to think
No matter how hard I try
It refills in a jiffy
Now I'm scared to blink

By: Monika Koul

31/01/2025

Do we really live in the now?
There are some fortunate mornings when everything goes according to my plan. Today was one such day. After packing my daughter off to school, I prepared myself a hot concoction (it's a secret 😊) and stretched on a bean bag looking outside through the open balcony door. I picked the half-read book in one hand and the drink in the other. What a blissful morning! The lines on the paper had me by the hook until a group of parakeets came flying to the tree. As I enjoyed the chirping, my eyes found the branches of a leafless tree. The same tree that I see every day from my bedroom window. The same green tree that was always full of leaves and flowers, and I often wondered about the thick algae that grew on its trunk and branches. It stood now without any sign of life on it. The tree could not have shed all its leave in a day and yet I had failed to keep it company in its transformation.
What was I seeing when I looked outside my bedroom window every morning? Was I really there? If not here, then where was I?

09/01/2025

Dead Man’s Gaze
I think and think and think and think
Lay wide awake without a wink
One day I walked on the shore
And then I thought some more
The waves invited me to play
But I just sat ashore, in rather dismay
Brooding and tearing one thought at a time
Proud of myself, I felt sublime
Eyes at the horizon but I was lost in the thought
The sunset I yearn for now there was naught
When I shook out of the dead man’s gaze
I was left with a sky ablaze
-MK

08/01/2025

Idli to Rescue!
It’s been a few months since I could actively pursue my passion - doodling and writing. I can see what a break, no matter how short, can do to self confidence. It took an eternity to build courage and one moment of action to come back. You have my respect if you have bounced back from a break and my support if you are finding your strength. You can do it!

Coming back…..
A simple conversation about what to eat for breakfast often turns into a battle in my head. The moment I hear this question a strange sense of struggle arises inside me. Why do I think so much? Why is deciding so hard for me?
Following the struggle seems to be the only way to find the seat of indecision. So, this time when we stepped out for breakfast, I took a deep breath and asked myself, what do I want to eat? Idli, was the instant answer. I was happy beyond measure, the battle was won in a jiffy or was I happy too soon? Well, we shall see. Then I went around asking everyone about their choice of breakfast. With each person’s choice my mind dwindled back and forth, did I really want idli? Another person in the group started with option 1, went to option 2 and eventually ended up eating option 3, leaving me frustrated. I saw a reflection of myself in them, it was a moment of truth. Indecision. Struggle. Frustration. How long did I want to reel under it?
A deep breath. One question, what did I want to eat? Idli it was. Idli, I ate.
It lead to another thought - when should we remain open to options and when should we freeze on one? Well that’s open for discussion.