It was a humid Sunday evening
“Nothing could get worse” – I thought
But in a flash everything went blank
I had spoken too soon – Had I not?

“Oh my God! Not again” – I moaned
As my mother began, “in those days without power…”
She rambled on for what seemed like forever
Soon, I had to run for cover!!

Up the stairs I went, to the terrace
I hadn’t been there for quite a while
Nothing had changed since the last time
Except for the cracks that had widened in every tile

The jasmine flowers were in full bloom,
Their fragrance wafting through the cool breeze
The moon shone in her full splendour through the clouds
Which sailed through the night skies with the greatest of ease

The stars on the horizon appeared a little brighter
Without the yellowish glare of the city lights
The city, enveloped in peaceful silence
Without the cinema on Sunday nights!

Mesmerised by her beauty, I watched helplessly
As Nature held me captive in every possible way
A sudden moment of truth and it dawned on me
Where the real seat of happiness lay…