ABOUT ME

I am a gift of my abilities, a chance I chose to take and explore the immense creative energy within and around me to share and make it a wholesome.

My mind is my mirror and I hope to reach the heart and minds of people with my words and leave an imprint of my thoughts in this deepest ocean called "The Beautiful World"!

I love to paint my life with the profound thoughts in me and hope to make a valuable contribution to this world someday in making it a better place.

To my readers, I thank you for visiting my website and reading through my work. I hope the click of the mouse on this page makes your journey through my writings and artworks worthwhile.

My Experience - In the City of New Orleans

Moments caught in time
by Rashmi Kayala

Namaste!
In the late summer of 2006, I was at New Orleans visiting as a volunteer for the International Association for Human values (IAHV). I worked with a team of young adults conducting stress and trauma relief workshops to hurricane Katrina victims and the people of New Orleans. I was touched, touched by emotions suspended in time. Almost a year after disaster, a major part of the city still appeared paralyzed and every object living or inert spoke a thousand words!

To me, time appeared to have come to a stand still with shattered homes, corroded cars laying upside down, displaced windows and roofs, a list that would probably never end. For a moment, I was taken away by emotions that wouldn’t simply stop haunting me; but, I remembered to breathe. There were families from the lower class community who even today thrive on relief work organizations for their daily meal; and it’s just so sad to see them go through these hardships. Lost jobs, lost documents, lost homes, lost families, and lost pets and in addition, having lost control over their life now. Personally speaking, my visit to the ninth ward was probably, one of a kind of experience in my lifetime. The destructions around the 9th ward were too much to handle. In the meantime, I found an opportunity to spend some time with residents in that area. I lived an entire life!

One of the course participants at IAHV stress and trauma relief workshops offered to share her Katrina story with me. She sure went through a very rough time when Katrina hit last year. She lost her home; a home with sweet memories for over 25 years was gone forever in a span of few hours. She lost her job; a job she had for over 17 years was gone with the wind. The clinic she worked for was destroyed in the storm and the doctors moved out of NO. Moreover, her husband and son were lost for three whole days as they could not evacuate before the storm had hit the city. She was so sure on the third day that her husband was not going to make it. He was a heart patient and had recently undergone a bypass surgery. She was worried; she kept weeping all the three days. No phone, no electricity, no news; but to her surprise she found her husband and son walking towards her. A miracle had just happened! She still kept crying. However, this time the tears were of happiness; she was thankful to God.

On the other hand, we worked on a summer camp project for a low income housing community adopted by IAHV. The volunteers at IAHV took care of kids abused by their families and surroundings offering them quality time by giving love, care and affection their naive hearts searched for. Spending time playing, doing art workshops, stress-relieving exercises like breathing and making them healthy nutritious breakfast & lunch made a fulfilling day! Working with those kids was fun; they were simply adorable. One day, we were on a tour to the children’s museum. I was responsible for 3 children during the tour; I was talking to them and they were curious to know more about me. One of the girls asked me, how long was I going to visit them? And I told her, I would be gone after a week and she responded: “I can come with you; I do not wish to live here anyways. Do you know five boys were killed in gun-shootings near my house last week? I am so scared to live here”.

I was dumbfounded; I didn’t know what to say? I felt so sorry for those kids; I prayed for them to be able to withstand fear and smile all the way throughout their lives. I just thought to myself, there’s so much going on and not many of us care to make a difference.

However, I was very happy to see the tremendous energy in the volunteers at IAHV and their efforts towards this cause. Their contributions have been enormous but there’s yet a lot to do, to make NO a place it once used to be known for. I was proud to be a part of this project; I’ve evolved!

I’m sure IAHV will continue to rebuild the lives of many in NO and elsewhere, where people need a ray of hope to live on. With IAHV’s stress and trauma relief programs, many have found a reason to smile, keep their minds at peace, and regain focus and energy. After the course, people simply say “WOW, I feel so good! I needed this.

IAHV needs your support and encouragement to uplift the lives of many in New Orleans. To know more, please visit IAHV’s website @ http://www.iahvneworleans.org/

Thank you, for spending a moment with me. You just made a difference!

Namaste.
Rashmi Kayala
Volunteer @IAHV

The Spasm

And they say
It’s not a callous world
I’m here enslaved
My face pressed against the iron bars
In a dungeon where light has no reason to pass
Life has turned into a game of waiting
And time doesn’t seem to flow quite as linearly
All for a selfless cause
And no one to accuse
My psyche is merely left with
a twinge of remorse
And they say
It’s not a callous world.

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Saga of Love

Your glittering eyes
Captivates me
Tender moments of you and I
Like a river flowing through time
The thought of you enthralls me
With every sweeping mass of clouds
And I stare at your picture
In my room with a smile

I reminisce
Fond memories of last fall
when we held hands and walked the trails
Whilst the scent of flowers filled the air
And myriad petals blew away in the breeze
The gentle touch of our hearts
Unveiled a sweet revelation
We were in love

But ever since you’ve been gone
Days are long
And nights even longer
Through the glass pane,
I see a burst of rain
Swiftly you flash by me
And I stare at your picture
In my room with a smile

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

The Forgotten Smile

Untainted love
Lucid and divine

Her presence engulfs us
Like the dawn whose emergence is certain
Her love lingeringly bright and eternal

Sounds of agony escape her
as she wanders along many pathways

I comprehend,
a sudden pause of silence in my life,
a lost paradise.

Without her the atmosphere is cold and flat

Akin to a dusty mirage
A door appears hazily
One step closer
My self-reflection, I see
She brought the lost smile to my face
Like a Cheshire cat.

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Story of us

This poem is a tribute to Hurricane Katrina Victims. I hope you enjoy the read!

It seemed like I heard
A whisper
It seemed like I heard
A sigh
This dark and lonesome picture
Narrates
The story of a grieving child

She was tired and homeless
She said she was much in pain
She had lost her loved to Jesus
Left with many reasons for him to blame

I looked at her in empathy
I held her by my side
I didn’t know how to answer
The questions on her mind

She was curious and impatient
She was innocent and naive
She had faced an unhappy ending
To the beautiful moments of her life

I was filled with love for her
I wanted to give her all the comfort
I put my arms around her
And embraced her for the years to come

We walked home under the moonlight
A new journey we had now begun
Hopes and wishes we lived on
We dreamed of a beautiful world!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Make it Beautiful!

Purple skies and the bright lit moon
New Years Eve, makes me enthused
Twinkling stars and the mass with glee
An eventful year, we define it to be

Across the ocean, across the sea
Reminiscence’s remain for you and for me
Winds of change, winds of exchange
A million prayers for peace to prevail

Desperate instants and a cry for joy
Tragic stories not a moment of pride
Despising truth and love for fright
A pity to see, what we make of our lives

New Year ahead brings an insight
The essence of happiness lies within our minds
We sail our life an ocean blue
“Pursuit of Love” holds everything true!

Happy New Year!
God bless!


© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Fragrant Christmas

Another year, Christmas is here
Fun and happiness, bring me cheer.
Another year, Christmas is here,
Blissful moments, sing to my ear.
Another year, Christmas is here,
Love around, Wipe away my tears.
Another year, Christmas is here,
I pray every soul be merry this year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved

A Better Place

Share your success
Share your smile
Make a difference, lead a hand
Words of kindness
Words of warmth
Speak them deep down from your heart
Find a teacher
Find a preacher
Be a learner and follow through
Join your hands
Join your mind
Make a prayer, humanity is divine
Work for tranquility
Work for serenity
Towards we go to a whole world new!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Enchanted moments

True blue sky, the birds flew by
Sea beside, thoughts grew in mind
Childhood days and memories,
Did leave me by some treasuries

Milky Way and galaxy, a world apart from reality
Many a things to remember by
From youth to life and no goodbyes

Splashing water, playing with rain
Snow balls roll through the window pane
Fun and frolic, I had the times
Even today this is something I can’t deny

Every mile made a smile,
No hurt, no pain, no cry
Sound of water, wakes my thought
And I leave with my fingers crossed!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Conscience

Don’t be blue, I’m with you
Hold my hands you’ll see its true
Words of wisdom, I don’t fake
Take a chance, you’re not too late
Read and learn, see what you earn
It’s hard, but real life you aren’t so rude
Turn the page, you just moved ahead
A beautiful day, so much to say
Hold it tight, don’t let it go
Cast a spell, abracadabra again
Blink your eyes, not once but twice
Then you’ll see what you rejoice
Live your life with harmony
Give yourself this journey
Fly away to the top
Smile and say: I just made it to a start!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Love Tale

Mountains apart, time still moves
For me and you, an impossible clue
I seek for you in the dark,
Lost and lonely, difficult to sought
I picture you with me, sure to say wish you’d stay
Be with me, don’t let go
I miss you so, I miss you so

Too many wishes, too many thoughts
Come to me, but seem to blot
Harder it is to erase, these memories I will not fade
Be with me, don’t let go
I miss you so, I miss you so

Impeccable imaginings, you surprise me in my dreams
I don’t believe, yet it is true, away you are, so far from near
I close my eyes, blindfold me dear
Be with me, don’t let go
I miss you so, I miss you so

Centuries old, love tales told
We are the ones, they foretold
Story of us and the world ahead
Will make a history, to be said
Be with me, don’t let go
I miss you so, I miss you so

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Angel Eyes

Rising Sun brings the morning light,
Chirping birds and the twitter around
Makes me smile and I can’t deny
It’s bliss, bliss of ecstasy!

Immaculate world, immaculate dream
My vision takes me to the best of the green
Makes me smile and I can’t deny
It’s bliss, bliss of ecstasy!

I play with water and I play with sand
The little I simply surprise me
Makes me smile and I can’t deny
It’s bliss, bliss of ecstasy!

Turn around and look at you
I see you like you see me too
Makes me smile and I can’t deny
It’s bliss, bliss of ecstasy!

No regrets, you get the best
Wishes for you have been made to be true
Makes me smile and I can’t deny
It’s bliss, bliss of ecstasy!
Makes me smile and I can’t denyIt’s bliss, bliss of ecstasy!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.

Actualizations

The entirety of our life revolves around facts, a struggle to know what it takes to make it or break it. The fact that more than hundreds and thousands live without shelter, the fact that you and me have a beautiful place to live in and the fact that “Nothing comes for free” but we do breathe the same air? It leaves an unanswered question in the minds of many. That’s what I call “The Irony of Life”!

We make a step, we break a step. So strange it is, and you realize it’s a learning all the way through. No matter good or bad, happy or sad. No matter high or low, success or failure. All that matters is what you see and what you do. You are the maker of your life, envision it!

The factual composition of our life is what comes from deep down our heart. Look for it you might have just lost it to your mind. And when you find it you’ll see the impeccable world around you.

It’s just a mind game!

© Rashmi Kayala. All Rights Reserved.