SHOBANA: 2026

Friday, June 26, 2026

Don't Look Back

High heel shoe

Written on the walls of Shobana Gomes:

Don't look back at the pain you have endured in the past. It carries nothing but heartaches. Every new day is a chance to make things brighter, to live, and strive to stay alive longer. Cherissez les moments que vous avez pour vivre.

Chérissez chaque instant, car une seule seconde peut être fatale.

Chérissez le fait de vous réveiller chaque jour.

Chérissez le don de la vie. - 2026.

THE FRENCHMAN AND HIS LADY

I took a walk in Paris one night

And watched the lovers there charm the sights

I watched a Frenchman and his lady love

When they kissed, their passion sizzled.

As they gazed into each other’s eyes

I could see that they were oblivious to a staring world

He got on his knees with a rose in his trembling hand

And proposed to her with a tender heart.

She looked at him from the height of her stilettos

Her racing heart I hear from as far as Syros

I guess it was a liaison - Francais

A twosome passion that was love

A "yes" it was to the man who dared,

To set her heart racing with a burning fire.

Ah, the French, they love their women with fervour

They speak the language of romance for sure

Their attention is much sought after

The lady was lucky to have a Frenchman as a lover.

A poem I came up with while writing The Frenchman and His Lover, a long time ago.

The story is free to read on Inkitt. Here's the link. https://www.inkitt.com/stories/689705

If you do read it, please like and review. Thank you.

High heel shoe

Here are some weekend reads you'll love: If you liked the stories, please press the heart-shaped like button on the left, and please write a review. The books are entered for contests, and I appreciate your support.

Falling in love with a North Indian will take you to the streets of Trivandrum and back to the shores of Malaysia. Come join me in this exhilarating love story. https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1733283

The Frenchman & His Lady: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/689705

Gods of the Digital Commune: An inspiring story about a man who was brave enough to make his vision a reality. Read about Stewart Brand and the first paper internet. https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1768939

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend - shobana.

Sunday, June 14, 2026

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Fever

48 teams, 104 matches

The world is rocking,
Shakira's breathtaking,
Song of Revival,
It's the World Cup Fever.

Another kind of storm has taken over
The feverish kind
that keeps you awake
No matter the time
The nail-biting tensions
The egos of footballers
Pride of nations
Watch Out!!
A tornado has broken loose.

Go! Go! Go! The World Cup Fever
For the first time ever
Hosted by Mexico, Canada,
USA
3 nations
Record-breaking matches
A tournament held like no other.

48 teams, 104 matches
sharing a stage
the largest ever
The players have already put it together
They are branded the
history-makers.

-shobana-

Free to read & review on @Inkitt! Ever wondered what it takes to be a visionary? Read Stewart Brand's story. Dive into a legacy, a gift to our world and the world after us,

and his monumental 10,000-year clock hidden deep inside a mountain. Vote for the story to be a winner by liking and sharing the biography. Thank you.

Gods of the Digital Commune:

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1768939

"We are as Gods, and might as well get good at it." - Stewart Brand.

The opening line of the 1968 Whole Earth Catalog captures the back-to-land movement

and the personal computer revolution.

Stewart Brand created the first paper internet. A man of great foresight, he wanted the whole

world to see what the Earth looked like and created a button campaign to get NASA to release

images of the planet. Read about his vision to bring The Whole Earth Catalog to life.

The Catalog allowed a reader in a remote cabin to look up a tool, find a book on

solar energy, or connect with an organic farming collective.

It mapped out human knowledge exactly the way the World Wide Web does today.

Brand's genius wasn't just as a publisher, but as an information architect who

anticipated the digital age using nothing but paper and ink.

Monday, June 8, 2026

The Nightingale and the Flautist

O Nightingale, Nightingale

You neither possess the vibrancy of the peacock nor that of a parrot

Yet, your acoustic presence has shaped human literature, poetry, and mythology

Emotional and evocative

Breathtakingly complex in the natural world

Your syrinx allows you to sing a duet with a flautist

As the flautist walks through the dense forest

On a night the moon doth shine bright

He sees a nightingale perched upon a tree and asks,

“O’ nightingale, why do you not sing tonight? The night is young, and the

moon sprinkles upon the grounds, its sacred light.”

The nightingale looked this way and that, and said in return,

“Though the moon doth sprinkle its light upon the ground, there seem to be

no streams of rhythm nor a lyrical tune that comes to mind,

matching the moon and its splendorous revealing.

The moon beguiles me as it does you, my friend.”

The flautist thought for a while. He sat down under the tree and

saw the moonlight fall on his form.

The rays warmed him. The nightingale watched him like a hawk.

The flautist took out his flute, and looking up at the nightingale, he said,

“I shall play a tune to match the moonshine for you.

You can sing along if you want.”

The soothing sounds of the flute reached the far corners of the land.

The nightingale became a shadow because it couldn’t match the melodious composition

of the song on the flute, a love song that awoke the night from its slumber.

(Taken from Goddess of the Himavan -

https://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Himavan-Shobana-Gomes-ebook/dp/B0B1W7QP2R).

-shobana-

Free to read & review on @Inkitt! Dive into a story of legacy, a gift to our ancestors,

and Stewart Brand’s monumental 10,000-year clock hidden deep inside a mountain.