teri yaad hai...

तेरी याद
खिड़की से झांकती धूप  सी नहीं
आँखों में चुभती.

तेरी याद
जैसे बिस्तर पर छूटा
तेरा एक बाल ...
जो सुबह
तेरे जाने के बाद
तकिये के नीचे से
मेरे हाथों में फंसे.. लम्बा सा..

तेरी याद
मेरे घर के गुलदस्ते में रखे
ताज़ा फूलों सी नहीं
जो सारा कमरा भर दे

तेरी याद
वो गुलाब
जो बरसों बाद उठाये
दीवान-ए-ग़ालिब में मिले..


तेरी याद
कमरे के AC सी नहीं
जो सारे बदन में ठंडक भर दे

तेरी याद
जैसे गाँव के पीपल तले सोये हुए "मुझ" को
अचानक छुए
सावन की पहली बयार ..

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मेरी बातें

मेरे गीत
ग़ालिब  की  ग़ज़ल नहीं
कबीर  के  दोहे  भी  नहीं
इन  में
न  तुक  न  लाया ,
... न  अज़ल  न  इशरत ...

मेरे  गीतों  की  रवानी
गर्मी  की  बयार  जैसे
जाने  कहाँ  से  आती, कहाँ  चली  जाती ..
बस  एहसास , कि  कुछ  हुआ  अभी ...
न  कोई  सिरा  न  पता ...

यह  गीत
रुके  आंसुओं  जैसे
कतरा  कतरा  पिघलते
और  सुर
सिसकियों   से  निकलते
होंठों से  चुप चाप .

this part of the post owes a lot of its existence to Pranesh Nagri ji at the browsing corner. He worked to articulate the thought behind the piece, and am very grateful for his guidance



my thoughts
unlike...
a poem .. have..
no beginning
no end
no birth
no death
no birth
no salvation...

thoughts
like a gust of summer breeze,
here this minute,
and gone the next
just a little something
left behind..
no telling where it came from
or where
one might
find it again..

thoughts
like broken bones

thoughts
like tears
held back for years
one by one
the sighs escape..

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the first 2 stars in the sky

A lot of people i know are like the first two stars in the sky -
Close enough for everyone to know that they belong together,
And yet,
Light years away from touching each other...

It mustnt feel nice, to be those 2 stars..

inspired by a poem and discussion on the tbc (the browsing corner on facebook)

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Happy Anniversary

‎100 word story. my first effort. 

 He came home. She waited up for him. Opened the door for him. Did not talk to him. He sat on the sofa. Did not loosen tie or unbutton shirt. She got him water. Asked about food. He lied about having eaten already. She did not protest. They went away to their respective rooms.
He entered his room. There were red roses. And a familiar handwriting “Happy Anniversary.” She got to her room. Her favourite white roses. And a familiar handwriting “happy anniversary.”

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right and wrong...

Pata hai, yahaan se bahut door, galat aur sahi ke paar, ek maidaan hai.. main vahaan miloonga tujhe...
पता है , यहाँ से बहुत दूर, गलत और सही के पार, एक मैदान है.. मैं वहां मिलूंगा तुझे...

this line from the movie Rockstar had me thinking. and then a friend, Chiya, pointed me to another dialogue in the same film:

Tum, tumse milna, tumhare bare mein sochna, sari duniya bhar ke kaam छोड़ kar tumse milna, jo kabhie nahi kiya, wo karna, sab sab galat hai. lekin AGAR GALAT HAI TO GALAT LAG KYON NAHI RAHA..

तुम, तुमसे मिलना, तुम्हारे बारे में सोचना, साड़ी दुनिया भर के काम छोड़ कर तुमसे मिलना, जो कभी नहीं किया, वो करना... सब, सब गलत है... लेकिन अगर गलत है तो गलत लग क्यूँ नहीं रहा..

But you see, this concept of "right" and "wrong" is so fluid!!

The mother thinks its a sin for her dil to make her dear son work at home. the dil thinks its wrong for both to work in office,but only one to work at home. which one is "right"?

The parents feel its wrong for young people to choose their own life partners because they dont know enough. hell, they are so convinced that they'd rather kill their children than let them marry for love. The children feel that they should be able to marry for love, even if it means living through the consequences of that decision.
so, who's right?

The child feels is he being oppressed because his parents insist that he has to finish school before becoming a photographer. The parents think they know the importance of a college degree, and how does a college degree stop him from following his dreams? so who's right?  

Most of us feel its "wrong" for older people to look for, or even think of love. That they should think of "god" after a certain age. And yet, in Gujarat, someone is working diligently and quietly, to make live ins plausible for the elderly. So, who's wrong?

Cut back to the film: Heer is "wrong" because she is in love with someone who is not her husband. Her mother initially feels its ok for her to die, but not ok for her to be associated with Jordan. So, who's right?

कहाँ है ये सही और गलत...? जहां मैं हूँ, वहां से कुछ सफ़ेद या काला नहीं है... सब कुछ, कई रंगों का है, सब कुछ, हर पल , नया रंग ओढ़ता है.. सब कुछ.... सही भी है, और गलत भी...

मेरी सारी दुनिया ही, उस सही और गलत के पार का मैदान है...और यहाँ, इस मैदान में, मुझे वो सब लोग मिलते हैं, जो मेरी तरह, सबरंग में देखते हैं.. सब की आँखें ख़राब हैं... दिमाग भी... सब एक जैसे हैं... :-)

 PS: this post is dedicated to ihm , whose writing has inspired me to see perspectives that did not exist for me earlier.. whose quiet companionship has taught me strength in a way that nothing else could... thank you! for opening my mind... :-)

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if u r not around when ppl need u, at first, you will be sorely missed. then, you will be just missed. then, they will get used to being without you and u will be nice to have. then, you will be resisted , and eventually, you will be resented.

 

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galti

नहीं, कहीं कुछ , गलती हुई है
ज़रूर
तुम
ये जगह
ये रहगुज़र
ये कुछ भी
मेरे रास्ते में नहीं पड़ने  थे
नक़्शे पर कहीं
निशाँ नहीं है इस सब का

और फिर भी
आज
तुम, सजीव , मेरे सामने हो..
ये जगह भी
असली लगती है
और रहगुज़र में से
अभी लुट कर निकला हूँ मैं

नहीं, कहीं कुछ , गलती हुई है
ज़रूर

इस रास्ते पर
होना नहीं चाहिए था मुझे
या शायद
होना ही नहीं
चाहिए था मुझे
रास्ता गलत नहीं है
गलत है
मेरा होना
और मेरे कारण
इस नक़्शे का होना

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home

In a place, now far away
(but I remember it like yesterday)
Is home.


There
The dictionary is very simple
It has words like
Happy
Hungry
Sad
Angry
Real
Feel
Think

But not words like
Right
Wrong
Proper
Should

I have forgotten
The road to that house
But not
What it looked like
From the inside – Happy. And Real.


There, one day..
Insh-e-allah
I will find my way again
Or perhaps
Guided by a guardian angel
Will wander onto that road again
And step
Through the ever familiar door


That house
Is the hope
I live on.
It has to exist.

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