Kaash aissa hota

Kaash aisa hota....
ham khwabon ke mahal mein rahte
khushiyon ke bicchawan pe rakha
armanon ka takiya hota.

Sukh chain ki basti hoti
jahan raaj aman ka hota
samay ke arjun ban kar
itihaas naya yoon rachte
mehnat se sinchi dharti par
karmon ke nishan hi milte.

Aasha ki kiran se sik kar
aaghaz subah ka karte
suraj ki tapish mein tap kar
josh ke dariya bahte.

Shaam rangon bhari aa kar
jo saans shram se deti
betaab kadam tezi se
us ore hamen le badhte
pyaar ka pyala pee kar

khushq labon ko
rahat milti.

Phir taron ki mehfil jamti
nisha dulhan si sajti
aur neend liye aankhon mein
ham chaand ko taaka karte
koi taan pawan ched deti
ek khamosh sa lamha hota
us raat hamen sone ko
hamari chahat ka

basera hota
yun roz tumhari bahon mein
ik naya sawera hota.

Kash aisa hota...
ye 'kaash' haqiqat hota....

Written on 2nd January 1991. Found yesterday on 29.09.2009

Kash persists even further away from reality.

Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash,
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

A poem by Linda Ellis - Sent by Umang

Yachna

priyatam,

preet dhoondhti hain meri aankhen

tumhare chehre ki har lakeer mein

komal nayan sparsh

madhur lamas hoton ka

har dhadkan meri

bas maang rahi

tum se yehi -

kuch anmol palon

ka narm aalingan

ek nirmam sangam jo

is pyase man ki

thodi peed hare.

half an hour to midnight
my world is sleeping tight

i toss n turn

watch the rhythm

rise and fall of breathing belly
a silent mate -

I m committed to belong

with solid vows in matrimony.

He sleeps oblivious

as I alone

lie next to none

aware more than ever

of emptiness beyond
my lonesome heart

that struggles hard to resist
the last kindles of flickering fire
from being extinguished
as I face perpetual dilemna:

to be, or not to be -

in love without expectation?

Then ...

a car whizzes past

the street I live, the house

which is home to me, at last
has its silence broken

The screech of brakes
on quiet residential road

state to me with wilful intent -

cheer up now
reach for windows:

a starry sky is set aglow

it is without the moon tho'.

It may be
soulless without the moon
countless comets, stars and planets
but see so gracely 

They light
the night's courtyard, 

Yo!

No issues now
let moon to rest
I'll focus outward 

on many more
that shine beside
they breath and blaze
to share with me
their nights and days
with needs and thoughts

filled to brim, waiting to
listen and be listened to

seeking to share

life's foul and fair

I'll get on 

and spread wings to explore
turn and speak
to those who care
for a soliloquy.

when life breeds new life
the moment that dawns
celebrates the promise of
more pain some love
and experiences anew
that definitely will be -

Wish there could always be
the promise of fulfilment too.

Today I stumbled across
a collection of blogs
they reminded me of
love...
love as it is
sharp and tender
mostly scathing to soul
yet for
a fleeting rare moment
can seemingly be cool
enough to rest a lifetime
in its shadow.

I dream...

I dream of times
when drone of guns
will affect not the world
nor cries of children
tear apart lives of
many innocent
we'll still live for more
but with different goals
harmony shall be
the overriding
theme for all.

Jagran

kaun kab tak tika rahe
is ummeed par
ke sawera hoga jab
isi taraf se suryodaya hoga
bikher dega woh
apni kirnon ka prakash
apni damak mein lapet lega
mere hi ang prasang ko

is liye -
ab raste badal diye hain maine.

Despondency

I want to live
for alive I am not
yes breathe and eat I do
I see, smell, hear and feel too
yet alive for certain, I am not.

Those values that
I'd read about
values that were once applauded
in quarters of home, in schools,
were sung aloud
on the roads
of my happy childhood-
these seem to have left,
leaving bereft
the world that I now form a part of.
These no longer frame
the social array where
love and loyalty were once
some worthsome causes
to be cherished,
to be upheld
for all in the Humanity.
Selflessness then
was not a mere matter of word
it was the way,
the code to govern
a sate common life.

Now I've moved
so much further from then.
I look here and there in vain
for warmth, for emotions
for company
in a jungle of men
who though seem the same
as in the times gone by
are so different
for fellow men
care an iota not -
who pounces,
who is pounced upon
who survives,
and in what vein.
for as long as there is a feast close at hand
each man can unhesitatingly be
a beast, a hound
an unkind fella
to any or all around.
To question 'why' and 'what'
matters in the least
as standards of doubles
commonly abound
casting a curse
on several hapless lives,
lives that are marked
with craving for more
rather than content
to say for once
'no more'.

I too watch, perceive
and yet do not in the least
resist, or protest
I wilfully remain against
all that I once stood for
choosing to whither within
rather than stopping to exist
in my physical material form.
To eat, to breathe,
barely to be me
my primal instincts
to syrvive have won
they've won
in silencing the spiritual soul.
It is for this rason
that I believe
Alive I certainly am not.

बेटा आप कल हो हमारा

बेटा आप कल हो हमारा 

और हमारे अतीत की पहचान 

तुम्ही से,

मेरा मान सम्मान तुम्ही तो 

मेरा अति अभिमान भी तुम हो -

सो संभालना खुद को.

जीवन मार्ग नहीं आसाँ,  

जटिल है -

तुम चलना यूँ कि 

स्थिर क़दम हो और नज़र भी 

मिले भूत को शीतल छाओं 

तुम्ही से 

भविष्य बन बलिष्ठ खड़ा हो 

सक्षम, संयम सी नींव पर.... 

बेटा आप कल हो हमारा.

जो अब पूछो हक़ से -

क्या चली थी मैं भी 

इसी अदा से?

तो भरपूर हुंकार भरूंगी 

पुरखों, वेदों से सार निचुड़ कर 

धरा जीवन की लांघ चली थी 

फिर जब शरीर हो पड़ा 

था दुर्बल 

नैया गृहस्थ जीवन की 

खींच बढे हम 

नहीं सरल था 

पथ ये दुर्गम 

मेरे आतुर व्याकुल मन को 

तब भी 

भरपूर जीने की 

सीख मिली थी. 

अब जो धूमिल 

हो पड़ी है काया 

नहीं बची आशा आकांक्षा 

ह्रदय ज्वाला भी शेष नहीं अब 

नियति का क्या है ठिकाना 

कब भाग्य के पन्ने पलटाये 

कब बेजान हो खाकी जा मिले

मिटटी से; 

हाड मांस का ढांचा निर्बल

जाने किस दिन 

जाने किस पल 

हो शेष ... 

जाने कब 

जाने किस दम। 

तो सोचा आज 

बतिया लूँ तुम से 

कह दूँ ये मामता के मोह में 

बस फूल सजे हैं 

तुम्हारी ज़िन्दगी के रस्तो पे  

कुछ यूंकि

सब कांटे तो हम बुहार चुके हैं 

चुन चुन इतना दूर परे की 

कोई मचलती ब्यार कभी 

ना उड़ा ला पाए 

तले तुम्हारे 

किसी कांटे की 

चुभन कभी भी। 

यथार्थ की गर सुनोगे तुम तो 

बेटा बहुत ही परे कथा है,

तुम अभी से ये मानो बेटा -

ज़रूर हवा बहेगी 

यौवन में बदमस्त बयार की 

फिर बदलेंगे रंगीन मौसम 

झुलसती, चिंघाड़ती लू कभी 

और कभी पुरवाई 

सावन की खुनक लिए 

फिर पतझड़ की खलिश लगेगी 

कोमल स्पर्श फूलों के होंगे 

पर चुभन से बचना कहीं नहीं है,

हर राही को 

अन्यास निश्चित ही 

चुभीले काँटों की चुभन मिलेगी 

तब तुम धीरज साहस रखना 

हर जीवन पक्ष में बेटा 

पुरुष बन चलना 

पौरुष से चलना 

बंधू भ्राता से नाता रखना 

क्यूंकि मोड़ नए कई होंगे 

जो फिसल पड़े तो हाँथ बढ़ेंगे  

उठ बढ़ने की मदद मिलेगी 

नित नयी राहों पे जब भी मुड़ना 

ये हिम्मत रखना 

हर डगर चलेगी 

वही मिलेगी 

जिस ठौर हर रूह पलटेगी. 

विद्वान वही 

जो समझे गुर 

इस खुश्क कभी 

कभी हरियाले सफर 

को अविचल सर करने का 

बस राज़ यही है -

धरम कर्म का सार यही है 

समयकोष से मिले पल ले कर

दिल की धड़कन को 

बना कर दिशा सूचक 

तुम निरंतर 

बेडर चल पड़ना 

इसलिए कि 

जिस सिमत भी क़दम 

बढ़ चलेंगे बच्चा 

पाओगे कि पूर्णविराम 

नहीं दूर पड़ा है 

चलते जाओगे 

तब ही तो पाओगे 

मंज़िल निकट 

कुछ पग और पास 

खड़ी है। 

बेटा मेरा अंश 

और शेष भी तुम 

आतमसम्मान, मर्यादा की परिभाषा तुम 

चाहत का ईमान भी तुम 

सो संभालना खुद को... 

बेटा आप कल हो हमारा। 

frustration

However much I strive
to reach the shores
new waves knock me down
moving me away
further younder!

ZINDAGI KI EK SHAAM

zindagi ki shaam hai
aur kuch pal bitane
ateet ke sang
chal pade hai kadam
sane gard o ghubaar mein
har adchan se bekhabar
har hahakar ko kar darguzar
badh chale rahe
tumhare ghar talak.
lagan bas yoon hai
ke guzaar lain
kuch pal yahan thahar lain
kuch der
purani yadon ki thandi chaon mein.
kyonki shaam
to hai ab ho chooki
kuch hi der to aur hai roshni
kal ko jane kis pat ho dhoop khili?
aur jaane kab kis taraf kiska
ho raha suryaast ho?

Written while sitting in a traffic jam when going to meet a childhood friend after a long time. (July 2008)












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