Tuesday, December 31, 2019

YOU

Saluting both the faces of the coin you are and you are not! 


You are Zen, you are Zero.
तुम शून्य हो, तुम क्षितिज भी हो।
तुम ही रावण हो, तुम राम हो।
You are the devil, you are God too.

You are an utter chaos, but you are peace too.
तुम प्रलय हो, तुम शांति भी हो।
तुम एक भ्रम हो, तुम सच्चाई भी हो।
You are an illusion, and yet a reality too.

You are destruction and you are rejuvenation.
तुम विनाश हो, तुम उत्पत्ति भी हो।
तुम कहीं नहीं हो, तुम सर्वव्यापक हो।
You are nowhere, you are ubiquitous.

You are evanescent, you are stable too.
तुम क्षणभंगुर हो, तुम स्थायी भी हो।
तुम अज्ञानी हो, तुम ज्ञानी भी हो।
You are ignorant, you are aware.

You are agile, you are calm too.
तुम चंचल हो, तुम स्थिर भी हो।
तुम जीवन हो, तुम मौत भी हो।
You are life, you are death.

You are nothing, you are everything.
तुम कुछ भी नहीं हो, तुम सब कुछ भी हो।

तुम हो, तुम नहीं भी हो।
You are, you are not! 

31/12/19

Monday, September 2, 2019

अभिव्यक्ति गरबा

Hola guys!!! An attempt reminiscing my journey (observations and indulgences) of doing garba since 10/10/10... Also, happy गणेश चतुर्थी marking the beginning of garba fever...

अभिव्यक्ति गरबा



सितंबर का महीना गणपति बप्पा की गूंज से सराबोर
ढोल की ताल पर थिरकते कुछ कदम
तो कुछ ताल की लय से कोसों दूर
हर दिन है एक नया दिन, नया अवतार, नया पहनावा 
कुछ देह पर, तो कुछ ज़हन में।

कभी सब एक से पहनावे या एक रंग में -
लय में गुजराती गानों की गूंज से ओतप्रोत
तो कभी अंतर्मन में ही थिरकते अनजान कदम, 
मानो मीरा कृष्ण की छवि में मग्न

कान्हा के संग गोपियां / राधा के संग कृष्ण / मीरा कृष्ण में मग्न
कुछ ऐसा रहता गरबा का सफ़र साल दर साल
एक महीने के प्रशिक्षण के बाद पांच दिवसीय समापन

नवरात्रि के आरंभ के पाँच दिनों में -
अभिव्यक्ति गरबा की गूंज से महकता सम्पूर्ण भोपाल!

और कृष्ण-राधा की तरह कहीं नयन मिलते तो कहीं रूह,
कहीं बात बनती तो कहीं नहीं

डांडिया घूम घूमकर वृत्त के एक छोर से दूसरे -
 छोर तक बयान करता कई दिलों की दास्तान

अतरंगी भीड़, सतरंगी पहनावे, 
पूरा शहर एक नए रूप में ढल सा जाता।
गुजराती पहनावे और आभूषण में लैस युवक युवतियां
गुजराती धुनों पर गरबा खेलते।

और इसी तरह यह एक महीने का सफ़र दुर्गा पूजा के साथ अलविदा कहता हर साल, इस वादे के साथ कि
अगले साल फिर गणपति की गूंज के साथ आना
और
अभिव्यक्ति गरबा की शान बढ़ाना!

2/9/19

Sunday, September 1, 2019

GAME OF PRIORITIES

Hi guys! Back with a new poem - written with an attempt to question the societal norms set forth and follow what one's heart desires... As, "you are a society's product - agreed; but then, it's creator too"!
Happy reading, thinking out of the box and commenting!!!


GAME of PRIORITIES

   

Doing everything in a set time frame is acceptable
So adhere to it, although, shatter your poor heart, it does - save you from society's (every) label.

Graduate at 21, work by 22, marry by 25, produce kids by 27 and so on and so forth...
Time-table life has more appeal in society than following the dreams one has set - henceforth...

Being the social animal man is, the society lays down its T&Cs for him;
Some can be followed, others mended; mostly broken according to whim;

A time-table life does always suffocate one
You need to bend the rules when you can and mend them once you're done.

For you are a society's product - agreed; but then, its creator too!
Your existence is owed to society, likewise, it too owes you!

So follow life's timetable or your heart, that ideally shouldn't be a choice
when you can actually do both, as in harmony exist science and art; with equal poise!

Don't really need to fit in, when you can think out of the box; stand out!

In any case, you will be judged for decisions you took, regardless, they were yours or not
So why not let them be yours since it's definitely your life, which will make many things sort..

So - set your priorities, let them be different, let them not adhere to social norms;
or let them adhere; totally, your call -
But, don't be a victim of society, be the one that brings in it a reform!

1/9/19
  

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

उड़ता Punjab?!

Hola guys! An attempt to touch base with a grave and taboo issue plaguing the society - DRUGS!!!

उड़ता Punjab?!

Image result for udta punjab imagesImage result for khainch le qash images

Drugs, Alcohol ; कश,दारु - synonymous with addiction, नशा;
No matter how much their use is justified,
they will use us by the day's end
or if not stopped, might I say life's end.

Pot, चिल्ल्म, गाँजा - फूँककर अनायास ही हो जाएगी ख़ुद फुंक जाने की तैयारी।
क्या सच में है यह भोले का प्रसाद?
Man customizes God to suit his fancies 
and when one messes with drugs in the name of God;
He/she gets him/herself messed up in return.

Weed, tobacco, alcohol, acid, ecstasy, shrooms, coke, opioids, meth, heroin, DMT -
no matter how common names they be given - 
they will treat you uncommonly if taken commonly...

It's just a matter of chance you do it for the first time
but no more a chance when you continue the abuse
and when drugs abuse you higher chances of addiction and outside intervention are needed...

So, asking doing how much is really bad?
doesn't really have a clear answer
Addiction by the end of the day is just so - 
less or more of an addict is at the end - an addict.

It is a vicious cycle once it starts -
first you start using, then drugs use you, you abuse them more, they abuse you manifold;
and the cycle continues...
Either one quits or the drugs make his/her life quit.

So it is a clear deal - say NO to drugs and alcohol, or don't - your choice
But repurcussions the abuse will have on you will never be your choice!

It all starts with one step - the addiction- just curiosity or peer pressure or self-medication
And even ends with one step - quitting, taking outside help
or if not that, ends with - an end to one's life...

Soar the sky, fly high
but not by doing drugs - 
Don't smoke सुट्टा else सुट्टा will, in all its glory, smoke you!
Need of the hour - नशा मुक्त भारत न ही उड़ता पंजाब!!

Thursday, July 4, 2019

TRAIN SCRIBBLINGS...

Travel enthusiasts hola!!! Something I hope the traveller in each of us will relate to...

And the journey begins..
Only, this time in train…
& I find myself bereft of sleep
Again, as the train tosses and turns me…
Some familiar sounds…
Some not so…
And just four hours to the next destination
Seem like four years..
Tossing and turning with the train…
Then I turn to social media -
Pinging long lost friends…
Meaninglessly trying to -
Find some meaning…
The consistent movement chuk, chuk, chuk…
Takes me to a different place in time;
Both figuratively and obviously literally
Stretching myself from head to toe;
In the three-tier A.C. coach's compartment's uppermost berth;
Trying to fit in, again literally and figuratively…
With a myriad thoughts running through my head…
Typed in docs on my phone
As I ineffectively strain myself
to peep out of the window in the neighbouring compartment…
The train goes chuk, chuk
And so do I -
Travel to a different dimension of time and frame of mind…
Only to soon discover
my next destination has arrived…
in time
which seems now
like four minutes…
A proof that in an attempt to pass time
Time passes us all by……

2/7/19

Sunday, June 16, 2019

जात

नमस्ते! एक गंभीर मुद्दे को उठाने का प्रयास करते हुए प्रस्तुत है नई कविता -
जात


किस जात के हो तुम?
मुझे जवाब नहीं जानना।
मेरा प्रश्न है - किस जात के हो तुम?
चलो रहने दो - अपनी बात करती हूँ।
मैं कायस्थ हूँ, क्षत्रिय - वो जो युद्ध के समय लड़े
और शांति में राज करे।
पर क्या मैने ऐसा कुछ किया?
नहीं पर मेरे जन्म पर ही मेरी जात का निर्णय हो गया था।
उसी प्रकार मेरे घर जो खाना बनाती है उसकी भी।

अंतर करो और राज करो -
इसी विचारधारा से तो हम एक दूसरे को बाँटते हैं।
हिन्दू को मुस्लिम से, मुस्लिम को हिन्दू से लड़ाते हैं।
किसी की जात से उसकी औकात का फैंसला करते हैं।

फिर पूछती हूँ - तुम्हारी जात क्या है?
वो जात नहीं जो तुम्हारे जन्म से तय हो गयी थी,
पर जात तो वही होती है ना!
सर्वोपरी तुम्हारी जात यह है कि तुम इंसान हो
इसे मत भूलो!

Thursday, June 13, 2019

MANIPAL

Hello everyone, from MANIPAL - the theme of my next BLOGetry...



MANIPAL is not a city, it's a state of mind
Mostly high, due to the hills and the people
Very scenic, lush greenery, beaches nearby
Pleasant or otherwise humid, mostly pouring…

Literal meaning - mud pond in Kannada
A pond, rather a mighty downpour of - students, money, muddy waters - an educational hub figuratively:
Of students from all over the country and abroad.
Home to MIT, KMC, MAHE and other institutions galore.

For me, MANIPAL is an emotion -
My very first getaway from home on my feet
My brother's Alma Mater - witnesses of his many firsts
My home beyond my home in fact - home to our first pet - a cat Lucy
A city which healed me in some ways if not all;
But then again -
MANIPAL is not a city; it's a state of mind...

Saturday, February 9, 2019

Rapunzel

A perspective on 𝑅𝒶𝓅𝓊𝓃𝓏𝑒𝓁'𝓈 situation...

Image result for rapunzel

𝓡𝓪𝓹𝓾𝓷𝔃𝓮𝓵 

I wonder what Rapunzel did
All by herself in the tower amid
Till she was rescued by the prince
I really wonder, what Rapunzel did?

What kept her curious mind alight
When nothing worthwhile was in her sight
And day in and day out the same story
repeated and faded, in and out, in and out its glory

One might argue - 'But, there is plenty to do!
Sing & dance, read & write, draw & paint, knit & sew
One always, always has occupation
You never really run out of options, there's procreation!'

And yet enough of that and all that there is!
If you don't walk out on the road, how do you taste bliss?
Just the four walls and the ceiling;
There's more to life that's much appealing

For all my love for fairy tales and all that jazz;
My heart goes out to Rapunzel stuck in the tower alas..
For she has to be her prince and rescue herself
& conquer the world & stop being the story in a book on someone's shelf!!


Sunday, January 27, 2019

#हिंदी RAP

कुछ शब्दों को हिंदी RAP का आकार देते हुए| 


Image result for gully boy

#हिंदी RAP

सब मिटना ही तो ख़ाक में 
फिर क्यों हूँ मैं तलाश में 
कुछ हँसने की, कम रोने की 
कुछ पाने की, कम खोने की 
चाहत कुछ कर गुज़रने की
किस्मत से ताक़त लड़ने की 

चट्टानें चीरकर जीतने की 
दरिया से मोती चुनने की 
भवँर में सुकून पाने की 
हैरत में ठहर जाने की 
इन्साँ में सच्चाई देखने की 
ख़ुदा की परछाईं देखने की 

प्रकृति का सौंदर्य समझने की 
भगवान की मूरत रचने की 
कुछ ख़ुद पर ज़्यादा हँसने की 
दूसरों को कम परख़ने की 
सफलता पाकर संयम रखने की 
असफलता पर निराश न होने की 

ढृढ़ता से चलते रहने की
बाधा में न रुकने की 
तितली के साथ उड़ने की 
इंद्रधनुष के रंग बिखेरने की 
ज्वाला सी गर्मी पाने की 
बर्फ़ सी शीतलता मापने की 

कुछ सपने सच करने की 
कुछ अपने प्रिय रखने की 
सागर की गहराई भाँपने की 
फ़िज़ा का वेग नापने की 

कुछ और हसरतें पूरी करने की 
कुछ और तलाश करने की 
कुछ ख़ाक में तब्दील होने की 
कुछ ख़ाक से तब्दील होने की!

Gratitude

Whatever there is, is a gift. The present we must value - every present moment. But as humans we tend to forget it. Take everyth...