Friday, 30 December 2016

Us Roz


Us Roz 
Kahani aur kahanikaar mile
Hasi thahaake
Fizul ki baatein
Beparvaah yuhin karte rahe

Kahani ko badi jaldi thi
Kyuki kahani kahaan rukti hai?
Yuhin firti rehti hai
Dil yahaan lagaati hai 
Sej wahaan sajaati hai
Khayaal mein aaye toh zaroori nahi
Kaagaz par utar hi aati hai

Kahanikaar kisko arzi de?
Waqt bada kambakht tha
Aur khuda... khud pop corn lekar baitha tha
Ki kya khoob nazara hai teri zindagi!
Ye manzar roz kahan milte hain?
Behaal yun malaal na kar
Har til ka taad na kar
Ya taraane hi bana kuch 
Par intezaar na kar

Toh kabhi machalta kabhi alsaata
Kahaanikaar aage badh jaata hai
Kahaani yuhin... fir kahin 
Purzor bulaati rehti hai
Kai dafa...
Kisi bhi jagah...

Hasti, usko 'hello' kehti hai
Jab woh 'haaye' karta toh koi na hota
Fir afsos jatata

Uff fir chali aai tum 
Chaahti kya ho tum?
Dikhti nahi ki zaalim
Dukhti rag ban jaati ho tum

Toh ab waapas na ana 
Aur fir ghabrana
Ki is baar rok loonga!
Kasam se jaane na doonga
Kahaani sharmai,
Aankhein michi,
Paas pohchi
Haule se poochi
"Toh kyu nahi rokte kabhi?
Meri kyu nahi sunte kabhi?
Ki main kahan jana chahti hun 
Aur tum ho ki yahan 'yatharth' mein doobe baithe ho
Dhatt!... ki ab,
Jab samjho tab
Khud bulana
Tab tak khairiyat rakhna!"

Toh kisi roz fir milenge
Zameen pe nahi
Toh rupahle parde pe sahi
Farzi ki  
Magar marzi ki 
Duniya zoroor banaenge!

Tum dekhna meri kahani...
Jis duniya ne tumko roka tha
Wahi duniya tumko dekhegi
Hasegi shayad roegi...
Naraaz hogi shayad
Najane kya sochegi
Shayad kahegi
Ye kya bana diya yaar??
Par dekhegi zaroor
Jaise khuda baitha tha 
Bilkul waise hi...
Pop corn lekar

Toh fir milenge kyuki
Us roz jab mile the...
Kuch reh gaya tha baaki.

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

In between two longest nights

The night of 21st December, is the 'longest night' of the year, also touted as the astronomical beginning of 'winter'. In some cultures, it is the mid-winter or extreme winter. This poem is mainly inspired by 'The longest night' and winter and also, by high tides - the Moon and the Sea. I happened to have a dream about the Moon on a full moon night, several nights ago, some strange events pertaining to water followed and I was thinking of 'the high tide' caused by the moon. One thing to another, the thoughts, dreams and a bit of strange reality merged into this story - the Moon longing for the Sea. Or perhaps it is just about the Sea, caught between reality of the Sun and fantasy of the Moon, which cause in her, a surge of emotions. The Sun speaks of hope and demands of the day, while the Moon speaks of fear and dreams of the night. While the sea listens, endures and thrives through it all.

In between two longest nights

Were many a moon and cosmic lamps
Afloat in thousands of thoughts, dreams and sights
Somewhere in not so middle happened to be...

A new-moon, set alight by man made stars

Of unfelt wishes and heartfelt wants
Unfathomed truths of chances lost and found
In the quagmire of life

For once stood still... the time
And reality closed its eyes


'Surreal' was the year
Festive was the day
Quiet were the hours
Musical was the silence
Filled to the brim
With the darkness of awakening

That questioned the light of the day

Why is the Sun so scared?
That he shines so bright
Burning with all his might
Oh the things he hides!
Inside his light
That the darkness lay bare.
That the moon knows
When he glows and evokes
Agony on sleepless nights
With unforgiving fervor
He pulls the tide from deep slumber
The sea moans and whines in pain
Held and caressed and restless she
Sheds many a tear longing for a touch
While the moon just fades away
And she wonders in the wake
How long can she take


It's just a dream she sighs
And turns away from his white gaze
With butterflies in her stomach
That ache for a hurricane
The wind threatens to be a storm
Deprived of the warmth of fire
On a cruel cold night


She is sweating in fright
She feels many thoughts and sighs
Coming from a distance far away
In a way that's never happened before
She craves to touch, this time not for herself
But for the moon who seems distraught
"What's bogging you down
Is keeping me up
I ask for nothing but a calm sleep"
She whispers into thin air
With no one to listen.


She stays warm with words
But his silence keeps him cold
And closed like a vault

"I can see a deluge waiting to explode"
But he just wont listen
He just wont speak
Or would he call her insane
She thinks in shame
So she keeps quiet
And goes to sleep
With eyes wide open
And wishing him best

'This too shall pass'
She thinks and plugs her ears
With melodies to silence the fears


But till it stays, she doesn't mind
The ramblings of the wind
For she was born in autumn
She hugs the winter
That craves for fire
Worry not dear
Hold on tight
For this is going to be
The longest night


The longest night
Maybe that'll be our thing
To wish each other
Happiness with another
Amidst the Christmas cheer
May the red nosed reindeer
Bring you presents aplenty
Hope you're hail and hearty
Between the festive nights
The night of lamps and the night of bells
And also between the longest nights
I wish you're well :)





Monday, 19 December 2016

Fingers Crossed

So about this phrase... "Fingers Crossed!"...

I wonder.
What's with the fingers crossed?
What are they itching for?
What dream are they pining for?
Why do they stand in the shape of 4?
What legs do they resemble...
Standing in indecision?
Or in contentment and pleasant inaction.
Are they 'crossed' at each other?
Or hugging in a calming gesture?
A gesture of hope when held up in air.
When you have given your all and it is time to wait.
Waiting for the best to manifest.
Wishing you know what is best.
Or not caring anymore in innocence
The crafty fingers are quiet for once.
When they rest behind a back...
Why do they become deception?
What truth are they waiting for
Or a lie they are standing for?
What's with the 'fingers crossed'?
I wonder.

The Muse, the Messiah and the Madness

How you doing my girl,
How have you been?
The work, the weather 
And hey when’s the wedding?

Cuz your clock’s been ticking
And dad’s been worrying 
Your hair is greying
Those things are gonna sag
My oh my this is just so sad

So stop being a tease
And tell me please?!

Who’s keeping you… from tying the knot
Is it you who’s running or 
Is he scared of the thought?

Who’s your man?
Your better half?
What’s in your head?
Who’s in your heart?

I wish you didn't ask
But now that you did
Would you love to meet
My muse, messiah and madness?
Because just a man is just too less

To make and break and make again
All that I was, will be and that I am
Forgive me for I am not your quintessential nice
And someone once said, variety is the spice of life

So meet my Muse
Oh what words, what verse do I use
To describe this fiend of a friend!
One who burns like flame and fades like snow
If only I could tell and you could dare to know
The things I wanna do, that no one ever did to you
Bring you to your knees, make you plead and beg for a release
Wrap you in my words and pin you down
Till I pen you down…
Over and over and over again
Till the crack of dawn
Lost in thoughts and devoid of sleep
Oh the words, the stories, the music 
The colours, the patterns, the magic
How they all come... together so beautifully
How just how, do you do this to me?
You my muse, you have done it again
From living in a dream to dreaming up a life 
You make me laugh, cry and write again
Rise and fall, and smile again
You make me take the stage again

Now meet my Messiah
The king of utopia
He can do it all, be it all, has it all
And still... and still he wants it all
With the fervor of a man
And the grace of a woman
He knows no freakin’ limit
Because he’s a free spirit 
A conqueror, adventurer
Oh you majestic trailblazer
Shine on me a little of that light
You see I normally don’t subscribe
To the left or the right, but in your tribe
I feel home, I feel right
And splendidly wrong 
And incredibly strong
To be where I belong

And finally… there’s my madness
The only one they see and who needs no address
The only one beside me and inside me
For he’s always been there
Through the dark and despair
In the silence and the rage
A fallen angel, he is no sage
Nor does he wish to be, 
Known for anything but brutal honesty, 
So like renegades, we fight and fornicate
We win and lose and try not to complicate
We are tired and torn, 
We have died and reborn
Dancing to one song, the wizards of word
Like always, it’s us against the world


That’s about it
So now ask me 
No wait tell me
I belong to what man?
You see I'm owned by none
For why should I and why the hell should one
Belong to her, belong to me 
Or belong to thee
Because you see...
I hope you can see...

All this belonging leads to longing
Bothering and smothering and hovering and hollering 
A hell lot of explaining
And then apologizing and wondering
Oh do I think too much, do I speak too much,
Am I too strong or am I weak too much?

So excuse me from your golden cage
Your goddamn rules of gender and age
It’s a happy place, to be on your own
And to be with the one who feels home
Who feels like a team on a winning spree
Who with me, can be… young, wild and free
Now that’s a rare kind and hard to find
So please don’t mind
Me minding my business
My muse, messiah and madness
I cruise ahead with my magical trinity
For together us four… we make infinity

The Fireworks

















Wind she was,
In a gust of joy
Like a shade of yellow

Up she went
Far from spent
But caught off guard
By a spark

Fire he was
Smitten so sudden
Like a shade of red

Almost burning,
Shimmering & smouldering.
To her charms, so pushed.
To his vows, so leashed.

Kiss me not, she says
And he nods in distress
Still leans into nothing.
Reaching and stopping,

Engulfed in her fragrance.
A dance of decadence,
Begins to no end,
In pained restraint.

Tangled in a not-kiss,
No pleasure, no bliss,
Had felt like this,
Surreal… as it did.

Not all lost on sense,
'twas a cruel tease of indulgence.
"Heavens have mercy,
Grant me a fallacy,

Or a different universe!
All I have are words,"
She pleads in a ruse,
Glancing at her muse.

Pulled towards a sin,
But never giving in.
While the angels smirked,
At how bad it hurt.

And yet good it felt...
Wonder what it meant.
A night of magical nothing,
That tempted into everything.

One that could have been
Or so it now seemed.
Was it him she always sought?
A thought she always fought.

Slowly but surely, dawn would come
And her muse will be gone.
Until then... she feels him breathing,
Trembling and quivering

And him, still cuffed...
Still held in a blaze.
He begged to be freed.
While she paid no heed

To her whim and his need.
But her heart did bleed
As it danced with destiny
To a bittersweet symphony

Could we have more time?
Could the stars realign?
Or we could be stars...
For now if never after.

Never a flame, but into a thousand sparks,
They glimmered like a million stars!
Unquenched but also unburnt by desire...
They became fireworks – the wind and the fire.