kitni gehraion tak utar sakti hai hamari nanv
lekin usko doobaney ki aazadi to abhi tak nahin mili hai
ab usko aisey hi tairaney dey?
ya phir us par se utar key
jhil ko galey laga leny
curiosity, concern, compassion and collaboration
kitni gehraion tak utar sakti hai hamari nanv
lekin usko doobaney ki aazadi to abhi tak nahin mili hai
ab usko aisey hi tairaney dey?
ya phir us par se utar key
jhil ko galey laga leny
when will i witherasked a small floweri kept quietso that he might find the answer
“atlas of an impossible longing”said that priest, and vanishedi took my compass and started searching the house where i had hung all the clothes to wear when i will meet her to invite her to my house.but now, i had compass and knew all the directions except that my memories played tricks and will not let me remember the dargah where i had ignited the incense and lighted a lamp and from where the path turned to that house where i had planned to reach and change into a dress that you might recognise.now i will ask a shopkeeperto give me new white kurtas so that i may robe again and hope that memories will return to tell me the way( inspired by an excellent novel by anuradha roy with the title, An atlas of impossible longing, strongly recommended to readers with interest in human situations that defy definition).
when the memories become the sandstonethe life a soothing balmone just flows with the tideabsolutely without any qualmwhen you stand there and shiver in coldin a rainy night with nothing much to holdthe fire of one’s prayerswill keep you warm, without letting the momories be old
don’t knock, says the shadow of a grave
i will not give way
even if you remove all the weeds
around the place
do not tell me,
i have to understand
and anticipate
what is that which you crave
dont knock, says the shadow of a grave
i have seen it all
with equifinality, certitude and in jest
the hope, faith and love that you trust
will let you , after all, pave
the path of all those
who come to your door
without knocking,
without assuming
that shadows are your surety
in the game of chance
what if you donot have spears, and
are termed a knave
when the rains is about to come
clouds gather to disperse
just as the dust rises
when herds of cattle return home
and then abandons her journey
and embraces the earth
will i also now settle down
to allow termites to do their job
disintegrate me so that
next seed you sow
grows in fertile ground
and gets to absorb the rain drops
which come down
stability is suspect
when the quiver of lips holds the
key
to the door of deep
valleys of desires
but then closer you get,
the diatances multiply and
engulf the arms,
the substance of sterile
longings becomes the chalk
with which you write
on black board of destiny
Deewaron mein dararon mein,
bina seemaon ke majhdharon mein
Tum ne liya hai janam,
o, jiddi pedh ab aur mat badho,
kahin rahi kuchi deewar bhi na toot jayey
Chhat to hai nahin,
Ek bhram angan ka na mit jayey
Kuchh yaadein garbh mein hi so jayey
To achha hota hai
Unki jadey agar badti hai
To phir koi poochhata nahin,
kya yuhin sab kuchh bikhar jayeye
do not wish away the burden of better times
do not erase the claism of forgotten chimes
of a temple far away
Kali was upset that you had prayed there too often in past
her sense of fairness will compel her to answer my wish
but will she be happy that i prayed
while reading the “the atlas of an impossible longing”
i was amazed as to why did tongue always went
where the tooth ached
as the author roy averred
and then realized, may be she had seen
how the memoryscape always revealed
those peaks which had remained unassailed
in mind or otherwise