curiosity, concern, compassion and collaboration
i will give you a small gift
some thing you may not cherish, or you may
some thing you might consider trivial,
but for that you will have to close eyes, become quiet
and imagine that sky is not only blue, vast,
but also has a solitary cloud
that is lost, aimlessly wandering,
wondering if it will rain
where it should not,
or not rain at all
‘2000
despite all the expanded arms
clouds were not sure
if he will hold all the drops
that will shower
should wind stop
lambi rassi
chhoti khunti,
tootney ki tayyari
par merey bandhey rehney ki majboori
baat agar rassi ki hoti
to kuchh ganthey bandh leta
uljhan to us chardiwari ki haithi
jikey baahar main tha
aur jiskey bheetar ki saari jameen tumhari thi
will you just stop here
will you throw away the prop there
play is yet to begin
the sound test is over
but will viewers see all of this
what you wish to say
and what you wish to hide
will you just stop here
walk on, walk on
a few moments more
when teh curtains rise
you can decide to be there
quiet
still
stubborn rock like
unmoved by the anxiety of all around
will you trust
that every evening
i asked Kaali
how did your day go today
i am aware
the echoes of my prayers will reach
the steps of the temple
where you pray
we pray
she prays
it does not matter
so what if i had repaired
the banks of your river;
we meditated in verandah
and hoped that flow will continue
did it rain there
how come all the stains
are washed?
i know
you wanted to twine around the tree
weakness of trunk
was your complaint
but then
that’s the way it was
i heard some whispers
last night
the drops of intermittent rain
seemed a bit unsettled
the queue was long
at your altar, O Kaali
but i waited
till
whispers in the air
told me your wish
and i turned back
i had to meditate more
did i ask
even if you did not tell
the long shadows
short changed memories
the crawling insects
on the fissured barks
of a lone tree
in a moonlit night
did not eat all that they could
they were persuaded
that some had to be left
for burning the funeral pyre of
those words
just words
i had heard on that night
when creative urges
and boundless energy
were strewn all around