Author: anilg

when the presence of a vapour pervades

the dust does not rise

though dew  refuses to settle

i am not going to see

accounts of absence

that you have marked

in the register of refrain

i am now praying

Kaali, let me be the vapour

you did not listen to me, but painted the wall of my house

with all kinds of designs that i still see

and rejoice their beauty

but are they really beautiful at all

when they masked all the fickle minded salutations

that i got while walking to that temple

where we had prayed,

now the wall has to be whitewashed,

let us get the brush and ladder together,

lest an earthquake occurs and does away with the need of repainting

jab annuson ki baarish bhi na thanda kar saki dil,

itni aag lagi thi, kabse lagi thi,

to ek jwalamukhi poochhaney laga

kya is tarah koi aag thandi hui hai, jitna tadpogey,

utni yeh aur sulagi hai,

kya karta, chup chap baarish thami, aur hawa chali

kuchh badal bikhrey aur kuchh ghul gayey kaaley aakash mein

lekin kuchh baar baar mujhey sapno mein nazar aatey hain,

thoda dhamkatey hain, aur phir muhn maud aagey bad jaatey hain

the ripples of red sun
which drowned in a white lake
seeking to get close to its own  reflection;

whispers of eastern winds
while wading through clumps of bamboo
deluding itself that rustling sound was its echo

when the silence was engulfed in an intrigue
to retain the cloak of subtlety or speak out
why did it chose to just whisper its disapproval

the banks of a river were worn out
did not matter how often  the waves swept over them
but then one day that river swallowed the banks to become a lake

kho jaayen kahin ek baar phir se,

wo nagmey jinmey dard ka sur sila tha

kisee jakhm ko siya tha,

aur kisee jakhm ko

baar baar udharney ka niyam pata tha

tumney muhn maud liya hai, kabhi kabhi

merey hothon ko phatney diya

sard hawon  mein bhari hai, ek yaad hari hari

kyun merey aansuo ko nahin piya

thak jata hun kabhi kabhi

aur phir likhney lagta hun

ek kahani

un dino ki

jab kisee sufi ke kabra par hamney mannatey maangi thi

kisee ki khushi ke liye

taaki

wo khushian

hameny ek dossarey se door kardey

lekin in dooriyon mein hi to sachhi aas chhupi hai

jiski  parchhayi meri aur teri aaknon me baasi hai

why do not you aspire to evaporate

when i have been destined to

why cant i be the air

you breathe

why cant i be aroma

which makes every devotee of Kaali mad

why can not i be the dust which

you need to plaster the path

on which your loved one will walk

tum kahin door jao

aur phir wapis mat aao

keh ke mujhey usney wida kiya

kisee kasam se nahin bandha

kisee apeksha ka teer nahin saadha

lekin mein aaj bhi bandha hun

un niayamon se

jinhey tumney banaya hai

koi lehar jab chahey mujhey upar uchhal sakti hai

aur jab chahey duba sakti hai

leheron key

seeney mein darad na ban jaun

is lieye samundra ne taya kiya hai

mujhey doobaney nahin diya jaayey, aur bas isee tarah

taraju ki tarah hawa se

bandh tairaney diya jayey

ek bina mastool ki naav ki tarah

khuley samundra mein

when journey is just a means

of being there, we do not have to reach any where

we can not

chained as we are some times

to the lamp posts

but then we are allowed to walk

a little aorund the light

whenever it is dark

chasing the shadows

of the light

within

the dissonance between what is and ought to be

stems as much from what we think the perimeters of ought are today

as from what you consider of relevance

a missed meeting  one day may matter more

than all the hours, days and months we spent together

the length of moments is not measured by what we did or did not then

but what we remember of those moments

why do we remember only what pains us,

why are all the pleasant laughters  forgotten,