Category: poetry

when the stirrings of soul

mean not very much

what does one do,

hang an empty lamp without oil

or filament

or collect all the dry twigs

not many are around

given the drought this year

so i decide to display a board

on which you can write your address

so that the leftover envelops are sent to you

u can keep the letters inside and send to whoever you wish

this fire in a cold wintry night

by the people on the roadside

did not leave much to say

the joy and fears were all intertwined

who had known the  the warmth of dry hay

wound in the ropes of some prayers, very kind

when you keep windows open

you see bird flying

but then donot bemoan if the birds fly away

and dont perch on window sills

that is not why you open windows

do the streams of rivers emanating

from mountains covered still with snow

flow down the valley

and quench the thirst of fields

set slightly higher

than its banks

but how will some one lift the water

when you are still uncertain

to flow or not

through this drought affected valley

kaali! are you still looking for an offering 

but i told you so many times

that i dont offer gifts

it is as if an adjective takes away

some thing deep from a noun

gifts may lower the value i attach to my devotion

but then it seems

that is not how you think

else, why this hesitation,

why this delay,

why this sullen look

may be

i should pray harder

and look with in me

when a babbler behaves the same way

and a squirrel does not devite

from script too much either

why does myna stroll alone, afar

looking for insects in grass

greened by a small splash of rain

 drought had taken a toll otherwise

of the ambitions of grasses in my lawn

to make your feet clam and smooth

but now how do i persuade those blades

which are rough, and not willing to lie down

like you, when you are upset and are upright

sneha nahin hota itna seedha sa ek upakram

kiski badha ban jayey radha, kaise jaaney ham?

kaun usko yaad karey, kaun uska janmdiwas manayey

radha to thi krishna ki poorak, uska parv kaun manaey

kisney radha ki vedana jaani, kisney usko pooja akela

kyun nahi ho saka krishna uska poorak, kyun  nibhaye ham chhal uskey

let me clean the step of the temple again

she says, i will have to come back here again

because prayers once offered have a habit

of calling the devotees to their doorstep again

is that why Kali, why you never spare any one,

those who adore you and love you

and those who have learned their lesson

but can one really love, learn and still live

bas swaron ki sarita mein

baha dey chintaon ko chalo aaj

mat karo  kisee jawab ka intzaar

nahin ayega yeh rahi apni aadat se baaz

yuhin hi nahin  dhoa hai isney itna bhoj

hkya pata kab ho jayey isko bas itna hi bodh

jindagi rahegi tabhi to ho payega safar jaari, 

kar payega koi anwarat apni deewanagi bhari shodh

bereft of any doubt

the sielnce had broken a promise

what was not supposed to be said

had been said

the broken bridge had been

relaid

now, you can cross over to the other side

sow seeds, tend the garden

if you need, you can manure the soil

that remains to be tilled

it will bloom, i have no doubt

when will you recall

the promises made before the mazar of a saint

to engulf all the memories

with a shawl of silence

no matter how much does the

crying child

of a bright lit night demands attention