The Rise of the Sons

Deeply moved by the documentary by Ms.Vibha Bakshi, 'Daughters of Mother India', I am forced to think about a couple of my male friends who feel that atrocities against men are ignored by everyone including law enforcement agencies in our country!

While I do not deny the fact that men are also subjected to disrespect and brutality by women, I still cannot help thinking about women who have been going through this and more for thousands of years without complaining. And in my perspective, it is this very attitude of 'not complaining' that had brought us here. 

Today, the men have started complaining pretty early and this brought to light the misuse of section 498 of the Indian Penal Code by a section of women. Imagine if the women had started to protest way back, the atrocious idea of a woman's place inside home or the woman being covered up from head to toe, wouldn't have risen in men's minds in the first place.

And thus, rapes of babies barely a month old wouldn't have happened! 

Zindagi

Ab to ashq bhi mana karte hain behne se
lafz bhi mukar gaye kuch kehne se
zindagi khud hi suljhayegi uljhanon ko
kuch nahi badalta gilhe shiqwe karte rehne se..

Chaar Deewarain

Bas hum the aur thi deewarain chaar
Lagta tha koi aa jaa raha hai baar baar

Mud ke dekha to tha koi bhi nahin
Bas hum the aur humari kaampti ruh bhi thi wahin

Hua ehsaas ki Ghar me chahe hon dushman hazaar
Kabhi na hon hum aur khali si woh deewarain chaar...

Aafaaq

Har zarra-e-aafaaq tere saath hoga
bas raasta sahi tu chunta jaa..
Sard raahon ki garm chaadar tu ban jayega
bas qadam sahi to bunta jaa..

Yaad

Lafzon me yaad jatana zaroori to nahin
roohani intisaab bhi koi cheez hoti hai...

Baat

Baat sirf ek baat ki thi
kuch unki suni
kuch apni kahi
baat us raat ki thi...

Baat sirf ek fariyaad ki thi
na woh mude
na hum jhuke
baat us yaad ki thi...

Lamha

Jo lamha gir gaya zindagi ka us raat ke baad
bikhre hue tukdo me mujhko beintehaan tumhara pyaar nazar aaya..

Shikan

Na aane di humne kabhi apne maathe par shikan dosto,
zamaane se itni shiqayat kabhi hui hi nahin....

Zindagi

Zindagi kisi ke liye nahin rukti, bas jeene ki wajah badal jaati hai; 
aur kabhi agar kisi ke liye ruk bhi jaaye, to saanse chalti hain aur zindagi nikal jaati hai.

Alfaaz

Dil jab behne lagta hai to alfaaz bante hain,
dil ka behna mere haath me nahin lekin.

Insaan

Main kisi dharm ke kareeb nahi, na hi kisi ek soch ki mutassir;
main to faqat insaan hoon insaaniat chahti hoon.

Sitaare

Taare kabhi toot te nahin, bas nazron se ojhal ho jaate hain,
kab kaun kis waqt kahan khada hai yeh us par munhasir hai..

Lost

Oh how good it feels
to just get lost
in anything
just about everything

It is meditation
in its purest form
a deep feeling
of blending

Just drown
just disappear
not letting in anything

just make it abiding

Feel one
with the other
merging
like a single being

It is not negative
this fusion
its bliss - unending
fulfilling..

Asli Chehra

Itne mukhaute kyon pehne ho logo
jab Chehra khuda ne ek diya hai..
Wafadaari ek se hoti hai
laalach ne kab kisko kya diya hai..

Jasbaat

Yeh sirf shero shayari nahin mere dost

mere jeete jaagte jasbaat hain

tum inhe seyahi ki kaalak samjho ya phir boond aansu ki

yeh hum tum pe chodte hain..

Toofan..

Apne andar ke toofan ko kaabu me karna seekh
in machalti hui hawaon ko gaur se padna seekh
inhi bandishon main hai teri azaadi chupi
tera naseeb bhi yehi, tera raasta bhi yehi..

Waqt

Waqt chala jaa raha hai na jaane kahan,
pakadne jaati hoon to hawa ho jaata hai;
Zindagee jaise dhundhli oos ka dhuan,
hataane jaati hoon to fanaa ho jaati hai..

Jaane kaisi yeh pyaas hai!

Shehar bhar me maare maare phirte hain
jaane kis ki talaash hai;
Koi khoj, koi bhukh, na jaane kaisi ye aag hai
jaane kaisi yeh pyaas hai..

Zinda

Ai maut tu to aksar yahan se guzarti hai
dekha hoga ki zindagi to roz hi marti hai;
Ranjish hai mujh ko tere wajood se
tu to taa umr zinda raha karti hai..

Rain - My happiness quotient!

The blue sky peeps from under the clouds, teasing me, smiling at me, telling me to embrace the clouds as it did. I looked up and I smiled. Such a vast embrace. Such an enchanting sight!

When I feel the drizzle on my face, I cannot describe the happiness that gushes through me. All my worry, all my insecurity, all that is negative, just vanishes in thin air. Just experiencing the moment makes me want to freeze it in time. And freeze it does; in my memories, in the depths of my being.

Alas, this bliss does not last forever. Just like the rain, it comes and then it has to go. The sky keeps giving me the message that I am just an iota and that nothing lasts forever. But for me to understand what it is saying to me, I will have to direct my glance upwards. The sky will do its part only when I do my part. And my part is to look upward.

The sky says that what happens with me is just so insignificant. It says that I should look around me. It says I should observe. The sky humbles me; because when I look around, my pain seems so trivial.

The clouds do not come to take away anything from us. They come to give. All around us, nature just gives. And we keep taking. That is the source of our unhappiness. That is what makes everything so complicated.

We receive happiness. That is how it is meant to be. 'Giving' is meant to be. This is how nature functions. But as is the habit with us, we always go against nature and then we wonder why we are unhappy!

We take all the time. How much do we give?