Mujrim [Hindi/Urdu]

Kasoor kisika bhi ho
Jurm to hai sahi
Sange marmarke safed lakeeron pe
 Nishaan to hai sahi

Usi nishaan ko dhote dhote
Din guzaara karte hain
Phir raaton ke benaam lamhon mein
Ussi nishaan ko talaashne jate hain

Jo puraana dhoondhla zakham
Dard dena bhool gaya
Par hamesha ke lie
Zamaane mein ruswa kar gaya

Motiyon si harafon ke beech mein
Bematlab siyahi ka nishaan
Panne se hate us ek nazar ka
Keh gaya wo dastaan

Par phirbhi yaaron is gunah se
 Dil pashemaan kyun nahi
 Zindagi ke is barbadi par
Rooh pareshaan kyun nahi

Zamaane ne khule darbar me hume
Hai akela kar diya
Zabaan se sazaa qubool farmake
Fateh ka jashn mana liya

Khule aasman tak uthi nazar wo
Tumhare lie to jurm hi hai
 Mere dehleez-se aage rakhe kadam pe
Pardeh ka painjar hi hai

Par bekhabari ka wo-ek pal hi
Kathgareme mere saath aya tha
Kaynaat se rubaru hone ka lamha
 Bas wohi mera humsaya tha

Zamane ke sahi faislon se bani
Is aalishaan mahal mei jani hai
Hazaaron bematlab rishton ke beech mein
 Meri jurm hi meri kahaani hai

Khushi manati hoon us pal se
Duniya ke lie abh pardah hai
Ruswai ki us mohar ke baad se
Mera gunah mere saath tanha hai .

[December 1, 2013 at 10:12am ]

The man with the plum . [English]

I never really knew who he was you see
The man who gave me a plum.

On a bright sunny morning on market day
As I sat on my grandfather’s cart full of hay
He came upto me and patted my head
I asked him his name but instead
He gave me a ripe red plum and said

‘Here’s to your bonny health little maid
May the blue of your innocent eyes never fade
For you are the daintiest creature ever made
Me’wish you never be glum.’

‘Kind Sir’ said I ‘ how may I serve thee?’
For the plum was truly a treat you see
And I still remember the errand he bade me
‘Tell your mother I’ll come’

‘Tell her bonnie girl that you met me today
And very soon I shall be coming her way ‘
And so the next time when I passed by the churchyard where she lay…
I told her of the man with the plum.

‘Oh Mother !’ I told her, ‘ this man so fine’
‘Who also had deep blue eyes like mine
Bade me to tell you the same strange line-
“ Very soon I shall be coming her way’
Though I told him ‘ Oh Sir ! but that cannot be
For my mother lies buried below the fig tree’
But he chuckled and said, that he would soon be free
- That all barriers would be overcome .

So the next time I walked by where my mother was laid
I sat on the new marble grave beside her’s in the shade
And told her about the man, though a few days had been delayed
The man who gave me a plum.


[Under heady influence of William Wordsworth]
[originally written :May 7, 2010 at 2:36am]

Meghdyut [English]

Dear clouds passing through my sky,
take this missive from the one banished across the seas ...
When the minarets of my city you pass by
Take a moment to rest if you please..
Tell them.. I miss the rain drenched streets
Tell them I crave that feverish warmth
The haunting sound of the wind gushing through the turrets
As the old city faced your demonic wrath .....
Give me back my mother's frantic search
Give me back my sister's protective embrace
Give me back the moment I found love
Leave me with but one drop of your bounty of my face .....

Kolkata. I miss you. ...and thunder and downpour in Los Angeles- you are not helping !
[Originally written : October 11, 2012 · Los Angeles, CA]

Silence of the Stones [Hindi]

Ekdin paharon mein gayee thi achanak

Ek lambi sadak par chalte chalte

Ruk kar, do pal gawai thi achanak

Kahaniyan to kayin likhi gayi hai  In paharon ke , in vaadiyon ke

Par unki khamosh shayari ko dekh kar

Usdin,

Bezuban ho gayi thi achanak. 

Peele pattharon ke qile ke peechhe

Dubte suraj ke angaar dikhe the

Hare paharon ke mahalon ke beech mein

Nili nadi ke dhaar dikhe the

Aasmaan ke taraf mur gaya tha rasta

Jaane kahan le gaya tha rasta

Paharon ke ek choti ko chhukar

Vaadiyon mein kho gaya tha rasta

Kuch deewane se dost bhi to the

Deeewana sa ek yaar bhi tha

Dher sari hansi mazaak thi

Dher saara ehsaas bhi tha

Par paharon ne rok li humko

Bhula diya manzil ki khoj

Dhoondhla hota gaya waqt tab

Dhoondhli hoti gayi hosh

Tab kahani sunayi di thi ek aur

Lal pattharon mein goonjta hua

Dhun sunayi di thi ek aur

Hazaron saal purane un khandaron mein

Ghoomta hua waqt ki rooh dikhai di thi ek aur

Na jaane use kaun sadi se

Ek zubaan ki talaash thi

Pattharon ke in zanjeeron se

Azaadi ki talaash thi

Adhi kahani sunaidi thi mujhko

Adhi kahin to kho gayi

Dhun jo kanon tak na pahunchi

Dil mein kahin to reh gayi …

Jab dhundh hati aur raat chari

Hum who tila chhor kar aye the

Us pal ke us ehsaas ko

Usi ret par chhod kar aye the

Par abh  jab din dhalne par

Raat ki chand nikalti hai

Kabhi kabhi un paharon ki

Yaad achanak lati hai

Kahaniyan to bohot sune hai

Un patthar aur un vaadiyon ke

Par unki khamosh shayari dekh kar

Jab hum khamosh ho gaye the.

The Kiss [English]

Blind is the night

Blind

But fearless

Carefully treading on the stones

Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty

Hold the locked doors tight !

The silver knocker

So dull and dusty

Unseen shadows

Slipping through the hinges

Counting the stones

Five, six, seven , eight

Unfelt walls

High or low?

A soft breeze

An invisible window -

Night meets night

Touching each other

In wonder

Finger to finger

Skin to skin

Breadth to breadth

Hold still and watch

The kiss of the nights ….

July 11, 2011

Moonstruck [English]

 I
The night beats soft
The night beats silent
A lost princess in white robes

Day and night - weaving her brothers freedom
For a fate they never chose

The witches scare her
The goblins lure her
Her fingers are cold and numb

The weeds are dull
But her eyes are bright
Someday freedom  will come.


II
The waters are still
The waters are deep
The stars give never a twinkle

A swan alights- a princess rises
The lake mirrors the face of a queen

May the night never end
May the dawn never come
May the curse never begin again

But the moon shimmers by
Her heart wails a sigh
Forever it will take for her to redeem

III
The tower is lofty
The tower is dark
The moon traces its path on the wall

But the princess has - long tresses of gold
Like the sunbeams that slip through her hand

The cold stone walls
Lock out every sound and sight
So she hums herself a tune

The song flies out
Into the star studded night
In search of the elusive boon

IV
The night beats soft
The night beats slow
Fairytales line her dreams

The dim lamp wicker- cannot warm the little body
The dress coming off at the seams

The toes are blistered
The palms are calussed
The days wage wasn’t enough for a meal

But the moon still peeps
Through the tiny kitchen window
And watches the child smile in her dreams .


May 14, 2011