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]