चार भौंकते कुत्ते

सपने में आते हैं मेरे,
डरता हूँ मैं, खौफनाक ,
क्यों न मुझको सोने देते,
वो चार भौंकते कुत्ते|

मैंने क्या बिगाड़ा तेरा है,
क्या ऐसा पाप किया है,
सुख चैन हर ले गए जो,
वो चार भौंकते कुत्ते|

एक बेचैनी सी छाई है,
पसीना पसीना हुआ हूँ मैं,
क्यों दिल को मेरे धड्काते,
वो चार भौंकते कुत्ते|

सुनसान गली, रास्ता तंग,
घेर लिया मुझे चारों ओर,
मेरे पापों की गिनती करवाते,
वो चार भौंकते कुत्ते|

काँप रहा मैं, ठण्ड लगी,
मुख में मेरे आवाज दबी,
राम नाम मुझसे जपवाते,
वो चार भौंकते कुत्ते|

तभी एक तेज रोशनी दिखी,
आँखें खुली, कुछ साफ़ हुआ,
मुझे साहस देने आये थे,
मेरे डर को भागने आये थे,
मुझे हिम्मत देके चले गए,
मेरे डर को लेके चले गए,
वो चार भौंकते कुत्ते|

Gibberishing

There are times when we wake up to that recurring nightmare. We hope it to be the last one. But alas! It comes back. Similar are the bad habits. However hard we try, they keep hanging onto us.

One such habit that I have tried to shed, with little success is ‘talking too much’. I have dealt with short temper, emotional outburst, butt-booze successfully over the years. But I have no reasonable explanation for my tongue.

I have faced losses at academics, work and personal life alike due to my gibberish. Mind needs time to think, channelize thoughts and come out with something reasonable. But when one talks a lot, rubbish comes out, as mind has no time for processing.

People stop giving importance to what you have to say, considering the huge volumes. Over time you become like background music. You are an irritant, hindering the foreground processes.

Your relationships too take a hitting. You lock in most time for what you have to say and less time for listening to the other person. One needs a partner one could talk to. No one needs to be with a J L Baird, one way relay.

One speaks so as to express the existence of oneself, but eventually ends up being non-existent. Irony!

If you are also the one who talks a lot, now is the time to rein in. I won’t list ‘n’ points towards improvement as I am still struggling with it. If you have any advice, do let me know. It’s time to give our tongue taste of its own medicine.

Wannabe Love Stories

“Love, a quaint feel,
Love, rags to glories,
North to south, East to west,
Everyone likes love stories”

Right from the childhood we are told stories of a charming prince to the rescue of the cursed princess, the frog prince kissed back to human form, Cinderella’s shoe etc. Even in our Indian culture, who would not know of Heer-Ranjha, Shirin-Farhad? Even Satyavan-Savitri and Ram-Sita are eternal love stories.

A common thread to all these is the struggle and sacrifice through the journey. The princess had to be cursed, the prince had to fight the dragon, Cinderella had to go through the hardships, Ranjha and Farhad are replete with tragedies too. In fact, it’s this very element of tragedy that makes love stories all the more eternal. Nature has perhaps intertwined a tinge of pain even with lovemaking for that very reason.

All this makes a good read, doesn’t it? Love stories are cherished by all. But love can’t be plotted/planned/forced. It just happens. But since we have grown up being fed these ever romantic tales, we want to have our own love story. Here is where things go awry. We try and force a love story. Peer pressure perhaps. Love does not mean having a trophy to show around and a background story to talk about. Sadly it has been reduced to this very thing.

When one really falls in love, there is no explicit need to convey it. It’s felt. But when we try and initiate love so as to make a love story, it’s devious. Here is what happens and why it twitches with time. One tends to portray oneself so as the other person will like him/her. This charade can go on to an extent but no more. One tends to make compromises with a lot of things just for the sake of a story. These things keep on accumulating leading to an eventual blowout.

It’s always nice to have a love story but it’s not pertinent for being a romantic. Be with someone only if you like the company, or perhaps for obvious needs. But to try and enforce love to chart out a love story will only result chaos and nothing else. Wait for the sparks to happen. Artificial sparks is never a good option.

ऐसा नहीं है

ऐसा नहीं था कि मुझे कुछ गम था,
पर जीवन में लगता कुछ कम था|
पत्र तो था पर मंजिल थी लापता,
अगले मोड़ पे टकराइगी, क्या था पता||

ऐसा नहीं था कि मैं कोई विश्वामित्र था,
पर तपस्या थी हकीकत, न चल-चित्र था|
इन्द्र की बारिश, ये दिल सह न सका,
जब तन मन तपाने बनी तू मेनका|

ऐसा नहीं था कि कभी मस्ती नहीं थी,
पर अपनी कोई अलग हस्ती नहीं थी|
दौड़ा गयी तू सिरहन, मिली नयी राह,
कट रहा था जीवन, आई नयी चाह|

ऐसा नहीं था कि कोई पगला था मैं,
हाँ समझदारी में थोडा कंगला था मैं|
‘हड़बड़ी कबतक, आदतें सुधारो’, तूने ज्ञान दिया,
ज्यादा नहीं गर थोड़ा तो समझदार किया|

ऐसा नहीं था कि दिल ये पत्थर था,
पर धड़कने को नहीं ये तत्पर था|
मौत के जैसे आई औ जिंदगी दे गयी,
दिल को धड़का, मेरी सांसें ले गयी|

ऐसा नहीं है तू मुझे भाती नहीं,
या सुबह शाम तेरी याद आती नहीं|
सहे हैं दुःख तूने, और दे नहीं सकता,
असमंजस है मेरा, वक़्त ले नहीं सकता|

6 conditions rejected by Anna Hazare

Delhi Police imposed 22 conditions for peaceful protest by Anna Hazare. Last heard 6 out of 22 were rejected by Anna and his team. What these 6 conditions were had been kept under wraps. Yours truly found it out through well placed sources at US Embassy, who tends to know more on India, than India itself.

Conditions were as below:
1.  At least 50 helicopters should be present at the Anshan site (Quick evacuation in case of bee attack).

2.  50 AC’s are mandatory. No one should suffer heat stroke coz of Dilli ki Garmi.

3.  All the attendees must sign an undertaking that they hereby agree for nasbandi.

4.  Attendees should give an undertaking that they will not urinate for the entire duration. Anyone found otherwise will be lynched.

5.  Such fasts tend to get boring. So as nobody dies of boredom, performance by Lady Gaga is must. Pending her nod fast cannot go ahead.

6.  People made to sit long hours can develop severe back pains. Arrangements should be made for back massage by professional masseuses.

According to our sources, Anna and his team were bummed out specifically by Lady Gaga condition. They tried to reason with her. But once she insisted to perform, they had no option but to back out.

सारे जहाँ से अच्छा

सारे जहाँ से अच्छा, कहता था एक बच्चा,
हम बुलबुलें हैं इसकी, कहती थी दादी उसकी,
ग़ुरबत में हों अगर हम, विश्वास न हो बस कम,
रहता हो दिल वतन में, फक्र से न घुटन में|

परवत वो सब से ऊँचा, सबने लहू से सींचा,
गोदी में हज़ारों नदियाँ, हो गयी हैं जिनको सदियाँ,
ए आब-ए-रूद-ए-गंगा, दुबकी जो कर दे चंगा,
मज़हब नहीं सिखाता बैर, असल बात जाने दो खैर|

हिन्दी हैं हम वतन है, दुश्मन करें जतन हैं,
यूनान-ओ-मिस्र-ओ-रोमा, कुछ गए, कुछ को कोमा,
हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी, झूझने की है बीमारी,
हम तुझको क्यों सुनाएं, दर्द-ए-निहाँ हमारा|

PS: My tribute to Saare Jahan se Accha by Muhammad Iqbal

Things I love/hate about Anna Hazare

1. I hate that he makes me feel corrupt. He tries to wake up my conscience. He makes me uncomfortable. He irks me.
2. I love that he does not contest elections and hold legislative posts. Scared if he becomes PM.
3. I hate the fact that he brainwashes today’s youth into believing that corruption is a bad thing.
4. I love when he goes on fast and his health deteriorates. Good Riddance.
5. I hate that his crusade will take off food from plates of corrupt people like me.
6. I love that people like him are not selected for constitutional posts in our country. Who would bear a lokayukta like him?
7. I hate that my dream of owning a black money account in Swiss bank will remain a dream because of him.
8. I love the fact that he is old.
9. I hate that his legacy will continue forcing me to answer to laws of the land for corruption.