When We Found Love...

In a sunday gathering,
Over snacks and drinks,
Among countless people that we call, "A good crowd",
I saw a petite girl,
A gentle swollen face,
Long uncouth flowy hairs, and drowsy eyes,
Attuned deliriously to some stunted music,

The overpowering smell broke up my stupor,
As i passed her by,
Gazing intently,
Focusing my intense energies on her,
Something that only works,
If you are heavily drunk,
Or just read, "The Secret",

It was well received or so it seemed,
Till she fell,
Like a broken branch of a swinging tree,
I was aghast a moment,
Then as if reflexively,
I went up close,
To examine the issue at hand,

The distinct pathouli,
Struck me at once,
The floral printed Tee,
And her slack denims,
Covered a fine treasure,
But it was her hairs,
That stole the show,

Spread over her face,
Like fresh dew on a sprawling lawn,
Spoiling and serenading it,
All at once,
A sharp nose sat in the center,
Like a rude king,
Of a very desirable kingdom,

I wondered what i saw in her despair,
That so utterly attracted me,
Perhaps a loss of purpose,
Or conformity to non-conformity,
Or may be an inherent satisfaction,
That no matter how many rules you follow,
You can still end up fucked up,

I well intended to lift her,
Like all those movies we see,
But no sooner than i leaned in,
She woke up,
Instantaneously trying to stand,
Despite enormous frailty in her body,
And tremendous excitement in her eyes,

I helped her up,
She like the protected,
And me like the protector appointed by the sovereign,
There seldom was a word that night,
Except dragging of chairs,
Humming of flies,
And white noise of the night,

There and then though,
In a cold December,
Few hours past midnight,
In the unlikeliest corner of a house,
Between a very lost girl,
And a very drunk boy,
We found love.....

The House

From one of the open windows,               

A chip of wood falls,                                 

On the sill,                                                 

Every now and then,

And the dust has another place,              

To settle in,

Cobwebs on the corners of the room,      

Are the room now,

Floor has cracked at places,                     

Door hangs in balance,                              

To fall when pushed,

“I did my job, as long as i could”,

Long verandah has its pictures intact,      

Some on the floor,                                     

Some still hanging on the wall,

The thick wall has some holes,                 

But it stands,

With considerable fortitude,

Entrance has been mobbed by,               

A treacherous plant,                                   

Which sat afar long ago,

But the door has learnt to live,

With its roots,

Spreading all through it,

The house looks old,

But it has not fallen, 

It has learnt to live,

In rain, sun and animals of the night,

It lives to die on its own,

Under the weight of its long story,

Or betrayals,or pity,

To rid it of incomplete. 

 

 

ख़याल तेरे

एक बारिश की बूँद,
चुपके से कानो में गुनगुनायी,
मिट्टी की ख़ुशबू,
हवा को छू के पास मेरे आइ,
सोचा होगा आज तूने पल दो पल मेरे बारे में, 
आबो हवा शायद ये पैग़ाम ले कर आइ,

आज लहराया होगा तेरा लाल सा दुपट्टा, 
हँसी के चंद मोती गिरे होंगे,
सादगी से फूल कुछ शर्माए होंगे,
तुझपे क़ुर्बान होने सूखे पत्ते कई आए होंगे,
किसी बाज़ार में आज बढ़ गयी होगी रौनक,
किसी गली का हर कोना महका होगा,
तेरी बेपरवाह सी चहलक़दमी से,
कई दिलों का ईमान आज बहका होगा,

इंतहा तेरे हुस्न की है,
या क़सूर मेरी चाहत का,
सोचते सोचते वक़्त रुक सा जाता है,
ठहरा हुआ दिल गुमसम सा मुस्कुराता है,

सोचता हु मैं आख़िर ये क्या बला है,

ज़िंदगी के इस मोड़ पे अब,

ख़याल तेरे मेरा मर्ज़ हैं,

तेरे ख़याल ही दवा हैं....

Story of a Tall Girl

In her eyes I saw,

Love like waters of the ocean,

Deep and calm,

To her love was a suffering,

An enduring pain,

A betrayal of heart; to her onerous life,

The heart could not be maimed,

So, she gagged her eyes and lips,

Murmurs of her heart; were subtle and few,

Flutters of her hand; were more hiding than revealing,

Her most innocent virtue,though

Was her utter disdain,for

Anything like me,

The power of will,

Improbability of desires,

Fire of passion,

Flame of lust,

Ugliness of morality,

And beauty of love,

Are things we experience,

Desires,passion,lust and Morality, Everyone,

Love far and few,

So goes a short story,

Of a tall girl,

Beautiful, petulant yet indelible,

She is long gone,

In the fog of anonymity,

Found in bits and pieces,

In the people around,

And then lost in rum n ice,

Alone………...

ऐ बेखबर मन..

ऐ बेखबर मन,

तु मेरे सच का पहरेदार है,

मेरे आंसुओं के पीछे की असहाय हंसी,

हंसी के पीछे का नीरस गम,

गम के पीछे की बेराग ज़िन्दगी,

ज़िन्दगी के संकरे रास्तों के दरमियां,

दरिया से आती जैसे बयार है,

ऐ बेखबर मन,

तु मेरे सच का पहरेदार है,

कभी बेमतलब ही हंसना,

कभी बेमतलब ही रोना,

फिर आंसुओं को अकेले में छलकाना,

मन को अकेले में बहलाना,

मतलब से भरी इस दुनिया से,

बेमतलब लड़ना बेकार है,

ऐ बेखबर मन,

तु मेरे सच का पहरेदार है,

कभी किसी की जुलफों में क्यों सोया,

कभी किसी के दामन में क्यों खोया,

क्यों कभी हाथ ना थामा किसी का,

क्यों कभी हाथ ना छोड़ा किसी का,

जिंदगी की लम्बी दास्ताँ में, 

क़िस्से तो बस हिस्से हैं,

जीवन की पूरी कहानी पर,

बस तेरा अधिकार है,

ऐ बेखबर मन,

तु मेरे सच का पहरेदार है...

I saw you yesterday

I saw u walking up the hill,

Rising with the rising sun,

Amid melodrama of colours,sunshine and sunrise,

I saw you in the day,

Dressed in a simple attire,

Walking in the college,

Stirring thousand hearts,

I saw you in the evening,

Smiling in your street like a blooming rose,

Elegant like a queen,

Yet shy like a fish,

I saw you in the night,

Waking me up in a dream,

Fidlling with with hairs,

Lying in embrace till I slept again,

I saw you in night and day,

Through the shallow muddy life of today,

To the sublime depths of heart,

That i experience everyday,

I saw you...