Swine Flu!

Swine Flu!

Swine flu, swine flu!
but how?
I had heard
that should be bird
and bird flew,
that was okay
but swine flew??

Swine flew from America to India,
In America they have pigs who fly,
visa no problem, money no problem,
they board the plane with bow & tie,
with open arms we welcomed
plane loads of American pigs
and we don't differentiate
American from Indian Pigs,
Pigs are Pigs!

Swine Flu!
sounds as if I just sweared,
for the problems it is causing
I shall call this flu
well! Swine Flu!

Swine flu, Swine flu,
don't hug, don't kiss,
do not even shake hands
be three feet away from each other
but we are warm people
how can we do that
and not clean our noses
on other's shirt,
Can cars get Swine flu?
If we could teach them
or make them scared
may be our traffic chaos
would be spared!

Swine Flu,
an imported disease
disease of elite,
appropriately only they got it
but how could they swallow that
scared to die
they gave it to common man
who is more supposed to die!

Swine Flu!
but I never ate pigs,
I am vegetarian,
I eat only human beings,
those ones who are vegetables
those who don't have brains
are idiots!
I never touched Pigs,
Animals are dirty,
Okay, at least change the name,
don't label me "Swine Flu"
call it Lion Flu or swan Flu
or anything but not swine Flu,
H1N1 sounds fine,
I have always loved number one
but give the medicine to me
and keep it in stock
for my children
and in reserve for my grand children,
but don't give it to pigs
or to humans who are no better than Pigs
and please remove the side effects
and yes, I can pay for it!
make it expensive
so that poor can't buy
we need to control our population!
But yes, give it to my watchman,
my cook, my servant, my washer-man,
my driver, my peon, my postman
and their kith and kin
or they shall have excuse for a leave,
It's okay even if you don't give,
I am not gonna hire them anyway,
but I don't know why my boss
refused to meet me?
bloody narrow minded coward swine!

Swine flu, Swine flu
everybody wears mask
they all look the same
may do whatever task
Swine flu, an equalizer!
nobody coughs on face
sneezes on shirt
mask takes all the dirt,
will we learn the cough etiquette!
Swine flu, a great teacher!
We may learn hygiene
from this pandemic,
but at what cost,
how many shall fall sick?

Swine Flu, Swine Flu,
when shall you become humane
rather it's easier for humans to be pigs,
we know all the tricks
but may be pigs are more humans
or have humanity
remain together even in dirt
or like lord Shiva
are they divine?
serve as scavengers benign,
even lord Vishnu took
Varha avtaar,
Is this Swine flu another incarnation
to teach us
to remain together in crisis
to teach us what we ought to know,
to give bread and butter
to uncouth news channels
autocratic pharma companies
idle administrators!

Swine Flu, Swine Flu
but better you remember
we will get used to you,
We forgot Hiroshima
we forgot Godhra,
we continue to be corrupt, mean and greedy,
can turn the face away
when some body is bleeding,
unless the genetic code matches,
If you can change us,
I shall change your name
and call you not swine flu
but divine flu,
I shall then thank you
o divine flu!
Swine flu, Swine flu!

हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है -१

कृष्णा : हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है! -२

हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है  -१

हे कृष्ण! तुम पर बड़ा भार है,
इस बार, हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!
द्वापर नहीं ये कलयुग है,
विपत्तियों का अम्बार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!

नहीं तुमको सिर्फ गोवर्धन उठाना है,
इस बार तुम्ही को
उसे उगाना है,
किया देवराज ने फिर से प्रहार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!

भ्रष्ट अधिकारियों से मचा
जन-जन में हाहाकार है,
अब तुम ही लगाओ कोई युक्ति
दो चक्र लाओ या दो बांसुरी
अब बस दिलाओ मुक्ति
मस्तक विहीन करो
या अपनी धुन पर
ले जाकर यमुना में दो डुबो,
बचा लो जनता को
जो ये लाचार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!

इस बार तो किया तुम्हें
विशिष्ट लोगों ने भी याद,
कि उदर उनका भरता रहे
पर हाँ! बचे-कुचे टुकड़ों से
खेल भी चलता रहे,
गोप-ग्वाल, शहर-वासियों के साथ
इस बार तुम्हें
कंसों का भी करना उद्धार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!

कालिया सा डंक है,
पर गिनती इनकी असंख्य है,
दे कर ज्वर-कष्ट भिन्न-भिन्न,
कर रहे शरीर और
व्यवस्था को छिन्न-भिन्न,
नपुंसक हो चुके समाज का
अब तुमको ही करना बेडा पार है
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!

सुदामायों की भीड़ में
चोर भी हैं घुस गए,
गर छांट पाना हो असंभव
तो करो उनका बुद्धि परिवर्तन
करना अब तुमको ही समाधान
किसी प्रकार है
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!

सब अपनी अर्ज़ी लगा रहे
तुम पर बड़ा भार है,
मांगने वालों की तुमसे
एक लम्बी कतार है
मेरी भी विनती सुनो
मेरी भी माँ बीमार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है,
हे कृष्ण तुम पर बड़ा भार है!!

अजीब आदमी

अजीब आदमी 

मेरी माँ का क़त्ल है मेरे सिर पर
और कन्धे पर उसकी लाश,
वो मुझे दुनिया में सबसे अज़ीज़ थी
अब है दुसरे की तलाश,
ज्यों-ज्यों मैं अपनों को
मौत के हवाले करता हूँ
उनसे मेरी मुहब्बत बढ़ जाती है
और जीते-जी
उनकी हर बात से
माथे पे शिकन पड़ जाती है !

ये मेरा परवाह न करना,
मैं सोचता हूँ
विश्वास है उस सर्वशक्तिमान में
जो इस दुनिया को चलाता है
कि सब ठीक होगा,
अपनी ज़िम्मेदारी
कुदरत पर डाल
सोच लेता हूँ
कि  सब ठीक होगा,
ये मेरी खुदगर्ज़ी है या आलस,
अपनों को खोने का डर
भी मुझे झकझोरता नहीं
भुगत चूका हूँ
फिर भी अपना
रास्ता छोड़ता नहीं !

खोद रहा हूँ एक खाई
पर दिखती नहीं इसकी गहराई
जब कोई आवाज़ देता है
तो आँसुओं से भर
तैर कर ऊपर आ जाता हूँ
और दिखा देता हूँ
अपनी चतुराई,
पर ये नकलीपन
छोड़ता नहीं !

क्यों मेरी गर्मजोशी
सिर्फ ग़ैरों के लिए है
और अपनों के लिए
एक बेरुखी, एक उपेक्षा,
ज्यों गैर अपने हो जाते हैं
वो भी अपनों  की भीड़
में खो जाते हैं
और फिर गैरों की तलाश है
और कन्धों पर
फिर अपनों की लाश है !

गैर मुझे अज़ीज़ हैं
पर पराये हो जाते हैं
अपने होने के बाद,
अपने अच्छे लगते हैं
क्यों मुझे खोने के बाद?

'Past', the sand in my eyes! अतीत की रेत मेरी आँखों में!

अतीत की रेत मेरी आँखों में!

आज पुरानी तस्वीरों में
खुद को ढूंढ रहा हूँ
तस्वीरें वक़्त के साथ
आगे निकल गयीं
मैं अब भी वहीँ खड़ा
मिट्टी खोद रहा हूँ !

अब ये तस्वीरें मुझे
बुलातीं हैं
पर मैं अतीत से निकल
वर्तमान में आने से डरता हूँ !

तस्वीरों में वो ऑंखें
जिन्हे देखकर एहसास होता है
जैसे मैं उन्हें पल भर भी
नहीं भूला,
आज भी वो सारे भाव
एक क्षण में ताज़ा
हो जाते हैं,
उन आँखों का नाम
अब मुझे याद नहीं
पर आज मैं उनसे
आँख नहीं मिला सकता
क्योंकि अब भी
मुझे उनकी परवाह है!
उन आँखों को
तब भी मुझसे
एक उम्मीद थी
और शायद
आज वो मुझे
उस पर खरा उतरा
देखना चाहेंगी!
कैसे मैं बताऊँगा उन्हें
कि मैं कहीं
छूट गया,
कि मैं वो हीरा नहीं
जो वो सोचती थी
कभी निकलेगा,
कैसे मैं बताऊँगा उन्हें
की मैं वो सीपी हूँ
जिससे मोती की
उम्मीद तो थी
पर खाली निकली!
और अब
कोई और आशा नहीं
किसी उम्मीद का छलावा नहीं!

इसीलिए इस अतीत
की रेत से ही
जी बहला लेता हूँ !

शायद उन आँखों
की चमक देखने को
एक और जन्म लेना होगा!!

‘Past’ the sand in my eyes!

Today in the old pictures
I found myself,
with time

photos have overtaken,
While I stood still,
am still digging the sand of past!

Now these pictures,

invite me out of the past,

but I 'm afraid

to come into the present!

Those eyes in the pictures

When I see,

I  realize a moment

I have not forgotten,

all those expressions still fresh,

name of those eyes

I do not remember 

But  today, I can not

See them in eye 

because still I do care about them!

Those eyes may still have a hope 

and perhaps today

I lived up to that 

would like to see! 

How do I tell them 

somewhere that I left,

that am no diamond ,

which they used to think 

it will come,

How I tell them that

am the pearl 

That was in the offing 

But oyster turned empty out! 

And now there is no more hope 

That's why the sand from the past caresses,

Maybe those eyes 

to see them glow

of another will be born !!

Digginess of a merchandiser: a confident mistake

It was our physiology lecture in the first 'prof' of MBBS. Our teacher was one of the most popular ones. It was evident from the fact that though he never took attendance yet the 'lecture theater' was always packed. He not only had a charming personality but his lectures were lucid, crisp with the wonderful notes and the subject was also the most sought after 'cardiovascular system'. We would pay our hundred percent attention to his delivery and never realized how the lecture hour passed.

That particular day he was talking about the function of 'Myocardium'. He started explaining how would a patient present if the function of his heart became sub-optimal. There he told us that a patient may develop 'digginess'. As always, everybody was attentive. Students started looking at each other with a question mark on their faces. We were used to coming across newer terms every day but this one was bit odd. It sounded familiar yet new. As a duty of a sincere student, somebody stood up and asked, "Sir, what does digginess mean?" He said, "Oh! You are not aware of the term. It is when somebody starts feeling that he is not in his full senses, as if he would loose balance if he continued to stand". Now there was a murmur in the class. Another student asked,"Sir, is it giddiness?". He said, "Yes, digginess is similar to giddiness!" and continued with his lecture before another question could be asked. We never came across that term again in English language or medical parlance. 

Later I realized that probably he crossed two terms, giddiness and dizziness and uttered a new amalgamation that sent everybody into a tizzy. It can happen to anyone. Probably, it's because of the way in which our brain processes information when it is presenting it afresh. Teaching requires to process the acquired knowledge to present it in a fresh manner. While teaching, though one is conveying what is known to him, it is being dynamically processed and being presented like a new information. One may have taught a lesson many a times but a new lecture of the same subject is always different because of the dynamic interaction. 

The cross-over or the hybridization may occur, either because the two terms are very similar in their sound and meaning or because what one wants to convey lies in the middle of two well etched words. When two words are similar in their meaning, one may not be aware of the subtle difference in their usage. If they sound similar, it is possible, especially when our brain is not fresh, that they are mixed and a new sound is churned up. Sometimes it happens because of poor vocabulary or a new feeling for which no word has hitherto been engraved in our brain. It may be a mix of two feelings that are well known and have well defined words for them but none for the new one. In fact, it contributes to the evolution of a language. If one looks at it, words like dizzy, giddy, woozy, hazy, dazed, dazzled, puzzled and muddled, all have similar meanings with subtle differences in their usage. If one is little 'tipsy' one may mix them up. As a case for second reason one can take example of the word 'chortle' that may be a remix of 'chuckle' and 'snort'. In fact, the vernacular also evolves like that with terms like faccha (fresher & baccha) that may have originated by mistake. A confident mistake may lead to birth of a new term. In fact an easy formula for inventing a new term is "Knead A and B together till you can pronounce it". 

What happened in the lecture? The professor was mentally busy in thinking of his forthcoming words. He was questioned before he realized what had happened. He reiterated it, while still soaked in the subject rather than the word. By the time, he realized his mistake, he had taken a stand. Had he thought about it, he could have accepted that it was a slip of tongue, though it's never easy in the presence of audience that thinks that you are flawless. There probably occurred a short circuit in his brain.

It is also done by authors and people who have strong hold over the language. They may do it for the sake of novelty or because they feel that there is a need for a new word for that precise situation. The existing words do not justify or convey the sense they want to.

It may be done by people who have poor knowledge of the language. It has happened with me also. I love to coin new words. Only that nobody gives them recognition. I coined a word 'Vibgyored' to convey the sense of 'satrangi' (सतरंगी), that something had been colored in the rainbow colors. However, with social media, it has become very easy to coin new words for nobodies also. 'Selfie' was the new word of the year 2013. Though it is still an infant but has become grandfather of words.

Sometimes the words travel back and forth during their evolution. I once asked my extrovert cousin sister, who is fifteen years younger to me, that what does she do? "Merchandiser", she responded with verve. "And who is that?" I queried. "One who deals in Merchandise", she retorted. "How is that different from 'Merchant'", I exclaimed but was not steadfast and left it there. Thereafter I have heard this word many a times and it appears that it's a more specific usage, though essentially Merchandiser is same as Merchant.

I heard another word today that fascinates me! The orange fruit is called 'santra' (संतरा) in our part of the country and the color is called 'santri'. Sometimes we hear 'narangi' (नारंगी). Is it same color as 'santri' or is there a subtle difference?

It appears that one should keep on learning the language as it shall also keep pace and continue to evolve. The key lies in enjoying it, when it becomes a two-sided affair.

सुबह

सुबह सवेरे फिर दोस्तों की याद आई 

सोते हुए कानों में ज्यों कोई फरियाद आई 

मैं भी झट से उठा, चप्पल पहनी, मुँह धोया 

चलने ही लगा था, की पीछे से मेरा चश्मा रोया 

'मुझे भी साथ ले चलो, मैं यहाँ पड़ा-पड़ा क्या देखूं 

क्यों न तुम्हारे साथ मैं भी अपनी आँखें सेकूं' 

मैंने उसे लिया तो सही पर बंद कर कवर में 

जेब में डाला बनस्पत चढाने के अपनी नज़र पे 

बाग़ में पहुंचा तो उजाला तो था 

किसी ने बड़े बेमन से दिन निकाला तो था

पर कुछ कमी थी 

पत्तियों की आँखों में अब भी नमीं थी 

फूल भी सब मुँह लटकाये थे 

इधर-उधर देख रहे, आँखें झुकाये थे 

कंघी भी नहीं की थी 

मुसी हुई सी पंखुड़ियां भी थी 

जहाँ रात को सोयीं वहीँ पड़ी थीं 

एक की बाहें दुसरे की टांगों में अड़ी थीं 

"अरे भाई, सब उदास क्यों हो?"

मैंने अपने दोस्तों की तरफ एक प्रश्न फेंका,

किसी ने जवहायीं तक न ली 

सूरजमुखी ने तो कनखियों से देखा,

"इतना भी नहीं मालूम!", मानो कह रहा हो
जेब में चश्मा भी छटपटा रहा था,

जैसे कितनी यातना सह रहा हो

मैंने उसे आज़ाद किया 

और नज़रों पे आबाद किया,

"ओह! आज सूरज नहीं आया

अरे तुमने पहले क्यों नहीं बताया 

चलो अब हँस के दिखायो 

मेरे आने का तो ईनाम बताओ"

मेरी बात सुन वो हँस पड़े

सूर्यदेव से मेरी तुलना पर मुझसे झगडे 

"सूर्य को दीपक दिखाते हो 

खुद को हमारा दोस्त बताते हो 

तुम तो रोज़ सैर को भी नहीं आते 

ऐसे भुलक्कड़ दोस्त हमें नहीं भाते"

"सूरज न सही

पर तुम्हें अपना दोस्त बनाया तो है  

उपहास को ही सही 

पर तुम्हें हँसाया तो है" 

मेरी बात सुन स्वयं 

सूर्यदेव ने ताली बजायी 

और उनकी किरणें 

उसी क्षण बाग़ में लहराईं 

अब मुझे अपने दोस्तों पे यकीन हो चला था 

आज उनसे मिलने का मौका खूब भला था 

चलो मेरे कारण सब मिल तो लिए 

मुरझाये हुए चेहरे अब खिल तो लिए!!

 

 

Eastern UP- firsthand

Travelogues are not interesting, hence I am writing few comments that I want to share.

It's my first visit to Eastern UP. Though amethi is nationally known for being Gandhi bastion but it seems, after Rajiv Gandhi, they haven't done much for it. People here speak Awadhi dialect though many a times, it appears to be a mixture of Awadhi and bundelkhandi. However that may be due to my poor understanding of these dialects. Sultanpur is adjacent to amethi, of the Majrooh Sultanpuri fame. However, it is not sultanpur and is sulatanpur, meaning the town of good vines or 'latas'. Rae bareli is another adjacent district. Varanasi and Azamgarh are around 200 kms each from here, faizabad is closer.

I got to see fields of wheat and sarson. They do not appear vast like that of Punjab as they are interspersed with small hamlets. Honestly speaking out of my so many excursions, I first time got to see the difference between a village and a hamlet. Hamlet are called 'Purva' here so there are hamlets like magdhu ka purva, sari ka purva which may also be called pure magdhu or poore sari. Hamlet have households, all of which belong to a single community. Many houses have walls made of mud only. They are made around a feet thick for strength. I had earlier seen walls that had  bricks or straw mixed with mud for making walls but only mud is new for me. Construction of houses is not very artistic or geometrical. However, the doors are ornamental. It appears they buy ready made wooden or metal doors and install them. Most of the hamlets I visited were that of muslim population and green colour paint is predominant. Usually there is one mosque in every hamlet but people do not seem to be very religious. The population generally appears to be poorer than what I have seen in other states. Few people have demolished their katcha house and constructed brick houses, which are usually double storied. Still they do not have any kind of plaster or paint on them, not even any drawings as we get to see on the huts of Bengal. However, the mud houses are very cool, spacious and open with lot of light and ventilation. People generally hang the brooms on the walls.  A household has generally 7-8 members with 5-6 children. Their are joint families also but usually it would be like two quarters in one compound with a common entrance. People rear backyard poultry, goats and cows. Education level is very low though they say that literacy is around 35%.

If one visits a hindu hamlet, grossly it looks the same as the muslim ones but there are differences. The mosque turns into a temple. From far you can recognize it only because of it's conical top, otherwise the same shade of green and the shape of pillars can confuse one. The farm animals are different. One doesn't find hen or goats. One finds buffaloes and cows. Then at the other end of the hamlet there are few houses of harijans and their temple. They make the tools like sickle, axe etc used for farming. Villages and farms seem virgin, untouched by development but yes, every household has mobile phones. People don't appear to be very ambitious, may be because of lack of education. The poorest are labourers in the farms. Those who are educated are mostly into para-governmental systems and society is dependent on them for the effective reach of the governmental policies to reach them. They serve as the connecting link. Those who are good, they do lot of social service, have good clout and make some money also. they have motorbikes for transport, however a petrol pump is only 50 kms away in the district headquarters. I saw some local shops selling loose petrol in cans which these people must be using but cars have to travel 50 kms to get fuel.

I got the first hand experience of what my father used to say that 'rains in this season are very bad for the crops'. I saw fields of unripe wheat destroyed by rain. Few people have harvested their crop before ripening  and trying to mature it in shelters near their houses. I also saw crops of mustard with pods of mustard seeds. Another crop that I saw was that of 'arhar', once harvested and kept it emanates a bad smell. Most of the villagers are small farmers. News reporters are paid meagerly for the news that is accepted. They are more like rumour mongers and reporting is significantly false.

The fruits available here are quite tasty.

People do not seem to have strong cultural rituals, unlike east and south.

There is no district hospital in the district. only a CHC that has facilities for some surgeries.  People go to Lucknow for higher medical care.The road from lucknow to amethi is bad compared to  the usual state of roads in country. There is an industrial area just as you reach amethi. That is exactly what is different. There is a BHEL campus on one side and Indo-gulf on the other. The BHEL campus is like the campuses of other maharatna companies. Once you enter the campus, you forget you are in which state. Clean, wide roads, landscaped gardens, all facilities including clubs, sports school etc are there. We are living in a guest house here only and taking a stroll amidst the beautiful flowers in the morning has a very soothing effect.

On the other side of the road is Indo-gulf campus. The company belongs to Aditya Birla. They make fertilizers here. The campus is better than BHEL. There is a magnificent Birla mandir on the lines of other such temples in the country, reminded me of the one in Jaipur, yet it is unique. One can easily spend few hours here and get refreshed. I was reminded of a magnificent mosque that I had seen in Burhan pur. The narrow filth laden, serpentine by-lanes opened into a huge mosque like an inverse Houdini act. Here also a crowded congested bazaar led to a serene temple. The temple has idols of naked deities on the outer walls of its mandapam. I think the only modern day, north indian temple to be designed like that, that I have seen. It had Ram Darbar in the sanctum sanctorum. That again appeared departure from the routine as I have seen either Lord Vishnu or Radha Krishna in Birla mandirs. But my knowledge is extremely limited. The roof of the gopuram is ordained with stories from Ramayana in the form of statues carved out partially into the stone that is applied.

The factory makes fertilzers and needs huge amount of water to cool its machines. The water is drawn from a well dug in the Gomti river around 40 kms away. That is also a good sight to see. Three pumps draw out the water and send it to a cleaning plant located 400 meters away. Here water is mixed with alum and then deflocculated and further treated. This water is then carried for 40 kms through pipes. Gomti appeared to be a small river, it arises in a lake and merges into Ganga, I think both within UP.