Aging

on a different note:

I happened to run into one of my senior colleagues recently. We met each other after pretty long. He was the one in whose unit I joined my job and stayed with him for 4 years. He had constantly encouraged me and was a big support that lead to honing of my skills and confidence. A feeling of warmth evokes every time I meet him, though it is becoming decreasingly probable with time.
He made a comment, "You seem to have grown up quiet a bit, you have managed to get your hair grayed, and sparse. Howsoever you may grow, but you shall remain younger to me. Is there a lot of stress?" he asked.
His comment made me ponder. I also have been thinking that stress or unhealthy lifestyle should be the cause of my rapid aging.
Same day, in the evening, I met one of my neighbours. He is my namesake and same age. I know him since childhood. He was an unruly child who used to pass with difficulty. I don't know whether he did his graduation, however, he joined his family business. For last 20 years he can often be seen roaming around drunk, talking in loud and abusive language to his wife or other people. He commonly spits a mouthful from the first floor on which he lives on to the road. The point where he plops the rusty  spit everyday after chewing tobacco and beetle leaf has become saffron indicating its suffering and martyrdom. Sometimes, he is seen relieving himself in park adjoining his house, though it is estimated that he may be having one of the best bathrooms in locality. I many a times hear him abusing somebody on phone for not making payments.
When I met him that day, it was different. I noticed his hair, they are thick and black! May be they are coloured, but they are not weaved definitely. He looks the same, that he used to 10 years ago.
I wondered, does this guy have less stress than I have? Is his body healthier than me??

Our generation

Our generation

With me a generation was born

That would grow with me

And all others- elder or younger,

Would it critically see!

And this generation was

‘Giant robot, Different Strokes’ generation

Black and white TVs

Larger than life dreams

Good to be a perfectionist

Right was right and

Wrong was wrong

Because that is what

Was right or was wrong!

Then came coloured Tvs,

Beautiful sets of Yash Chopra Movies

Good looking was right

And ugly was wrong

And the western influence increased

Rock became heavy metal

Disco into beach dance

For ‘MTV generation’

Novel was right and

Conventional wrong!

Technology advanced further

FM became available

‘computer generation’ set in

Fast was right and slow wrong

And then mobile phone,

The harbinger of technology revolution,

Mobile became answer

To all that was needed

And the mobile generation

Changed to hands free

And handsfree to ‘SMS generation’

SMS – the nemesis

Nothing is right and nothing wrong

Objectivity increased,

Acceptability increased,

What you like is right

What you don’t wrong

Fine to be gay

And gay to be fine

Wives can be swapped

And your husband

Is equally mine!

Then came social media

Whatsapp, twitter and facebook,

The age of global connection,

People spend more time

Connected to their childhood friend

Across seven seas

Than their family

Across the dining table!

Times come and times go

They are better and worse

Than all other times

But ‘our generation’

The one where we spent

Our childhood

Remains the best for us!

My wife – An incomplete ode!

My wife – An incomplete ode!

I and my wife have a strange relationship, like that of any other married couple! Both of us have one leg tied to each other so we have to walk the same path. When one person wants to run out of this path, the other doesn’t let him or her do it. If one wants to stop or run fast, the other doesn’t let it happen. We end up walking the same path steadily, and although we have not reached where we think we could have but when we look back, we do seem to have covered some distance.

My wife has never been interested in symbolic gossip. She doesn’t converse in similes. She doesn’t take indirect taunts well and she criticizes directly. She does not talk of her dreams; she talks of what’s possible today. She believes in talking only about things we can make effort to happen. She does not believe in enumerating one’s own negative qualities or deeds, she does not crib over spilt milk. She does not talk about goals that could not be achieved. She does not even take blame for them and glorify them. I do all that!’

She is a mentally hard working person. She plans hard to achieve what she wants. She considers that most of the things can be done until unless proved otherwise. She puts in all the effort to make it happen. She can use and mobilize her few resources to achieve what she thinks she should. She does not believe in keeping her resources reserve till they become redundant. Failure does not affect her for long.

Mostly, what she lacks is confidence. She is easily scared but is ready to fight with all the fear. She does not have that much faith in God that I have and that is why she likes to take the responsibility of doing things herself. She is stubborn but that is where her strength to pursue comes from.

She is edgy about people’s opinion but likes to go her own way.

I am yet to understand her more!

शुक्रिया ऐ दोस्त!

शुक्रिया ऐ दोस्त!

आज मेरी महफ़िल में तुम भी थे
फिर उमड़ आये वो दिन बीते!

आज जब मैं ग़ज़ल पड़ रहा था
तो तुम्हारे माथे की शिकन में
तुम्हारी भावनाएं भी पड़ रहा था!

तुम उनके साथ आये
जैसे एक जिस्म दो साये,
तुमने उन्हें देख मुझे देखा
और फिर उन्हें देखा
मानो मेरा तआरुफ़ उनसे करवाया!
और फिर तुम्हारी हलकी सी हँसी
मानो पूछ रही थी
"हैँ न तुमसे हसीं ?"
फिर खो गयी तुम्हारी मुस्कान कहीं,
पूछती "क्या थी मुझमें कमी?"

तुम्हें मेरे शेर पसंद थे
पर मुझे भी अपने शेर ही अज़ीज़ थे
क्या मुशायरों में मिली दाद
से तुम्हारा पेट भरता?
क्या रोज़ वही सफ़ेद कुर्ता -पायजामा
तुम्हारी ज़िन्दगी को बेरंग न करता?
न सोचते क्या सिला मिला मेरी यारी का?
इंतज़ार कभी महफ़िलों के ख़त्म होने का
कभी उनकी तैयारी का!
क्या तुम रोज़ मेरा इंतज़ार कर
ऊब न जाते?
क्या तुम मायूसी के समन्दर
में डूब न जाते?





वो लोगों से मिलना
तोहफे देना, उपहार पाना
वो गाड़ियों में घूमना
वो सपनों को चूमना
वो गहनों की चमक
तुम्हारे बदन पर
उनकी सितारों सी झलक
वो तुम्हारा श्रृंगार करना
गर कोई उसे निहारने को न होता ?
क्या तुम सिर्फ मेरे अशआरों से मिले
उस क्षणिक आनंद
को ज़िन्दगी भर चबा पाते
या ग़म का सागर बन
मेरे फ़न को उसमें डुबोते?

आज तुम इतरा रहे थे
मुझे तालियाँ मिलने पर
उनकी बाँहों में समा रहे थे
पर मैं भी मन ही मन
मुस्कुरा रहा था
चाहे कोई कोशिश कर
मुझे चिढ़ा रहा था
पर एक बात और है
बताने को तुम्हें,
तुम जिसे मेरा रकीब
समझ रहे हो
उसका मुझ पर क़र्ज़ है
जो निभाना था मुझे
निभाया उसने वो फ़र्ज़ है,
दिए उसने तुम्हें वो लुत्फ़ सारे
जिनके लिए थे तुम मेरे आसरे
और मेरी वो आख़री ग़ज़ल
"खुद ने हम दोनों को
तुम्हें बख़्शा है..... "
उन्हीं की नज़र थी,
जिस तरह तुम्हें फक्र है
उनका होकर
मुझे भी नाज़ है उनके होने पर
ज्यों तुम्हारी हँसी का ज़िम्मा है उन पर
मेरा सुख भी उनका शुक्रगुज़ार है !

सन्देश एक तारे का

सन्देश एक तारे का 

एक तारा ज़मीं पर छिटक गया
ऎसा तेज, न देखा, न सुना
सब रोशन हो गया
सब दिखने लगा
छुपने को कहीं
अन्धकार न रहा,
सब स्पष्ट नज़र आने लगा,
अँधेरे डर गए!
अंधेरों ने कहा 'घेर लो'
पर उसकी उल्काएँ फैलने लगीं,
एक घमासान हुआ
अंधेरों ने अपनी जीत घोषित की
तारा अपनी जगह लौट गया
पर कुछ चिंगारियाँ
अब भी वहाँ सुलग रहीं हैं,
तारा अब भी देख रहा है,
मनो सन्देश भेज रहा है
"तुम शमा बन
जहाँ को रोशन करो,
अंधेरों को भी रोशन करो,
बस जंगल की आग न बनना,
अंधेरों का जन्म
आग से ही होता है!!" 

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!!