कल फिर ढलते सूरज के साथ
आँखें नम की थीं तुमने
मैंने हमेशा की तरह
गाल पर रुकी बूँद को
ऊँगली पर थामा
और हमेशा की तरह
तुम्हारी मुस्कान में
भीग गया
******************
त्रिवेणी - "बारिश"
झरोखे से बाहर
मूसलाधार बारिश का शोर -
मेरे अन्दर एक आर्द्रता!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
अस्तित्व
कूड़े की ढेर से उतर
बदन झटकते श्वान की तरह
मैंने फिर वही राह पकड़ी
जहाँ रोज़ भटकता हूँ - तेरी तलाश में
और हर शाम इसी कूड़े की ढेर पर
तिल तिल
अपने अस्तित्व की
तिलांजलि देता हूँ
***********************
बदन झटकते श्वान की तरह
मैंने फिर वही राह पकड़ी
जहाँ रोज़ भटकता हूँ - तेरी तलाश में
और हर शाम इसी कूड़े की ढेर पर
तिल तिल
अपने अस्तित्व की
तिलांजलि देता हूँ
***********************
महावरी आँसू
दीवार से लगकर
पैरों की कैंची बना
दूर से शून्य ताक रही हो
खिड़की से आती धूप
तुम्हारी बाँई बांह छूती हुई
दीवार से लग ठहर गई है
मैं ओट में खड़ा
अपनी आस बांधे हुए
की शायद आज
तुम्हारी हाँ सुन पाऊंगा
देहली पर रुक कर
तुम्हारी बाहों से उतरती
धूप का साहारा ले
मेरी नज़रें तुम्हे तलाशती
पाँव पर आ कर रुकीं
और तभी
साँस भी गले में
रुक सी गई -
जब महावरी पाँव पर
तुम्हारी एक खुश्क सी
आँसू की बूँद
बस एक छोटी सी महावरी धार ही
अपने साथ मिटा सकी
पैरों की कैंची बना
दूर से शून्य ताक रही हो
खिड़की से आती धूप
तुम्हारी बाँई बांह छूती हुई
दीवार से लग ठहर गई है
मैं ओट में खड़ा
अपनी आस बांधे हुए
की शायद आज
तुम्हारी हाँ सुन पाऊंगा
देहली पर रुक कर
तुम्हारी बाहों से उतरती
धूप का साहारा ले
मेरी नज़रें तुम्हे तलाशती
पाँव पर आ कर रुकीं
और तभी
साँस भी गले में
रुक सी गई -
जब महावरी पाँव पर
तुम्हारी एक खुश्क सी
आँसू की बूँद
बस एक छोटी सी महावरी धार ही
अपने साथ मिटा सकी
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Memories - life affirming!
Our memories - they are like the rear view mirror! We are driving ahead in life but we have to constantly look behind, or at least have the ability & mechanism to look behind and ahead. It provides us the view - that is what they say :)
I still remember those quaint afternoons, tranquil and really quiet summer afternoons in Patna by the banks of Ganga. Summers used to be really warm with temperatures sometimes crossing the 43 degree barrier. But our compound had those beautiful big trees, on the elevation by the Ganga's side. A steamer passing by, used to look desolate - at least to our curious minds! Ganga was wide and long...the steamer used to ferry people to some stations like Hathwa etc every day. It all seems too distant now to be true. Sitting by the river side is a romantic feeling now. In those, it was the only activity. We would sit on the steps with our feet inside - cool water would slowly make us feel so comfortable.
There was also this small boat of one elderly "Kali babu". We would pester him all the time to give us a ride...and, at times, he used to relent. It was incomparable joy. Bouncing on Ganag's water, pushing our palms underneath, trying to catch glimpse of a huge fish...and sometimes, to our horror and dismay - a dead body of human floating by! Remarkably different! Utterly distatsteful!
One time, Kali Babu was large hearted enough to take us across to the other side of the river. It happened to be water melon season. Melons are extremely tasty in the alluvial soil and when they grow by the river banks, they taste like no other melon. We jumped around, picked up melons of our choice and hogged on it. I still remember the farmer who stood there watching us - and my heart skipped a few beats. Then he slowly walked over to us, and very lovingly patted our backs and ran his hands over our hair and gave us some more. Where has the generosity gone these days? Perhaps it hasn't gone anywhere, we just don't try :)
Time does funny things to us - it leaves memory imprints that are inexplicable. Words seem meaningless and measured.
Some memories are life-changing, but many memories do something more important to us - they are "life-affirming"!
I still remember those quaint afternoons, tranquil and really quiet summer afternoons in Patna by the banks of Ganga. Summers used to be really warm with temperatures sometimes crossing the 43 degree barrier. But our compound had those beautiful big trees, on the elevation by the Ganga's side. A steamer passing by, used to look desolate - at least to our curious minds! Ganga was wide and long...the steamer used to ferry people to some stations like Hathwa etc every day. It all seems too distant now to be true. Sitting by the river side is a romantic feeling now. In those, it was the only activity. We would sit on the steps with our feet inside - cool water would slowly make us feel so comfortable.
There was also this small boat of one elderly "Kali babu". We would pester him all the time to give us a ride...and, at times, he used to relent. It was incomparable joy. Bouncing on Ganag's water, pushing our palms underneath, trying to catch glimpse of a huge fish...and sometimes, to our horror and dismay - a dead body of human floating by! Remarkably different! Utterly distatsteful!
One time, Kali Babu was large hearted enough to take us across to the other side of the river. It happened to be water melon season. Melons are extremely tasty in the alluvial soil and when they grow by the river banks, they taste like no other melon. We jumped around, picked up melons of our choice and hogged on it. I still remember the farmer who stood there watching us - and my heart skipped a few beats. Then he slowly walked over to us, and very lovingly patted our backs and ran his hands over our hair and gave us some more. Where has the generosity gone these days? Perhaps it hasn't gone anywhere, we just don't try :)
Time does funny things to us - it leaves memory imprints that are inexplicable. Words seem meaningless and measured.
Some memories are life-changing, but many memories do something more important to us - they are "life-affirming"!
Yellu-Bella -- Take in flavours of life!
Uttarayan (Kite flying) for some, Bihu for someone else, Sankranti for some, Pongal for someone else, Lohri for some, Maghe Sakrati for someone else...Thingyan in Myanmar and Songran in Thailand!
All the same - festival welcoming the celestial transition of sun into Capricorn! Time of the year when days will begin to become longer, days when you can witness loads of sugarcane being harvested! We, as kids, used to run into the fileds during the harvesting season to pick up canes with a bunch of friends, and spend hours biting into the fibre and relishing the sweetness! "Tilkut" in Patna, "yellu-Bella" at home (wonderful mixture of sesame seeds, jaggery, etc...unique blend and taste), tasty sweet pongal...women running around with their own rituals of excahnging "yellu-bella"!
Go to Gujarat/Rajasthan and you will enjoy this beautiful day - people pitch themselves at the terrace and roofs, enjoy flying kites with cheers and smile on their face. They enjoy Uttarayan with sound of 'Kaypo che' (I cut the kites) . Azure blue sky now resembles a rainbow with kites of all colors, shapes and sizes floating around vying to cut each other. People of Gujarat also enjoy this festival by having food called "Tal-sankadi" and "chiki" (Sweets), which is like sesame bar and peanut bar. The festival of Uttarayan is magnificent and festival for all people. It is festival of gathering and having fun together. The fun flows continuously till whole night, as kite lovers enjoy flying white kites in dark night.
In South India - it is pongal/Sankranti. In Kannada, there is a saying - "yellu-bella tindu, volleya maatanu aadi"...roughly translated, it means..."eat sesame-jaggery and say only good things"! It is more an affirmation of the fact that our words mean a lot - it should be measured and always pleasant! Apart from the general festivities, the cultural aspects are intriguing and wonderful. Families with girl-children can especially enjoy the exchanges of "yellu-bella", turmeric & vermillion, flowers...and then the fragrant pongal to devour!
All the same - festival welcoming the celestial transition of sun into Capricorn! Time of the year when days will begin to become longer, days when you can witness loads of sugarcane being harvested! We, as kids, used to run into the fileds during the harvesting season to pick up canes with a bunch of friends, and spend hours biting into the fibre and relishing the sweetness! "Tilkut" in Patna, "yellu-Bella" at home (wonderful mixture of sesame seeds, jaggery, etc...unique blend and taste), tasty sweet pongal...women running around with their own rituals of excahnging "yellu-bella"!
Go to Gujarat/Rajasthan and you will enjoy this beautiful day - people pitch themselves at the terrace and roofs, enjoy flying kites with cheers and smile on their face. They enjoy Uttarayan with sound of 'Kaypo che' (I cut the kites) . Azure blue sky now resembles a rainbow with kites of all colors, shapes and sizes floating around vying to cut each other. People of Gujarat also enjoy this festival by having food called "Tal-sankadi" and "chiki" (Sweets), which is like sesame bar and peanut bar. The festival of Uttarayan is magnificent and festival for all people. It is festival of gathering and having fun together. The fun flows continuously till whole night, as kite lovers enjoy flying white kites in dark night.
In South India - it is pongal/Sankranti. In Kannada, there is a saying - "yellu-bella tindu, volleya maatanu aadi"...roughly translated, it means..."eat sesame-jaggery and say only good things"! It is more an affirmation of the fact that our words mean a lot - it should be measured and always pleasant! Apart from the general festivities, the cultural aspects are intriguing and wonderful. Families with girl-children can especially enjoy the exchanges of "yellu-bella", turmeric & vermillion, flowers...and then the fragrant pongal to devour!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना - निराले कवि!
Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena, the poet who brought in the 'prayogvaad' (experimentalism) poetry in Hindi - he haunts me all the time. All his poems quietly reach in and keep knocking all the time.
सब कुछ कह लेने के बाद
कुछ ऐसा है जो रह जाता है
तुम उसको मत वाणी देना।
वह छाया है मेरे पावन विश्वासों की,
वह पूँजी है मेरे गूंगे अभ्यासों की,
यह सारी रचना का क्रम है,
बस इतना ही मैं हूँ,
बस उतना ही मेरा आश्रय है,
तुम उसको मत वाणी देना
यह पीड़ा है जो हमको, तुमको, सबको अपनाती है
सच्चाई है -
अंजानो को भी हाथ पकड़ चलना सिखलाती है,
यह गति है - हर गति को नया जन्म देती है,
आस्था है - रेती में भी नौका खेती है,
वह टूटे मन का सामर्थ है,
यह भटकी आत्मा का अर्थ है,
तुम उनको मत वाणी देना
वह मुझसे या मेरे युग से भी ऊपर है,
वह आदि मानव की भाँती है भू पर है,
बर्बरता में भी देवत्व की कड़ी है वह,
इसीलिए ध्वंस और नाश से बड़ी है वह,
अंतराल है वह - नया सूर्य उगा देती है,
नए लोक, नई सृष्टि, नए स्वप्ना देती है,
वह मेरी कृति है
पर मैं उसकी अनुकृति हूँ,
तुम उसको मत वाणी देना
---------
तुम्हारी मुस्कान
कोहरे से छान कर नहीं
सीधी धूप सी आती है
जैसे सुबह सुबह
चिडियों का गान
तुम्हारी मुस्कान
One of the very favourite ones that I always enjoy reading
काँच की बन्द खिड़कियों के पीछे
तुम बैठी हो घुटनों में मुँह छिपाए।
क्या हुआ यदि हमारे-तुम्हारे बीच
एक भी शब्द नहीं।
मुझे जो कहना है कह जाऊँगा
यहाँ इसी तरह अदेखा खड़ा हुआ,
मेरा होना मात्र एक गन्ध की तरह
तुम्हारे भीतर-बाहर भर जाएगा।
क्योंकि तुम जब घुटनों से सिर उठाओगी
तब बाहर मेरी आकृति नहीं
यह धुंधलाती शाम
और आँच पर जगी एक हल्की-सी भाप
देख सकोगी
जिसे इस अंधेरे में
तुम्हारे लिए पिघलकर
मैं छोड़ गया होऊँगा।
सब कुछ कह लेने के बाद
कुछ ऐसा है जो रह जाता है
तुम उसको मत वाणी देना।
वह छाया है मेरे पावन विश्वासों की,
वह पूँजी है मेरे गूंगे अभ्यासों की,
यह सारी रचना का क्रम है,
बस इतना ही मैं हूँ,
बस उतना ही मेरा आश्रय है,
तुम उसको मत वाणी देना
यह पीड़ा है जो हमको, तुमको, सबको अपनाती है
सच्चाई है -
अंजानो को भी हाथ पकड़ चलना सिखलाती है,
यह गति है - हर गति को नया जन्म देती है,
आस्था है - रेती में भी नौका खेती है,
वह टूटे मन का सामर्थ है,
यह भटकी आत्मा का अर्थ है,
तुम उनको मत वाणी देना
वह मुझसे या मेरे युग से भी ऊपर है,
वह आदि मानव की भाँती है भू पर है,
बर्बरता में भी देवत्व की कड़ी है वह,
इसीलिए ध्वंस और नाश से बड़ी है वह,
अंतराल है वह - नया सूर्य उगा देती है,
नए लोक, नई सृष्टि, नए स्वप्ना देती है,
वह मेरी कृति है
पर मैं उसकी अनुकृति हूँ,
तुम उसको मत वाणी देना
---------
तुम्हारी मुस्कान
कोहरे से छान कर नहीं
सीधी धूप सी आती है
जैसे सुबह सुबह
चिडियों का गान
तुम्हारी मुस्कान
--------------------
One of the very favourite ones that I always enjoy reading
काँच की बन्द खिड़कियों के पीछे
तुम बैठी हो घुटनों में मुँह छिपाए।
क्या हुआ यदि हमारे-तुम्हारे बीच
एक भी शब्द नहीं।
मुझे जो कहना है कह जाऊँगा
यहाँ इसी तरह अदेखा खड़ा हुआ,
मेरा होना मात्र एक गन्ध की तरह
तुम्हारे भीतर-बाहर भर जाएगा।
क्योंकि तुम जब घुटनों से सिर उठाओगी
तब बाहर मेरी आकृति नहीं
यह धुंधलाती शाम
और आँच पर जगी एक हल्की-सी भाप
देख सकोगी
जिसे इस अंधेरे में
तुम्हारे लिए पिघलकर
मैं छोड़ गया होऊँगा।
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Vaikuntha
A beautiful lady, dressed traditionally was waiting at the bus stop. There was a little girl holding her right hand index finger - I presumed her to be the daughter of the beautiful lady! There is rush at all the temples in the city. Most of the temples where Venkat resides are bursting with sentient beings! Today is that day of the year - you seek blessings of the 'lord of seven hills' and you can safely assume to have found a way to the 'gate of heaven'...
I was sure that the little girl was going to the temple to seek blessings! Odd, yet beautiful!My mother is a pious lady. She also went to Varadarajaswamy temple to offer her prayers and seek Vishnu's blessings. Vaikuntha must really be a good place to be in as so many of them crave! Walking long distances, hanging precariously on the footsteps of the bus, waiting in serpentine queues, yelling, pushing & moving on - all of that to reach the "Vaikuntha dwara"!
I have not been at the threshold of that door yet. Or maybe I have, I wouldn't know. I have this strange affliction that carries on with me - of not knowing it all until it passes! Wait a minute, isn't that true for everyone? Oh well, I'll let that pass...and look at the multitude milling around temple doors to seek a peaceful 'passing away'.
I was sure that the little girl was going to the temple to seek blessings! Odd, yet beautiful!My mother is a pious lady. She also went to Varadarajaswamy temple to offer her prayers and seek Vishnu's blessings. Vaikuntha must really be a good place to be in as so many of them crave! Walking long distances, hanging precariously on the footsteps of the bus, waiting in serpentine queues, yelling, pushing & moving on - all of that to reach the "Vaikuntha dwara"!
I have not been at the threshold of that door yet. Or maybe I have, I wouldn't know. I have this strange affliction that carries on with me - of not knowing it all until it passes! Wait a minute, isn't that true for everyone? Oh well, I'll let that pass...and look at the multitude milling around temple doors to seek a peaceful 'passing away'.
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