Wistful Musings

They had to choose a single seed From a set, even Gods envied Rare flowers of far off land Fruits surviving even in sand 
One most sought was the rose And all went for it, in droves He stood thinking long and alone Slowly walked and picked acorn 
Seeds were planted in a field They took care of all its need Every day, they watered the Earth Waiting eagerly for the birth 
Roses were the first to awake Spreading leaves, standing erect He stood there filled with dread Because the acorn lay, as if dead 
Days later, with acorn still asleep Serious doubts started to creep Had he fallen in with the crowd Of a shrub, he’d have been proud 
Why did he have such a dream? Whose end yet may not be seen Quickly the roses were in bloom While he shut himself, in his room 
With roses, the love was professed Exciting emotions were expressed Hearts were glad and full of rhyme For achieving so much in little time 
Finally; acorn stirre...

She sat on her desk, pensive Unmoved, unflinching, passive He waited silently for a response Hoping, praying, always positive She wanted to trust, but wouldn’t At least not yet, as she shouldn’t He wanted to understand her apathy But as hard as he tried, he couldn’t Locked secrets and thrown away keys Impregnable fort when under siege What to say to one who walks up Knock on the door and says please She was in a castle inside a fort Surrounded by a garden and a moat Therein she put on a mask And expertly played her part Deep down under she was a kid Fearing retribution for her deed How could she lend him that one stick A mere touch would make her bleed Why should she tell him anything Who was he and what did he think And only way she would let him in If he was patient, instead of probing? All she wanted was sunshine Her sunny attitude, was by design No thoughts of the dusks gone by At the very least, she needed some time With silence...

राह पकड़ कर एक चला था पाने को मैं  मधुशाला राह नयी थी चाह नयी थी था चारो औ अँधियारा ना समझ थी न अकल थी था निर्मल भोला भाला पथ पर  मुझको चलते चलते भोरे मिली एक मधुशाला देख अचंभित हो प्रफुल्ल्ति कांप उठी मेरी  काया पग आगे लूँ या मूड़ जाऊँ सोच रहा था वो प्यारा डरते डरते पग उठाके उसकी चौखठ को लांगा ना होली थी ना ही दिवाली था मैं  अकेला पीनेवाला झिझक झिझक कर रुक रुक कर फिर मैंने  साकी से माँगा पर माँगा भी तो क्या माँगा माँगा जल का एक प्याला अब बैठा असमंजस में मैं देख रहा अपना प्याला क्यों माँगा जल मैंने जब पीनी मुझको  थी हाला अब शर्मा कर के हूँ  बैठा सोच रहा क्या कर डाला अब कैसे मांगू मैं अमृत क्या सोचेगी मधुशाला इतने में डगमग करता आया एक पीनेवाला होश नहीं था खबर  नहीं थी क्या शाळा से उसने माँगा एक घूँट में उसने पी कर प्याले को थल पे मारा छोड़ दिया उसने वो आँगन तोड़ दिया उसने प्याला देख मिट्टी को मिट्टी होता शोक मनाती मधुशाला व्याकुलता से मैंने देखा जल उ...

You work with me and sit across the desk We have lunches together and coffee breaks We burn the midnight oil, to meet the deadlines And party like crazy, on Friday nights You have seen me on bright sunny days And when sky was cloudy and full of grays You know all about the colleague I dated And why our relationship was ill fated We have fun together and life is good Filled with laughter, tears, wine and food But answer me this, my dear friend Would I call you my real friend? You are my roomie and we share a home Most dinners we have together but some alone We have made memories of far flung lands And have gotten over our fears, holding hands We trade our stories of the day, every day And discuss how to make it better in any way You know me and my parents And our bond is deeper than sharing rent In fact O! My parents know you so well They you consider you their own, as I can tell But riddle me this, my dear friend Would I call you my rea...

दिवाली में घर को रंगाना पूताना कचरे हटा कर फिर उसको सजाना  सड़क पे बोतल मे राकेट का उड़ाना  मोहल्ले में बड़ो का आशीर्वाद पाना  होली में पानी के गुब्बारे बनाना  पडोसी की टंकी में रंगो को मिलाना  नहा कर दोबारा फिर रंगीन हो जाना और हफ्ते भर घस उन रंगो को छुड़ाना  छुट्टिओं में रिश्तेदारों  से मिलने जाना  बड़े बुजुर्गो का फिर वो कहानी सुनाना   फर्श पर फिर सबके बिछावन लगाना  और सोने की जगह  बस गप्पे लड़ाना  मूंगफली के छिलकों का पहाड़ बनाना  आम को पेड़ो से चुरा  कर के खाना  भरी धूप में उन पापड़ों को सुखाना  खट्टी कैरी का मीठा आचार बनाना  रविवार को रामायण का एपिसोड आना  और सड़को का तब सुनसान हो जाना  अमीन साहनी के बिनाका गीत माला  और लता का "मिले सुर मेरा तुम्हारा " फ़ौरन रिटर्न' भाईओं से ईर्ष्या लगाना  पर उनसे ही फिर कई तोहफ़े मंगाना  अमरीका जाने के सुहाने सपने सजाना  भविष्य की उम्मीद पे छुप के'...

है द्वन्द  मेरा मुझसे ही हूँ तंग खड़ा खुदसे ही हर वार मेरा मुझपे ही हर हार मेरी मुझसे ही हो संतुष्ट मैं मोक्ष को पाऊँ या भर उड़ान तारे गिन आऊं कल कल कर के बहता जाऊं या हुंकार की गूँज लगाऊँ मुस्कुरा के सदा सबको अपनाऊं या उठा आवाज़ परिवर्तन लाऊँ बन अशोक मैं शोक मनाऊँ या जीत जगत, सिकंदर कह लाऊँ जल सूरज सा जग चमकाऊँ या चाँद सी शीतलता बिखराऊँ बन कृष्ण शब्द जाल बिछाऊँ या मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम कह लाऊँ हर तर्क मेरा मुझे ही हर प्रश्न मेरा मुझसे ही है व्यंग्य मेरा मुझपे ही है द्वन्द मेरा मुझसे से

Sunday the 23rd May would be forever etched into my memory. That was the day when I found out what taking risks could mean. We were to go on a hiking trip, nothing much just walk around for 8 miles and come back. Well things don’t go as we plan it to be. For the starters I woke up late, this is the usual me. I was almost forced to go by my colleagues and they gave me just enough time to brush my teeth. In the haste that was caused, my colleague filled my bottle with warm water (I had to bear that torture for the whole day). But ok we got into an extra small car with no leg space for my already hurting leg which cycled for 3 hrs the previous day. Still bearable coz there was supposed to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In this case it was a mountain at the end of the road. So we got out and everybody started walking and talking (in French). I could not get a word that was spoken and could not get why I was walking under the hot Sun on a perfectly fine Sunday. Also after an ho...