Contemplation – the ETERNAL tryst

Parched..

So this image is from today’s morning walk. It’s just the March end and scorching heat has already arrived. Catchment area of various water bodies in the region is already drying up. Water is receding with fast pace, leaving behind the parched lands with big mudcracks. Whenever I take refuge to nature, it always inspires me and awards me creativity. So following is the outcome of today’s inspiration..

धरती, सूखती जल से….

जैसे जैसे तुमसे मेरी
दूरी बढ़ती जाती है
ह्रदय पर मेरे वैसे वैसे
अगणित दरार उभर कर आती है
यूँ तो जग में हर क्षण रवि
अपनी आभा ही फैलता है
फिर क्यों मेरे जीवन में वह
चिर तिमिर ही लाता है?
मेरा शत्रु क्यों बन जाता है!!!

कौन है जल, धरती कौन है और सूरज कौन? आप ही तय कीजिये…

Do let me know your views both on short poetry as well as on click 🙂 Have a happy weekend!!!

A month since Valentine Day..

It’s been a month since world has celebrated Valentine Day. This day is to celebrate Love. But the same day proved to be a day of anguish and pain in India this time around. We lost 40+ soldiers in a dastardly act of terrorism in Pulawama, Kashmir. Whole nation was in deep sorrow as they should be. The government was under severe pressure to act against the perpetrators of the crime. Initially, they displayed remarkable patience and latter came up with an unprecedented airborne attack on terrorist’s hideouts even crossed the LOCs and went into main territory of Pakistan.

However, number of fatalities remained unknown in that Surgical Strike. Claims and counter claims from both sides of the borders resulted in a lot of confusion among general masses. Jingoism seemed to be the driver of the emotions on either side. Pakistan also tried to infringe the Indian Airspace by sending at least four F-16 fighter jets. According to Indian foreign ministry, we responded swiftly and prevented them from targeting the military installments in our side by sending our fighter jets. In this process, one of our MiG-21 Bison went down and its pilot named Abhinandan Varthman was intercepted by Pakistanis military. Indian side claimed that in the air skirmishes, Wing Commander also shot down one F-16 fighter jet of Pakistan, which is even hinted, if not substantiated, by the earlier claims of Pakistani Army’s spokesperson that they have shot down two Indian Fighter Jets but they shared the evidence of just one. So it’s believed that the second one was F-16 and no country would be in comfortable position when world would know that their 4th Generation Fighter plane was shot down by a second generation Soviet Era fighter Jet in a dog fight.

The situation was deteriorating very fast and when war seemed imminent, a sane decision by Pakistani establishment to return the captured Wing Commander to India resulted in thawing in the war like situation.

A month after the fateful Pulwama attack, I sat down to reflect the whole series of events. Who gained and who lost! I tried to recall the name of Martyrs,unfortunately, I recalled none. Only thing that I remembered is the numbers. More than 40 soldiers had lost their lives. These days, Emotions are reduced to numbers, no name, no identity, and no face. Do you remember the name of any martyr? Will this remembering even helps anyone? How many Count will you remember? For how many years you will remember? This is happening since 1990s. We remember Abhinandan, we all are proud of him, his valour and his composure in the enemy’s territory and in the mouth of death. But were the lives of other 40+ soldiers are not equal, not worth knowing! But who cares! World will go on as it’s going on.

Next year again the Valentine Day will be celebrated with great fervor except in few homes where they have lost their loved ones for forever! If I will clamor for a befitting response and a tactical short term war to teach lesson to the enemies of Humanity, I will be termed as War Monger, if I will condemn war and would request for peace, I will be termed as Libtards or Coward.

I am in a fix. Then I think I should go to the schools, to the offices, to the Temples, to the Malls and if possible then to the Funeral Pyres (whose flames must have been died down by now) of the Martyrs to ask them what prompted them to risk their life for me, to say them Thank You, that you sacrificed your today for my tomorrow! To say them I am Sorry! To say them, I couldn’t do any thing when cowards attacked you, to say them that I can’t do anything as I am just a bloody common man!!!

अपनी राह../ My Way

अपनी राह..

राहों को अपनी, मैं खुद ढूंढ लूंगा

बन पथप्रदर्शक तुम, मुझे न उलझाओ||

मेरे उम्मीदों को अब, पर जो लगें है

अपनी आसक्तियों की, न जाल बिछाओ||

कष्टों का पहाड़ सीधे सिर पर सहा है

राह के रोड़ों से तुम, मुझे न डराओ||

सच है जो कड़वा, मैंने खुद चख लिया है

उसपर झूठ की मीठी तुम, परत न चढ़ाओ||

मंज़िल है मुश्किल औ’ लंबा सफर है

जो बीच में हो जाना, शुरू से साथ न आओ||

ज्ञान की दीपक अब जो जली है

अपने आंसुओं से उसे न बुझाओ||

जाना जहाँ है, राहों में कांटे बिछे हैं||

मेरे लिए अभी फूलों की हार न लाओ||

निराश लोगों की लम्बी पंगत लगी है

सांत्वना भरे गीत तुम, उन्हें ही सुनाओ||

नम्रता में मैंने जीवन है जीया

मेरे खुद पे भरोसे को, मेरा अहम् न बताओ||

………..अभय…………

My Way

I will carve out my own way

Don’t pretend to be my guide and confuse me

My aspirations have found its wings

Don’t entrap it by your frail attachment

I have already faced mountainous hardships

Don’t scare me, with the petty pebbles of the road

I have already tasted the bitter truth

Don’t present it to me by coating sugar on it

All my ignorance is burning in the bonfire of Knowledge

Don’t extinguish it with your incessant tears

Destination is distant and path is treacherous

Don’t accompany me, if you are thinking of leaving in midway

There seems to be a long queue of despondent

Don’t console me, go and cheer them up

I have spent my whole life in humility

Don’t term my self-belief, as an act of arrogance

@Ab

Aptitude!

He seemed to be in too much hurry, as he should be, because the train which he was boarding has already picked up the speed and about to cross the platform. He had a bucket full of packaged drinking water which he probably intended to sell in the train’s coach. I was standing near the door of the coach and watching him. Somehow he managed to get in but during this process, his one of the slipper fell off the train. The trained had gathered enough speed that even an expert vendor couldn’t risk getting down. He did the right thing. He did not get down the train. But his one unexpected move caught me by surprise. He threw his other slipper in the backward direction with some force and smiled.

I assumed he might have thought that on his return journey he will collect his pair of slipper. I asked him “Do you believe that your pair of slipper will be there when you will return back to this station”.

He responded “This thought did not even come in my mind that I will get my slipper back. I just threw it as I can’t do anything with single piece neither any other person can do anything with the second one. I just discarded second one hoping that it might make a perfect pair for some other person.”

I was moved not just by his considerate behavior but his aptitude.

समिधा

चहोदिशी यज्ञ की वेदी के
चौपाल लगाए लोग बैठे
सुधा कलश की आश लगाए ,
टकटकी लगाए, लोग बैठे
कह दो उन्हें कि इस यज्ञ की
समिधा पहले ही स्वाहा हो चुकी है
ज्वाला जो धधकती थी इसमें ,
शनैः शनैः कर अब बुझ चुकी है
समिधा बन अब खुद ही
यज्ञ कुंड में जलना होगा
सरिता हेतु अब हिमगिरि सा
मौन रह, खुद ही गलना होगा

…..अभय…..

समिधा-यज्ञ में आहुति हेतु प्रयोग की जाने वाली लकड़ी

When to speak…Whom to speak

बसंत तो अब बीत चुका है

कुहू तो बस अब मौन रहेगा

क्षितिज पर कालिख बदरी छायी है

सब दादुर अब टर-टर करेगा

~अभय

Spring has gone

Cuckoo will not sing any more

Dark clouds are hovering in the sky

Oh! It’s time for the frogs

~Abhay

कुहू- कोयल
दादुर- मेढ़क

आप पंक्तियों को खुद से जोड़ पाए तो मैं अपनी सफलता मानूंगा..

Tears..

Tears rolled down from her eyes!

He asked “What’s this and Why?”

She uttered “It’s the outburst of emotions that can’t be divulged in words, nor can be kept in silence, through this salty water I just find its expression”

सशर्त प्रेम …

नेह अगर है मुझसे तो बोलो

तुम क्या क्या कर सकते हो

जान ले सकते किसी की

या अपनी जान दे सकते हो ?

निष्ठा को साबित करने को

मैंने भी मन में ठान लिया

निज प्राणाहुति हेतु

तलवार गले पर तान लिया

तभी कुटिल मुस्कान लिए

उसने मुझसे बोला

अपने अप्रत्यासित अनुरोध का

राज़ था उसने खोला

“मुझे तो बस ये देखना था

तुम किस हद तक जा सकते हो

मेरे लिए क्या तुम अपना

सर्वस्व त्याग कर सकते हो”

तलवार गले पर था मेरे

तब भी न कोई टीस थी

निष्ठा को सत्यापित करना पड़ा

ये यातना बड़ी गंभीर थी

…….अभय……

P.S. Tried writing something new in different genre, please let me know does it make sense to you! Thank You.

संदेह कैसा?

तुम होते हो वही, जो तेरे मन में चलता है

फिर न जाने क्यों ये मन तेरा, पल-पल बदलता है

लक्ष्य दुर्लभ है, पता है.. विपदाओं के बादल भी घने हैं

आशंकाएं कैसी? संदेह कैसा? जब संग स्वयं जनार्दन खड़े हैं

शुभकामनायें!

मेरी तरफ से आप सभी को हिंदी दिवस की असीम शुभकामनायें. चुनौतियों से भरा प्रहर है. आज जब भारत में अंग्रेजी भाषा बुद्धिजीवी व्यक्तियों का परिचायक बन चुकी है, तो अन्य भाषाओं में विचार व्यक्त करना एक चुनौती है इस विषम परिस्थिति में दृढ विश्वास और गर्व के संग हिंदी भाषा का ध्वज वाहक बने रहिये और स्मरण रहे कि यह विश्वास काल्पनिक न हो, हिंदी रचनाओं का यदि हम अध्ययन संवेदनशीलता के साथ करेंगे तो, तो इसकी महानता अनायास ही दृष्टि में आएगी…

मातृभाषा हमारी अलग हो सकती है (मेरी भी अलग है, हिंदी नहीं) पर राष्ट्र को एकीकृत करने में हिंदी से श्रेष्ठ और कोई नहीं. तब जब कि आने वाले कुछ दशकों में हम विश्व की दूसरी सबसे बड़ी अर्थव्यवस्था बनाने के कगार पर हैं, तो स्मरण रहे की हमारी बोल-चाल की भाषा उधार की न रहे. क्योंकि उधार ली गयी चीजें सर्वदा बोझ ही रहती हैं

भारतेन्दु हरिश्चन्द्र ने लिखा था, जो आज भी प्रासंगिक है:-

“निज भाषा उन्नति अहै, सब उन्नति को मूल।
बिन निज भाषा-ज्ञान के, मिटत न हिय को सूल।।
विविध कला शिक्षा अमित, ज्ञान अनेक प्रकार।
सब देसन से लै करहू, भाषा माहि प्रचार।। ”

भावार्थ:
निज यानी अपनी भाषा से ही उन्नति सम्भव है, क्योंकि यही सारी उन्नतियों का मूलाधार है।
मातृभाषा के ज्ञान के बिना हृदय की पीड़ा का निवारण सम्भव नहीं है।
विभिन्न प्रकार की कलाएँ, असीमित शिक्षा तथा अनेक प्रकार का ज्ञान,
सभी देशों से जरूर लेने चाहिये, परन्तु उनका प्रचार मातृभाषा में ही करना चाहिये।