मुझे जीने दो

क्यूँ उठूँ मैं सुबह जब उठते हो तुम ,
नहीं आती मुझे नींद जब सोये ये दुनिया.

इंतज़ार करने दो मुझे,नयी सुबह की है ये धुन ,
ढलने दो ये सलेटी शामें ज़रा,गहराने दो अँधेरा,
 आसमानी तारों को तकती  रात  पर हक है मेरा .

मत कुचलो ,ना ताडो  लोगों ,
तुम्हारी कालीन पर पड़ा धूल का कण ही सही
नाक में दम तो तब भी कर सकता हूँ मैं .
                                                                                       
लेकर एक नन्हीं सी आरज़ू ,
क्यूँ जी नहीं सकता मैं  यूँ ही कहीं ?    

मत तोलो मुझे बार- बार  अपनी उम्मीदों के तराजू पर
खरा ना उतरूंगा कभी, हल्का ही नज़र आऊँगा हर बार .

तुम थे वहाँ

तुम थे वहाँ,

      

      जब मेरी सूनी आँखें कुछ खोजा किये थीं 

तुम थे वहाँ ,

       जब भरी भीड़ में मैं खोया किये थी 

                                                                                                

तुम तब भी थे वहाँ ,                                                             

      जब लबों पर फीकी हँसीं लिए मैं रोया किये थी 

तुम तो  थे वहीँ                                                                       

       बस नज़रें झुकी थीं मेरी ,कैसे जानती ?

       कहो तो ....कैसे पहचानती ? 

**शर्मिला**

          

शिखर ,फिर गुमनामी की रेत

तुम सफलता के  शिखर पर हो ,कैसा लगता है वहाँ?

                                                कैसी हवा है दोस्त ?

                                                                                                         

हवा बहती  नहीं यहाँ ,सिर्फ दबाव है उसका ,

मैं महसूस करता हूँ वह दबाव..                                                             

एक अजीब अनिश्चय ,चिरस्थायी सा भ्रम,

कि इसके आगे ऊपर और कहाँ ,किधर है राहें 

दिखाई देती है सिर्फ एक राह ..बेहद संकरी ,नीचे जाती हुई..

इतनी गहरी  कि अस्तित्व गुम होता नज़र आता है .

                                                    नुटन ने कहा था ,हमने सुना था ,

हर ऊपर जाने वाली चीज़ का अंत नीचे आकर होता है

तब क्यूँ चढ़ना कठिन  और उतरना आसान भला 

रेत के किले कि तरह ,मिटटी के घड़े कि तरह ,तराशी मूरत कि तरह ,

ज़रा सी जो चूकी नज़र, फिसलन लिए जाती गुमनामी के अंधेरों  में,

                                                   बेनामी के अथाह मरुस्थल में धँसने पर ,

गूंगी रेत का कण कब बोला है भला कि ,

फलां आदमी यहाँ शिखर पर पहुँचा था 

माया कि दलदल में फिसलकर नीचे गिरा था ..

और इस गुमनामी कि रेत में कहीं गहरा  धँसा है .

Palmistry,Love Signs and More

Most likely things you have been told after a palm reading session :
--you are a very loving person

--you are a loyal friend                                                                            
--you always give more,expecting much less in return
--aap dil ke saaf ho
--life has taught you a lot
--you are very responsible
--where ever you may be you are always thinking about your family
-- nothing comes to you easily,your life is full of struggles
--you still haven't got your due
--you are much more worthy of what you have got in life,thoda support hota toh aaj kahaan hote aap ..
--aap ko muft ka paisa nai pachta (You can not digest easy money)

Astrology,palmistry,tarot reading,tea/coffee cup reading,aura reading ,numerology and the like never fail to amuse me.My first meeting with an astrologer was in third year of college when I accompanied a friend to her family astrologer.She always consulted him before taking any major step and since I was going through a rough patch at that time,she thought it fit to tag me along.A tiny room was full of people with varying degrees of grim expressions on their faces.Each 'consultation' took about thirty minutes,at the end of which the bhakt touched guruji's feet and left .I told dad about my meeting and he was swift in talking me out of my brief inclination.

Nothing that was told to me had made any  sense anyway, nor did I follow any instructions thereafter but the whole idea of there being a science which could see through people's personalities or predict their future,intrigued me.So for a couple of years I read a lot of astrology and palmistry.I also read and researched about body language and stars and signs.Linda Goodman was my favorite and her books  'Sun signs'' and 'Love signs' were on the tip of my tongue.I took pride in looking at a person and many a times guessing his Sun sign correctly.

A lot of time was whiled away in college canteen and at the katta, discussing the future of  new college couples .We predicted the success and failure of their relationships at our end with the help of  love signs.Many bets were won. Colour based mind games and personality and body language analyses were a major source of entertainment during college trips.I used a lot of above mentioned statements while reading palms and it never failed to generate interest and awe.The impressed 'client' mostly a junior bakra would come to know of the truth much later :p

During one such college trips,a rather shy classmate of mine extended his palm for me to read.After the customary disclaimer in place,I asked him what he wanted to know.Tell me anything that I do not know about myself ,he said.Since every other guy/gal was interested in knowing about his/her love life or lack of it,I thought I would tell him about that.I told him that he was not heading for a love match and that in all probabilities,he was going to have an arranged match.He smiled and walked back to his window seat.

My 'Vidya' met with a tragic end as I fell in love with my best friend , after insisting for a long time that we were friends and nothing more.It was the same shy guy I later married.So much for my prediction :D On his part, Hobbs  has never teased me about that prediction ,I wonder why?
Haven't gone back to those texts since then. I miss all the fun though... :)

Are you listening?

How many times have you been asked -'Are you even listening?'
How many times have you asked the same question to someone else?

                                                                  image courtesy Google
Continuous rants on visual media,social media,Lit fests,bring out this one factor very prominently to fore,that we as a society ,love to talk and hate to listen.Freedom of expression is not only about being fiercely vocal about something,it also involves passive listening.What we see all around us is everyone doing the talking and no one making an attempt to listen .The impatience to cut the other person's talk to put forth one's own views is all too evident on the faces of so called opinion makers,panelists and anchors.

Passive listening is exactly that-passivvee.If it has an active thought process in the background,then it becomes hearing not listening.To listen,we need to surrender momentarily to the thought process of the other person.Even in debates.Even the silliest of opinions have to be listened to ,not merely heard.Listening makes you learn,listening makes you earn,respect as well as money.Successful salesmen are good at both,talking and listening.If he fails to listen to the requirement,he fails to sell.


Krishnamurti (and I am inspired heavily) said that listening is one of the highest and greatest arts in life which does not come easily but when it does,brings great understanding. 

Contrary to popular and seemingly more logical belief, concentration is the enemy of listening.Hain!!Yeh kya? ...Actually,it starts very early in childhood when you keep telling a child to concentrate in class.When forced,concentration leads to lack of attention and hence narrowed down listening.Not convinced?Think about it,think about incidences in your childhood when you were forced to concentrate on a talk,how everything else except the subject came alive suddenly .I have been on both sides of the desk so I know that forcing someone to pay attention does not guarantee good listening.

It is said that to enhance listening without making it seem lite a task,is to try listening to a far away sound,shifting to a  closer sound,still closer and finally sound of your own heartbeat.it takes time but you get there slowly.

Listening develops patience,increases your analytical capabilities, enhances managerial skills but above all it prevents foot in the mouth syndrome.Politicians need a crash course in the art but alas it is the most difficult art to impart.To many it comes naturally and those gifted ones ,are known as  matured and saintly.

'Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage'-Pubilius Syrus

So...Are you listening?!

One earthly morning

Last weekend on my way to Pune I was greeted by the rising Sun.Nothing unusual in that, except that I got a chance to absorb the myriad hues and capture a few of them.Unfortunately,I was not carrying a fancy camera. 

From ominous Black to gentle grey as the Sun blinks open its eyes ...

The Grey blends into the Red ,Yellow and Blue and bids adieu to the Black with its outstretched slender arms..
                                                   

 

The Orange bordered  Yellow spreads its wings spinning an intricate web across the magnificent canvass..

The Blue making its presence felt through the Grey while the the fiery Orange looms large.

The celestial ,omnipresent Sun in all its mystical glory is indeed sacrosanct.The unearthly,readies the earth for another day of life before it  hides behind its own brilliance.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Outdo yourself book challenge by Book Vixen 2012

I join another book reading challenge hosted by Book vixen - the outdo yourself book challenge.I read 42 books for the South Asian book reading challenge plus a few more authors and I aim to outdo myself this year.:) I have Smita,to thank, for it is through her blog that I got the link for the two challenges.