THINGS

their exit is quick, it is painless
it leaves no vacuum in its wake
things that matter are not things,
you discover, and every thing
falls into place.

Intezaar

aap aayein, na aayein
gul afshaanee ho chuki
buu e gul hai harsoo fiza mein
ashq baar hogi ya tabassum ghulegi

(© pvks)

happy

Over a cup of tea
in dry, sweltering heat
racked with ennui
turning his eyes away
from the stack of dusty files
he asked me what I
thought my life would be.
I am determined to be happy
I replied instantly.
He looked amused at my naivety
as if I was blind to
the innumerable variables
that enter our lives
and mould it differently
from what we want it to be.
Two decades hence, he said,
I will ask if you succeed.
I have, I wish I could
tell him, it wasn't easy
dreams shatter, promises are broken
some bonds grow weak
people you had thought immortal
suddenly leave, and a lifetime
doesn't suffice to weep tears of agony.
But moments of joy are plenty
one only has to keep one's heart
open to receive
and then they link seamlessly
and one looks in the mirror
and exclaims, I am happy!
( © pvks)

kiska lahu

किसी के जिगर का टुकड़ा था
जो बारामुल्ला में गवा बैठा जाँ
बिलखती, तड़पती होगी उसकी माँ
हम खामोश हैं, और बे परवाह
रोज़ मरते हैं ख़ास ओ आम
इंसानियत का रिश्ता तो है
पर मसरूफ रखता है काम

what we were meant to be

it was not so long ago that
dawn ushered beauty into the day,
golden mustard or waving wheat
glistening grass or fruit laden trees
fragrant flowers or the bubbling stream,
that settled somewhat the rapacious beast within
then the connection snapped, we are all adrift
in rivers of greed and lust, the corpses stink
that float besides, terrifying to behold
and smothering the desire to rise above
and be the men we were meant to be

ख़ुशी

सुबह आँख खुलते ही
चिड़िया का चेह्कना
कानों में मिश्री सा घुलता है
क्या कहती है चिड़िया
किस से बात करती है
कुछ कहती है या फिर
यूं ही गुनगुनाती है

खुश  है बे वजह
बेसबब खुश रहना हमने क्यों नहीं सीखा

जिंदाबाद

राजा भैय्या जिंदाबाद

राज ठाकरे जिंदाबाद

हाफिज़ भाई , पधारो म्हारे देस

बनो सांसद, बदलो भेस

फिर सुनो पुकार

हाफिज़ भाई जिंदाबाद

IFB, KFC

gently falls the rain
on the nearly dry laundry
clotheslines haven't lost the battle to IFB
just as tandoori chicken still rules KFC !

lahu

kahin nahin, kahin bhi nahin hai lahu ka suraagh
na dast o nakhun e qatil, na aasteen pe nishaan
na surkhi e lab e khanjar, na rang e nok e sanan
na khaak par koi dhabba, na baam pe koi daagh
kahin nahin hai, kahin bhi nahin hai, lahu ka suraagh

Pukaarta raha be aasra yateem lahu
kisi ko bahr e samaat na waqt tha na dimaagh
na muddai, na shahaadat, hisaab paak hua
ye khoon e khaak nasheenan tha, rizq e khaak hua.

(Faiz)

nowhere, nowhere at all does a trace of blood remain
not on the nails of the assassin, nor on his sleeves a stain
it does not redden the spear's tip nor the edge of the sword
no blot on the dust, nor a stain on the rooftop
nowhere, nowhere at all does a trace of blood remain

aloud it wailed, orphaned, bereft of aid
none had time or desire to hear the pain
neither witness, nor plaintiff, the case was closed
the blood of humble people, into the dust it flowed

(translated :pvks)

maa

aankh jhapakte duniya badli
nanhe se haath jo pakde the
faulad huye, aazad huye

oonche neeche raston par
jo kas ke anguli jakadte the
sahaj hi ab woh badhte hain
maan pe aanch na aane paye

maan ka man to pagla hai
komal sparsh hai yaad use
woh pal pal darta rehta hai
koi aisa zakhm na duniya de
jo maan ka pyaar na bhar paye

wish

if I had but one wish
would I choose immortality
or the power to remedy
the myriad ills of humanity
so that my children and theirs
and their and their and theirs
live only to see beauty
perhaps they'd find it bland
and wish to restore normalcy!

tea

oh,the agony
of sleeping late
and waking up early
relieved with celerity
by hot, fragrant tea
ah! if only
all challenges could
be met so easily
two leaves and a bud
would be the anthem
and Camellia the celebrity!

where am I

endless agony
infinite joy
life oscillates
where am I
a soul tormented
a heart exulting
from low to high
where am I
fleeting moments
of the calm within
then the cycle begins
where am I

India!

who cares if India dies
neither you nor I
your child is in Harvard
mine is headed to Carlyle

mitti

mitti se gehra rishta hai.
ghaas pe nange paanv chalo
tehni ki lachak , phoolon ki mehak
sarson ke rang, methi ki sugandh
in sabko parichay apna do
phir gehri, lambi saanson mein
sukoon ko dil mein utarte dekho

rain

it rained last night
the gutter overflowed
loud, fierce winds howled
leaves flattened against the window
fleetingly their fate I rued
the full blown roses that'd
welcome me the morn
on the glistening grass scattered
then turned the page of the book
that told inspiring, far away stories
of the struggle against poverty

she did not ring the bell at 0730
it was then that I remembered
rains bring down the tin roof, they scurry
to protect their roomful of possessions
a family of four
living nearly next door
to our villas and landscaped gardens

small joys

mushroom soup
chicken fried rice
jousting brothers
a mother's indulgent smile
the warmth of a kitchen on a winter night
such are the small joys of a domestic life

to my brothers

life has taken unexpected twists and turns
and we aren't what we used to be
but what will forever remain unchanged
are the delightful childhood memories:
the solace of many an hour of sadness
and the promise of what may yet be

haiku

the glistening pearls

awaiting the morning sun

evanescence

motherhood (2)

his scream of terror
raised me from slumber
with tear blinded eyes
I reached his bedside
he slept with a smile
his fears transferred
to my racing pulse
If only, my son
I could thus efface
all the fears you face

Seene mein jalan (translation)

Why does the heart smoulder 

a storm rage in the eyes

an anxious look reside 

on every face in this city

Why is it bereft of emotion

as lifeless as a stone
the heart that for a reason 

searches, so it can throb

A wilderness stretches before 

my eyes as far as they can see

where has loneliness brought me 

my friends, I but know scarcely

Does a new aspect in my visage it espy
why does the mirror look at me with such surprise

Freedom

he's tall and strong
and athletic too
the gym is his haunt
when he returns from school

he is fragile, he thinks
he thinks and he writes
his Macbook is his ally
as he sits down to philosophise

my life is a dedication
to my sons and their ambitions
its a choice I have exercised
I don't blindly follow tradition

Exile

how madly I do love you
but I love my heritage too

the gold flecked mustard fields
the soulful voice of the granthi

the tractor trolleys keeling over
the loud weddings, the garish colours

the jutti, the paranda, the phulkaari shaal
not the Patiala peg, but the Pattialvi salwar

the sundar mundriye, the gajak, the rewari
the hot tea, the bonfire, the Lohri bonhomie

the giddy gidda, the exuberant bhangra,
the dancing dhol, the bolis, the tappas

the tradition of langar, of ebullient kar sewa
of happy faces stepping out of gurudwaras

years ago I gladly entered exile
I embraced your world, I made it mine
I wonder why you never ask
about the world I left behind

You and I

you are a first born
so am I
a child most beloved
so am I
the brightest spot in their lives
the source of joy and pride
so am I
you were top of the class
so was I
you got all the awards
so did I
you landed the dream job
so did I
so when you get up to make the tea
why does your mother frown at me?