LOHRI (13/01/2012)

आज लोहरी है
जो रात भर ठिठुर रहे थे कल
क्योंकि उनके सर पर छत नहीं
बदन ढकने भर कपडा नहीं
गरम खाना खाए बहुत दिन हुए
अब तो पेट में खाना ही नहीं
बता दें उनको कि आज लोहरी है
बस कुछ दिन और, ठण्ड तो अब जा ही रही है
आज लोहरी है
जो किसान भाई दबें है ऋण के नीचे
जिनकी फसलों के अच्छे दाम नहीं
बंजर हो रही ज़मीन का उपचार नहीं
जिनकी नदियाँ बनती जा रहीं है ज़हर
या फिर पानी बरसता ही नहीं
बता दें उनको कि आज लोहरी है
बस कुछ दिन और,retail में FDI आ ही रहा है

Possessions

Will you, dear Ma'am, kindly
spare a blanket, an old quilt
anything that helps stay warm?
Its turned so chilly, you see,
the small ones cannot sleep,
they shiver the whole night long.

I will, I replied quickly.

Rummaging through the closet
I saw the warm, blue blankets
that decades ago I'd been gifted.

How much love is invested
in a beloved mother's gifts !
I felt my heart would break
if I pulled out the blankets,
gave them away to assuage
another mother's heart ache.

My son stood watching silently.

The look in his eyes chided me
Can you give only what you don't need?
My dilemma dissolved instantly !

To my son

As nimbly as his fingers race across the piano keys

my thoughts race from the present to the past

and return to the unsmiling face,

hearing in his head the music

that he so magically renders

for those of us who care to hear

and smile in pleasure and recognition.

I wonder if he will find the harmony that

so eludes ambitious minds and avaricious souls

and hear the magic of the Universe ---

the starlit nights,the whispering leaves

the eternal rocks,the grains of sand ---

and touch the calm within.

I

yun gumaan hota hai baazu hain mere saath karor
aur afaaq ke had tak mere tan ki had hai
dil mera koh o daaman, dasht o chaman ki had hai
mere keese mein hai raaton ka siya faam jalaal
mere haathon mein hai subhon ki inaan e gulgun
meri aagosh mein palti hai khudai saari
mere maqdoor mein hai mojza e kun fayakun
( Faiz Ahmed Faiz)

it seems to me I have a thousand arms
my body stretches as far as the horizons
my heart beats in hiills,vales, deserts and gardens
the glory of the dark night fills my satchel
in my hands I hold the reins of roseate dawn
in my embrace flourishes the Universe
the miracle of Creation I have the power to perform
( translation ----Priya VKS)

In a war cemetery

sard silon par
zard silon par
taza garm lahu ki soorat
guldaston ke cheetein hain
kitbe sab benaam hain lekin
har ik phool pe naam likha hai
ghafil sone waale ka
yaad mein rone wale ka

apne farz se farigh ho kar
apne lahu ki taane chaadar
saare bete khwaab mein hain
apne ghamon ka haar piro kar
ammaan akeli jag rahi hain

(Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Az Sham e Sheher e Yaaran)

On cold slabs
on pale slabs
as if they were
warm, freshly shed blood
lie bouquets splattered.
Obscure are the epitaphs
but every bloom bears the name
of he who, unaware, sleeps
of those who, in remembrance, weep.

having redeemed their pledges
in their own blood enshrouded
the sons lie and dream.
threading their sorrows into wreaths
the mothers alone remain without sleep.

(Translation ---Priya VKS)

A homemaker writes a limerick

may I hang you upside down?
get your feet above the ground ?
my Persian rug is a verdant green
you must let me keep it clean
or never show your face around :-(

१ जनवरी २०१२

दिल शाद नहीं
ग़मगीन नहीं
मौसम भी कुछ ऐसा है
सर्द नहीं
तपता भी नहीं
कोई मुंतज़िर जैसे बैठा है
साल नया
एहद नए
देखें आगे क्या होता है !