मुशायरा -

नींद की दस्तक से पहले 

हर रात, एक मुशायरा चलता है 

इधर से हम कुछ बोलते हैं 

उधर से वो 

अक्सर, इन सब के दरमियाँ, 

हम दोनों खामोश हो जाते हैं 

फिर मुस्कुराती हुई नज़रों से 

ख़ामोशी को कहते हैं - इर्शाद!

मंज़िल

मंज़िल की फ़िक्र क्यूँ करे तू राही?
जब तक चल रही है तेरी स्याही

ना डर से डगमगा, ना ग़म से डर
जब रास्ता है तेरा, तू चल बेफ़िकर

अगर लोग कहें तुझे अकेला, पागल और सनकी
तू मुस्कुरा, क्यूंकि खौफ़ बोल रही होगी उनकी

बेख़ौफ़, जब ज़िन्दगी तुझे उड़ना सिखलाएगी
दूर से दुनिया कुछ और ही नज़र आएगी

जब तेरी कहानी ख़त्म होने को आएगी
उनकी अधूरी कहानी मुँह ताकते रह जाएगी

कुछ बोलेंगे दोस्त था मेरा, कुछ पागल ठहराएँगे
कुछ अन्दर ही अन्दर खुद को कोसते रह जाएँगे

तू उन्हें देख कर ऊपर बैठा हसता रह जाएगा
तेरी मंज़िल तेरा सफ़र था, ये कुछ को ही समझ में आएगा 

इश्क़ की चोट

वो खंजर लिए हाथ में
लगे कुछ ऐसे मुझको

कि अगर मैं उन्हें मना करूँ
तो वो मार डालेंगे खुद को

सहम सहम कर मैं बोला
मैं क्या मना करूँ तुझको?

अगर क़त्ल का इतना शौक़ है
तो क्यूँ ना मार डाल तू मुझको?

खंजर गिरा धडाम ज़मीन पर
इश्क़ की चोट लगी उसको

उनकी चौकस आंखें, बेझिझक पूछीं -
मेरे लिए मार सकते हो खुद को?

मेरी बेबस आँखें, बेझिझक बोलीं -
खुद के लिए, मार सकता हूँ खुद को

Soak, No More!

Lonely and shivering
Covered with a tattered blanket
Praying it to not happen.

But He's merciless
He sends those dark demons
And they burst

Cold water kisses the chilly winter
The tattered blanket is no more tattered
Water sews its wounds

Soaked, I smile.
No more shivering, no more loneliness.
Soaked. No more.

P.S. Written for The Surf Excel Matic #SoakNoMore Contest of indiblogger. It's a very dark take on the topic, hope the intensity and emotions contained in this poem has struck a chord with your heart.

आज की महबूबा

आप मुझसे क्यूँ ही बातें करते हैं
जब मेरी बातें कम, खुद की ज़्यादा करते हैं


अकेलेपन, ख़ामोशी से डर नहीं लगता हमको
पर आपकी एकतर्फी ज़ुबान से, हम भागा फिरते हैं 

आपके बारें में बहुत सुना है हमनें
कि आपके हुस्न पर हज़ारों आशिक़ मरते हैं


किस काम के हैं वो आशिक़?
जो आपकी आशिक़ी में खुद को दगा दिया करते हैं


ज़िन्दगी आपके बिना ही जी लिया हमनें
कभी सोचा, क्या आप हमें भी याद किया करते हैं?

हर्ष की तलाश

आज जब फेसबुक में उन्हें उनके नए हमराही के साथ मुस्कुराते देखा
तो अन्दर से एक आग सी खौल उठी, लपट दर लपट खुद को जलाती हुई

 आग जब ज़हन को जला बैठी तो एहसास हुआ कि अभी भी वो बाकी हैं कहीं
एक अजब सा सन्नाटा अन्दर से बोल उठा, कहने लगा कि मैं निकम्मा हूँ

मैं लड़ा, खुद को निकम्मा नहीं साबित करने में निकम्मेपन की हदें पार कर बैठा
सन्नाटा हार कर वापस ज़हन के उस पार जा बैठ गया, और इधर मैं और उनकी तस्वीर

मैंने उनकी आखों में झाँका, बहुत कोशिश की उनकी मुस्कान को झूठी साबित करने की
लेकिन नाकाम, बेइंतेहा खुशी मानो गरम तेल की बूंदों की तरह उनके चेहरे से मेरी ओर बरस रही

मैंने उनके हमराही से नज़र मिलायी, उनकी मुस्कान मुझे नीचा दिखा रही थीं
और फिर, पता नहीं क्यूँ, मैं मुस्कुराया, बेझिझक, बेफ़िक्र, और उनके हमराही शर्मा बैठे

न वो समझ पाई मेरी खुशी का कारण, न उनके हमराही, पर मेरी समझ ने कहा -
उन्हें किसी की ज़रूरत थी खुश रहने के लिए, लेकिन मैं - हर्ष ही हर्ष 

मेरे जूठे हाथ

खाने के मेज पर
माँ के हाथों बनायीं हुई गरमा गरम सब्ज़ी
जब मेरे हाथों से चावल के दानों के साथ मिलती
तो मानो एक अलग ही एहसास होता
लगता कि ऐसी ख़ुशी, पूरे कायनात में न मिले
नानी के हाथों बनाया हुआ आम के अचार
जो बिन बताये ही मेरे उँगलियों से लड़ता, उन्हें छेड़ता
फिर मैं उनसे जूझता, तोड़ता, मरोड़ता
और ख़त्म कर देता
उँगलियों का रंग सब्जी के रंग में कैसे तब्दील हो जाता
इसका कभी भी पता नहीं चलता
उँगलियों को अपने ज़ुबां से साफ़ करता,
चाहते हुए कि वो कभी साफ़ न हो
और चार घंटे बाद, शाम के खेल ख़त्म हो जाने पर
दोबारा वो मेज, दोबारा वो बेजोड़ ख़ुशी

खाने के मेज पर
खुद की बनाई हुई सब्जी
जब चम्मच से चावल के दानों के साथ मिलती
तो मानो एक घुटन सी होती
लगता कि ऐसी घुटन, पूरे कायनात में न मिले
नानी के हाथों बनाये गए आम के अचार की कमी खलती
मेरी उँगलियाँ उस कटे हुए आम की गुठली से जूझने को तरसती
फिर मैं खुद से लड़ता, अन्दर ही अन्दर मसोसता
और चम्मच को कहीं दूर फेक देता
उँगलियों के रंग सब्जी के रंग में कैसे तब्दील हो जाते
पता भी ना चलता
उँगलियों को अपने ज़ुबां से साफ़ भी न करता,
और उस दिन, दस घंटे बाद, मैं घर पर, माँ के साथ
दोबारा वो मेज, दोबारा वो ख़ुशी और मेरे जूठे हाथ |

खुद देख लो

अक्सर मैं इस सोच में डूब जाता हूँ
कि ज़िन्दगी अगर थोड़ी सी अलग होती
तो क्या होता?

मैं देर तक सोचता,
जवाब ढूँढने के फ़िराक में
पर ज़िन्दगी भी साली बहुत तेज़ तरार है

मेरे सवाल को चकमा दे कर
कब गायब हो जाती,
पता भी न चलता

कुछ अलग करने की चाह,
दोस्त बन कर ज़िन्दगी के साथ
बैठ कर चाय पीती, बतियाती, और मुझे चिढ़ाती

कहती, पहले ज़िन्दगी को समझो
फिर उसके साथ छेड़-खानी करना
फिर उसमें अपनी कलाकारी दिखाना

ज़िन्दगी को जानने के लिए
जुर्रत से ज़्यादा अक्ल की ज़रूरत है
और अक्ल से ज़्यादा रूह की सुनने की

क्यूंकि जब अपने रूह से रूबरू होगे,
तो पता चलेगा
तुम्हारी ज़िन्दगी अलग ही तो है,

अलग ही तो है, खुद देख लो
अलग ही तो है, खुद देख लो
खुद देख लो.

हमेशा

हमेशा ऐसा कहाँ होता है
की जो चाहो, वो मिल जाये

ज़िन्दगी के दो सिरे हैं
ख्वाईशें और असलियत
दोनों अलग, दोनों जुदा
हम अक्सर दोनों को मिलाने की
बेपनाह कोशिश करते,
पर जब साथ रहना ही नहीं
तो भला वो क्यूँ सुनें ?
अगर वो न सुने तो हम क्यूँ ?

हम से अहम बनता है
और अहम के हाहाकार से अहंकार
और फिर अहंकार का हाहाकार
फिर, हम कहाँ तुम कहाँ?
सिर्फ मैं ही मैं दिखता है
इस मैं के जंजाल में
आदमी फंसता, बेख़बर
और कोसता फिरता, यहाँ वहाँ

ज़िन्दगी उसकी इतनी भी न सुनती;
उसे तनहा देखकर,
उसका अहम भी उसे धोखा दे कर
भाग निकलता
बचता सिर्फ वो, अकेला।
और मैं, हम की तलाश में
ठोकरें खाता, बेबस और लाचार
अपनी किस्मत से गुफ्तगू करता
और हँसते हुए फिर कहता,

हमेशा ऐसा कहाँ होता है
की जो चाहो, वो मिल जाये

हमेशा, हमेशा.

Soulmate

Find me here, find me there
The world is too big to scan
When you find me, you would hear
That, it was all part of a plan!

Promise

Those words, simple yet appealing
Touched my heart, the heart that was yours
It was a promise
That was to be kept, forever

Life had a reason
A reason to love, live and love again
It was a promise
That was to be kept, forever

Emotions meandered and meandered,
Until, it entered a road of bliss -
It was a promise
That was to be kept, forever

I thought, I felt and I believed
We were destined to be together
It was a promise
That was to be kept, forever

I thought you were to keep it.
You thought I were. The result was -
It remained a promise
That was to be kept, forever

YOU

I am feeling blue.

Lonely, but not alone.

In a place, that I call home.

The reason, being nothing new

Is that I am missing you.

Wait

Another lonely night

Ghastly!

Thunderous clouds just cried

Stars have gone to sleep

Exhausted

Shining besides mountain - so steep

I'm all alone

Waiting

For someone, my own

Memories come flooding

Trapped

Between the wrinkles - budding

The first time we ever met

Serendipity!

It was. It wasn't love, yet

Those serene eyes rested on mine

Enraptured,

I stood, as though I saw Divine

I began to say when you

Stopped.

Your finger on my lips - and dew

'Wait till midnight,' A whisper said

Anticipative,

I smiled while you left

I waited. Days. Months. Years.

Forty-five

The wait doesn't get over, here

The whisper haunts my life

Love

Betrays me every midnight

Old, withered and desolate

Hopeful

Of seeing those eyes again, I wait

The Fighter

Things are wrong, things are right

I speak truth, I don't fight

People defy, revolt and ignite

I speak truth, I don't fight

Ruthless, inhuman, were those Whites

I spoke truth, I didn't fight

Violence, famines, I saw all the plight

I spoke truth, I didn't fight

I am not weak, nor am I bright

I speak truth, I don't fight

When faith wavered, none held me tight

I spoke truth, I didn't fight

I didn't fight. I didn't need to fight.

With truth as my weapon, I already won the fight.

P.S. Check the date today.

Dreamer

When night sky is dark,

Lull prevails, stark.

Dreamers see the light,

Invigorating. Ah, what a sight!

Inspired, he saw that sight.

Determined, to give a tough fight.

Lonely but not alone,

His ultimate fate lay unknown.

He was ready to fight the odds

Smash the hurdles and win the Gods.

The place was far, where he urged to go.

A stormy sea, awaiting conquer, he knew

Fully prepared, he began

A tireless journey, thus spanned

The waves lashed against his chest

He rowed and rowed, without rest

The sea seemed dark and endless

His spirit, however, soared amidst distress

Sea showed no mercy, ghastly waves rose up

He kept trying until the sea gave up

The sea lost

The dreamer won.

For he ran for his dreams, when

Others didn’t know for what to run.

The Little Bird

Piercing the snowy clouds,

Fluttering with scintillating passion

They travelled.

My feet, fixed on the ground, envied.

I wanted to be with them,

Flying, with my wings wide open.

Touching the sky, kissing the mountains

Breathing the earth, bathing in the rains

Carefree, as they were

They vanished in no time.

Dejected and lonely, I strolled ahead.

Wishing to be a bird, all the while

I wanted to ask God

Why had he been so unfair?

Endowing us, humans, with all the things

How could he forget to give us wings?

Absorbed, I went away

Carefree, you might say

For, I hit a rock - pretty hard

I toppled and fell on the way

While head banged on the road,

My mind swung amongst the stars

I couldn't care anymore.

With God, I was at war.

"God - the unfair, uncaring being

You're so mean", I thought.

I opened my bleary-eyes, distraught.

My eyes saw a poor sight.

There lay a little bird -

Mute, weak and hapless

As if waiting, for an eternal flight

She stared at me, blinking

Blank, as if life had reached its end

Taking her in my palms, I soared

I looked at her and in a go,

I threw her towards the sky

To see her wings, flap with joy.

But, the flight didn't occur

Her wings didn't flutter

Fearful, she came back into my hands

Frightened, she stared once again

I asked her, "What's wrong?"

She said, "Come with me. I'm scared."

I laughed and said, "I've got no wings."

"Wings aren't necessary." She replied.

I didn't want to argue,

So I laughed at her ignorance.

She turned morose,

Jumped on the ground,

Walked towards a cage

And locked herself inside.

Astonished, I questioned,

"Why? Why don't you fly?"

She echoed my words.

"Why don't you break the cage?" I asked.

The echoes follow.

Puzzled, I mumbled.

"I've no wings."

She said, "Wings aren't needed."

"Then what is needed?" I wondered.

"The will to break free." She said.

Stunned, I said nothing.

A surge of gratitude for the Almighty,

Came in a fling.

The little bird broke her cage

And carried me towards the sky

"Sky is where I belong,"

She said in my voice and vanished.

Mystified, I kept flying with no wings.

A little flutter inside my heart

Kept me alive and gave my first flight.

"Sky is where I belong" I screamed with joy.

The echoes follow, this time from inside my heart.

I open my eyes and sway my vision.

An isolated road is beheld.

I turn and look into the vast sky.

Piercing the snowy clouds,

Fluttering with scintillating passion

They travelled. But this time,

My feet, fixed on the ground, reveled.

P.S. There is a little bird inside each of us. Never ever dare to cage it. Because sky is where we belong.

When Silence Speaks

Indeed, it was a lovely day

Thousands of thoughts lay scattered

Only one of them could I choose to say

Choice was tough, all the way

The tougher was the choice -

Whether to say or not to say

By my side, you were there

Silent, as if waiting for me to say,

Your eyes assuring me that you care.

Silence. That's all what I said.

That moment, words seemed immaterial,

Since every page of my soul had been read.

My eyes rested on yours, blankly I stared

Amidst blatant heartbeats,

Bare silence, we shared.

You smiled. You sighed.

With clouds as my companion,

I blinked. And we cried.

With you and me, the clouds wept.

Our silence finally spoke up, and

A silent eternal promise was kept.

P.S. Silence is the language of heart. Words contaminate the purity of feelings. This thought made me compose this poem.

Urge

One day,

An urn of sunlight will shower the ground, soiled with darkness, with its bright seeds of light.

That day,

The shadow of darkness will be buried into the wells of ignorance.

The beaming light will sublimate every corpuscle of iniquity into ether.

The urge of knowledge will paint our hapless minds with the colors of rainbow.

The diligent action will take precedence over the shallow promises.

The destination-less wandering mind will find its savior in the word called 'purpose'.

The wild stallion within us will chase the horizon just to catch a glimpse of that supernatural shine.

That day,

This nescient mind of ours will find the real knowledge...

The listless soul of ours will cross across the dark edge...

Just be ready, all the time;

For the day is near

And it can come any day, anytime

Since, on that one day, my friend!

Everything will be anew, everything will be clear

And every 'thing' will end.

P.S. Inspired from Tagore's 'Where the mind is without fear'.

Life

It's a new day.

I get up and say.

'Today, I am gonna run!'

'For sure, it's gonna be fun.'

Somebody once told me that life's a race.

This is the only reality you've to face.

I agreed to it, thinking, 'How true?'

Run, that's what I am supposed to do.

Oh! it's gonna be fun.

This race called life, I'm gonna run!

I run and run until the day comes to an end.

I come back home, smashing my friends.

Accomplished, happy, but tired.

I drop to my bed. Bleary-eyed.

And fall into the trap of my dreams.

Where the race ain't over, that's what it seems.

It's another race there.

Tougher, if not equal, I swear!

Life's a race, how true?

That's the little secret I would tell you.

For years, the process continues.

Successes many, failures few.

I grow old, still racing.

Without any idea of what I have been chasing.

Years go by, my fate awaits.

It seems bad, as if I had missed something great.

The messenger of 'Death' appears.

I am dreadfully tired, full of tears.

For, my time has come.

I can't see what I have done.

And what, undone!

In a bass tone, he speaks to me.

As though a grave decree.

'I can't take you!' He commands.

'I'm done with my life. Why can't you?' I demand.

'Because you already died.'

'When?' I cried.

'The day you started running, out of your own choice.'

Suddenly, a memory flashes before my eyes.

'Weren't you the one who gave me that advice?'

'That life is a race.'

'That's the only reality what I've to face.'

'Ah! Yes, but you got it all wrong!'

'That was not even the part of my song'

Then he sang, 'Life is a grace.'

'That's the only reality, you've to face.'

My eyes open up, abruptly.

I find myself lying in dark, all lonely.

Someone pulls my head. And it's all light.

And I scream out loud, as if in fright.

A lady in white cuts the cord

That connected me to my God.

And I see, the only reality I could face

Is that life's a grace.

P.S. 'A life within a life can also be a death within a life.' This interesting thought made me compose the poem above. Hope you're able to appreciate it.

Encounter

Encounter

With a torch throwing light
I searched across the streets
Hoping to find a ghost of fright
Waiting to give me a mistreat

My eyes were wide open
In search of someone strange
Suddenly a young boy appeared
Whose face looked somewhat deranged

‘How dare you spy’
He thundered, ‘In my territory?
Here only death is permanent
And your life – temporary!’

Instead of getting scared
I almost jumped in glee
For I’d found the ghost
Who would set me free

‘At last, I’ve found you
Now you’ll help my spirit redeem
Oh ghost brother!’ I ask,
‘Why so frightened do you seem?’

He took my torch
And threw the light on my face
He could find nothing there
But just an empty space

He threw the torch
And ran back apace
After-all, the fake ghost saw
A real ghost without a face…