Sense of Silence

can you see it?

the void of silence.

the eyes conjuring up

all the words you spoke

and your lips quivering on

some of the unsaid ones

can you feel it?

the clutch of silence.

overpowering, suffocating

forcing you to blurt out

and stopping them words

in a stranglehold

can you smell it?

the stench of silence.

wearing you with

a dementor-like demeanour

decaying words and thoughts

dead and living on

can you taste it?

the bitterness of silence.

shorn of the happy shimmer

life trundling along

lips smacking as they remember

the sweetness of words

can you hear it?

the sound of silence.

a deafening drone

drowning you down

the ears yearning to hear you

utter some words

Pic is by Basu. Taken at Lansdowne.

stuck-in-a-second

I look at you, girl

standing there, moonlight-lit

some stars peeking through your hair

you haven't braided it today

the way i've always loved it

i remember telling you about it

and i'm glad you remembered

there you stand, and i close my eyes

look inside for what i had wished you'd be

your hand meets mine, in a weird symmetry

the images match and i realise

i've known you all my life

a long time for someone who felt alive just now

i want to stare and i don't

i know what i'll see and still i want

my eyes are squeezed shut

i'm afraid you could disappear

with startling suddenness

all that has to be said, has already been

in the hesitating way our fingers touched

in the way i looked at my once-loved stars

and then quickly looked back at you

and in our fidgetiness and eagerness

but there are stories to be told

and lives to be synched

what are we waiting for

standing here with this distance between us

i don't know

maybe time doesn't matter

not now

especially now.

- Written on a flight. Sometimes i can be a hopeless romantic [:P]. The pic is by Basu, as always.

gift horse and the looking in the mouth :)

रात की चादर ओढ़े हम जागते रहे
तारों संग बेसिरपैर बातें करते रहे
और अब हमें जोर की नींद आई है
शुक्र है सुबह रौशनी का लिहाफ लायी है

------

रौशनी का लिहाफ ओढ़ हमने सोचा
अब अँधेरे से डरना बंद हो जायेगा
चमक से आँखें कुछ ऐसी चुंधिया गयीं
उजाले में नहाये नींद को तरसते हैं

Poetry meets Reality

आप कहते रहे जाने क्या
हम आपको कहते देखते रहे
जितना प्यार करें कम है
ऐसा कुछ सोचते रहे
दुनियादारी के ज़माने में शायद
बातों पर भी थोडा ध्यान देना था
अब खड़े हैं यहाँ सर खुजाते
कि पता नहीं आलू कितने किलो लेना था

:P :D

job description

दिन भर रौशनी के
महीन धागे चुन
सोचो चाँद क्या करता
रातों में ठाने धुन
जिन टूटे तारों पे
आपने अपने सपने देखे
चाँद वापस उन्हें
आसमान में टाँके
क्यूंकि ख्वाब आपके
पूरे तो ज़रूर होंगे
पर आसमान में छेद भी
अच्छे नहीं लगेंगे

i-vs-love-vs-me

it's hard to find
where i end
and "we" begin
the ends tie together
the ties end together
it's the sunshine
playing with the shadows
and the shadows
where they were many
are now a porous existence
polka-dotted, grayed

is this love?
or a search for meaning
deep within myself?

----------

i tried to imagine
what i would be
if i weren't you
i would be me
but then again,
who am i?
----------

तुम्हे चाहते हैं हम इतना
कि दूर रहने की सोच
घबरा सा जाते हैं
पर कैसे कहें कि
खुद को खो कर
तुम्हारी इन राहों पे
हाथ थामे चलते
रुक से जाते हैं

-image is by Basu.

twist in the tale

एक ख्याल आया कि
बालू भरे जूते
थोड़े साफ़ कर लें
फिर सोचा कि
रेगिस्तान तो अभी
कई और भी हैं

-------

कोशिश करते रहे
धूसर दीवारों में
बाहर देखने को
झरोखे बना सकें...
एक नज़र उठा कर
देखा भी नहीं
सर पे हमारे सतरंगी
आसमान ताकता रहा

wakey wakey!

सुबह आँखें मलते
मैंने पूछा सूरज से
शर्म नहीं आती जगाते
हर सुबह नींद से
माना कि नौकरी करना
तुम्हारी मजबूरी है
पर सपने देखना
भी तो ज़रूरी है!

folly story

Ingredients of the case:
A flight ticket that bears the correct time, both on printout and boarding pass.
A check-in counter attendant of the same breed as me.
And finally, stupid stupid me!

The story:
Flight at 6:30. Naween Kumar wakes up at 4:30. Gets ready. Cab arrives at 5:00. Leaves for airport. Arrives safely. Checks in a bag. Goes thru security check. 15 mins to boarding. Tries to take a short nap. Is unsuccessful though. Is the first in line at the boarding gate. Asks the lady if boarding for the mumbai flight has started. Lady asks for boarding pass. Naween hands it over. She smiles.
'' Sir, you are booked on an evening flight!''

Consequences:
Surprisingly, minimum. Corporate booking ensures no rescheduling charges or fare difference. Naween books himself on a 8 am flight. Reschedules cab in mumbai.

Embarrassment:
Unsurprisingly, maximum.

Things that could have happened:
Naween could have noticed the time on ticket in the one week he has had it for. The check-in attendant could have noticed the time on the ticket. Naween could have done without the mental translation of the 24 hour format time on the ticket.

Learning of the story:
Wake up!

Chances of learning getting implemented:
Dim. Since Naween had arrived at a similar learning when he had done a similar exercise for a train booking.

Two sides of the same coin

I hate you.

No, you don't.

No, I do.

No, you don't.

You are not the decision maker here.

I know. And still I say, you don't hate me.

You are being arrogant.

No, I'm not. Tell me, why do you hate me?

Because you make me feel miserable.

Define miserable.

Look it up in the dictionary.

I know what it means. I just want to know what you mean by that.

You make me cry.

Because I love you?

No, it's not because of that. I know no one could have loved more.

Then, why?? I could tell you why but you won't like the answer.

You are saying you know me better than I do myself?

That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that I could tell you things you are afraid to say to yourself.

Shoot!

You are afraid to lose control, you don't want to lose yourself in emotions that might get out of hand.

How do you know that?

Because for all this time I've been in love with you, you've kept me out of your inner world.

And you have been ever-insistent on barging in..

Yes, I have done that. Not because I wanted to interfere. But only because I wanted to share.

Share what? Your sense and understanding of the world ? And thrust it upon me?

If you had just given up that line of thought for one small moment, you would have seen that it's not much different from yours. It's a dream we've seen together. It's just that you refuse to acknowledge your share.

I'm not a dreamer.

In your own obstinate way, you are. You just don't want to share your dreams. Not even with the one the dream is for.

You are making me cry again.

I am just making you see the fact that I would NEVER want to change you. Because the way you are, is the way I've fallen in love with. Why would I ever want to change that?

Can you promise me that you will keep trying to drill some sense no matter how stubborn I am?

I will. And you know that.

Yes, I do.

Now, stop crying.

Yes, I should.