dard apanaataa hai paraaye kaun

dard apanaataa hai paraaye kaun
kaun sunataa hai aur sunaae kaun

kaun doharaae vo puraanii baat
Gam abhii soyaa hai jagaaye kaun

vo jo apane hai.n kyaa vo apane hai.n
kaun dukh jhele aazamaaye kaun

ab sukuu.N hai to bhuulane mein hai
lekin us shaKhs ko bhulaaye kaun

aaj phir dil hai kuchh udaas udaas
dekhiye aaj yaad aae kaun

– Javed Akhtar

To kaise?

Ek kadam chaloon to kaise?
Ek pal rukoon to kaise?

Hare patton ki voh dali,
jisse sajaane ke liye toone kayi din lagaye the
ab sookhi, murjhai si lagti hai…
Usse todoon to kaise?
Main adhoora mali
Usse seenchoon to kaise?

Ek makaan tere liye liya tha,
ghar banne ke intezaar mein khada hai
Kuch khali kamre tere sapnon se saje hain
Tere bagair usmein rehne jaaoon to kaise?
Kissi aur ka ghar tere makaan mein basaoon to kaise?

Teri dil ka ek tukda mere paas ab bhi rehta hai,
Ek dil ki talaash mein kabhi idhar bhatakta hai kabhi udhar dhoondta hai,
Kuch dinon se toota toota sa lagta hai.
Usse jodoon to kaise?
Tere jaisa ek aur dil
main dhoondoon to kaise?

Cheeni, mitti, sheeshe ke voh bartan
Jo toone darjan darjan jode the,
Mere gulistan mein dhool se nahaye khade hai
Toot na jaayein, unehin saaf karoon to kaise?
Mujhe budhdhu ko kya maloom, istemaal bhi karoon to kaise?

Meri zindagi jo toone pal pal dheere dheere banayi thi…
Tere saath chalne ke intezaar mein khadi hai.
Ek kadam tere bagair chaloon to kaise?
Ek pal tere liye rukoon to kaise?

On the subject of mountains…Intezaar!

dscf5512.jpg

I miss the moutains…and I wrote this in the Dharamshala of 10 years ago. Perfect time to dedicate it to Kasol!

 Barf ki thandi chadar orhe
taktaki lagaye khara hai kyon

jabparhti hai jati kirnon ki baarish
uchchlate khanakte jharne bankar
yeh anansoo tere chalakte hain kyno

jab bujhti hai halki halkisi shaam
chubhti satati havayein bankar
teri thandi saansein yu chlati hain kyon

jab rangti hai raat syahi se tujhko
to laakhon chmakti shamyein bankar
tere dil ke tukde u jalte hainkyon

jaakr kya vapas aay ahai koi
kya vaade kabhi nibhata hai koi

intezaar ki ghariyaan barhti rahengi
u hi ye sadiyaa chalti rahengi

to phir brf ki yu chadar orhe
taktaki lagaye khara hai kyon

Cheeky old casanova sun!

I saw the sun chase a stream of water,
playing hide and seek in a rocky ravine.
I saw the leaves light up as green as green
as he caressed them – that swine!

I saw the snow blush as he touched it
on his way down the steep.
I saw him warm the rocks,
as the river sang them to sleep!

And then he touched me, fleetingly
as I sat next to the melty river
Warm on chilly, bright gold on silver drops.
Goosebumps, pleasure, a shiver.

I saw the sun…I saw the sun, that swine!

A few more words by Sukhan…

Oje ka mol to pasti hai yahaan,
Man ki masti hai ki sasti hai yahaan.

Dil ke viraane hi viraan hai dost,
Aur har basti to basti hai yahaan.  Aap aa jaayegi kya fikra karein,
Maut mehangi hai ya sasti hai yahaan. 

Har sanam-khaane ki raunaq,
Apni hi kaabaa-parasti hai yahaan. 

Hai! Bicchare huey ahbaab ki yaad,
Ek naagin hai ki dasti hai yahaan. 

Narindar Sigh Bedi

December 1960

The second from a series of cloud inspired dreams…

Like the clouds that brush you by
When you’re up in the mountains
Face to Face with the sky
Just a fleeiting moment
A sense of cool touch
A glimpse of heaven
It means so much
To me when I tire
of the race to go higher
Close enough to reach out and aquire
that same cloud
To clutch, grasp, hold on to it
While it slips through my fingers
leaving nothing but
a sense of cool touch that lingers
..on to mock me
as i reach out again
for the cloud just beyond

The flea by John Donne – My all time favourite!

marke but this flea, and marke in this
How little that which thou deny’st me is:
Mee it suck’d first, adn now sucks thee
And in this flea, our two bloods mingled bee
Confesse it, this cannot be bsaid
A sinne or shame, or loss of maidenhead
yet this enjoyes before it wooe,
and pamper’d swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than wee would doe.

Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where wee almost, nay no more than maryed are:
This flea is U and i, and this
our marriage bed and marriage temple is:
Thought parents grudge, and u, we are met,
And cloystered in these livign walls of jet
Though use make thee apt to kill mee,
Let not do this, self murder added bee,
And sacrilege, three sinnes in killin three

Cruel and Sodaine, hst hou since
Purpled thy naile, in blood of innocence?
in what culd this flea guilty bee,
Except that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and saist that thou
Find’st not hty selfe, nor mee the weaker now:
‘Tis true then learne how false, feares bee;
Just so much honor, when thou yieldst to mee,
Will wast, as this flea’s death took life from thee.

What a weekend!

What a weekend man! To do things JUST the way you want them is a boon that I hadn’t realized! To laze in the sun on a Sunday afternoon all satiated with ‘mooli ka paranthas’. To have a friend by your side whom you haven’t met for a long time. To talk of old times and to plan the new. The first bon-fire of winter. The fire’s still dancing in my eyes…What fun! So here’s my tribute to the weekend…

I was caressed today
His fingers as gold as gold,
Flushed skin, warmed one moment
Cooled by a breath, the second.

He played with my hair
Treacherous response!
Tickled my neck, scratched my ear.

Lay on me hot and heavy
The scent of winter!
Musty leaves crunching, dancing with joy.

The game of passion that we play
Every Sunday afternoon…
The wind, the sun & I!

The voice of a broken child…

Santre ke chilkon ki khushboo mien tu samayi hai maa,
Parhte bachchon ko chat pe khana dene aayi hai maa,
Gajar ke halwe se pehle ki vo kachi pakki kheer,
Voh makki ki roti, tere haathon ka saag,
Gur ki roti mein lipta tera pyaar,
Roti ke tukron pe makhhan achaar.

Sardi ki dhoop mein tere haathon ki garmi hai maa,
Chaon ki hawa mein teri baaton ka teekhapan hai,
Apne hothon pe teri baatein ab bhi nazar aati hain mujhe,
Teri aankhon mein sanjoya mera bachpan hai.

Apni beti ke haathon mein rehti hai tu,
Tere bina main jee na sakoon,
Ab vapas aaja meri beti tu banke,
Apne dil mein sajaa ke rakhoongi tujhe,
Teri beti ko bahut yaad aati hai maa,
Raaton ko sapnon mein sataati hai maa!

Why wasn’t I alive then…

To kahoon 
Zaraa khaamoshi ko maane se sajaa loon to kahoon
Zaraa alfaaz ke mahbas ko giraa loon to kahoon
(alfaaz=arods; mahbas=jail)

Ahl-e-daanish hain jo, tafseer-e-maho-saal karein
Main zaraa lamhe ke israaR ko paa loon to kahoon
(daanish=Knowledge, wisdom; tafseer= exposition; lamhe = moment)

Kissa-e-dard to aasaan hai magar dil taareek
Ik zaraa ashquon ki shammaa ko jalaa loon to kahoon
(taareek= bbscure)

kho gaya ghalghalaa-e-shahar main zauk-e-guftaar
main bhi uss kasbaa-e-khaamosh main jaa loon to kahoon
(zauk=interest; guftaar=convesation,speech)

Dard ko sher mai dhalne ka kareena to mile
Dard ko fikr ke sochon main samaa loon to kahoon

Narindar Singh Bedi.(‘sukhan’)
August 1968