Kohre

Sardi ki shaam thi woh,
Kohre mein thehri thi waqt.

Jo suljhane pe aur bhi uljhe,

Aisi hi thi kuch haalat.

Baithe the hum rubaru,

Par khamosh tha main,

Aur bebaak si woh.

Baithe the hum rubaru,

Naraaz sa main,

Hairan si woh.

গোধূলি

This poem got published in 'Durga Puja Souvenir of Niva Park Phase-II Durgostav Samity 2022'

গোধূলির পায়ে উঠল বেজে,
সন্ধে-রাতের শীতল নূপুর;

মন তবে তার,
হারায়ে খোঁজে --
গড়ানো বেলার 
উষ্ণ দুপুর।

গোধূলির পায়ে উঠল বেজে,
রাত-প্রভাতের রঙিন নূপুর;

চোখ তবে তার,
রইল বুজে --
পলক মাঝে
সমুদ্দুর ।

Godhulir paye uthlo beje,

sondhe-raater sheetol nupur;

mon tobe tar,

haraye khnoje --

gorano belar

ushno dupur,

Godhulir paye uthlo beje,

raat-probhater rongin nupur;

chokh tobe tar,

roilo buje--

polok majhe

somuddur.

चंद लफ़्ज़

वो ऐसी एक कहानी थी,
जो कलम मे ही बैठी रही,
कागज़ पे उतर न सकी |

वो ऐसी एक बारिश थी,
जो बादल मे ही छुपी रही,
ज़मीन पे बरस न सकी |

वो ऐसी एक सुबह थी ,
जो सपने मे ही खोई रही,
हक़ीक़त मे बिखर न सकी |

वो ऐसी एक फूल थी,
जो कली मे ही सिमटी रही,

बागों मे खिल न सकी |

फ़ासले (Faasley)

मानेंगे नहीं हम तलफ़्फुज़ का विचार,

के जिस ज़बान से हुई है इश्क़, 

उसीको बोलने मे कैसी ये दीवार !

मानेंगे नहीं हम रस्मों का गर्दिश,

के जिस नाज़नीन से हुई है सुबहा, 

उसीको चाहने मे कैसी ये बंदिश !

Maanenge nahi hum talaffuz ka vichar,

Ke jis zabaan se huyi hain ishq,

Useeko bolne me kaisi yeh deewar !

Maanenge nahi hum rasmo ka gardish,

Ke jis nazneen se huyi hain subah,

Useeko chahne me kaisi yeh bandish !

माज़ी (Maazi)

शाम में जब,
घर के सारे काम निपटाकर
खुद के लिए एक प्याली चाय बनाके
अँधेरे कमरे मे जाके बैठती हु,
तो आज भी खिड़की से नज़र आती है --
धुंधला सा एक सागर,
जिनके लहरों के बीच
मज़े से दौड़ रहा है --
एक आदमी, एक औरत,
और कसके दोनों के हाथ थामे,
एक बीता हुया बचपन |

Shaam mein jab,
Ghar ke saare kaam niptakar
Khud ke liye ek pyali chaye banake
Andhere kamre mein jaake baithti hu,
Toh aaj bhi khirki se nazar aati hain --
Dhoondhla sa ek sagar,
Jinke lehro ke beech,
Maze se daur raha hain --
Ek aadmi, ek aurat,
Aur kaske dono ke haath thaame,
Ek beeta huya bachpan.

नजरिया (Nazariya)

न खिड़की की कमी थी, न मंज़ार का,
थी तो बस - 

आँखों की ग़फ़लत

न साहिल की कमी थी, न लहरों का,

थी तो बस - 

आँखों की ग़फ़लत

Na khidki ki kami thi, na manzaar ka,

Thi toh bas - 

aankhon ki ghafalat

Na saahil ki kami thi, na lahro ka,

Thi toh bas - 

aankhon ki ghafalat

चांदनी (Chandni)

रात की नवाज़िश है ये ​बेज़ुबान चांदनी

तन्हाई का कदर भी है, राहत की परछाई भी

Raat ki nawazish hai ye bezubaan chandni,
Tanhai ka qadar bhi hai, raahat ki parchayi bhi.

Withered Leaves

A fire, broke out, again;

From withered leaves --

Forgotten,  forsaken

That for long....

Lay stuck, with pain --

Between a cloud,

and her only rain.

Ellipsis (...)

.
Like the glow of a sea,
At the rise of a wave;

She flapped her wings,
Atop her cage.

..
Breeze beneath her feathers,
She took on faith, the sky.

Colors and clouds around,
She glided far and high.

...

Firaaq

The smile that once could speak,

The eyes that once could hear;

They haven't had a word in years,

They haven't had a word in years.

The Leaf

The leaf holds dear an autumn song,

The nod that lets her take the fall.

The leaf holds dear a brook beneath,

The life she yearns to sail along.

Bhatiyar

Night has stayed for days this time.

Clouds have staged a frightful mime.

Fingers trembling, she picked her flute;

And played the tune, that morning should.

Birth

Petals of stars had begun to fade.

Blooms of night they dearly held,

Were soon to be gone, were soon to be shed.

The glint did start to grow with dawn,

A flower died, her daughter born.

Adult

Forest as a child, 
He grew up to be a garden.

Laughter as a child,
She grew up to be a smile.

Meant to fly

Even if she grieves,

In a rusty little cage;

A hope of freedom, 

She is meant to stage.

Even if for years, 

She hasn’t seen the sky;

A bliss of soaring,

She is meant to sigh.

Springtime

It’s time for Winter to find a shade,

The frosty veil that reigned for years,

It’s time for it to melt and fade.

It’s time for Summer to march and flout,

The darling bud that hoped for years,

It’s time for her to smile and sprout.

Wick

A flame young and shy,
Tempest thumped and fled at night,
Candle breathed her last.

(Inspired by Haiku style of poetry)

Room of Words

Her ears were echoing,
A tuneless flutter.

Her eyes were struggling,
With a shroud of dust.

Her feet were stumbling,
On some faded buds.

She tiptoed back,
To her room of words.

Chirping Leaves

She once used to caress,
An early morning dew.

She once used to shelter,
A sultry summer noon.

She once used to rustle ,
With a windy afternoon.

Now that leaves have left her,
So have dew and others.

But birds still come
and sit with her,
Chirping all day long;

On every branch, on every twig,
Where leaves once used to be.

But the village knows

She quarrels with the lonely roads;
She quarrels with the brimming trees.

She quarrels with the silent ponds;
She quarrels with the singing breeze.

She quarrels with the hurtless birds;
She quarrels with the fiercest beasts.

She quarrels with the crowded forests;
She quarrels with the soothing fields.

Each time she has to leave,
She quarrels.

But the village knows;
With tearful eyes,
He waves at her with a smile.

Blessed with a child

Each time the woman ages,
She turns a bit more cynic;

But the child that's in her lap,
Or the one that's playing around,
He looks at her and gives a smile;
She holds his hands,-
She breaks into tears.

Each time she breaks into tears,
She turns a bit more mother.

Interlude

Every dawn,
they leave their cities 
and flee for another;

Just to run through a field so alive,
Just to run into a tree so coloured,
Just to run along a river so artful;

Before the morning can part its lips
and this dreamy interlude fades....

(enroute Chandigarh to Delhi)

Heard her speak

A muddy road, 

I heard her speak;

She talks a lot, 

about the Rain.

A dried-up river, 

I heard her speak ;

She talks a lot, 

about the Rain.

Unspoken

The cloud awaits the rain,
with a hope to touch the pond.

The pond,
she does the same,
with a hope to touch her, back.

Dusk

The dusk keeps light with him.
Leaves the day with her curious eyes;

He comes again the following dawn,
He loves to take her by surprise !

Season's End

Winter out of twigs,
The bird came to pluck;

Her golden beak of spring,
To the shattered tree got stuck. 

A year has passed since

She kept on looking
At eyes that couldn't see,
She kept on gazing
The tears that weren't there;

She kept on hearing
The voices that couldn't speak,
She kept on listening
To words that never were;

She kept upholding
A flame that rain had drenched.

A year has passed since.

She keeps on holding,
The mud, behind it left. 

The Danseuse

She saw the claps , 
She thanked in tears .

She knew her dance could talk ,
She knew her feet held words .

Hear did I

Hear did I , a carefree humming ,
In fiercest roars of darkest noons .

Hear did I , a carefree humming,
In silent glances of brightest moons .

When no one scolds

She comes to gape , a little tree ,
In the middle of night , when no one scolds ;

She comes to wait , for a petal unfold ,
In the middle of night , when no one scolds ;

She comes to watch , a flower bloom ,
In the middle of night , when no one scolds ;

She comes to hear , a newborn cry ,       
In the middle of night , when no one scolds ;

She comes to feel , a mother born ,
In the middle of night , when no one scolds .

Life Hexalogy

One

The beauty that heralds a day,

The harshness that calls it a night ;

The sweetness that allows a wrong ,

The sour that forces a right .

Two

The breaths that bring us here,

The sighs that take us away.

The tears that lie within ;

The smile that still makes way .

Three

The ground that shouts "The world is hard ." ,

The dew which whispers "No , it's not ."

The pet that flies in a shrouded cage ;

The bird which chirps  " But wings don't age ."

Four

The findings that are now all yours ,

The quests that are yet to be met .

The glow of a candle that walked with you;

The wax of one by which you slept.

Five

Echoed Azan , ears of noon ,

Flying sparrows , nest ahoy !

Shalik pairs , joy the boon ,

Peek-a-boo ,  man and boy !

Six

The sky that nests in eyes ,

The clouds that pass with winks ;

The breeze that laughs and cries ;

The light that strikes and sinks .

Canvas

I drew a picture ,

In my mind ;-
Of waves too harsh :

Of seas too kind.

Some I painted with brushes of dawn ,
Some got life by stars of night .

I drew a picture ,
In my mind ;-
Of shores ahead ;
Of lives behind .

 

Just the way I do

Rain too comes to cloudy noons,
 Just the way I do .
Rain too falls for paperboats,
Just the way I do .
 

Baarish

Rippling cheeks, whistle on lips;
On her lap, some playful dust.
Feathers of cloud, atop her hat;
Made her feet she, brim with lust.

Screaming clouds,
Horizon blushed;
Shutting her eyes,  
She took the fall.

Neither the curious winds,
Nor the fleeting birds;
One with a caring silence,
Speak she will, to grass.

On her Way

Time did freeze for a mo :
in the midst of it ,
say crowded boulevards;
Gaping that little old lady ,
yes , right under that big young Sun ;
whom none else saw ,
guess none else will ,
still too busy , but
now with old sore feet
and the only 'chappal' ,
her last torn souvenir
of what just flew
in the wink of an eye .

পাতার গালে শিশির কোথায় ?
জমছে পুরু ধুলো।
ছুটছে চাকা , উড়িয়ে ভোর ;
রাস্তা , দু’চোখ খুলো ।

‘ভালো আছি’ বলব ,-

তাই তো হঠাৎ
থামিয়ে আমায়
গালে হাত দিল ঠোঁট ;
আরেক হাতে
উল্টে দেখলো পাতা ;
মিলিয়ে নিল
অঙ্ক কষে ,
হিসেব নিকেশ খাতা ।

শীতজানলা

শীতজানলা ,
রোদ পোহাব ,-
নিয়মভঙ্গ করো ।

পর্দানসীন – অস্তগামী ,
ঘোমটা খুলে বোঝো ।

শীতজানলা ,
সকাল সকাল
স্নান খাওয়া সেরে ফেলা ।

শীতজানলা ,
আলো হাওয়া নিয়ে
রান্নাবাটি খেলা।

শীতজানলা ,
খাট সরিয়ে
একদম কাছে আসা ।

শীতজানলা ,
গা এলিয়ে

উষ্ণ খেয়ায় ভাসা।

শীতজানলা ,
সুনীল চোখে  

গড়াতে দেখা দুপুর।

শীতজানলা ,
বিকেল বাড়লে
আলো হারানো পুকুর ।

শীতজানলা ,
ঠান্ডা সন্ধ্যে ,

নিয়ন পোকা বুকে ।

শীতজানলা ,
মাফ্লার পড়ো ,
পর্দা চাপো মুখে ।

শীতজানলা ,
খেয়াল করো ,
জাগছে দ্যাখো ওরা ,
রোদ পোহাবে আবার ;
আবার ক’রে ,
তুমিও কিন্তু 
নিয়মভঙ্গ কোরো ।