Sonnet #2

I long for the warmth of her embrace,

Like the blanket of summer air,

Fragrant and heady like the enchanting mace,

A frantic heart in exhilaration, An affair

Of hearts in mystical bliss,

Ignorance of the tangible mundane,

Teems with the fecundity once amiss,

I float weightless on this breeze arcane,

Sprouting wings I glide ephemeral,

To the garden that she oft nurtures,

Discreet, I spawn an urge chimeral,

And I, the moth her glow enraptures,

The astral shimmering in her bottomless eyes,

I delved and drowned, Never to rise!

Moments

I tilted my head in disappointment,

And stared blank the longest moment,

Anticipation of a pat or a velvety touch,

I cared not much to let her know,

Any more than cryptic signals,

A tilt, a tear and glassy stares,

Merely all I cared to venture,

And now, As I relive the times,

The longest moment grows longer,

And engulfs in a time warp,

My solitude and Me.

P.D.

I stand desperate like,

A musician through a jingle,

A painter on a billboard,

A racer at a cab-wheel,

An agnostic in a church band,

A believer with a thorny crown,

A nudist draped in coal-tar,

An actor pretending to get along,

A seer with a member-less retinue,

A seed strewn haphazard in a lifeless drought,

A thinker as a trite cog,

A poet drowned in wordless pools,

And as a romantic in damned solitude,

I persist.

Untitled

वक़्त के साथ बदलतीं हैं करवटें,

सुनाएँ एक क़िस्सा तुमको,

अगर लगे ये तुम्हें नामुम्किन,

तो सब्र करें और सुनें! १ ||

'ये बच्चों के खेलने की चीज़ नहीं',

मय्या से सुनते बड़े हुए,

खेल-ए-जवानी ने भुला दी बात,

पचताए, और आज ये रच दिए! २ ||

ग़ज़ल-ए-मोहब्बत या नज़्म-ए-ख़ौफ़,

यह तो तुम ही हमें बताओ,

प्रारंभ किए थे इन अल्फ़ाज़ से,

'मुझसे दोस्ती करोगे?'! ३ ||

लाचार थें हम या बदनसीब,

ये न जाने हम कभी,

'हम सब तो रंगमंच की कठपुतलियाँ हैं',

बस इसी सोच से सहलाते! ४ ||

इश्क़-ओ-मोहब्बत थोंपा गया,

एक शरद आधी रात में,

झूल रहे थे हम बेफिक्र,

उस मौन काल में जम गए! ५ ||

'भाई, टेंशन नहीं लेनेका भाई',

कहते गए मेरे अनगिनत मित्रगण,

आज मैं बेचारा बैठा महफ़ूज़,

कुछ न कह पाया दोस्ताना! ६ ||

होंठ थे उसके या मधु की चषक,

डूब-उभरे थे उन चक्षु में,

घोंट ली अंदाज़ ने साँस मेरी,

ख़्याल हमें अब भी तड़पाए! ७ ||

टहनी-टहनी, शाखा-शाखा,

झूले उस मल्हार में,

चुपचाप से आज ये नरम पत्ते,

ख़ामोशी में चीख़ उठे! ८ ||

ज़र्रे-ज़र्रे ने हमें भरोसा दिलाया,

कि इस सफ़र में हम अकेले न अच्छे,

शोभा दे हमें वह हमसफ़र जिसके,

यादगार-ए-घाव अब भी कच्चे! ९ ||

फिर हमने उसको बताया गुनेगार,

वो जो सपनों को तब भी सताती,

रो दिया हमारे लिए दरिया,

और वो किनारा बनकर बस गई! १॰ ||

अब आरोप न उस पर लगाएँ हम,

ग़ुस्सा तो हमें ख़ुद पर आए,

कच्ची मिट्टी-प्याले की तरह,

आब-ए-चश्म में हम घुल गए! ११ ||

आज हम अगर कभी हुए भावुक,

तो आमिर के पुतले को मन में पूजे.

'आल इज वेल' का नारा लगाते,

और ये क़िस्सा हम सुनाते! १२ ||

Written for Hindi Creative Writing GC, all filmy topics, had to use 5 out of 10 given Bollywood's favourite one-liners(in quotes).

ഓർമ്മകൾ

വാടും പൂവിതളിൽ ഓർമ്മകൾ വിരിയുന്നു,

പുരാതന വസ്തുകളെപ്പോലെ ,

എൻറെ ഓരോ ചെറിയ ഓർമ്മകൾ,

ഓരോന്നായി സന്ധ്യാകാല നക്ഷത്രങ്ങളെപ്പോലെ തെളിയുന്നു.

ഒരു പൂക്കൂട,

അവളുടെ സ്പന്ദിക്കും കൈകൾ,

ഈറൻ വിരലുകൾ,

മൃദുസ്പർശനമൊരോർമ്മ.

പൂക്കൂടയിൽ നിന്ന് താഴെ വീണ ഒറ്റപ്പൂവ്,

ഇന്നെൻ പുസ്തകത്തിൻ പെയ്ജുകൾക്കിടയിൽ,

മണം ഒരോർമ്മ, നിറം വെറും ഓർമ്മ.

പിരിഞ്ഞകാലം ഇടനെഞ്ജിൽ ക്ഷമയില്ലായ്മയൊരോർമ്മ,

മധുരനൊംബരത്തിൻ അസ്തിത്വമൊരോർമ്മ,

ശംഖിൻ ഉൾപ്പാട്ട്, ഒട്ടിപ്പിടിച്ച മണൽ,

ആദ്യ ചുംബനം, എല്ലാം ഓർമ്മകൾ മാത്രം,

പുലർച്ച സൂര്യനെപ്പോലെ ഉദിക്കും ഓർമ്മകളേ!

എൻറെ വഴികാട്ടി!

വാടിയ റോസാപ്പൂവിൻ മുള്ള്, ഒരു തുള്ളി രക്തം,

എൻറെ പ്രയാണത്തിൻ എഴുത്തുതൂവൽ മഷി!

=>

Memories

On a withering petal, Memories blossom,

Like ancient forgotten artifacts,

Every single memory of mine,

Appears like stars in the evening sky,

A bouquet,

Her quivery hands, Perspiring fingers,

Her tender touch, Now a memory,

A solitary flower from the bouquet,

Now between the pages of my book,

The fragrance a memory, The hue a mere memory,

My impatient heart, The pangs of separation,

A memory, the existence of the sweetest pain,

The sound of captured waves in a shell, My sandy feet,

My first kiss, All mere memories,

Memories like the morning rays of the Sun!

My incredulous guide!

A thorn from the dead rose, A drop of blood,

The quill and ink on my parchment life!

Remnants(A half-remembered dream)

Drenched in sweat, In vain I try,

To repaint the majestic splendour,

Contumacious recollections creep and I,

This phantasmagoria, I render,

It meant to me, I know not what,

Maybe as much as my Muse's breath,

That clouds my biased looking-glass,

Into my subversive, inward, dimlit room,

Or a dusty, long-lost artifact, that

Avoids an avoidable corner, In class,

Avoids my gaze, In stealth,

Maybe a significant tear in gloom,

Or the Chrysanthemums in full bloom,

In a Japanese wedding-night,

Or on the grave of a valorous British knight!

'Ghalib', I had christened him,

He had fought with me till the very end,

Or I'd like to believe, the dim,

Grey eyes, The mast that had held me aloft,

And like the knight I'd like to pretend,

I was amidst the heavyset thickets, The soft,

Rustling of the verdant Peepul leaves,

Then the freezing Tundra, Merciless as ever,

Brought out in me my primal wants,

Amidst the shrieks of forgettable taunts,

Again, as my heart still believes,

New realms in her, I discovered!

Mere words for her, never would suffice,

What just a casual glimpse could be,

Fathom the depth, That moment precise,

Of the abyss, My passionate mind,

Invaders lame or third-eye blind,

Seized my momentary lapse, To flee,

But I fought, 'Ghalib' the victorious one,

With a gallop, My magnificent steed,

To decapitate the infidel, To make him bleed,

I believe I killed the wretched one!

A crack I saw, Like platonic shifts,

The Pangea, that once enraptured me,

Fragments I beheld, Now scattered in seas,

Confused as Frost with alternate paths,

Unlike him, indecisive, My wrath,

Rained down on my fictitious, bewildered self,

As I sought her peaks, My ever loyal fleets,

Scrambled up and down like little elves!

And now the vespertine zephyr it blows,

A salty sting my probable wounds,

A swansong or an anthem glares,

From the conches, As I bellow,

The words that now don't ring and sound,

Mere vignettes, Of a hazy dream,

And the eyes of my reflection stares,

At a blank, irrevocable thought-stream!

And as soon as it had begun,

In white flashes, It disappeared,

I remember footsteps, I still work the rhythm,

When I walk alone, Or sprint or run,

And the vessel I so diligently steered,

The vassals, And my lighter moments with them,

Sometimes I paint the majestic walls,

And let the dull drapery cover it all!

Now, read the last paragraph, and then begin from the beginning, a cyclical poem, written for the Creative Writing GC.

पंछी

आज़ाद पंछी!

ईर्ष्या से तुझे निगाहें भर देखता हूँ,

तेरी स्वच्छंद उड़ान,

मेरी अभिलाषा,

क्या मैं इसे कभी महसूस कर पाऊंगा?

हवाओं को ओढ़ते हुए बादलों की नरम छाँव में,

अपने मे ही राजा और रंक समाए,

धरती और आसमान मुलाहिज़ा कर,

क्या मैं अपनी शेष ज़िंदगी गुज़ार पाऊंगा?

डालियों से डालियों पर,

मुल्कों से मुल्कों में,

दिलों से दिलों तक,

क्या मैं ऐसे दृष्टिकोण के क़ाबिल कभी बन पाऊंगा?

अपने दर्मियान फ़ासलों के बावजूद,

इस आत्मा की गुज़ारिश सुनो,

अपनी उड़ान में लहराती उम्मीद से,

हमें निरंतर प्रेरित करते रहो,

उड़ते रहो!

I am.......

I am,

But a mere spectator,

Not omniscient, maybe not impartial,

I see at night, mounds of corpses,

Tendons in the beaks of scavenging vultures,

Who salvage from the wreck,

To keep themselves afloat,

'They're blameless',

My heart lub-dubs,

Survival is the ultimate goal,

And they'll perish soon,

To be eventually free,

Of all the sins of force of habit,

If I were the keeper of the keys,

Of the elusive golden gates,

I wouldn't ponder a moment to let them in,

But once again the mounds of corpses flash,

And leaves me to speculate and possibly punish,

But I am,

A mere minuscule mortal,

What right have I to mock the sky?

The fireworks that succeed a triumphant venture,

Possibly the lesser of the evils,

The devil's alternative, plausibly,

But how may I rest in peace at night?

When stabs at me pangs of guilt,

The unguarded mounds need someone,

Maybe a keeper,

Or probably a nurse to wipe off a lonely tear,

Concern on a now numbed, motionless cheek,

And now I see a couple parties in the horizon,

I think they're here to help me clean,

To wash to the sea the frothy mess,

Their guilt,

Oozes from the remnants of innocent souls,

Destitute bodies hand in hand,

But they prove me wrong,

A bewildered me,

I gape at the in situ crematorium,

A herd of necrophiliacs throw themselves,

Into the unassuming mounds,

The backdrop changed to a modern day colosseum,

In colourful vignettes,

Partly phantasmagoric,

The nation, the hailing spectators,

The placards and the vuvuzelas,

Out of the central Roman theme,

I float down to the still numb bodies in the mounds,

Even the parties emotionless in their motions,

Amazed again,

I grasp the real,

Mere glorified whores,

Mere attention seekers,

Shameful brutes to make me cringe,

I float in my nightmare to a nearby lake,

With the crimson not yet caressed its cheek,

I throw in flat, round pebbles that glide,

On the otherwise still surface,

Ducks and drakes,

The little game called,

I wake up confused but glad,

With a gash on the finger I cut on a pebble,

That left the pond slightly redder.

An Ode(To the Unknown)

This shady coconut grove,

Offers a revelation of sorts,

A safety net, this protective alcove,

Coalesce on parchment, inky blots,

Of pride, Of pity, Of admiration,

An inimitable, improbable cocktail,

Begins a new kind of titillation,

On this vast ocean sets sail,

Not a yacht, but a sturdy boat,

Of doubt, of seething, persisting pain,

I imagine a sneer, a colossal gloat,

Personified, the hope in the waters slain,

Where indeed does the Sun rise?

Is the scintillation just a ball of gas?

These questions in my mind arise,

The illusions of immortal beings crash,

To upset my being, a loud crack,

Brings out of a trance, my weary mind,

With the lethargy of an infinite mass black,

I return to this spasmodic bind.

Spilt Milk

Spilt milk,

The epitome of all that's lost,

From my grasp unwittingly,

Fell a pail,

On the unforgiving floor,

Leaves me shattered and blank,

Comes in,

From the kitchen door a cat,

Laps up the milk and the pervading gloom.

ख़ौफ़

जाने क्या तराना ये दिल मेरा,

अपनाने मे तुला है,

नाज़ुक डोर से लटकती उम्मीद,

मे ख़ौफ़ घुला है |

जैसे पानी मे खून की एकलौती बूंद,

से झलकती लाल,

टपकती मुझसे आँसू आज,

ये दुखभरी माहौल,

मे न मैं जी पाऊँ,

न जान दे पाऊँ ||

Sonnet #1

I have a way with words,

Is the belief in which I exist,

None the ways explain the chirping birds,

Or the fluttering butterflies that persist,

In my gut, the pit of my navel,

To haunt every personal thought of thee,

Rings like a bell, like a metal ladle,

In a metal vessel rotating free,

My head, the more stable reference frame,

And the cacophony, my ripply thought stream,

You, the pebbles, the one to blame,

The smooth round ones with a wicked gleam,

Clouds the eye, constricts the flow,

To the vast sea,still steady, but slow.

Fear

The greatest fear a man could fathom,

Is becoming the being he ridicules,

He wishes not to put a binding jinx,

And in him to let his fear manifest,

Back then hideous, a warty toad,

The mind sculpted, Its free will,

Like a wild, majestic stallion white,

Unreined now and lumped with earth.

The Mynah

Prostrate, A single mynah bird,

Harbinger of doom of yore,

I ponder what harm could possibly befall,

A stark naked, unintentional loner.

Human Race

A leotard of stretched tensile emotions,

Clothes the voluptuous form of gruesome whims,

A grotesque remnant sickly blob,

Crawls on the smoothened curves of conscience,

Does a back-flip into the pool of fear,

Leaving a trail of scattered sticky green,

That evolves to the familiar facade,

Of our very own human race.

The Note

I throw a crisp, hundred rupee note,

Right out the french window bright,

It wafts in the air like a paper boat,

On a makeshift muddy stream, A Sprite,

Caresses the bill with an unformed hand,

As it floats downward to kiss the sand!

Timeless, Our father's noble visage,

Shines bright like a star in the northern sky,

Crumply lines and blots successfully deface,

A barrage, of poisoned arrows whoosh by,

The one in the sky now caked with dirt,

With grime and slime, A generous flirt!

I look out of the french window bright,

With not a hint of regret that pricks,

A callous heart unmoved by blight,

Or pain or tears or a miserable trick,

Hope that a drop of honest sweat,

Would glisten and brighten the visage,

The old man in death.

The Pebble

A round pebble against the turbulent flow,

Eroded the sharpness the forest stream,

Nudges the edges like a hand so slow,

Firm in daring, To not effervesce and gleam!

The Ballad of Pine - III

'One day', She said,

'I'll be all yours,'

And wrests out of my fist,

A lonely existence,

Promises forever the shady grove,

Of her long tresses,

Leaves an awkward grin,

A momentous momentary digression,

My feet feel the ground,

Quite as hard,

As I left it a sadder moment ago,

Like my arrogant abstinence,

From all the endearing warmth,

Except the flaming mid day Sun,

That drinks from me my sanity,

With a hollow reed,

Painted on with cowardice,

Finished with flourishing drapes of fear,

Reminiscent of a cheesy glucose ad!

Ties that Bind

Enthralled, without a hint of doubt,

Not wealth, not fame, nor political clout,

Relieved, from the clingy ties that bind,

Now crumpled sheets of scribbled lines!

प्रिय सज्जन!

कटु कंठ प्रिय सज्जन!

न कायर न डरपोक ये कठोर मन,

हम न डरेंगे इस बार,

सीना तानकर सरहद पार,

करेंगे लेकिन न मानेंगे हार,

मन मे है ख्वाब सजाए,

ख्वाबों मे फूलों न समाए,

बहाकर दर्द का दरिया तेज़,

उस पर उम्मीद की नय्या भेज,

माझी मेरी अपनी ईमान,

नेक दिल की धड़कन समान,

चलेंगे ख़ौफ़ की नदिया पार,

तुच्छ हमें ये तेज़ धार,

इरादे नेक तो दिल अभीत,

होठों पर खुशी के मधुर गीत,

और मौत मेरी मीठी जीत!

காதலி!

காதலி! என் கண்ணிமயில் நீ,

ஊஞ்சலாடும் கனவில் கண்,

மூடி ஓற் நல் நிமிடத்தில்,

வானத்து தூரம் மனம் தாண்டி,

சொர்க்கம் கண்டு மகிழ்ந்தது!

=>

Beloved! On my eyelids,

I dream of thy sprightly dance,

I close my eyes, that opportune moment,

Traverses to the sky in a leap, My mind,

And rejoices at the sight of Heaven!

Peas in a pod

For days, a couple peas in a pod,

Lay snugly, even hand in hand,

Fed us, the beams of heavenly light,

And a jig, the frivolous breeze!

Together we grew, rain or shine,

Shared our hearts, not just the stalk,

Along came, the mighty, bountiful spring,

Swelled our hearts and swelled our pride!

So graceful, like a mother-to-be,

Glowed like stars, our impatient dreams,

Across the sky, the canvas life,

Impertinent, we exploded free!

The shelter above our heads, gone,

So novel, the ways of the world now,

Still so assuring, your healing touch,

In gleeful ignorance, we rhymed a tune!

Then one bright, gay summer day,

Doused in yellow, earnest showers,

Plucked the pod, those nimble hands,

And out fell the couple, green peas!

I know not where my heart is now,

I know not where her heart is now,

As ornamental as a snowman's eye,

Or as necessitous as a green pea soup!

Farther then, or nearer now,

Know not I, but still I smile,

Curved up my lips, and a salty trail,

I applaud with a gritted smile!

The Ballad of Pine - II

Oh! On chilly nights I long,

For the selfless sun's warmth,

Then pine for dark clouds that soothe,

To shade me from the singeing burn,

During showers I yearn for the autumn breeze,

That sways the lowly acacia branches,

And then I clothe my unsatisfied self,

With the tiniest, smoothest cashmere,

And nurse so fondly a nervous itch,

To leave me partial once again,

Partial to the satisfied being,

That seldom transcends to binocular vision,

And yet in earnest, I do hope,

I'll see the dawn, that fated day,

I cradle so fondly between my eyes,

Like the apple of my eye,

Love! The day I would run freer than wind,

The day I yearn for you no more!

An Ode(Admiration)

Strummed a melodic chord, your fingers,

In the stretched heartstrings of mine,

Once rusty, now the melody lingers,

Like bronze on mahogany divine!

Dissonance once a hooded mystic,

The tritone, it made me rhyme,

Denies the change, my heart, so drastic,

Buries the dissonance, the sands of time!

Dealt a wicked hand, the world,

Played the rhythm to each single beat,

In severe pain, my parched lips curled,

Till your nectar dispelled the heat!

The Blossom

Walked down the path,

This merciful life,

Flowers and memories strewn about,

I picked up from the street,

The prettiest blossom!

Untrampled,

And in full bloom,

It looked at me with tired eyes,

A captivating gaze,

Or a cry for help?

The petals,

Luscious like the vine,

That passes by along my side,

The stalk a tender, fragile hue,

With a solitary leaf!

The pollen,

The emotions that relate,

To a special, lovely bloom,

Mere grains for most other ones,

An irritant to the rest!

I gazed into the tired eyes,

To decipher what they held inside,

Yet again came rushing,

Those emotions,

That wrench my heart!

The horizon,

Now a dull ochre,

My shadows now lag behind,

I pondered what those eyes would say,

To the next familiar gaze.

नज़ारे

देख भले तू नज़ारे,

पर करना न खुद के प्यारे।

बोते हैं जो उम्मीद के बीज,

न चलते बिन सहारे।।

The Sapling

Happy like you, once I was,

Fluttered with the breeze, my heart,

Like your leaves, I let it pass,

The ocean between, my fingers apart,

My hope, the large water-body,

Dried up, unlike perennial rivers,

Which equally nurture, pallid or lardy,

More like the mid-day autumn shivers,

Nullifies life, the comforting verdure,

Strewn across the brown, stolid earth,

A highly tensile sheath of leather,

Unnerved by either death or birth,

The evil in me, it behooves to fathom,

My spring will come, with thy autumn!

The Grinch

Gleaming and screaming aloud the green,

The hide, the exterior, the spoilsport grinch,

Held in his heart, this image unclean,

Of a drab, dull world that makes me flinch!

The grouch, it pained him to watch,

Festivity and hope in the neighbouring town,

Impatient, and a cruel plan to hatch,

Clicks his tongue, this thieving clown!

Deep in us, lives this cunning beast,

Deep in slumber, he threatens to wake,

Sonorous cry, his intentions in the least,

Ducks and drakes of our dreams to make!

A Eulogy(Lies Beneath)

Ah! What lies beneath the tomb,

The sepulchre of the celebrated monk,

Curled up, An embryo in the womb,

Feeds not, Feeds on, an umblical cord,

The remains of a neck, a loosened noose,

Pleased him did the clang of metals,

Or fine damsels enrobed in petals,

Rose petals or the thorns adored,

The crown on the celebrated crown,

A virtuous monk or a deceiving clown,

A deceitful monk or a lovable clown,

An innocuous riddle or a blatant blame,

A blatant blot or a jestful game,

We're left to wonder, This inane prank,

Soporofic or profound, A simpleton or a savant?

Life.

Life, As its shady, imperial self,

Throws at me a mean die,

A gritted smile through unjust teeth,

And a gaze that doesn't lie!