Zakhm

Main to boond tha sajoya,
main to sari raat soya,
sooraj ki halki roshani ne,
kuch waqt pehle jagaya,
phir jaane kha se kaise,
ek jhoka zor se jo meri daal ko yun cheda,
na jaane kab aur kaise main zameen pe aaya

abhi to main hara hun, abhi to main bhara hun,
bas thodi hi dur bikhra hua,
abhi uss ped se jhada hun.
har toote patte ki tarah meri bas ek hi aas hai,
aasman nahi to kewal ek daal ki pyaas hai,
pankh nahi to kewal ek sahare ki talash hai,
warna meri ye zindagi, bas ek sukhi laash hai.

Paradise

When shadows glow and silence cry,
blood worth water and tears so dry,
when the sacred dreams go dim and shy,
as burnt snow from a dormant sky.

I wish for a day with a brighter sun,
where happiness lies amidst the smiles,
and a whisper so sweet as a lullaby,
no one to peck , no one to pry,
the only truth among a million lies.

AlpViram

Subah abhi hui nahi, kuch samay baaki hai,
Abhi to wo soya hai, jiski neend ab saaki hai,
zindagi ke nashe se choor hokar hokar jo soya hai,
thoda sa hansa tha, thoda sa roya hai,
aaj zara aur sone do use jisne ek sapna boya hai.

Abhi na jagao use, abhi na chedo use,
der tak jaaga tha wo, abhi to soya hai,
na jaane in gardishon mein kab se wo khoya hai,
thoda sa hansa kabhi, thoda sa roya hai,
maile pade apne chehre ko ansuon se dhoya hai,
muddaton baad usne,ek sapna sajoya hai,
aaj zara aur sone do use jisne ek sapna boya hai. 

Bihari BC : Raavan saved by Corruption (WTF??)

"Jabtak Bihar mein corruption rahega tabtak yahaan raavan nahi jalega." (Untill corruption fades away from Bihar till then the Raavan effigy won't burn).

This was a statement given by one of the national leaders in India. The s#!t was laid by the gentleman, one fine evening, and our ever-so-ready media aired it immediately to sprinkle its fragrance. Later in the evening this good-for-nothing news spread from a local channel to a national news channel ( a channel famous for its updated news about the god-forsaken places and never heard news as if freshly cooked from the oven of fiction) comment lured some other d!(k heads and finally a debate took place over the issue that which party can be held responsible for the failure in the Raavan Dahan incident.

"Yeh sarkar kitni asafal rahi hai iska andaaza aap iss ghatna se laga sakte hain."(You can estimate the failure of this state government by the failure of the Raavan Dahan incident)

Another marvelous statement by another dignitary. Even the host reporters took this incidence as a matter of reputation for government. I didn't get what was the need of such a coverage for such an issue. As the festive season drew to close every other local news channel aired the same news with much more cheesy quotes and worthless punchlines. The issue had gathered more heat than what Mr.Raavan's effigy managed in the evening. What was raised as the light hearted sarcasm turned into an unlikely act of glib talks and rubbish representation of the modern ministers and (self-pronounced) intellectuals. It was a mockery of the Indian Media and I could barely enjoy it.

I don't think that people have forgotten the LALU effect. That time the Raavan effigy used to burn smoothly. What would the ministers have a say about that. The progress of Bihar at that time has become such a stain in the glory of Bihar that still today boorish and disgraceful comments are passed on the state and its residents. Was it that Mr. Raavan feared the CM's famil so that even he feared in residing here, Mr.Minister?


As I slowly lost my patience, I switched off the television fearing that they might blame the national government for giving license for poor firework material, state government for not investing in proper quality of bows and blah blah.

Finally the ice broke when one of the Ramleela Samiti member came in front of the media and took the blame for the event and apologized for such mishap. (Seriously they should come up with something different each year you know. Two years ago they simply created history by burning Kumbhakarna first and then Meghnad in front of the national television. A year later the head of the Raavan was left unharmed as the fire stopped somewhere in between. This year the Raavan had more luck and saved his butts too. At first only his back was on fire!!!)

I don't know what would happen next year but going by the story of the Dusshera eve Mr.Raavan could rest peacefully in Bihar for few more years for sure.

P.S. There is no doubt that the combustion of the effigy by the government is itself a shameful act as it promotes use of fire-crackers which hurl a lot of smoke in the air along with the malicious gases. On one side people are requesting to reduce the use of these crackers due to emission of harmful gases and Global heat issues and on the other hand such demonstrations give away the idea of a general awareness about its ill effects.

Salaam Mumbai ( the cry of the autowala)

They say I do not belong here,
They come and beat me anywhere,
Whether I lie along streets, homeless and alone,
Tired of sweating for every penny I own,
The come,ramp and burn,and destroy,
Nobody is there to here me cry,
When the cameras shoot and the police don't pry,
As the khakis and media have rules to adhere,
They show me that I do not belong here.


When I came here in the city of dreams,
in the midst of people, I was lost in screams,
learned to work for a living and never complain,
I took what was offered and  overlooked the disdain,
when I conquered troubles as trifles and incurred some pain,
either lost in the darkness in the city of hopes,
I was building my dreams on the sundry layers,
and now they tell me I do not belong here.

I offered my service,my sweat,my blood,
When these Babus took decisions and hatred flood,
they took away or burnt every bit I earned,
hurt and burnt I cried lying in despair,
outcasted by those who have my language to compare,
 As now still they say I do not belong here.

P.S This post is dedicated to those ruthless people who plunder the hopes of millions who strive on their hard earned daily wages. They burn their autos and shops just to create chaos and the one on the throne just glib rubbish around. Seriously its time that the MNS workers in Maharastra stop doing these acts of cruelty on the name of social service. May Goddess Durga bless these dumbos with some brains and the autowalas with hope and bestow some fortune on them.

Why do I feel guilty?

" So often people respond to guilt by engaging more in the guilt evoking act in an attempt to drown the sense of guilt" : Martin Luther King, Jr.

I feel that it's really an awsome way how nature works. If one hurts others we have a surge of emotions towards the person and empathy rises. This leads to shame, after all we are social animals right, no matter how bad we are we feel responsible. And the most astonishing fact is that we hurt those things too which we care about every second of our existence, ourselves.

The problem is that there are many ways we try to avoid guilt that result in more guilt. Its an unconscious process and also cyclic. 

What I mean the feeling of the fact that one does wrong to someone by not performing up to the mark. At times it demoralizes you and crushes you from the inside.

You know how to overcome this guilt. Yes I found some ways. To curb the guilt one need commitment.  There are a few simple things that I have changed and done and that has helped me to regain some self esteem in the recent past.

1.        If you commit to something stick to it: It’s simple if you can’t complete something in or at the time you should never commit to such a work. It avoids further guilt and shame and saves a lot of time for reasoning and prevents unwanted arguments that may prove as source to more guilt. It took a long time for me to understand it and I would recommend it for each of us out there in the world who are troubled with being stuck in the cobwebs of their commitments and make their life a chaotic one.

2.       Completed work = satisfaction= confidence. : Another simple equation and this really boosts you morale and you would be compelled to work further more. So we again have a work cycle and the output would be pure relaxation.

3.       Forget the past..After you have learnt from it: The moment we look back in the past we tend to realize our failures and we are loaded with remorse. So my way of looking at the past is that you see your past as a learning experience. Don’t ever go crying over it, learn, and learn to overcome obstacles and avoiding mistakes. Learn to move on!!

In the memory of Bapu

Keep Smiling,

JGD.

P.S. : This post was written by me when I was listening to ‘Trouble’ by Coldplay for 4 hours straight and couldn’t imagine how much this masterpiece shook me from inside. Today on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti this post is a homage to one the greatest teacher and leader that ever inspired this world with truth and non-voilence.

Sad about you

Aise nai karni thi baat koi,
par dil thoda bhar aya tha,
kuch galat na kah dun socha tha,
par kuch bhi na kah paya tha.

bina ek alfaaz kahe,
na jaane kya dohraya tha,
rona nahi tha mujhko magar,
dil thoda sa bhar aya tha

Aur tum the ki samjh bhi naa sake......!!!

Burn one, cut one, till we crush popcorn

Burn one, cut one, till we crush popcorn

I can blame but not better than the ones in whites,

Those who ate all up and now proclaim their rights,

Who thrive on our money and dwell in the brights,

the servant with fruits and master with blights.

I wonder why they keep asking me to pay,

for the price of my ever  rising dismay,

they tell us to keep hope  as there is  a crisis to bear,

and add every year few more drops of tears.

Whom to call when even justice  betrays,

Over black coated mascots of devils that says,

Whatever i prove is the truth among lies,

hence wit wins over justice and money over lives.

But I do live in a world of consummate daydreamers,

Who dwell on gossips and avoid the facts,

who admire the glamour and publicity hikes,

who socialize on ‘facebook’ and drool over ‘likes’.

For whom ‘today’s newspaper’ equals ‘tomorrow’s trash’,

For whom the country's beauty lies in ‘shahrukh’ and ‘aish’,

For who just a ‘bottle’ and petty parties are “matter”,

Those who live in ‘twitter’ and its endless platter.

So I don’t care nor hate nor scorn,

Burn one, cut one till we crush the popcorn,

Well it’s true that ‘$#!t Happens’ and it always will,

But who care if we lie in a ‘$#!thole’ still,

As they are the cats and we are the mice,

Lets hope for “sugar, spice and everything nice”.

Nani maa

Nani maa

In the memory of my late grandmother who completed her journey of life today.

I wish that stars shine forever as you do,

I wish every day and night blossom with you,

I wish every dream, every fable you told comes true,

I wish if the sweet memories we had could slue,

I wish to find neverland where the dreams accrue,

I wish if I could hide in the hue of you,

I wish I remember the things as you told me to do,

I wish if I could see life as new as a drop of dew,

I wish if I could talk to you for a second or two,

I wish you could look at me today as you always do,

I wish I could regain the time which I mistakenly threw,

I wish I could greet you ‘adieu’ when you went to ‘dieu’,

I wish every grandmother could be like you.

THE GREEN GLASS PANE

The Green Glass Pane

When I was a young lad, I got a new flat, on the seventh floor,

The flat with a nice room and stairs to small attic, and a with wooden doors.

There was one window which showed me the world and the morning bright,

The window by which I drooled on flashing city lights, night after night after night.

When the world around was nice and quiet and everyone looked sane,

When the door was strong and I sat along near the window ,with the green glass pane.

The days were passing swiftly as the air around was brisk,

The night were soothing altogether and occasionally there were mist,

The sky was clean and when the moon sheen, I thought I lived in Eden,

I wondered what the stars felt when they sparkled and startled I even.

When the world around was nice and quiet and everyone looked sane,

When the door was still strong and I sat along near the window, with the green glass pane.

A year later, now, I wonder how the sky has gone so red,

When I wake up in morning, I hear only the sirens, as If the birds are dead,

Smoke more smoke and smoke it is, galloping around in sky,

I waited and waited, looked as far I could but no bird, no clouds pass by.

When the world around had gone dark and quiet and everyone looked in pain,

When the door was strong and I sat along near the window, with dirt on the green glass pane.

As I look down now, I wonder how the city fell prey to the sick and evil,

The fights, the riots, the politics, the frights, all as if medieval,

As my life is my home and I want to keep it per se,

Better if cleaned from blood and violence, deaths and dismay.

When the world around had gone dark and noisy and everyone suffered in pain,

When the door was growing weak and I sat along near the window, with dirty green glass pane.

One morning I woke up, as the shouts were so loud, make heavens fall asunder,

Hundreds and thousands on the street as if the world went roaring voices as thunder,

I don’t know who stroke the nail first but the echo never seemed to stop,

As men and women, old and the children, drenched into blood, drop by drop.

When the world around had gone dark and wild and everyone injured or insane,

When the door was going week and I stood near the window, with blood on the green glass pane.

The other morning I felt tremors and I ran for the door but couldn’t find one inside,

There men in my flat, some whom meant harm and I ran hard to hide,

With not many hope I looked at the top and found the attic with stairs,

I hid inside, as they ransacked my home, and I couldn’t even dare.

When the world around had gone dark and wild and everyone was insane,

When the door was gone and I hid in the attic, far from the green glass pane.

When they ran away, I reached down only to find the ruins and leftover,

The door broken, the window shattered, made me feel like a rover,

I gathered whatever was left and moved on the streets, as there was nothing to weep

With stray dogs around, lying on the ground, I slowly went to sleep.

When the world around had gone dark and barbaric and I was found dead on a lane,

With a key of the door in my blood red hands and a piece of the green glass pane.