A meaningful dream..

"Guruji, I feel so restless...Please help me."

Guruji, my 10th class English teacher, was a panacea for all my problems. He was so realistic and wise. Once he looked at my palm, and said, "What a miserable life you have." I have since then, found solace in his pessimism.

"What is it son?"
"I am restless Guruji. Its just 4 months now".
"4 months to ?"
"4 months to the exam I have never before experienced."

Guruji, who had an amusing look, suddenly became serious. "Oh I see, my son".

I was inconsolable.
"Yes Guruji. I keep thinking.. I have even tried removing all distractions from life. Tried sleeping early. Left my mobile alone. Thought and thought."

"You seem to be quite tensed, my son."

"Yes Guruji. For the past few months, I have been living in my own fantastic world. Now that the exam is approaching, I...."

"Carry on, my son."

"I now understand how dofficult the task is. I now realise the need to be realistic. I have to learn so many things. When I think, I dont know so.many basic things."

"Oh !", exclaimed Guruji.

"Yes Guruji. I am apprehensive about the future. How would I handle the future. What should I expect. What are the expectations on me. Will I able to rise above talking, and prove worthy. How do I gain respect.."

"Stop my son. You seem to be confused."

"Show me the path, Guruji."

"Dont worry, my son. Take the medium path. Dont indulge in fantasies. Dont be too realistic  either. Welcome the new change in your life. Dont forget respecting the people of ypur past. Dont ever overexpect. Dont be too rude. At the same time, dont be too polite."

"Your words are helping me, Guruji."

"The answer lies within you, my son. Dont waste these 4 months. Think what you need to learn, what you don't know. One who prepares well, shall not bleed in the war."

"You are right, Guruji. I will make a list of things I need to learn...."

"Remember. Become like a tree. It is so forgiving, yet at the same time, it is so magnanimous."

My heart became lighter. I found the answers. " Become like the tree which follows the middle path."

I was not going to flunk the exam, 4 months later...for sure...

And the real exam was to start after that. How would be it...depends on how well I prepare now...

Who am I..

I am your pride lest you say
I am your joy, if you may...

I am the vermilion of your large head
I am one without whom you feel dead...

I am the beauty of your finger's ring
Oh yes ! I am the one you search on bing...

I am, o dear,  the colour of your attire
What I say is true, no I am not a liar...

I am the reason why you feel, why you smile
When I am not there, your heart skips a mile...

I am the sun of your morning, moon of your night
You will never be happy when I am not in sight...

I am the blood that flows through your ventricles
If you are one large spider, I am your tenticles...

For if I am no more, you will cry and cry and cry
And you will feel numb and fry and fry and fry...

I may go on and on and on, as to who am I
But for the sake of saying lets say good bye...

Strange is the world and its ways...

Statutory warning : The following content is emotional...

Strange are the ways of this world.
People promise and promise.
Till they forget what they promised ...

Strange are the ways of this world.
People love on desktops and mobiles.
And cant tolerate when they live along...

Strange are the ways of this world.
People want to be treated like kings.
When they are worthy of being treated like beggars...

Strange are the ways of this world.
Suddenly friends become our own.
And own mother becomes stranger...

Strange are the ways of this world.
People talk of devotion and integrity.
But the same two words dont apply to them...

Strange are the ways of this world.
If you succeed, you become the darling.
If you fail, you are a blot to the society...

Strange are the ways of this world.
People talk of selflessness and sarifice.
When all they are is selfish and fulsome...

And strange are ways of this world.
People like and comment and tweet.
But cant appreciate the wife's food...

Strange ! Strange ! Bizzare ! Sinister !
People talk about high ideals in eons and ages.
But truth is, they havent talked to their ageing father in ages...
(Oh ! I AM SO GOOD AT ALLITERATION)

And if this is how the world is.
And if this is how its ways are.
Well ! Its a really really strange world...

बन्दर-बाँट में ही आनंद है..

जीवन सापेक्ष है. कोई ऋषि या महात्मा, यदि हिमालय की कोख में अकेले निर्विध्न समधीलीन हो जाये, तो निश्चित ही उसे हम जितेन्द्रिय कह सकते हैं, लेकिन वह एक सम्पूर्ण जीवन जी रहा  है, ऐसा कहना विवादस्पद है. क्यूंकि मानवीय जीवन तो सापेक्ष है ना. एक मनुष्य का जीवन, दूसरे से प्रभावित ना हो, ऐसा कैसे संभव है.

और इसीलिए जीवन में खुश रहने के लिए व्यक्ति को कहीं ना कहीं दूसरों की ख़ुशी को भी महसूस करना पड़ता है. क्यूंकि वो मनुष्य ही क्या, जो सिर्फ अपने हित में ही ख़ुशी तलाशे. वह तो एक स्वार्थी है, एक रोगी है जो सिर्फ अपने लिए जीता है. ऐसा जीवन तुच्छ है, जीने योग्य नहीं है.

और इसी विचारधारा से प्रभावित होता है व्यक्ति का कर्म. की क्या करने योग्य है और क्या नहीं.   अगर असल माइनो में देखें तो आनंद उसी चीज़ में है जो कर्मनिये है, जो करने योग्य है. इंजीनियरिंग कॉलेज के एक रूम में, २ बजे रात को ५ लोगो का चिल्ला चिल्ला के हँसना, जिससे दूसरों की नींद ख़राब हो, इसमें कैसा आनंद, ये मेरे समझ से पर है. 

असल में उसे आनंद नहीं बस कौतुहल कहेंगे, नादानी कहेंगे, कच्ची उम्र की नादानी.
हाँ आनंद जरूर है :
१) अपनी जिम्मेदारियां बखूबी निभाने में
२) सुबह सुबह उठ के, जब सब स्वास्थ लाभ ले रहे हों, घूमने में
३) किसी के चेहरे पर मुस्कान लाने में
४) किसी गरीब की मदद करने में
५) अपने सपनों को स्वांगिकार करने में
६) और अंत में, मिल बाँट के खाने में  ..

जी हाँ, आपने सही सुना : मिल बाँट के बंदरों की तरह खाने में. क्यूंकि, बन्दर हमारे पूर्वज ही तो हैं  (ये मै नहीं विज्ञानं कहता है ). मिल बाँट कर खाने से मेरा तात्पर्य है, परिवार के सभी सदस्यों के साथ खाने की कोशिश करें. ओहो !! जो आनंद आता है.. सबको ख़ुशी की अनुभूति होती है और एक पंथ, अनेक काज हो जाता है. रिश्तों में सुदृढ़ता आती है , बड़े खुश होते हैं की छोटों को उनकी फ़िक्र है, छोटे कहते हैं की उन्हें आप पर फक्र है.

और इसी फ़िक्र और फक्र पर तो जीवन का आनंद है. अगली बार जब जलेबी दिखे तो खुद  पेट भरने से पहले उस मुस्कान को याद करें, जो आपके बाबूजी के चेहरे पर होगी, जब आप जलेबी खाने की जगह पैक करके उनके पास जायेंगे, और कहेंगे - "बाबूजी, आज आपके साथ जलेबी खाने का मन है. खाएंगे क्या।।।।।।

The woman's wish...

(This is a touching story about an old woman who loved her village more than anything else..)

Long ago in China, there was this village called Manho

Through the heart of the village, flowed the river Hwang-Ho..

And if there existed something like a necessary evil

The river was exactly that to the village and its pupil..

It gave them life it gave them food

It gave them death when it was rude..

It fed them with rice, it gave them the wheat

But when came the floods, all felt the heat...

And so Hwang-Ho to Manho, was a thing everyone feared

In its awe were the villagers, it wasn't the thing they jeered...

And the sleepy little village, in the year of our Lord

Lived a woman, aged 100, with shiny hair like a cord...

Since time immemorable, she had lived and she was there

Once she was a shy bride, now she was the mother of care...

She was alone and, she didn't even  remember correctly

That when did her husband, "you know", became heavenly...

But there was something that made her go on, even with a cracked rib 

The village was her kith and kin, and so nobody saw her sob or crib...

(...A pause...)

It was an ominous day my dear, never was it so dark

The cat meaowed, and the dog frightened with its bark...

There was something wrong, as if the lull before the hush

Through the big gates of the dam, water would now  gush...  

The river never soared so high, in a hundred year  or so

The devil had finally arrived, and the fate sealed "oh no" ...

Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock

The water in the dam now could touch the flying hawk...

Panick spread like wildfire, people began to flee

In that moment I wonder, God where was thee...

It was the announcement of the disaster to come

Manho would be history, all thought  and some...

(There was one escape though...)

One of the walls of the dam spelled doom for Manho land

Though on the second wall, lay a desert of dust and sand...

And if somehow  the village could be saved from wreck and death

If the second wall broke, not the first one, was the villagers' faith...

And so when our old good lady heard about this misfortune 

Her heart was filled with sorrow, and her bosom with gloom...

And in her heart she now  decided, its not going to end like this

"I lost my love once, now I wont let the bear swallow the fish"...

She thought about the government helicopter, which came there to save

And she told the pilot about her plan and said  "Come on !! Be brave" ... 

The pilot in a fix, and in the dichotomy of the lady's words

"Dont do this, old lady !!" His core shook like feather of birds...

But the lady was inconsolable, adamant in her talk

She would defeat the river and no way let it mock...

So along with the pilot, the two flew past the dam's other side

And reached the other gate, with the desert to welcome the ride...

And now the lady told the pilot to fly back to home

And now she was alone, the guardian of the dome...

Her eyes were  a little moist, she knew what to do

There was no doubt now, and flew across the loo...

"I have lived such a good life" she did whisper and mumble

Not even for a second, did her hands shake or did fumble...

And now took a deep breadth and remembered all her good fate

"Alas, every good thing had a end", and opened the ill-fated gate...

(And...)

Water, water everywhere, water gushed through her lungs

It tossed her here it tossed her there, and tore apart her gums...

And so the lady, our good old lady, saved Manho that day

And the village survived, its children live, run and play...

The holy sacrifice of the lady would be remembered till the time

Come another such story, and we will have another poem to rhyme...