मुसालिहत

कई बार जहन में ये खयाल आता है,
अपनी अलग सी दुनिया बसाने को जी चाहता है,
जहा मन को मारकर ना जीना पड़े,
ना सुलह की जंजीर में बंधना पड़े।

कभी नन्हीं कली की मुस्कान रोक लेती है,
कभी लोक लज्जा की लक्ष्मण रेखा थाम लेती है,
भविष्य का अकेलापन कदमों को वही जकड़ लेता है,
जीवन का सूनापन सोचकर मन काप उठता है।

काश समय को बदला जा सकता,
काश घड़ी को पीछे घुमा सकते,
काश के होने वाले पल की चेतावनी मिल सकती,
आज की कश्मकश से दूर होने का रास्ता मिल जाता।

मुसालिहत करके जीना भी कोई जीना है,
तन्हा सफर काटना भी तो एक सजा है।
जब आगे कुआ पीछे खाई, तब किसे अपनाए?
आखिर समझौता संसार का नियम है,ये बात समझ आई।

Exaggeration

The not so subtle art of embellishing events,
In good times or bad, the need to dramatize and vent;
Continues to exist even in denial and dissent,
Truth be known, the world loves to overstate and overemphasize to not so lesser extent!

Penchant for colourful and inflated statements,
Weakness that mankind has without any dispute;
Even Adam and Eve couldn’t stop themselves,
From the over hyped, exaggerated forbidden fruit!

In the era of breaking news, everything is about grabbing eyeballs,
The attention seeking media, the ever so curious audience; both well aware of pitfalls.
Resorting to over- play, the only thing to stay in fray,
Exaggeration then is the only key, however may it sound cliché!

Why do we exaggerate, no science can explain!
Our desire to stand out, to out weigh pushes us albeit in vain.
To show the world our unique selling point,
Playing to the gallery, to win the spectators mind!

Simplicity — lost in this game of hyperbole;
Sounds good as figure of speech, in literature or bole.
Trust gets ambushed in this sport of overkill,
Understated elegance looses its charm and goodwill!

Alas! This human fraility which ails the mankind,
The one upmanship and exaggeration give birth to deception, I must remind!
It blurs the line between false and truth; in the spirit of grandiose gestures outdone,
Man fails to see the elaborate web of lies he has spun!

Relationships

What do you think of, when one says “The Shawshank redemption?”
The murder, his tenure or his talent?
I don’t remember it for either, nor for the Escape!
I remember it for Andy’s words, his regret and his indifference!
Yes! The indifference that changed his Life for worse!
He didn’t pull the trigger; But his detached demeanor drove his Relationship apart!
The fractured relationship was the effect of detachment, in turn the cause of his Drunkenness!
The cause and effect intertwined, such that he didn’t kill his wife but carried the Guilt Forever!
The movie is more about his journey, as a consequence of the circumstances but Remorse stays!
The movie makes us reflect upon the fragility of relationships and the far reaching effects of our everyday Behaviour!
One moment we take the world for granted, in love or in anger, the next moment life sentences us, making us Seek Redemption!
The bond with Red, made Andy human again, filled with hope and emotions.
Relationship saved Red and Andy both!
The most important learning from this movie: Treasure Relationships!

Advice

We love giving advice, solicited or unsolicited;
The uninvited suggestions are the most passionate ones to be cited,
Free of charge and filled with tips, baited and at times hated!

Everyone thinks they are the experts, ah so wise!
Doling out suggestions like some valuable prize!
The person receiving it, at best a dumb novice,
Who requires coaching and well meaning advice!

We love giving it, but receiving it fills us with distaste.
Advice often is one way street, rejected in haste
Often in arrogance or misplaced confidence interlaced!

Often seen is thin line between advice and instructions;
One never knows where it starts and then overlaps,
The subtle hints,the opinions suddenly take form of diktats!

Indeed valuable is advice, when it comes from the learned and wise,
Take it with a pinch of salt, aware of the irony yet I would advice!
After all world is filled with people who pretend to be wise!

Sorry!

A beautiful word created for us to make mistakes!
A word so frequently used, not sure what it takes,
A slightest nudge and pops out the word without a fuss,
Yet when a grave mistake happens it’s not enough!

Has the word been so loosely used for years,
That it has lost its sheen, fodder only for ears
It at times feels the solace in it is lost
Providing lip service, without any cost!

Should we come up with something else?
Which will mean something to the apologetic self?
Or should we simply do away with the word?
When in reality it is empty and at times unheard!

Won’t the word be enriched, if sprinkled with regret indeed,
Not just a namesake but remorse for the deed,
Repent for the act, seeking penitence,
And not just a pretence to do away with impertinence!

दरार

ऐसेही खामोशियां बढ़ती रही,
अचानक अल्फ़ाजो की कमि महसूस हुई।
क्या कहे कहने को कुछ बचा न था
क्या सच में दरार पड़ गई?

वह आदत जो कभी नजरंदाज की
अब नासूर बनकर तड़पाने लगी।
दिल में सुलगते हुए अरमानों की ज्वाला बन गई!
क्या सच में रिश्ते में दरार पड़ गई?

कभी साथ में चलते थे दोनों के कदम,
अब शौकिया चीज़ भी साथ रास ना आए।
अब बन गए हम नदी के दो किनारे, जो कभी साथ ना चल पाए!
क्या सच में रिश्ते में दरार पड़ गईं?

इसी सवाल को टटोलता है ये दिल,
जो नजर ना आए ऐसी लकीर खिंच गई।
ये कब और कैसे हुआ, ये समझने की चाह भी खो चुका दिल।
हा ये सच है –रिश्ते में दरार पड़ गईं!

Ego & Anger

When pride took a back seat making ego the driver,
Anger invited to rode along as co- passenger,
Driving Human race towards the apocalypse no wonder!

Since eons, ego and anger are with Man
An enemy, a parasite that clings since the first dawn.
Under the guise of pride, ego rears it’s ugly head,
Hurting and bruising every one who treads;
The sharp arrows of hurt hurled with intention,
Injuring the heart, the anger seeks satisfaction!

For those whose world revolves around the mighty ego,
Slowly realising people have left a long time ago;
Now anger simmers within, burning smallest of things,
Friends and happiness at a distance to begin,
Ailments galore, filling the body from within!
Real feelings concealed, hidden and buried,
Unsure, to share, lest anger and ego shred it;
Relationship now a sham, on declining path;
Scared to voice, fearing the sinner’s wrath.

Will the Man absolve, redeem and gain veneration?
Civilizations will come and go, men will rise and fall,
Ego and anger since time unknown unfortunately continue to stand tall!

The Ideal Girl!

Do you know who is an ideal girl?
Some one with whom you want to curl
Or can take up the abuses you hurl
Is she the resilient one as your moods unfurl!

Do you really know who is an ideal girl?
Someone who can satiate your taste bud
Or can keep mum when you dictate the word
Is she the one who is allowed to have opinion if you can afford!

Do you know who is an ideal girl?
Some one who is quasi empowered and will toe the line
Or the one who erases her personality, lives in the shadow just fine
Is she the one whom you define by the societal confine!

Do you really know who is an ideal girl?
Someone who can never shirk responsibility
Or the one who can be blamed for every mistake with docility
Is she the one who can be easily cast away with no accountability!

The ideal girl does exist, I must say,
Fulfilling atleast few requirements, if not all they say
To have a successful marriage, the girl better watch herself and behave
An open secret for blissful union! Kindly obey!

Always A Child

I wonder when will they take me seriously?
When I am 70 and waiting for life to end gracefully!
Will I do the same with my child surreptitiously?

Our parents never let go off their offsprings
Rooted in our culture to nurture, though bewildering
When children in distant country at an early age go cantering!

Often believed as caring, doting and protecting,
Not aware at times can be constricting and nagging,
Benevolent intentions unintentionally causing claustrophobic upbringing!

It’s a thin line between advising and instructing,
Balancing the act a tough task, no doubt, yet affecting
The child and it’s social skills, as world looks at us with magnifying glass that’s daunting!

Yet in the need of hour, our parent’s support that’s unwavering
Is the strength of our social structure which is indeed rooted in nurturing!
Nothing is perfect, so are the pros and cons of upbringing!

End Of Humility

It is difficult to stay humble and grounded,
When one has money and power compounded;
A concoction that’s a heady intoxication
Making one haughty, filled with condescension!

Magnanimous gestures leaving people astounded,
Praise for the acts expected and demanded,
Humility is nowhere in the canvas of life,
Boasting is the favourite pastime that’s rife!

When reins of decisions are single handedly maneovered,
The empowered self now astray with authoritative power!
Overbearing acts that have no pulse of ground reality,
Everything is seen through one’s own prism of irrationality!

Humility and power thus can never go hand in hand,
Humbleness is just a pretence, only to disband!
Arrogance— sugar coated to continue with the charade
Only to be identified and panned for the masquerade!