Baarish

yeh har zarre mein bas jaane ki aadat

theek nahi tumhaari, khatakti si hai…

aaj baarish ka mausam hai yahan,

vasant ritu apne aane ka nagaada

bas peete chali ja rahi hai subah se…

meri khidki ke baahar sab dhundhla

kar rahin hain moti moti boondein…

mujhe keval khayaal aa raha hai 

ki tum kaise boondon ka khel sa

banaati ho, unko sheeshe par se

zyada tez behne ko uksaate hue, 

bilkul chhote bachchon ki tarah…

baarish ki aawaaz kehte hain sab

ki bahut sukoon deti hai, humesha…

mera baarish ke saath kuch aur hi

puraana sa naata hua karta tha, phir...

ek saawan aaya tha, tumne mujhe

jab jhulsa daala tha apni aawaaz se…

'baavri' ko tab se shaq hai baarish par

kahin 'maahi' ki saazish to nahi yeh?

Shabdon se pare hai...

Tum ko kavita mein utaarna aasaan nahi.
Kitni hi baar pannon mein sametna chaaha
Tum samaati hi nahi ho sarhadon mein,
Humesha ufanti ho nadiyon ki tarah...


Tumko nazm mein rijhaana chaaha
Aur nazm ne bhi haath khade kar diye.
Boli, mere bas ka nahi hai kaam yeh...
Shabdon se pare hai 'Maahi' tumhaari


Achcha chalo, triveni bhi aazma lein…
Lekin yeh kya? Woh to paas bhi na aaye!
Kahe, arre siyaahi mein dhaal to dogi,
Par shakl kaise laogi uski tum, 'baavri'?


Tum lafzon se aage ho, aur khayaal se
Ehsaas ho tum, yaad dilaati ho mujhe
Ki zindagi kya hai, aur kitni khoobsoorat!
Meri kalam tumhe likhne ke kaabil nahi...

Full Moon

"Emily…Emily!  Where are you?"

"Something's not right…"

As she entered the shadowy part of the street, complete darkness engulfed her within seconds.

"AAAAAAAA..." A quick and bloodcurdling scream slashed through the darkness, suddenly.  The scream ended abruptly but the air still reverberated in its wake.  It was as though the atmosphere was a delicate fabric and the scream tore it apart, seam to seam.

As the credits rolled up on the screen, Sasha woke up in front of the TV.  She looked around the room as if she was searching for someone.

She called out, "Emily…Emily!  Where are you?"

There was no response.  Sasha turned the TV off.  She looked at her phone, there were no texts.

As she put on her coat to check whether Emily had gone out for a smoke, she realized that Emily's coat was still hanging on the hooks, next to hers. 

"Something's not right…"

"We were ready to set fire to the world that night."

We were ready to set fire to the world that night.  We would have too, but then we met each other.

I had just left from another wasted night at a bar.  She had just closed the door on another hopeless romance.  At the end of the day, there was nothing left.  In our own corners of the world, she and I contemplated an escape from the mundane.

I packed up a bag to leave.  Anywhere would do, I would just get on the next train and go wherever it took me.  She was already packed and ready to be on her way to nowhere.  I wanted to start anew.  She wanted to get away from the present.

Small surprises of destiny can often topple civilizations.  We didn't bring anything down.  We did, however, burn our loneliness down to ashes that night.

I took a cab to the station and she drove.  We arrived within seconds of each other.  I went through the main entrance and she made her way up from the parking lot. As I walked up from the ticket counter, I caught a whiff of something.  It was delicious.  It smelled like coffee, Burberry Weekend, and a thousand burning desires.  It was all too familiar.

Curious, I looked around.  She was a mess.  The hair unkempt, the clothes crumpled, the scarf all haywire, tangled with her bag.

As I stared, she noticed.  I am surprised that I didn't just run to her and kiss her right there and then because her smile stopped my heart and then rushed it into a drum solo.  I forgot to breathe, she knocked the air out of my lungs with just that one smile.  Again.

I couldn't let her get away from me.  Walking up to her I simply said, "Hi!," and proceeded to fix her scarf and untangle it.  If she thought that was weird, there was no indication of it on her face.

"Thanks!," she said.  Her half-lidded eyes were burning me up.  

"Would you believe it if I told you that I have been waiting for a while for you to show up?," I asked her.

She smiled.  "You kept me waiting too, you know."

"Is it time yet?," I asked, whispering, as I leaned in for a hug.

"It has been.  For a long time now."

She was melting in my arms, and I could feel her warmth seep into my cold body.  She whispered, "Far away from the maddening crowd, yes?"

"Yeah.  I guess I am not burning down the world tonight."

'baavri' se poochna

लहर-दर-लहर, कूचे-दर-कूचे,

तुम्ही को ढूँढा था, बस तुम्हे ।

साल-दर-साल, पहर-दर-पहर मैंने,

तुम्हे सोचा था, चाहा बस तुम्हे ।।

डूब कर खुद साहिल-ओ-दरिया में,

मोतियों सा ढूँढा था, बस तुम्हे ।

तारों के बीच, अँधेरी रातों में, 

चांदनी से चुराया था, बस तुम्हे ।।

अन्दर भी तुम, बाहर भी, सब जगह,

दिल-ओ-जां में पाया था, बस तुम्हे ।

'बावरी' से पूछना तो 'माही' कभी,

खोया था जग, और पाया, बस तुम्हे ।।

lehar-dar-lehar, kooche-dar-kooche,

tumhi ko dhoondha tha, bas tumhe.

saal-dar-saal, pehar-dar-pehar maine,

tumhe socha tha, chaaha bas tumhe.

doob kar khud saahil-o-dariya mein,

motiyon sa dhoondha tha, bas tumhe.

taaron ke beech, andheri raaton mein,

chaandni se churaaya tha, bas tumhe.

andar bhi tum, baahar bhi, sab jagah,

dil-o-jaan mein paaya tha, bas tumhe.

'baavri' se poochna to 'maahi' kabhi,

khoya tha jag, aur paaya, bas tumhe.

Happy Birthday, Maahi!

kaaghaz par qalam ke utarne ki der thi

tumhaari daastan to ungliyon par dekho

naachti hai meri, thoda itraati si, ithlaati...

likha nahi kuch, bahut waqt beet gaya

aaj tumne majboor kiya hai lautne ko

vohrvod mubarak, meri jaan, maahi...

khuda se shikayatein to waise bahut hain,

sabse badi yeh, ki tumse pehle mulaqaat

kabhi karayi nahi usne meri, jaane kyun!

maine to band kar diye the sab darwaaze,

achanak ik dastak se hil gayin deewarein...

is waqt, jab waqt ne bhi saath chhoda,

kaun hai, jisne meri taraf munh moda?

"main maahi!  tum pasand aa gayi ho,

chalo, main tumhe tumse milwa laun!"

mujhe mujhse milwaana? "kaise yeh hai

tumne jaana, ki kho gayi hai meri raah?"

"khud ki shakl ka jo mil jaaye koi kahin,

aisi baatein tab poocha nahi karte, chalo!"

zindagi bhar mein jo ek nek kaam kiya 

'baavri' ne 'maahi' ka kaha maan liya!

Bekaraari hai

Khwaab dekhe hain kayi, ab poora karne ki baari hai
Main to parinda hoon, bas udne ki tayyari hai
Idhar udhar ki baatein, kisse naye puraane sabhi
Ab khwaishon se pare, haqeeqaton se yaari hai
Saamne mere khula aasmaan aur peeche pinjre
Sab raaste hain mere, meri har phoolon ki kyaari hai
Ghalib ne dil ke khush rakhne ko nazmein de din
Dil mein phir bhi ik ajab si dekho bekaraari hai  

'baavri' ban jaana...

खुद से दूर खुद को तलाशना

यह भी क्या वीरानापन है

अपनी पहचान को गले लगाना

कहलाता यहाँ आवारापन है

नए रास्तों पर खुद को आज़माना

अजब लगन है, बंजारापन है

'माही' से मिल 'बावरी' बन जाना

गफ़लत में यह भी दीवानापन है!









Khud se door khud ko talaashna

Yeh bhi kya veeranapan hai

Apni pehchaan ko gale lagaana

Kehlaata yahan aawaarapan hai

Naye raaston par khud ko aazmaana

Ajab lagan hai, banjaarapan hai

'Maahi' se mil 'baavri' ban jaana

Ghaflat mein yeh bhi deewanapan hai!

~~~... khwaab, khayaal, khwaishein ...~~~

khwaab, khayaal, khwaishein
haseen lafz hain yeh bahut hi...

inki pehchaan jise ho jaaye
inse door nahi ja paata phir...

aashiq, aawaara, aatishan sab
dhoondhte phirte hain sabab,
in ajeeb-o-ghareeb ehsaason
ki teh tak jaa kar, zindagi ka...

uljhane suljhaane, mitaane ka,
zamaane ke ghamon ko fakat
bhool jaane ka, ek zariya hain,
khwaab, khayaal, khwaishein...

socho to kya kuch nahi dikha
sakte hain khwaab neend mein,
khwaishein jagati hain rooh ko,
khyaal zinda rakhte hain humein...

inki pehchaan jise ho jaaye
inse door nahi ja paata phir...

khwaab, khayaal, khwaishein
haseen lafz hain ye bahut hi...

'किस्मत'

उसकी नज़र का पीछा करो, ज़रा देखो...

बोझल सी, ओझल सी होती जाए कहाँ?

कमबख्त ठहरती ही नहीं, रुके तो कहीं!

तुम दिन की बात करते हो? नौसिखिये!

मैंने पल-पल इसे हदें पार करते देखा है!

कितनों ने सोचा, इसे रोक लेंगे, रख लेंगे...

रुकना इसका मिज़ाज़ कभी था ही नहीं ।

यह जाए जब इसे जाने दो, छोड़ दो इसे,

तुम्हारे रोकने से कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा ।

ग़ुरूर खुद पर ऐसा कभी रखना नहीं, 

तुम तो कुछ नहीं, कितने ही मारे गए ।

क्या कहा तुमने? तुम्हारा हक़ बनता है?

सब यही तो कहते हैं पहले-पहल यहाँ...

मैंने कई बसंत पतझड़ में बदलते देखे हैं,

खुद ही फैसला कर लेना जब देखोगे ।

हाँ, ठीक कहा, मैं तो बस लेखक भर हूँ,

सपनों और रोमांच की दुनिया मेरी है ।

आये लेकिन जहाँ से हैं, हम जायेंगे वहीँ...

ले जाने का काम इसी का होगा, समझे?

यह 'किस्मत' है, इतराती है, इठलाती है 

और हम...हम बस इशारों पर नाचते हैं ।