Out of shadows

Emerge..

Radiate..

Shine on..

For You Amma!with all my love..

Untitled

(for you..Saba Shamim Hanfi..my  Amma!)

Would you have liked a jugnu if it had no fire in its belly?

A tulip reverently holding

Light in its hands,

folded in a silent prayer

throwing it away like the ash of a deceased in the vast thirsty sea?

the flame of the forest

burning out in fumes

not red but cold and blue ?

the camomile in a dusky maidens hair

white on the periphery

gradually turning warm

exuding the fragrance alien to the senses?

A laburnum without the sunshine

Smeared on each petal..

Would you?

Of all these flowers of the sun

The laburnum stands out for me

For when I look at it

reaching out to my balcony

It’s her I see in the flowers

The pods hang down

Pregnant with life

About to burst into dazzling light...

She left last night

To a distant land

For a while

Just for a while

For she will come back to me

With more sunshine in her hands

To bless me with the light

To see the world better...

the laburnum stands tall

devoid of foliage

waiting for her return

the pods hold back the passion

with bated breath

whispering her name

saba

saba

saba..

...(how i miss her!i hope time flies and she is back with the bursting foliage on the laburnum overlooking my balcony!)...12.00noon..22.4.12

Yellow and White

Its white and yellow

The colour for the day

With you across the landscape of the soul

The silver on the sides

Capture the twinkle of the eyes

As you lift it up

Ever so gently

So as not to disturb the serene ambiance

The water in the stem glass

Is witness to the whispers

That the music emanates from the heart

As I drape the sunshine around my neck

I feel the warmth seep in

And I cannot but help

Give a part of the sun to you

As that is all I have

So I hold some warmth

In the hollow of my hand

And pass it on to you

To take it back or let it fly

To some unknown distant land

Slush:Chill Summers!Chill!

                                                           SLUSH

Crushed ice, saturated loosely with your favourite fizzy drink, in the sweltering heat...The fusion of two forms of water, hard, crystallized and grainy on one hand and cool and free flowing on the other works as a catalyst to speed up your reflexes and metabolic rate when all you want is an everlasting siesta in an air conditioned comfort of your room. Slush...it flushes away the summer sores in a jiffy. Try it...Chill a glass of your favourite fizzy drink in the freezer for half an hour and see the difference you make to your life! This was suggested by a friend and is the definite mantra to ward off fiery summer blues! Thanks a ton!

Now let me make an effort to be blatantly honest about description of the process of trying it out without meaning to sound offensive or  vulgar in any way.(I hope so...)Hold the glass in your hand. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Feel the cool exterior of the glass, dripping dewdrops, quenching the thirst of your warm hands. Cup the glass, just the right amount of pressure so as not to disturb the flow of the meandering cola through the channels of crushed ice. You’ll be transported to heaven. Not even a thousand blazing suns can bleach the colours of vibgyor in the horizon of your soaring thoughts. Bliss is the word you feel.

Now open your eyes and use a spoon to stir up a mini storm in the glass .This is done so as to create a sense of harmony and fusion in the two states-the solid and the liquid, the hard and the soft.

By this time your taste buds will be craving to reach out and be one with the cool delight in the crystal glass...Winking bubbles on the brink throwing inviting glances ,you will just not be able to resist. Simply irresistible...You make the first contact, the warmth of your lips meets the cool crystal and you lose all track of time and space, of temperature soaring or plummeting.

You shiver as your tongue feels the grains of ice, each and every one of it coated with the flavour of the fuzzy drink. But wait! You are not yet satiated till you actually suck the grains dry, sweeping the floor clean, not leaving a trace of intoxication abandoned anywhere. You are not a betrayer of flavours. ..Certainly not. The slush hits you on the fontanel making you ecstatic and desirous of many more such heavenly sips.

Slush...brings a flush to your countenance. Try it!!Summers will not be all that bad!

What's in a cell phone?

A cell phone is not just a machine; it’s an extension of your being, like your finger, or your limb. If you happen to sit in a public place AND if you happen to face another human species like your own self, (such as in a metro) notice the number of hands toying with the cellphones.Watch the expressions. Some minds will be mindful of what they are indulging in while others will be lost in a world far away .The mobile phone acts as a defence mechanism in such cases, a protective shield against the onslaughts of gazes and prying eyes. But is it really so important to do so? What is it actually defending? The vulnerable being...the unbearable lightness of being. The machines are gradually and steadily taking over the cognitive, the affective as well as the psychomotor domains of our lives. We feel restless if we don’t feel the vibrations of batteries under our nimble fingers, or the sound of ringtones. An animated world with animated feelings is what we are shrinking and stuffing our souls into. It’s surprising how quick we are at reciprocating to the demands of the mechanistic world ,neglecting the holistic perspective of life.

The Clocks

The Clocks

A tree stood on the roadside

Strange it seemed to me

For there was not a foliage it could boast of

But an array of clocks

Nailed on to the trunk

Seven in all

Round, sour cream in colour

Displaying time

That chose to run on different tracks

My life was running on a four wheeled machine

So fast it was

That i could only get a glimpse of the needles

Running helter skelter in different directions

Under the tree on a mute wooden chair

Sat a man

Mute, gazing in the distance

At a tractor in the field

Dali’s watches came alive

In the hallowed portals of my mind

How irrelevant is time when we are asleep

It is a world of breathing memories

And breathing dreams

Beyond the curtains of black lashes

But the watches on this tree

Were rooted to a world of wakefulness

I wonder

What is real-sleep or wakefulness?

Memories or promises?

Timelessness ...

Only time will tell

And i shift my gaze to the sprinting trees

-Ghazal...11:30pm

(I saw this tree recently when i was on an official visit to Jaipur.I wish i could have stopped to click a picture or perhaps make an attempt to talk to that man in the  giant pagree,but somehow i was spellbound,held captive by the strange sight...)

Fresh and Stale

BASAURA

fresh and stale:have a tale!

There’s an interesting way of celebrating the onset of spring and summer in Rajasthan. This festival called Basaura marks the farewell of winter and welcome of summer. On 14^th of march Rajasthan, marked by rugged tawny terrain and colourful pagris and ghagras celebrated this festival with cheer and gusto.The womenfolk did not venture into the kitchen to cook as was customary but chose to eat whatever was left over of the previous night.No fire crackled in the stoves, no embers threw off aroma of daal baati choorma. ‘Stale’was the flavour of the day.Why? because at that juncture of their lives it was apparently safe to consume whatever was basi or stale.Henceforth the harsh summer sun would not allow any stale food to thrive .It was only in the late evening that choolhas could be lit and fresh food cooked. Farewell winters, welcome summers!