YARD-STICK

मानदंड
बदला तो बस समय
समय के साथ
चीजें होती गई प्यारी,
रिश्ते होते गए भारी.
बादलों के भी बदल गए
हाव-भाव,
प्रकृति में भी आये
ढेरों बदलाव.

पर,
सूरज ,चाँद,सितारों की तरह
नहीं बदले आप,
नहीं बदला
जीवन के प्रति आपका नजरिया
नहीं बदला
सबके लिए आपका स्नेह,
सबके लिए प्यार
रिश्तों के प्रति आपका लगाव,
क्षितिज तक दिखता है
जिसका विस्तार आज भी,
गहराई लगती है समंदर सी.

आपसे ही उगता था
सूरज हमारी उम्मीदों का,
आपकी उंगलियाँ ही देती थी
दिशाएं हमारे जीवन को,
आपका साहस,आपका धैर्य था
हमारा संबल.
अभाव के बादल
उमड़ते-घुमड़ते रहे
गरजते रहे,बरसते रहे
कई-कई दिन,कई-कई रात
मुसलाधार
लगातार.
फ़िरभी,
नहीं तोड़ पाए
विश्वास पर टिका
आपका फौलादी मनोबल.
नहीं डिगा पाए आपको
आपके अपनाये रास्ते से,
नहीं तोड़ पाए रिश्तों का घेरा
जो आपने डाल रखा था
अपने चारो ओर
क्योंकि
आपने कभी नहीं तोला इन्हें
उस तराजू में
जो झुक रहा था दूसरी ओर.

बन गए मानदंड
हमारे लिए
जिसके सहारे पढ़ पाए थे हम,
मूल्यों के उतार-चढ़ाव,
कर पाए थे
बदलाव का मूल्यांकन.
आपके अपनाये मूल्यों में
तौल पाए थे
स्वयं को,
औरों को उस तराजू में.
लगा कितने छोटे हो गए हैं हम.

हमने सोचते थे
यदि आप बदल जाते
तो शायद हम बन जाते
हमारे दिन फिर जाते ,
संवर जाता हमारा आनेवाला कल.
.
पर,
आपको कहाँ था स्वीकार
रोटी का आप पर हावी हो जाना.
भले ही कुरते पर क्यों न लगे हों
सैकड़ो पैबंद,
पर नहीं था आपको स्वीकार
चरित्र के कोरेपन पर कोई दाग.

आप दर्पण थे
व्यवहार में सदाचार के,
अपने आदर्शों के,अपने विचार के
जो आज भी ध्रुवतारा बनकर
हमें भटकाव से बचाता है .
लेकिन आज
जब किनारे खड़ा
समंदर को देखता हूँ
तो लगता है
तब सावन जरूर आता,
पर हमारे आँखों का पानी ले जाता.
हम कभी नहीं जान पाते
हमनें क्या खोया,
हमनें क्या पाया.


YARD-STICK

Though very slowly,
Yet certainly
The time has changed
And with this has changed
The aspirations and intentions
Of human beings.

Commodities has become priorities,
Relations are loosing their sheen.
Weather has also taken a U-turn,
The Nature has grown wary and thin
As clouds have changed their mind.

But,
Between the two horizons
The sun remained constantly bright,
The moon maintained its white,
Stars twinkled as ever
In the deep of blue sky,

So was my father,
A person without change.
He remained unmoved
As he had love for all
With an oceanic depth
That had extension
Unto the horizon

He was the rising sun
Of our hope and faith.
Like a rudder of a boat
In the sea
His fingers were a guide
On the road of life
Full of confusion.
His courage and patience
Made us steady and strong.

No doubt,
Changes were taking place all around,
But they failed as ever to break
His stony resolve and divert him
From his Aiklavyay-like aim,
Failed to overpower
The conscience and will
Of his value guided mind
Though scarcity kept dancing
On various tunes.

Failed utterly to break
The ring of relationship
That he had around him
'cause he used a different "balance",
Nothing was material wherein.
He lived and lived and lived
With the principles under his skin.

For us
He became a standing yard-stick
For ever changing values,
Where with we were able to evaluate
The changes taking place all around,
And ours and others place there in
.
Then alone we realized
How selfish and mean
We have grown today
How high and strong
His morale had been.
.
It always came to our mind
If he had changed his stance,
Fortune would have got a chance
In our so called simple life,
We could have taken a dip
In the flowing worldly charm.

He never allowed his hunger
To grow and devour
His hard earned ways.
He was ready to wear a shirt
Full of holes and patches
But not ready to see a blot
On his milky white image
Diligently put in a desired frame.

Father was mirror of good conduct,
Of his views and values
That saves us even today
From many deviations
Like a Pole-star
In the northern sky.

Today
Standing ashore
When I look at the sea,
I honestly feel
Monsoon might have come
But all without water,
It had never been known
What was Lost and found.