THE RECURRENCE

After a long gap
We met again
We were destined to it.
As the very process.....
Of meeting and parting,
Parting and meeting
Was written on every wall.

When we met
We found
Our memories have taken a heavier toll
On us than our age.

Now,we weren't what we were
At the time of separation
The present was not like the past.
We were what we weren't ever.

You and I
Kept watching each-other
For long
Trying to find the second end
(With a sense of eternity,)
Perhaps we were shocked,
Or,overwhelmed
By the sudden burst of emotions,
And trying to make dams of lids
For our over-brimming tears.
Then at once
It flashed through my mind
We hadn't looked so intently at each-other so long
Even at the time of our first meet
I was a bit confused
As to who should we blame
Time or life?
....Our lips were tight......

There was a tree
With two red flowers on it
In the hotel ground
Sitting whereunder like before
We asked for tea.
As usual it was brought
In two white cups
Filled with colour of life.
We started making sips
And talked non-sense
To get some sense out of it,
"How are you and how is life going?" etc.
Meaningless question's
Baseless answers.
Every question had the same answer,
"All is well".

Off and on
we were looking back
As if looking for someone behind
(Though who I always wanted to see was sitting before me).
Infact, we were foolishly trying to hold
Our tars back.

After a long silence
I dared to ask,
"Do I still come in your dreams."
With a faint smile on your face
you said, "No, now not."
I didn't know
Whether it was true or false.
You asked in the same manner,
"Ever felt my absnce,
Or got busy in the world around."
"It's a matter of heart", I softly said.

I asked, "Do you remember everything ?"
You said, "yes."
You looked at me with a question in your eyes,
"And you ?"
I replied, " yes, I still remember everything"
Infact,I didn't forget anything.
Not even you. Never.
Both of us wept silently,
Tears rolled out of our eys.

Suddenly,
Dark clouds covered the sky,
And it started drizzling.

I wanted to save you from the rain
By taking you under the shade
So, I lent my hands to you
With a glimpse of hesitation in your eyes
You gave your hand in my hand
That you left once
At an unknown turn.
Time played pranks with me,
Several times.

You were standing by my side
Rain was heavily pouring down.
I asked you, " Do you remember the rain?"
"Which one ? " you grew slightly interrogative.
I Said, " That one in the old city,dear."
You said, "We never got drenched in the rain."
With a smile on my face I said,
"Let us dance in the rain, but once."

After some time you said, " Now I'll leave"
The clock stopped ticking for me.
I saw drops of water falling
From the flowers of the tree
In the cup of tea
And the rain water filling it by and by.

I implored, " Please,don't go now."

You were mature enough
And it was impossible for you
To live in the world of love
As you never knew
How relations thrive.

You impatiently said,
" No! Not now.It's too late."
And you left.

I came out
And kept watching you go
Till you reach the turn of the road.
I was geting havily drenched ...
You turned your face,looked at me
And went away

I stood there like a statue
And kept watching my tears
Mingling with the drops of rain

When I looked back
There was none
At the end of the turn.

The petals of the flowers have fallen
The cup of tea was full of rain water,
And so was the life.


फूल,चाय और बारिश का पानी

बहुत दिनों के बाद ,
हम मिले...
हमें मिलना ही था , प्रारब्ध का लेखा ही कुछ ऐसा था .
मिलना , जुदा होना और फिर मिलना और फिर जुदा होना ......!!!

जब मिले तो देखा कि
उम्र से ज्यादा कहर ,
हम पर;
हमारी यादो ने ढाया था .
हम वो नहीं थे , जो जुदा होते वक़्त थे ..
हम वो थे, जो ,हम कभी थे ही नहीं ...

मैं तुम्हे और तुम मुझे बहुत देर तक यूँ ही देखते रहे
शायद हैरान थे और कुछ कोशिश आंसुओ को रोकने की भी थी
मुझे याद आया कि , जब हम पहली बार मिले थे ,
तब भी इतना नहीं देखा था एक दुसरे को ;
वक़्त से शिकवा करे या ज़िन्दगी से ,
कुछ समझ नहीं आ रहा था ….
……. लब खामोश थे .!!

होटल के खुले आँगन में एक पेड़ जिसमे ;
दो लाल रंग के फूल खिले थे;
उसके नीचे बैठकर, हमने चाय मंगाई .
हमेशा की तरह दो सफ़ेद कप
और उनमे ज़िन्दगी की रंग वाली चाय
हमने चाय पीना शुरू किया और
बेकार की बातो से एक दूसरे को टटोलना शुरू किया
जैसे ….कैसे हो
ज़िन्दगी कैसी है

निरर्थक से सवालों के
एक झूठा सा जवाब
सब अच्छा है ,
हर सवाल का यही जवाब था !!


हम थोड़ी थोड़ी देर में पीछे मुड जाते थे
जैसे किसी को देख रहे हो
[ जिसे उम्र भर देखना चाहा था ; वो सामने ही बैठा था ]
दरअसल ,हम अपने आंसुओ को पी जाने की नाकाम कोशिश कर रहे थे.

बहुत देर की ख़ामोशी के बाद मैंने कहा
मेरी याद नहीं आती !

तुमने एक फीकी सी मुस्कराहट को ओड़ कर कहा
नहीं ; अब नहीं आती है !!
पता नहीं ये सच था या झूठ ,

तुमने पुछा ,
तुम्हे भी नहीं आती होंगी
दुनिया में मन लग जाता है
मैंने कहा
“ यहाँ बात दिल की है”

मैंने पुछा ,
तुम्हे याद है सब कुछ
तुमने कहा , हाँ
तुमने मेरी देखकर कहा
और तुम्हे ?
मैंने कहा हाँ, मुझे सबकुछ बहुत अच्छे से याद है ,
in fact , मैं तो कुछ भी नहीं भूला हूँ
तुम्हे भी नहीं ...कभी नहीं ...!!

तुम रोने लगी
और मैं भी ;

आकाश में अचानक घुमड़ घुमड़ कर बादल आ गए थे
हलकी बूंदा बांदी शुरू हो गयी थी .

मैंने हाथ बढ़ाया तुम्हारी ओर
तुम्हे बारिश से बचाने के लिए ,
होटल के shade में ले जाना चाहता था
तुमने हिचकते हुए
मेरे हाथ में अपना हाथ दिया
उसी हाथ में ,
जिसे तुमने एक अजनबी से मोड़ पर छोड़ दिया था
समय भी कैसे कैसे पल दिखाता है हमें

तुम मेरे पास खड़ी थी
बारिश अब जोरो से होने लगी थी
मैंने तुमसे पुछा , याद है तुम्हे वो बारिश
तुमने मुस्करा कर कहा , कौनसी
मैंने कहा अरे वही उस पुराने शहर वाली बारिश
तुमने कहा कि हम कभी बारिश में भीगे ही नहीं
मैंने मुस्कराते हुए कहा , अब भीग जाए !!


तुमने कुछ देर ठहर कर कहा , मैं चलती हूँ ...

समय फिर रुक सा गया,
मैंने देखा चाय के कप में ;
पेड़ के फूलो से पानी टपक रहा था ;
और बारिश का पानी जमा हो रहा था .

मैंने कहा कि ,
नहीं .
अब मत जाओ ...


लेकिन तुमने मुझसे ज्यादा दुनिया देखी थी
और
मेरी प्रेम की दुनिया में तुम नहीं रह सकती थी .
क्योंकि साथ निभाना तुमने नहीं जाना था .


तुमने कहा ,
नहीं , अब बहुत देर हो चुकी है
और .......तुम चली गयी !


मैं बाहर आ कर तुम्हे मोड़ तक देखते रहा
मैं भीग रहा था जोरो से..
तुमने मुड़कर देखा मुझे मोड़ पर ;
और चली गयी .


मैं बहुत देर तक वह खड़ा रहा ,
और बारिश के पानी में ;
मेरे आंसुओ को मिलते हुए देखता रहा


मैं मुड कर देखा ,
मोड पर अब कोई नहीं था
और ;
वो दो फूल झड गए थे .
चाय के कप में अब पूरी तरह से बारिश का पानी भर गया था ;
और शायद ज़िन्दगी में भी !!!!

Let Me Understand

My wooded house
Once made of mud walls
With a tiles covered roof
Supported by woods and bamboos,
Where the sun light used to sneak in
In the morning like a stealth cat
When horizon was turnig bright,
And visited every nook and cornor of the house
Following grandma's slow,measured steps
And hid silently
Behind the western outermost wall
As the evening knocked at the gate,
The burning lanterns in the courtyard
Matched with twinkling stars in the sky,
Now silently rests
Only in the histroy of my mind and heart.

It's stilI fresh in my mind
How I used to sleep with my grand maa
On the old loose cot
Kept in the middle of the courtyard,
Watching the endless sky
Full of millions of stars,
Listening the stories of paradise.

But today
As the wish of our successors prevails
There stands a palatial building
Full of well furnished rooms,
Cars and physical cares
With utmost privacy
For each and everyone.

What is not in the air
Is the scent of collective efforts,
And the touch of pain and pleasure,
Wherewith the walls and roofs were made,
There are designer beds,carved wooden sofas,
But no soft and craddling cot
Whereupon my childhood slept
In fearless freedom
With some affectionate elderly touch.

Let me live but once
Under the shadow of those days,
And embrace
The feel of togetherness.

DISCOVERY

Proud we are
In our discovery of soul
That's of self
And not of what is before.

In the West : A guiding force,
In the East going within
Though unseen,
Yet visible
Like human stages
Right from the child-hood.

The variety of truth and time,
The world under a guise
And attempts of men
To open the universe
Like the unbuttoning of shirt
Is the happiest quest
That satisfy
The exploring lust of mind.

Achievements
Brings progress,pleasure
But not always peace.
There is darkness
And dense smoke
Spread all around
Even during the day

Our discovery breaks
Other's discovery,
Inventions,enrich inventions
Then what remains to reach.

BUNYAN TO BONSAI

BUNYAN TO BONSAI

There is no place.....
For seeding plants,
No space for trees,
No room for little grass,
No passage for breeze.

Bunyan tells
To its little Bonsai,
Kept on the balcony
Of the second floor
"Pleasure comes
From within 
When you effortlessly try".

By cutting their twigs,
And tying with wires
Its delicate trunks
They check its desire
For a hand full of sky.
Where it will see
Birds flying
And reflect
What progress is,
How and why?

No shades of affection
Only shining walls
With color so green ,
Chairs around a table.
And the furious sun out side.
Stars studded on the ceilings
Behind the moving fans,
Barely saves some sheen.

Today
The work and ways,
Show every heart behind a cage
Laughter or smile
Becoming just an exercise
That keeps body fit,
Muscles strong
With fresh air going inside.

Life is slave of time,
Time is slave of time,
It keep strict watch on
Men laughing without laugh,
Walking without a distance
Yet trying to look so wise
With instant material rise.

Was it a case in the past
When people had time
To laugh and let laugh
Living on the grains
Of happiness
With a nice cool head
And a thinking heart?

Happy were those days
When plants turned into trees,
River flowed with ease,
Birds soared in the sky
And came back
With the dying sun
To their cozy nests.
As nothing was at cease.

Since men are growing nuclear
In their day to day life,
Radiation of desire
Has spread all around.
With the fast fleeting moments
Relations have turned bonsai,
Time and tense has turned bonsai,
Thoughts have turned bonsai.
Nothing moves skywards,
Emotions don't grow fast.

Everything curtailed-
Be it food,salt or fat,
Freshness of mind
Happiness of heart-
All's going south
Yet illness is all time high.

Let the bonsai break
Its wire and grow, 
Grow into a tree so high.
Sit in the balcony with a cup of tea
And watch them calling you
To join the curly shade
Join the intimate soil.

Posted by Rajiv at 7:04 AM 

THIS YEAR TOO ...…

Like previous years,
This year too
The effigies of Ravana
Along with Kumbhkarna and Meghnatha
Will be consigned to flames
Onceagain
With loud and deafening crackers
And thousand thunderous claps,
Cheered by all:
Be it old, young or small.

But once again
Attempts would surely fail
To burn them all
As the trio has melted
Into the body of Ramas
And has got slowly multiplied
Keeping their Soul intact, undetected,
Making it difficult for burning Fire
To penetrate the core.

Laxman keeps drawing a line
To save Sitas
But all without fire.
Now none fears
That dreaded idiomatic line.

Year after year
The trio is gaining heights
And growing in numbers,
Flames are also rising high,
Dark smoke leaping
To touch the sky.

Today every Rama is doubtful
As Ravana within is holding forte,
“V” that once stood for villain,
Now stands victor.

Next year again
We will get ready
To burn them all
Like a bonfire
And dance around that pyre
Knowing it well
It didn’t work and won't work
Till the naval is hit once again
With the arrow of corrective fire.

Time is ripe to know
What is Rama and what Ravana is?
This myth has to be broken now
As happening makes it everyday
A biggar speaking tree.

IN THE NAME OF TRADITION

Like Yesterdays
Even today
The sky is not so blue,
The wind is not blowingso soft,
The rising Sun is hotter,
The evening,more dusty,
And the moonless night is darker
Than ever even with stars.

Things are right
Till you don't apply your mind
And blindly follow
The pre-laid medieval path,
And move ahead
With meek obedience
Holding their fingers
In your hand,
Listening to the music
They play,
Seeing the world
Through their eyes,

Once you grow young
And make-up your mind,
Try to find your ways,
And do something
That you wish to do
In coming days
You will go horribly wrong,
In the world
Where people seek
To have their way,
Want to have their say.
If denial comes,
Souls are snatched.
No heart is found,
No mind appears,
No remorse is seen
In the watery eyes.

Don't know why ?
Those arms and embrace
That cradled you once,
Wherein you slpt
All fearless
In the fairy world,
Turns tormentors
At once?

No body knows,
Wants to know
Why young generation
Always have to pay
For their freedom,
For their choice.

Perhaps
This is in our blood
That streams through......
Each and everyone
But seeks no change.

PAST MADE ME

PAST MADE ME

Whenever I open 

The back-door and walk out 

On the long memory lane, 

I always see A lush green village 

Full of mango trees and palm 

On the bank of a rainy-river, 

Damned forever 

By a mighty dam. 

Now not flowing so fast, 

Lying motionless

On her sandy bed 

Between her banks 

Like a grand-old-mother, 

Looking at her grand children 

Playing fearlessly all around.

 

There..... 

On the silky sand 

Spread like the dust of gold 

Lies our childhood 

Making and breaking structures, 

Throwing balls of sand 

At each-other, 

Or one-another, 

And laughing to see 

Sand mingling with sand. 

In the morning. 

Under the rising sun 

A small boy standing 

And watching 

A velvety green paddy fields 

Swaying with the blowing wind  

Full of water and fish at roots underneath.

 

I see a young child 

Dipping his hands in the water 

To catch a fast fleeing fish, 

Or running after the jumping frogs. 

And catching the firefly 

To make lights of my own 

After the sun goes down.

 

Today I am far-far away from her, 

But in my long memory-chain 

Even with her thinning stream 

She never ceased to flow, 

Nor did she left caressing 

My incessantly drifting dreams. 

 I Still love her presence 

As she keeps my past abreast......

My Lost Sundays

My Sundays are lost
Like other Working days
And still
I have a soft corner
For you,My Love

My days with books
And apart…….
Are those
Wherein
I see nothing,
Nothing beyond you & …………..
Still Sunday comes
It will come sure
But I don’t know
If the sensation will sneak
Into me the same way again
As something is changing
Incessantly in me
With careless control.

Yet, it’s not mine
This is the wind
Across the mighty wind
Blowing in all directions.

CHASNALA

Monday, March 14, 2011

CHASNALA

It was just another night
Full of twinkling stars
And the deep cut moon 
Steadily growing bright. 
Cradling their children
To happy dreams
Putting soul behind
Mothers were singing 
Their favourite  lulla byes, 
Very close to their heart.
Old aged father was coughing out the night
In a solitary room just outside.
Restless dogs were barking loud
Thickening the darkness 
Of CHASNALA.

On the fateful freezing night
Of 27th December,1975
Almost 3000 head lamps came 
Out of the Old Light-House
Dazzling the dark core of the Mine
Like the fire flies
Four hundred feet below the surface.
With gillatin rods in their hands
They were measuring 
The depth of the MINE,
The layers of "BLACK DIAMOND"
And the sound of horrible hollowness
On the other side of the wall.

Ignoring the experience of those
Making their presence felt
Through the impression of their thumb,
The blast was carried out-the blast of DEATH.
The River Damodar 
With all fury and fire
Roared through the wall
That instantly caved in 
Putting off the lamps 
Atonce.
But
There were dreams 
Still floating
In their open shocked eyes.

It took months 
To bring Damodar out
But at a cost.
Human skeleton were still coming out
To say the story of utmost greed
And human plight.
Their songs of pleasure or pain
Sung with diffrent mood 
Hangs in the air even today.

The songs of the mothers were lost,
The sound of coughing old man was gone,
The children suddenly turned young,
Flowers around lost their sheen.

The care free faces 
Throwing coins on funny cock-fight
Are now rarely seen.
Temple of Mother KALI is filled
With terrible void,
Where once 
Thounds used to bent
Their heads and knees
Without showing 
Their caste and creed.

Though 
By vacating the families 
And tearing away
The pages of presence
Attempts were made 
To erase 
The memories of those 
Brave hearts. 

But
Even today
As a DATE they stay
In their family's heart,
In commons'mind.

चासनाला 
(धनबाद से बीस किलोमीटर दूर एक कोयला क्षेत्र है चासनाला. २७ दिसंबर १९७५ की रात को एक विस्फोट होता है खान के ३०० फुट नीचे और ७० लाख गैलन प्रति मिनट के हिसाब से पानी घुस जाता है खादान में और करीब ३००० मजदूर कभी ऊपर नहीं आ पाते. सरकारी आकड़ों में ये केवल ३७२ हैं. यह कोई दिल्ली तो नहीं है कि मनाई जाएगी इस हादसे की बरसी या फिर से खुलेगी इसकी फ़ाइल भोपाल गैस कांड की तरह. गुमनाम चासनाला शहीदों को समर्पित यह कविता ) 

आम सी ही रात थी 
चाँद आसमान में खिला था 
तारे झिलमिल कर रहे थे
माँ लोरिया सुना कर 
सुला रही थी बच्चों को 
बूढ़े पिता खांस रहे थे बाहर के कमरे में 
और जोर जोर से भौंक रहा था 
धौरे का कुत्ता 
चासनाला में 
२७ दिसम्बर १९७५ की 
सर्द रात को 

बत्ती घर से
उठी थी लगभग ३००० बत्तियां 
और झिलमिल हो उठा था 
चासनाला का भूगर्भ 
लगभग चार सौ फुट नीचे
टिमटिमाती बत्तियों से 

हाथ में थामे 
जिलेटिन का बैटन 
स्टील के लम्बे छड़ों से 
मापी जा रही थी 
खदान की और गहराई 
कोयले की परतें
खोखलेपन की आवाज़ को
और निरक्षरों के अनुभव की 
अनसुनी कर 
किया गया था एक विस्फोट 
जो साबित हुआ अंतिम ही 

एक विस्फोट और
सत्तर लाख गैलन प्रति मिनट की दर से 
दामोदर के सैलाब ने
भर दिया चासनाला का गर्भ 
और समाहित हो गयीं 
वे तीन हज़ार बत्तियां
काले स्याह चेहरों के बीच 
झिलमिलाती पुतलियाँ और
उनमे भरे सपने 

महीनो लग गए 
चासनाला खान से 
निकालने में पानी 
वर्षों तक कंकाल मिलते रहे खान से
चैता और विरहा के आलाप भी 
गूंजते से सुनाई देते थे चासनाला खान में 

वह जमाना नहीं था
लाइव रिपोर्टिंग का
फिर भी बिके थे
अखबार पत्रकार 
अधूरी रह गईं
माँ की लोरियां 
खांसते बूढ़े 
गुम से हो गए 
अचानक से 
बड़े हो गए बच्चे 
और पलाश, पुटुष, अमलताश 
चुप से हो गए 

मुर्गों की लड़ाई पर
पैसे फेंकते निर्द्वंद चेहरे 
गायब हो गए 
काली माँ का मंदिर
जहाँ रोज़ झुकाते थे 
हजारों मजदूर अपना माथा 
धर्म जाति से परे 
खाली रहने लगा 

फिर बनी 
जांच समितियां 
हुए धरने प्रदर्शन 
हटा दिए गए रातो रात 
हाजिरी रजिस्टरों के पन्ने 
और खाली करा दिए गए 
धौरे, मोहल्ले
और फिर 
हो गया सामान्य सब कुछ 
चासनाला में 

बस हँस नहीं पाया 
हंसोड़ बत्तीबाबू फिर कभी 
27 दिसंबर 1975 की रात के बाद

Posted by Rajiv at 3:19 AM 

Child Is A Mirror (Modified)

Child is not a puzzle,
But surely puzzles all.
His acts stands mirror
Of his true mind,
And what man be,

A child adheres to one
At a time with innocence,
But a man at least nine
With his divided mind.

He is what he is
Looks alike
Both inside or out.
He does what he likes,
And never
What he dislikes.

If he smiles he smiles,
If he cries,he cries,
There is no holding back
Of emotions
Be it pleasure or pain.

He staggers
When he strives
To walk
Fall and rise
Become the same
As he is nature's wise.

But there is
In every house
A hazed and misty glass
Where....
Even anger stricken face
Looks fully smeared
With grace.

Act and mind
Like two banks of a river
Has their separate ways
Which ever needs
A bridge to meet.

But the child
With his simplest ways
Always remains
A lasting craze
Among those
Who crave for love,
Crave for peace
Of mind and days.

Child Is A Mirror

Child Is A Mirror

Child is not a puzzle,
But a mirror
Of what a man be,
And not what man is?
His each act puzzles
A grown-up mind,
Pleases all kinds
As he is not a puzzle
at all.

He is what he looks,
He does
What he thinks,
He doesn't do
What he dislikes.

If he smiles he smiles,
If he cries,he cries,
There is no holding back
Of emotions
Be it anger or pleasure
Be it tears or laughter.

Unlike us
He staggers
When he strives
To walk,
Fall and rise
Become the same.
He limps
But moves endlessly
Towards horizon
That,for him,
Nature has planned.

But we have
A hazed and dusty glass
Where....
Even anger stricken face
Looks fully smeared
With grace.
Act and mind
Like unbridged river
Has their separate ways
On separate banks .

This combine
Makes a man hypocrite,
But the child
With simple oceanic ways
Always remains
A lasting craze
For generations
Till eternity.

TO MY BELOVED TEACHER

O,Inspiring candle:
O,light divine
Today you are far away,
But your memories still kindles
The holy fire of knowledge,
That leads the way of life
Like a 'pole star'.

You were our true guide,
You were the Savior of soul,
We always ignored
Your cordial approach
That you ever made
With a gentle touch
And an excellent grace.

Life is literature,
literature,life
Were not known to our mind,
But it was you
Who made us know
Glory of books
And essence of life.

Our heart weeps today
As you go home
Though we know
It's a temporal depart,
Yet surely we,ll miss you,
Miss your soft enchanting voice.

You are away
But your dedication stay
To remind us the days
Full of events,
Memorable moments
That keep coming in silent ways.

A time comes
When a farewell is made
With heart full of sorrow,
And eyes full of tears
But your image,ll stay
Till we stay on the earth.

Farewell to you,dear sir.
The world,ll remember you
As a person on move
Holding a burning candle
With both hands.


(IN THE LOVING MEMORY OF DR.B.GHOSH,MY ENGLISH TEACHER AND HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT(ENGLISH),R.D.S. COLLEGE,UNIVERSITY OF BIHAR, MUZAFFARPUR,YEAR-1982)

DAUGHTERS NOT CURSE

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

बेटियां नहीं अब बोझ.....

धीरे-धीरे ही सही
बदल रही है सोच,
सोच की दिशा
हो रही है उत्तरायण,
बहने लगी है
परिवर्तन की बयार .

होती रही होगी
बिटिया कभी बोझ,
झुकाती रही होगी माथा
अपने माँ-बाप का
क्योंकि
उसे मिला होगा
कुंठित,संकुचित,
झूठी प्रतिष्टा का पैरोकार
सहमा हुआ समाज,
जो नहीं लांघने देता था देहरी
पीहर हो या ससुराल.

अब लोग
बेटियों को
नहीं मानते बोझ,
पूर्व-जन्म का पाप.
नहीं कहते हैं
उसे पराया धन .

अब तो
मां-बाप मांगने लगे है
ईश्वर से वरदान ,
झोली में देना
बिटिया ही दान.

पूछने लगे हैं
खुद से ही सवाल:
ऐसा क्या किया है बेटे ने
जो बिटिया ने नहीं किया,
फिर भी,
क्यों नहीं मिल रही.
उसे पहचान ?

आज
वह भी
कमा रही है नाम,
बढ़ रही है आगे
कंधे-से-कंधे मिलाकर,
बढ़ा रही है
जननी,
जन्म-भूमि का मान.

अब नहीं चाहिए
उसे वैशाखी
समाज की ,
बस चाहिए
एक कंधा
स्नेह- भरा
मां का हो या बाप का


DAUGHTERS NOT CURSE

Much water has flown
Under the belly of the bridge
Things have changed a lot,
Thoughts are going North
Emotions and wishes,skyward.

She might have been thought
To be a burden once
Whose weight might have lowered
The shoulders of her parents,
Forcing them to curse
The day she was born.

It was feeble social fabric,
With fake honor oriented mind,
Full of self-grown thoughts
Meaninglessly so mean,
Responsible for this fall
That followed her for long
And never allowed
To step out of the door.

Daughters are not so heavy now,
Nor the living curse of past
As our society made us feel,
Nor a thing to pass on,
But all bliss in disguise,
If you think,
A rare gift to mankind.

Today
Desires are very high
To have daughters in arms,
And around
That'll keep us fresh,
Keep us warm.

Like a worthy son,
Daughters are using
The same ladder
Scaling the same wall
In every walk,
She is mapping every inch
Of Earth and Sky.

She is all name and fame,
Making parents proud,
Like the followers of greats
Success and prosperity,
Both have fallen in line
.
Nature feels elated,
A nation feels proud
Neighbors feel high.
To have herself in race,
To match steps of men
She is marching ahead
With faster pace,
.
And now
The sun has chosen
A new sky to rise
And dispel altogether
The darkness of common mind.

All she needs today
Is not the crutches of society,
But a soft,sincere shoulder
To rest her head and heart
And move on with all comfort.