Few words...

This poem is based as a descriptive account of the oil painting 'Gypsies' (1893) by the famous 18th Century Indian Painter - Raja Ravi Varma. My first poem of this kind, here it goes... By the temple, under the glistening sun, sat a family of wanderers, wondering... their thoughts incoherrent with those of the sleeping son The mother seemed indulgent, playing her old Veena, while her son was lost in dreams upon her lap Gypsies - by Raja Ravi Varma and lost seemed her daughter Reena. Reena was neither listening to the rhythm, nor was she at peace like her sleeping brother, 'When will this wandering end?' -was the question in her mind, a question she had oft asked her mother Detached from his mother's Veena, was Mahesh who just wanted some food, the heat of the sun rising unconditionally, and no water in the empty pots, certainly did him no good. Albeit in different mindsets, they all seemed to be at peace, grat...

The white burning candle, Standing in the dark.. on its own, trying to illuminate everything around, albeit the darkness has persistently grown. It is aware that it is alone, while the darkness around it is vast It is devoted to being lit, even as its existence melts fast But is it really a candle? Or is it the flame of hope? That tries to hang on in times of despair, and tries to cling on to that last bit of rope. It keeps burning still, battling the known and the unknown, all hidden in the darkness around. It shrinks in size, with its head held high, still believing that it is glory abound. 

It is time and I write again, again before the clocks chyme, I take a look at the year passing by, With a small personal rhyme.. January fused me with a new hope, with a new friend by my side, life seemed to be changing, happiness could be seen riding a high tide.. February was the month of realisation, when I encountered an unexpected trend, when I was parted albeit only for hours, then I realised someone was more than just a friend.. In March I did see Patiala, saw the greenery of farms, through only from my hostel room, I felt the winds of change within my arms... April was just quiet, the 'fight' in me simply died, I submitted to the laws of competition, tired of it, my mind sometimes cried May was the time to rejoice, I was back home as the overjoyed resident, It did make me forget April, as a number popped up on my cell, by 'accident' ;) In June, the temperature rose, and  my conversations, with the special 'someone' grew ...

इस बार कुछ यूँ हुआ.... उम्मीद जाग गयी, चंद मिसालों से, ख्वाब उभर उठे  पिघलते सवालों से... एक फ़रिश्ता बिना आहट के, दबे पाँव कहीं दूर चला गया, यादों से वो मुझे हंसा गया, उन्ही यादों से वो रुला गया.. दिल पे दस्तक हुई, तो दरवाज़े खोल दिए, कुछ मीठे बोल इन कानों में, एक फ़रिश्ते ने धीरे से घोल दिए.. जीवन का ये संतुलन, देखकर कुछ देर ठहर गया, इसे विधि का विधान मान कर, फिर मैं आगे बढ़ गया.. इस बार कुछ यूँ हुआ... खुद ही को छोड़ चुका था एक मोड़ पर, इस मोड़ पर, खुद ही से मैं मिल गया.. 

दुःख की धाराओं में खुशियों की बूँदें ढूंढ ले थाम ले ख़ुशी का आँचल और इन दुखों से आज जूझ ले किसने कहा की ज़िन्दगी सिर्फ हसने का नाम है  दुखों में हँसना-हँसाना भी तेरा एक काम है जब मार सहेगा दुखों की हंसके तो ख़ुशी भी तरस खाएगी बिन मांगे , बिन प्रयास के  झूम कर तेरी ओर आएगी  हे पथिक ! तू न रुक, तू न थम ! बस इस नदी में बहते बहते इतना मात्र सीख ले  दुःख की धाराओं में खुशियों की बूँदें ढूंढ ले थाम ले ख़ुशी का आँचल और इन दुखों से आज जूझ ले

Following is the letter I mailed to Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary, All India Congress Committee on 23 October 2011. It addresses a fundamental correction in the view point of the majority of the people associated with the gove rnance of our nation. I posted it on office@rahulgandhi.in . Will also post the reply here, if any.   Dear Mr Gandhi, I am a common man of this wonderful country. The very common man whose well-being and prosperity is your responsibility, by your choice. I respect the vision you have for our motherland, and as a fellow countryman, I sincerely hope it comes true. However, I write this letter to you to correct a fundamental error in your conceptualization and visualisation of India in the future. I did not correct you when you were speaking about the same in my college- BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus, a few months back as I was perhaps too much in awe of you. But as they say, it is better late than never. Sir, you were in my college fo...

Yep... that's right, don't fret over the choice you made a while back just because you failed to get the desired result out of it. Don't think "Oh, I wish I had done what xyz had said... xyz seems so right now.. " - of course that would seem the case now, now that your choice has been proved brutally wrong by the forces of life. The alternative would seem to be more likely of a favorable result, but the key word here is 'likely'. There is no 'sure' in there. There are a thousand variables lurking in the shadows behind that alternative too, that could have made that alternative a wrong choice too, perhaps even more wrong than the current one. You don't know and would perhaps never know, so what is the use of getting frustrated about it? Just learn to live with the choice you made and more importantly the result it got you, because that is the important part of the learning process called life.