Bepardaa naa karo zakhmo ko...!

Abtakk jo chupaye rakhe hai, beparda na karo un zakhmo ko;

Is zamaney me marham se zyada, namak sasta miltaa hai !!

Mitti ke baney logo me, kuch paththar ke but bhi miltey hai;

Abb Paththar se dil takraye gar, toh thoda dard hota hi hai !!

Haan kuch tabdeeli hui toh hai, tez daudte insaano me;

Suna hai aajkal Chaahat ke badley, dard nawaaza jaata hai !!

Who har pal jo aaj hai kareeb, usime jeena seekh lo;

Palon ki ahmiyat ko tootatey, waqt kahaa lagtaa hai?

Ashqo ki sachchai me abb, logo ko dilchaspi kahaa?

Magar muskaan farzi bhi ho, usey khoob sarahaa jataa hai !

Apno me baney kuch rishto me buss yahi ek dikkat hai;

Gar unka anjaam na ho, to rishtey ko thukraaya jaata hai !!

Har safar ko waqt ke tarazu me napaa nahi kartey …

Kuch raastey aise bhi hotey hai, jinki manzilo ka nishaa miltaa nahi !!

~ Rups ~

22^nd April, 2007; 7.50 a.m.; Bangalore ;
After an hour’s walk from home to office….

Garr chaahat ho chaand ki, to raato ko jagnaa padta hai;

Waisey bhi aashiqo ka neend se, waasta hi kya hotaa hai?

Are we still "Ruled"…?

“He came, he saw, he conquered…”
…If this seems like a thing of past to you, think again! Also, you may try replacing ‘He’ in the above statement to ‘she’…Does something click?

Every single soul, in this whole wide world, at some point of time, is either ‘ruled’ by some person or takes charge as a ‘ruler’. The only difference is neither the ‘ruling’ nor the ‘ruled-over’ symptoms are made explicitly apparent to others. Still, it does exist.

Take a simple case of someone in love – true love (?) – His/her world virtually revolves around a single person – most of the times. Right from the first instance when we miss a beat, to the last drop of tear (or a silent sob) – everything is triggered by a single person; who rules us! If you are in love, or had been in love; you might’ve experienced this by now in some or the other form. If not, you probably belong to the ruling partyJ which by the way is not a permanent state!

So, is the probability of we getting ruled by someone limited to ‘Lovey-Dovey’ phase of our lives? Well, I won’t suggest that. Even as kids, we are controlled, if not ruled, by our parents. Now, okay, that is something which takes care of us until we grow; and thus, may sound a ‘must-have’. But in western countries, isn’t the degree of ‘parental control’ much milder than what we see in India? India – where some kids refuse to grow up, even at 20-something; and their parent’s tag this behavior as ‘Obedience/Respect’ etc! In such cases, marital knot brings in yet another ‘soul-to-be-controlled’ for the ruling parents! And guess what? – The ‘kid’ in question serves his/her entire life as an eye-witness with hardly any say or intention to improve the situation.

If you didn’t felt controlled during your childhood, welcome to college life! Esp. while doing professional courses, like Engineering/Medical/IIT/IIM, it’s the set of highly experienced rulers, named ‘Professors/Lecturers/Principals/Hostel Wardens/Lab assistants’ who rule us. This bunch is God-gifted with various creative techniques of torturing/controlling the sinful lot, named ‘The Students’! The smarter set of ‘students’ who manage to bypass the wrath of faculty, have higher chance of encountering it by their final exams and/or campus interviews.

Later and much larger stage of our lives – as professionals, how can one deny the highly controlling species called ‘The Boss’? If you have been lucky – throughout your childhood AND college days, you are bound to face the music in your professional lives! Of late, I heard one of my close friend (& a pretty successful manager) say, “It’s not a ‘Company’, nor it’s your ‘Team’; U work for your boss – whether you like it or not – that’s the fact!”. I must say, that statement irritated me to the core; but later I realized ‘every bitter truth sucks’! So, if you don’t want to surrender to a ‘Boss-cum-Ruler’, try being your own boss (And rule your employees) J Yeah, good idea, be an entrepreneur – just to discover a huge list of ‘Rulers’ like: Customer, Market Share, competition, Stability, Finances, Growth, labor laws, Brand building & the list goes on…

Even in a life of most simple, passive, subtle, submissive, laid-back person, there are a host of ‘rulers’ that controls their lives! Rulers like – Happiness, Sadness, Money, Solitude, Addictions, Phobias, Beauty, Health, Wealth, Poverty, Relationships, Dreams, Spirituality, Nirvana, Death, … still makes way to rule us!

Amidst of all these Worldly Rulers, sometimes, we rebel; sometimes, we fight; sometimes we loose; sometimes we win… And sometimes, we choose to surrender, for a long term benefit (for example: for being together forever with your loved ones, we tend to surrender!)…

So, is getting ‘RULED’ a part of our lives? OR is it practically possible to achieve a true sense of ‘Freedom’, or at least believe in some such thing while we are still ruled?

~ Rups~ 26th August 2007

... Aaj-Kal ...

Jhaankey mere absaar^ me; garr koi ek pal

Ishtiyaaq^ milega, mere usee qaatil ka aaj kal...

Jis daaman ko woh chookar bhi thaam na saka –

Humney aab-e-chashm^ se, usko bheegoya aajkal...

Usee befikra ka taalib^ bann chuka yeh dill

Jisne isi bebas ko wahshat^ mey dhakela aajkal…

Uski judaai par, usssey gila kar na sakey

Toh apni hi qazaa^ ko gunehgaar kahaa aajkal…

Dhadkane tez karkey, woh thukra gaya humey

Usei thokar ko talkh^ dawaa banayaa aajkal...

Khaak ho jaaye hasti, 'usiki' muraad me

Kabhi maut ki, kabhi “Uski” talab^ hai aajkal….

~ Rups ~ 7th November 2006, Bangalore

Meanings of a few Urdu words in this Ghazal:

^Absaar: Eyes
^Ishtiyaaq: Longing/Craving/Desire
^Aab-e-chashm: Tears
^Taalib: seeker/enquirer/lover/candidate
^Wahshat: solitude/grief/fear/sadness/loneliness
^Qazaa: fate/destiny/jurisdiction/judgement
^Talkh: Bitter
^Talab: Search/Wish/Demand

... Mubarakaa, Mubarakaa!

Zindagi ko garr kaho 'zaayka' -

Kuch namkeen, kuch khatta;

Khuda karey, naam tere -

Aaye wo, jo ho subsey Meetha !!!


~ Rups ~
22nd Aug 2007
( B'day Wishes for a colleague, for a friend - Gowri! )

Umeed hai, Intezaar hai…. Buss ek wo hi nahi ….!!!

Dil hai, dhadkan hai; Saansey hai, zindagi hai;
Zindagi hai, Hum hai, … Buss ek wo hi nahi …!!!


Os ki boondey hai; Halki subah ki dhoop hai;
Dhoop hai, Chaaon hai… Buss ek wo hi nahi …!!!


Sooraj me doobi lehre hai; Raah dekhta saahil hai;
Saahil hai, Samundar hai, … Buss ek wo hi nahi …!!!


Ek anjaani manzil hai; Safar ki haseen Raahey hai;
Raahey hai, Raahi hai; … Buss ek wo hi nahi …!!!


Sitaaro ki mehfil hai; Roshan chandni sey raat hai;
Raat hai, Tanhai hai; … Buss ek wo hi nahi …!!!


Manzar-e-Mohabbat hai; us farishtey ki khwahish hai;
Khwahishey hai, khamoshi hai… Buss ek wo hi nahi…!!


Ek tootati zindagi hai; Ek aakhiri umeed hai;
Umeed hai, Intezaar hai…. Buss ek wo hi nahi ….!!!



~~~ Rups ~~~
10th August 2007 ...203, Bangalore

Saans lete thak gaye, abb nikla humara janaaza hai...
Janaaza hai, meri maut ka magar... Phir bhi ek wo hi nahi....!!!

Alone…

As yet another tiring week passes by,

As I get closer to the most awaited weekend…

I remember all those old weekends we spent together

And then, it gets tougher to go home & stay there alone!!!

As I still live in the same city, near his old house

As I pass by the same lanes & same places…

I remember all our walks on those streets together

And then it makes no sense to be in the same city so alone!!!

As we share a few common friends,

As those friends are still in touch…

I remember all those outings to best of pubs together

And then it HURTS so much to avoid them, just to be alone!!!

~ Rups ~ ~~~~ 17th August 2007, Friday ~~~~

Why don't they understand,

Those who leave, without saying 'GoodBye'?

Why do I have to see the truth in Mirror?

Why the Mirrors don't even try to Lie?

...

abhi toh jagey hai ... usike khwabo se..
Abhi toh nikale hai ... usike khayalo se ..
Kuch aur is khumari me rehne do ...
Shayad yeh dinn bhi phir hasseen katey!




~ Rups ~

...Chahtey Hai...

Bahot so chukey abbtakk
Abb thoda jaganaa chahtey hai;
Kisikey soyi soyi ankho me ...
Raat bhar khona chahtey hai!!!

Bahot khamosh rahe abbtakk,
Abb thodi baatey karna chahtey hai;
kisiki aahaton ko sunanaa hai...
kisiki dhadkano me khona chahtey hai!!!

Bahot chaltey rahe abbtakk,
Abb thoda ruknaa chahtey hai;
Kisika haath thaame baithna hai...
Kisiki aghoshh me simatna chahtey hai!!!

Bahot saansey lee abbtakk,
Abb thoda JEENA chahtey hai;
Kisiki ‘jaan’ bankar dekhnaa hai...
Kisime rooh bankar jeena chahtey hai!!!

~ Rups ~

Kya Haseen Yeh Khayaal hai ..
Ki aapkey Khayalo me khoye rahey;
Raatbhar tehaltey rahey chhatt par
Chaand me aapko talaashtey rahey!

15th March 2007, Bangalore

... a B'day Song ..

Wish you were here, with me ,
Wish we were together on this special day,
Wish I could've celebrated it in my own special way,
However, it seems wishes don't come true anymore,
It seems things for you are better this way...
... Guess, you are much happier when you are away!

Still, i wanted to WISH you a WONDERFUL B'DAY
Wished to see you SMILING ... today, tomorrow & every other day...

I kept wondering all night yesterday - what gift can i present to you?
I wondered what's that one thing that'll ensure you remain happy forever?
I got the answer - in all your past words to me ...
It was my absence!!!
-Not that it would have meant much to you,
Same as my presence...
But here is my Gift to you, My Beloved Friend...
On this very day, from your life, I move away... Far Far Away.... !!!

Still, i wanted to WISH you a WONDERFUL B'DAY
Wished to see you SMILING ... today, tomorrow & every other day...
That's what i wished to do - before I could go away!

~Rups
Couldn't get a Cake, Couldn't get a bouquet;
Couldn't even meet, Couldn't even wish, him
'Cos I wasn't needed, I wasn't missed...
So, I penned my wishes ... In this b'day song for him.

... Kal takk they jinkey aas paas...

Kal takk they jinkey aas paas,

Aaj unki hi khabar milti nahi;

Rehti hai unki tasweer aankho mei,

Magar unhi sey nazar milti nahi!!!

Yahaa ke log humey dekh-kar,

Yaad Aapko hi kartey hai…

Humey toh humey; In logo ko bhi,

Abb Aapsey fursat milti nahi!!!

Aap par likhey nazmo ki kitaab,

Seeney se lagaaye rakhi hai;

Iskey alawaa ghar me humarey,

Koi keemati cheez milti nahi!!!

Mohabbat key sataay, hum,

‘Uff’ karna bhi bhool chukey;

Aap ke hotey kuch araam tha,

Abb koi dawaa milti nahi!!!

~~Rups~~

Jabtakk unkey kareeb rahey... Unki aankho me doobna lajmi tha;

Magar unsey bichadkar; aansoo-o me doobna bhi khoob laga!

Theys toh lagni hi thi dil ko; Ek arsaa huaa milkar unsey…

Phir milney ki umeed sey hi, us chot ka bhar anaa bhi khoob raha!