a tale of two dogs / qissa dou kuttON ka

a tale of two dogs / qissa dou kuttON ka

at the peak of rush hour
commuters charge out
of the churchgate station
and in the middle
of the wide hallway
sleeps an old labrador
commuters walk past
the lying dog

and 

near the empress market
at the height of noon
a dog trying to catch a shade
under a shack
is hounded
stoned and yelled at

in dou kuttoN kay qissay maiN
aik aur katha chuphi hui hay

smell of a long lost past

_Namita_'s avatar
نميتا
@_Namita_
Some people smell of a long lost past

____________

this kid
with an innocent smile
cute with dimples
(but kids do have innocent smiles
for they have yet to learn
our deceptive ways)
approached me 

the eyes
had a look
when our eyes locked
i knew i knew that kid

the moment passed
and i forgot about it
till i read a post
and remembered that kid

the abandoned lighthouse / ahl e kitab ki sitam zareefi

the abandoned lighthouse

the message
from bilal's minaret
the beckoning beacon
of the desert
now gone astray

the cacophony, though
still disturbs sleep

____________________

ahl e kitab ki sitam zareefi

sadiaN beet gaeeN
roshni gul hu'aye
behri minar say
aur khwaab e khargosh 
maiN ghota-zun
khuda aur na-khuda
ki joos'tu'ju maiN 
larzaaN haiN hum

seguing tea: chai say chai tak

seguing tea: chai se chai tak

(for the lahori chatkhori @FShirin)
Koi farq nahin ho ga

janay kya baat hay 
chai ki mehak maiN
jo lay jaati  hay 
yaadouN ki baraat maiN 
roz o shub humaiN


the chainak 
in qissa khwani bazaar
in 'soldered' china
the taste imprinted
forever in the mind

the doodh-patti
by the road side stall
past jungshahi
on way to thatta

the aroma
of the tea in pokhara
watching on a clear day
dhaulagiri, annapurna & manaslu

just before nathu la pass
outside baba's mandir
the tea from the shack
reminded me of 
that welcome cuppa
half way through kalka-shimla
at the petit station 
shrouded in fog
just before the arch bridge

and it wasn't tea
but the sweet coffee
in the kanya kumari bazaar
and in chennai
at the marina beach

not to ignore 
the kashmiri chai
by the dilapidated bridge
in jammu

and how can i remiss
the tea break 
at erstwhile cafe liberty
during the pre-final 
marathons at 3 am

and then there is 
the ever present mug
beside my desk
that cascades and segues
present and past
in gratefulness
refilled all day long
by m

ahl e kitab ki sitam zareefi

ahl e kitab ki sitam zareefi

sadiaN beet gaeeN
roshni gul hu'aye
behri minar say
aur khwaab e khargosh 
maiN ghota-zun
khuda aur na-khuda
ki joos'tu'ju maiN 
larzaaN haiN hum

berlinesque walls

berlinesque walls

there are no walls
around you, me
around the houses
borders,
schools, colleges

but there are 
berlinesque walls
around the palatial abodes
of the mafia in my  country
and like the berlin wall
someday...



https://twitter.com/92newschannel/status/692051977719513088/photo/1

conundrum / meh'v e hairat

conundrum

his message
evolve

their message
devolve

1.6 billion +
caught in cross hair

meh'v e hairat

oos nay kaha
behtari ki janib chalo
woh kehtay haiN
lo't chalo, lo't chalo
meh'v e hairaaN haiN
niklaiN tou kis sim't...

oh da da daesque

oh da da daesque

salmon
anadromous
return to spawn

when out of womb
homo sapiens 
strive to enter 
the womb
or its proximity

most do it
consensually 

chaos occurs
when hirsute bigots
do it citing 
scriptures

tale of the morn after

infatuation
fog
illusory

love
true
mystifying
defying

distinction
tale
of the morn after

halaat e hazira: hanso, muskurao

hanso, muskurao

woh kehta hay
hanso, muskurao
yeh kya her lamha
ah o fagaaN 
rona dhona...
duniya bhala 
aisay chalti hay?

ab kya bataooN
in naam nehad
wehshi darindON nay
jeena marna 
haraam ker diya hay

the boss is coming

the boss is coming today
the boss is coming today
bring out the list
vacuuming check
cleaning check
laundry check
smile check
sked check
oh no
boss is coming tomorrow

ephemeral musings

ephemeral musings

who decides 
what is real 
unreal

reverential tomes
aside
over the vast shoreline
specs of dust 
we were
we'll be 

sound, silence, tear

sound

ripped paper

slit fabric

skived leather

tire screech

chiseled stone

grated teeth

emotions

reverberating 

silence

unuttered words

dissected hopes

bisected dreams

decluttered wishes

laconic looks

receded tides

frozen sighs

tear

lacrimal lament

sound and silence 

metamorphosed

drop by drop

tear

tear

lacrimal lament

sound and silence 

metamorphosed

drop by drop

silence

silence

unuttered words

dissected hopes

bisected dreams

decluttered wishes

laconic looks

receded tides

frozen sighs

sound

sound

ripped paper

slit fabric

skived leather

tire screech

chiseled stone

grated teeth

emotions

reverberating 

soul-less, body-less, brain-less

soulless, body-less, brainless i

money ---
no soul
no body
no brain
but has roots
nurtured in greed
fermented in ego


soul-less, body-less, brain-less ii

money ---
causes upheavals

divides
souls

affects and afflicts
when valued
inordinately

soul-less, body-less, brain-less ii

soul-less, body-less, brain-less ii

money ---
causes upheavals

divides
souls

affects and afflicts
when valued
inordinately

soul-less, body-less, brain-less i

soulless, body-less, brainless i

money ---
no soul
no body
no brain
but has roots
nurtured in greed
fermented in ego

jama kharch

baat tou app bhee theek kertay haiN
baat tou woh bhee theek kertay haiN
baat tou hum bhee theek kertay haiN


baatouN ki is mauj der mauj maiN
yeh naazuk dil kyuN hay larzaaN

fair is fair

fair is fair
when compared to unfair
but fair is not fair
when fair is not fair

fair is not fair
when viewed from prisms
north's fair from south's
haves from not-haves
yours from mine
now be fair
my fair (& lovely)
am i unfair

heartbreak

heartbreak: for my daughter

go and cry rivers
better to flood
then suppress

heart muscles, cold
bereft of love euphoria
the throbber feels
aches only
to blocked arteries'
delight

that workaholic
knows not pleasures
of idle companionship 
ecstatic touch
murmured conversation
dreams of shangri la pastures
commitment to grow
old(er) in unison

after the drench, move on
to face other heart aches and
in vacant moments
smile at memories
life is full of aches and
smiles

to the media talking heads*

kuch tou reham karo babu
(note i said babu not bibi)
fore play ko fore play hee rehnay dO
monsoon ko moon-soon na banao
kuch tou reham karo babu
tum tou t'leem yafta ho
ger tum bhee aisa karo gay
tou phir... 


inspired by the unprovoked instigation of @ejazhaider but not addressed to him 

tears: soul gems

tears 
throbbing, living pearls
soul gems

conscience nurtured
have traces none
of religion, dogma
country, caste, creed

will someone
inform the bigots
while i go
fetch a kleenex

poessay: different solitudes

we live in different worlds

the urban cyberatis communicate in english...they can and do communicate instantly...and enable simultaneous outpouring of activism from the fringes of north to the seas in the south

they raise funds for the victims of calamities...natural and man-made

the great unwashed awamis live in another pakistan...their worn chappals tread all over the urban and rural areas...their communications in the vernacular spread over the 360,000 sq. miles at the same pace as the cyberatis'

the awamis out number the cyberatis by millions

irony: both profess ultimate allegiance to an unseen allah and his prophet saw/pbuh

irony: both are pained by the same sufferings and shortcomings

irony: both mobilise and help the needy and push what they consider to be an agenda to ameliorate the prevailing ills

but

both of them speak in different languages and past each other

as if

both live in different solitudes

and

despite this awareness they are seemingly incapable of communicating with each other

this is the conundrum leading both of them unwittingly to the edge of the precipice

topographical face

the wrinkles on her face
a veritable topography
of the world around us
the forehead saharan dunes
side of left eye the great lakes

the right dunes of rab al khali

the cleft tectonic fissures

cheeks coppadacia
smile toothless cavernous
in rags
composed  and
oddly compassionate

still escalator / khood-kar zeena

still escalator i

still escalator
fuming
stranded 
my thoughts wandered
                    off
to far away lands
swarms where
toil day and night

but ants have it better

khood-kar zeena ii

ik rOz barqi rau youN ba'cha kay ja'an
bhaagi taarON kay jaal e gunjaaN say
bay-bus ho ga'aye sub khood-kar zeenay
chaltay qadmOn ki khalish reh ga'ee

aah o figaaN iii

oos bay'bus zeenay per jo chala maiN
ik bhari bharkum basta la'day 
des kay mazdoorON ka aaya khayal 
un-gin't khudaON ka bojh sadiON say
kamzOre kaandhON per chaRha'aye hu'aye
bila kisi shikway shikayat kay
zindagi  guzar hee laitay haiN woh

aah o figaaN iii

oos bay'bus zeenay per jo chala maiN
ik bhari bharkum basta la'day 
des kay mazdoorON ka aaya khayal 
un-gin't khudaON ka bojh sadiON say
kamzOre kaandhON per chaRha'aye hu'aye
bila kisi shikway shikayat kay
zindagi  guzar hee laitay haiN woh

khood-kar zeena ii

ik rOz barqi rau youN ba'cha kay ja'an
bhaagi taarON kay jaal e gunjaaN say
bay-bus ho ga'aye sub khood-kar zeenay
chaltay qadmOn ki khalish reh ga'ee

still escalator i

still escalator
fuming
stranded 
my thoughts wandered
                    off
to far away lands
swarms where
toil day and night

but ants have it better        

kaun hooN maiN draft i

is cyber afra tafri maiN

khayalat ka burqa ORhay

tazabzoob maiN youN ghota-zun

maiN bhee ik tinkay kim ma'anind

na'aray lagata hu'a aur

aag barsatay hu'a hajoom
behta raha, behta raha

gnothi seauton hay do'or ki baat

is hujoom e bay hangaam maiN

dhakkay kha kha ker sochta hooN

kabhi is bhaNwer say niklooN

to jaan paooN kay kaun hooN maiN

jo hoga woh hoga

din, mah o saal aur sa'ataiN jo gaeeN so gaeeN jo hu'a so hu'a jo hoga woh hoga

qismat ki baag
hay humaray pass

if nothing is forever: is nothing for ever

i

what about love with an l or L
and its perennial nemesis hate
and that smile
furtively as it plays on
over innocent faces
yet to be affected by Love, love or Hate 

ii

hum jo youN behtay haiN nafratouN ki mauj maiN
hum jo larzaaN haiN mohabbatouN kay darya maiN
hum jo kisi joostoojoo e azli maiN haiN griftaar
hum jo mohooum ummeedouN maiN haiN az'l say koshaaN  

iii

what of the utterances
of sages and simpletons
cascading in the reservoir of folk lore
repeated lies that mushroom
and with each repetition
ensconce an aura of Truth

iv

khooshi -- ik muskurahat
ghum -- hazaar taa'nay
zindagi -- bhaNwar beech darya
such -- fik'r o ehsaas ka azaab
aur rooh -- ijtamiyyat ki maut,
infradiyat ki fat'eh aur
harf -- pehla aur aakhri -- la-faani harf,
libadah rooh ka 

v

what of deception
raised to an art form
and of real Art
Mona's smile, Tut's frown
Rasputin's gaze,
Bard's plays
Mirza's kalaam
the written Word 

vi

and the prisoner of Time
past, present and future
and the kernel of time, Truth
and the tides of truth, Reflections
and the blend of time, truth and reflections, Life
and the core of life, Beauty
and the conscience of beauty, Soul
our wandering soul

is...
nothing for ever?

a nihilist am
wandering eternally
in search of elusive
smiles