Flower and thorn.

PC: Myself!!

The angel and the devil were on a trip to the countryside.
"What do you see?"
"The flowers. You?"
"The thorns."
"So what do you think it is?"
"Because I see the thorns, I think it has to be thorns."
"But I see flowers, doesn't it make it the flowers then?"

किसीको फूल लगता हूँ, किसीको काँटा;

पर असल मे मैं तो हूँ बस एक पौधा।

(I am perceived as a flower by few and a thorn by few;

But in reality I am only a plant.)

सज़ा-ए-आशिक़ी

PC: Myself!!

"The reality of love is mutilated when it is detached from all its unrealness." - Gaston Bachelard

ना चाँद की तारीफ़ कर सकते हैं ,
ना चाँदिनी को कर सकते हैं हम बरदाश्त।
ये सज़ा-ए-आशिक़ी नहीं, तो क्या हैं?
ना रात गुज़रना हो मंज़ूर, ना धुंध बरदाश्त।

(Neither can I afford to appreciate the moon,

Nor is it possible for me to endure moonlight.

If this is not the wrath of passion, what is it?

Neither do I consent the night to depart,

Nor can I bear the darkness*!)

* धुंध can mean either mist or darkness or confusion. All these meanings are intended in this context.

The closer, the farther!

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." 

- T. S. Eliot

PC: Myself!!

हम जहाँ  से भाग निकले थे, शायद उसी मंज़िल की ओर भाग चले हैं। 

(Where we raced away from, probably that very destination we are racing towards.)

       The angel and the devil were getting closer. Probably they were going farther apart.
"The closer we get, we realize how far we have arrived."
"The closer we get, we realize how far we have receded"
"The closer I get to my goal, I am able to understand it better."
"And that understanding leads me to question if this was the goal I dreamed?"
"The closer I get to my loved one, I get to know the details."
"And those details raise the question if it was this very person that I loved?"
"The closer I get to those I admire, I experience the aura they exude."
"And that short lived aura reveals their flaws and frailties, rendering that human too in flesh, blood and skin!"
"The closer I get......"
"...... the farther I remain."

The promise of adventure

Picture Credit: Kotresh H R

I know not where these steps lead to, its all dizzy.
I know not how far these steps exist, its all misty.
I know not if it is even an ascent or a descent,
Neither do these trees, nor the wind hint a thing.
Yet in this moment, the stairs lure me with a promise -
The promise of adventure, the promise of learning.
What else does an explorer need to take the flight?

How I wish...

PC: Myself!!

"तुम इतना जो मुस्कुरा रहे हो, क्या गम है जिसको छुपा रहे हो 

आँखों में नमी, हँसी लबों पर, क्या हाल है, क्या दिखा रहे हो"

- कैफी आझमी 
(That you are smiling so much, What pain is it that you are hiding?
Moisture in the eyes, smile on the lips, What state is it, what are you depicting?)


Dear friend, When you casually call me up on a rainy night
And as you ask me of my well being and assure you are fine,
How I wish my heart was deaf to your voice that trembled.
As you blabber of the joy and prosperity that fills your life,
How I wish my brain was dumb to believe all that you said.
As you laugh out loud on a silly joke that made no sense,  
How I wish my ears were blind to the tears in your eyes.
As your soul cried out in despair and shared it all unsaid,
How I wish my soul could soothe & listen to your psyche.

Destinations: Stars of the night!

PC: Dan James, http://exmoor4all.com/2013/04/10/starry-starry-night/

These destinations are probably stars of the night.

From the far earth, they seem to be shining bright!

If one makes the audacious journey all the way,

They are boulders and dust simply burning away!

The efforts, the hardships, the journey - all astray?

An ability is acquired. To fly - fly free and fly high!

Liberal candles of democracy!!

         

   

 

"Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself." - Desiderius Erasmus

      It was dark all around. Darkness was spreading at an alarming pace. The world, it was rumored, would plunge into darkness. The spirit was afraid the rumor was coming true. 

     Most candles found it wise to submit to darkness. Here and there, few candles which believed in the power of light chose otherwise.

"Why do you choose to burn?", the spirit asked.

"I choose to glow because that is what makes me a candle", it replied.

"How long?"

"As long as I can."

"What if the harsh winds that accompany darkness put you off?"

"I glow as long as I am capable."

"Like the individual liberal citizens who live by democracy!"

"What else can I do?"

"Is it not possible that the candles like you, who choose to glow, acquire the larger identity of fire?"

"What purpose will that serve?"

"So that the harsher the wind gets, the stronger the fire grows."

"But doesn't the fire burn down the world?"

25, who am I?

PC: Myself

       I remember talking to her three years ago. She had just finished her graduation in Engineering. She was my junior by a year at the college. She spoke of her plans for the future, her dreams, her ambitions. An engineer who wished to design a sustainable world, an artist who aspired to voice the voiceless through the medium of her art.
       Now when this lady claims she is the same girl, I am actually perplexed. That girl who debated with such fervor and passion for simple and frugal lifestyle is this lady who on a casual evening outing is dressed up like a burdened Indian bride on procession!? While she speaks with animated excitement of her husband's car, care and concern, I wonder where the girl, who aspired for an identity of her own, is lost. During the college days, I remember how enthusiastic and assertive she was. Eager to know, eager to understand. Has the genesis of the lady in her, killed that girl who she once was? The girl who dared to dream, who dared to question, who dared to experiment, who dared to explore avenues and opportunities.
      I have no complaints about the lady she is. It is her life, her tastes, her choices. I respect all of that. My only worry is the girl she once was. Where did that girl vanish? In which dark corner of her psyche did she bury her, if she did so? And every time she talks about her present life, why is she displaying a sense of abundance? Is she unconsciously trying to convey that the loss of her dreams is compensated by the gain of material abundance? She was an engineer, bright enough to know that the increase in y doesn't necessarily balance out the decrease in x, because they are not always part of the same equation!
     Maybe I am reading too much into the situation. Maybe it is all the pessimism within me; problem with my own preoccupied world view. I don't know the complete picture. I am probably jumping to conclusions despite lack of awareness. It is perfectly possible that her new found marital bliss and prosperity will eventually aid her dreams. Or better, maybe she can redesign her dreams. Who knows? What doesn't evolve, gets eliminated.
        But still, she was probably 23 last year, when she got married. 24 this year, about to be a mother. With due respects to the institution of marriage and the sanctity of motherhood, I can't stop wondering what would she answer herself if next year she happens to introspect - "25. Who am I?" I pray the answer this lady finds will not disappoint the girl she once was.