STARS (BEFORE SUNRISE)

Star-gazing… looking at the white dots in the night sky…

Guessing the spots where we’d stand in the future…

Realising in between conversations the time flying by…

Closing in on the goodbyes… the memories we’ll nurture…

Sharing a part of us… sharing all that we really are…

Insecurities, idiosyncrasies and secrets of the heart…

Sweet smiles, tender touch… and the frequent stares…

Rationalities and fantasies are never too far apart…

We walked the roads… roamed the streets of Paris…

A graveyard, a fountain, a ferry and a midnight bar…

A stroll by the river… a park of red wine and bliss…

A night to remember… whether we live near or far…

The magic of the moments… the spaces in between…

Our love binds us together… in ways seen and unseen…

Love Me Less...

What I fear are the days of loneliness…

Of uneasy silence and deep despair…

Days when I miss the tender caress…

Sweet kisses, the smell of your hair…

I have been loved… loved much too much…

Painted our dreams… quite far-fetched…

Their colours faded and I wonder such

Loss, why in my fate it ever was etched?

I seek true love… yet I fear to love as well…

The empty rooms and the empty bed…

Signs of the time you bid me farewell…

Passionate love… all too soon it fled…

So, my lovely stranger, to you I’ll belong…

If you’ll love me less, but love me for long…

Wondering Why?

She was passing through the jungle
Saw a spirit from a figure fly
A little child; her face was purple
Was it really her time to die?

With troubled heart she went on
Near a river she heard a cry
A young man; struggling to go on
hugged her and said, 'Goodbye!'

She looked around; no one was there
In an instant something came by
My daughter! My husband! O dear!
Everything fine. Her dream - a lie

Made her wonder why people die
Makes life important; is that why?

Memories Of The Happy Evenings Remembered

Evening sky looked down on her..
She sat waiting in the verandah..
Minu curling up on her lap..
And Jumbo sitting next to her...

It was just like any other day..
Only the picture stayed with me..
Even after all these years...

A day I would give away my today for..
A day I long to live again..

Simple moments, simple pleasures..
Happiness was easy to find..
A look, a touch, a pat on the head..
All it took for the heart to smile...

Crooked are the ways of the world today..
I've learned few tricks myself too..
And though they help to get me high..
The fall breaks my spirit away...

I've grown cold and few years old..
And coldness is freezing my soul..
Let me in to my past and bless me..
with the warmth of my yesterday...


(Note: Minu and Jumbo refer to pets, a cat and a dog respectively)

If Only You Were Here...

If only you were here..
Things would have been better..
Feelings and emotions less..
miserly shown..
The book of his life more
frequently read...

If only you were here..
Things would have been better..
The strength and will less..
often broken..
The pages of his life more..
colourfully done...

If only you were here..
Things would have been better..
Words and expressions less..
coldly received..
The writings of her life more..
religiously followed...

If only you were here..
Things would have been better..
Confusions and doubts less..
generously visited..
The letters of my life more..
clearly seen...

If only you were here..
Things would have been better..
Comfort and stability less..
rarely found..
The days of our lives more..
happily spent...

If only you were here..
If only...

Don't Take My Memories Away!

Take away everything from me..
but let the memories live in me...
I'm nothing without what I know and feel..
nothing without the memories...

It hurts sometimes,
when it comes uninvited..
but still I'll trade everything
to keep them with me...

All the days gone by..
All that I have left behind..
All those who left me behind..
They are all there..
still living and breathing..
in those memories...

The past may not be the best company..
but they get me through my today..
Take everything away from me..
but don't take my memories away...

लौट आएँगी बहारें

जब तक न कोई आगे बढ़े
चलते नहीं कदम हमारे
जब तक न कोई आवाज़ दे
गूंजते नहीं कही से नारे

गिर जाए गर राह में कोई
हो जाते है सभी किनारे
थी वो कौन सी दुनिया जहाँ
मिल जाते थे कभी सहारे?

दिल भी अब दिखावा ही समझे
समझे न ये प्यार के इशारे
अधूरा वक़्त है, अधूरे एहसास
रिश्तों को कैसे कोई सवारे?

है उम्मीद फिर भी कही न कही
लौट आएँगी फिर से बहारें
जब मन ही मन ये दुनिया सारी
उस रूठे मौसम को पुकारे

फ़रमान (a tribute to doordarshan series)

रखी थी कभी कही पे हमने..
अपने बचपन की यादों की नींव..
सुन्ना-सुनाना उस नीम के छाव में..
कुछ कहनियाँ, कुछ किस्से अजीब...

बेख़बर, बेपरवाह थे हम लोग
करते थे सारे जहाँ की बातें
वो मालगुड़ी के गलियों में खेलना
वो पचपन खम्बे, लाल दीवारें

नजाने क्यूँ आज यूही बैठे-बैठे..
भर रहा है दिल यादों की उड़ान..
शायद कही किसी गली-नुक्कड़ में..
छोड़ आया हुं मैं अपनी पहचान...

लगता था मिलेंगे कभी सपनों की..
ज़मीन और हक़ीक़त का आसमाँ..
है ख़बर की वो क्षितिज ये नहीं..
अभी है बाक़ी और भी इम्तिहाँ...

महसूस...

कई बार किया है महसूस हमने..
इस दिल का हर दर्द सह जाना..
कई ख़्वाबों का सिकुड़ जाना और..
खुशी का आते-आते रह जाना...

सोचना की शायद मुमकिन है सब कुछ
और बस सोचते ही रह जाना...
जिनके सहारे कभी चले थे मीलों
उन हाथों को खोजते ही रह जाना...

बरसों का सफर कुछ लम्हों में तय करना
कभी वक़्त का यूँ गुजर जाना
लगा था मिट चुका है जिसका निशाँ
उस चहरे का यूँ नज़र आना

था यकीन की भर गए है ज़ख्म मगर
उन यादों का दस्तक दे जाना...
टूटे ख़्वाबों के शाखों से खेलना और
तन्हाई में गिर के बह जाना

हाँ, किया है महसूस कई बार हमने
एक उम्र का पल में मर जाना
न दूर रहना, न साथ होना किसी का
ख़ुद ही को यूँ तन्हा कर जाना