ये शहर

ये शहर (translation below)

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दरिया की मौज में

मंजिलों की खोज में

खोया है ये शहर

सनकियों के कहर से

कुदरत की लहर से

रोया है ये शहर

आँखों में एक ख्वाहिश लिए है

ये जिंदा अब भी इस लिए है

के इंसान की ख्वाब की ताकत को

उसकी उम्मीद की हिम्मत को

आँधियों में परख सके

आंधी को झेलने वालों को

तूफ़ान से खेलने वालों को

बोया है ये शहर

सोना है इस ज़मीन में गढ़ा

बस खोदने की चाहत चाहिए

सुनहरे पंख इसकी फिजा में

बटोरने की ताकत लाइए

सेंकड़ों ख्वाबों को

उनके सैलाबों को

पिरोया है ये शहर

थका है ज़रूर

पर अभी मत कहना

की सोया है ये शहर 

Ye shaher (this city)

==========

Dariya ki mauj mein

Manzilon ki khoj mein

Khoya hei ye shaher

(Translation: The city is engrossed in the wave of the sea, in the search of destination)

Sankiyon ke kahar se

Kudrat ki leher se

Roya hei ye shaher

(Translation: In the wrath of the attackers, in the fury of the nature, this city has cried)

Aankhon mein ek khwahish liye hei

Ye zinda ab bhi isliye hei

Ke insaan ki khwaab ki takat ko

Uski ummeed ki himmat ko

Aandhion mein parakh sake

(Translation: A dream is brimming in the eyes, the city is still alive, to test the power of human dreams and the guts of hope, in stormy winds)

Anndhion ko jhelne walon ko

Toofan se khelne walon ko

Boya hei ye shaher

(Translation: This city has bred the survivors of turbulence and the daredevils who have flirted with storms)

Sona hei is zameen mein gadha

Bas khodne ki chahat chahiye

Sunhare pankh iski fiza mein

Batorne ki takat layiye

(Translation : There is gold buried in this soil, get your will to dig. There are golden feathers in the wind, get your strength to collect)

Seinkdon khwabon ko

Unke sailabon ko

Piroya hei ye shaher

(Translation : Hundreds of dreams and the deluge of those , has been strung together by this city)

Thaka hai zaroor

Par abhi mat kehna

Ki soya hei ye shaher

(Translation : You might say it is tired, but don’t say it yet, that the city is asleep)

Storm in my sea

[Inspiration taken from the ideas of a friend]

Behold kings who rule the nations
Lands and seas and all in sight
Yet, we are lords by our own might
We are studs in our own right

Scenes eternal transcending time
Of nights, heights and music sublime
Dont opinions on me form
To your standards i dont conform
The reds in your lines and green in eyes
I will have my grunts and you your sighs

A continual progression of pain and glory
Intoxication and heights is my story
The highs that notes sing about
standing on those peaks i shout
We are lords by our own might
We are studs in our own right

The magic of the music haunts you
The glory of the tunes taunts you
Never bowing to the beats of the days
Its the rhythm in your mind that plays
Never at the end of the way
The end is yours to decide everyday

Pretend not beyond you
Throw the mask if you attempting too
Your need for conformity makes me cringe
Unstable life on life's own hinge

There is a storm inside my sea
One that the world shall never see
One thats beyond gloom and any glee
My spirit inside me is free

For me all things and beings mortals
Are blocked from my own sight
We are lords by our own might
We are studs in our own right

Leave or live

soul inside
will you confide
do you with your being reason
see your body as a prison
or is it a horse it rides
to take senses to lakesides
green meadows
murmers of the stream
flowers of the valley
sweet berries on a tree
with a rough bark
to elaborate awareness
the horse you harness
soul's freedom can be gained
by not leaving the body
but by living the body

From the life it's been

The germ now freed
the sperm, the seed
Churners of humanity
The art of the nature
are you close enough
to the waves that build
the hills and the field
dont drift away from
the strings and the drum
lest you find the self
in incoherent space and time
land of no reason nor rhyme
mother, take me in
from the life it's been

I was meant to fly

My wings are jammed now
my feathers coarse with dust
my vision is shortening
my feet getting stronger
i run with the hare today
though i was meant to fly
i live my alter ego
with the spirit of a spy

SHOULDs?

Are there any 'should's
on the bridge to the otherside
will you in fate confide
on the boat rocking the stream
should you whisper or scream
are there any 'should's
any bad, any goods

Want to be the hum

Where the stars join
To form the moon
Lies a land which
We all shall see too soon
Sources and dark sinks
And the binding links
Summarizes the thoughts
The actions, the outcomes
Of murmering bees
And their honeycombs
I want to be the thread
That weaves through
A small part of each whole
Of the blackest blackhole
Want to be the hum
To be the beat of the drum
Once before i die
I live my alter ego
With the spirit of a spy

चकोरी खोजे चंद्रमा

[चकोरी - वो पक्षी जो चाँद से प्रेम करती है परन्तु कभी चाँद के निकट नहीं पहुँच पाती है | फिर भी हर रात चाँद के विरह में तड़पती रहती है | कुछ इसी तरह हम सब को कभी न कभी किसी एक वो चीज कि तलाश रही है जिसे शायद हम कभी न पायेंगे | चकोरी कि तरह चंद्रमा के लिए तड़पते रहेंगे | ]

मॄगतॄष्णा की खोज में
विडंबना के मौज में
पथिक आया भ्रांत सा
पीड़ा में भी शांत सा
दृष्टि की मरीचिका
उसीके भाग्य में लिखा

उसकी क्षुधा ना हो तृप्त
विरह की चरम सीमा
क्षोभ में रमे जैसे
चकोरी खोजे चंद्रमा

Chakori khoje chandrama
[Chakori : A mythical bird who loves the moon and searches for the moon every single night. The destiny of Chakori is to never get close to the moon. Hence it is destined for forever longing. Much like many of our pursuits, some pursuits are never to be, and we shall always have the Chakori-Chandrama relation in these situations]

Mrigtrishna ki khoj mein
vidambana ki mauj mein
pathik aaya bhraant sa
peeda mein bhi shaant sa

[Translation: In the search of a mirage, in the celebration of irony,
the traveller seemed lost, yet calm in his pain]

Drishti ki marichika
Usike bhagya mein likha

[Translation: The mirage of vision , was written in his destiny]

Uski kshudha na ho trupt
Virah ki charam seema
Kshobh mein rame jaise
Chakori khoje chandrama

[Translation: His hunger is not satiated, its the extreme of longing. He trips in his angst , just how Chakori searches for the moon] 

HALLOW OR SHALLOW

[What's deep and what's shallow? we will always wonder and never find an answer. Someone i knew attempted to answer this question. the catchphrase is thus, borrowed. "If something makes you happy, it cant be shallow"]

Head I sway, from land to bay
Seeking depth in things I see
and in the sounds free

for the thirst of soul
can only be quenched
by a glass too deep

for the lust of art
can only be drenched
by the depth of the seep

putting white and black blocks
under separate locks
I realize the error
that size is the measure
and not any shade or color

the thought was hasty, the judgment unwise
Of black and white, virtue and vice
depth lies within you
not in sights and sounds
but in your sense of the bounds

Joy is the depth manifest
Happiness is the real test
Of depth that you seek
and ruminations hallow
if something makes you happy
it can't be shallow 

दुस्वप्न और सत्य

[जब भी दुस्वप्न हमें विचलित करता है , हम मन को समझा लेते हैं , ये कह के कि ये तो केवल स्वप्न था. परन्तु सत्य कि विकटता दुस्वप्न से कहीं ज़्यादा भयानक और पीड़ाजनक होती है.

कवि जो इन भावों के तलाश में रेहता है, इस पीड़ा का क्रुतज्ञ है. ]

दुस्वप्न कि विभित्सता
से है बुरी
से है बड़ी
सुलग्न वास्तविकता

भाव जो रंध्रो में हो
उनसे कड़ी
उनसे कटु
है सत्य कि विकटता

शयन के हेतु जब
नयन  थे मूंदे
प्रलयंकारी वर्षा से
रुधीर के गिरे बूँदें

बूँद सुर्ख लाल सी
मृत्यु के भी काल सी
प्राण को समेट ले
रक्त के गुलाल सी

कंपन के दस्तक से
एड़ी तक मस्तक से
थर्राता जब जागा चित्त
यम के ही थे निमित

सराह के हृद्य को
स्वप्न के छलावे को
स्मृति से किया परे
किन्तु कवि कि वेदना
ना गयी है ना जायेगी
वह तो एकांत रात्रि में
फिर हमें रुलायेगि

परन्तु ये आरंभ था
काल का स्तंभ था
तरल हुआ जो दंभ था
जब सत्य के सम्मुख था
ऐसी पीड़ा कि चुभन
धरा फटे गिरे गगन
पृथ्वी के विश्वास का
घात का , वो नाश का

वेदना , उद्वेग्ना
स्व्यं दया कि भावना
शत्रु के भी शरीर पर
ऐसे हो घाव ना
दुस्वप्न तो थी भावना
ये सत्य है डरावना
भयावह अरण्य सा
पाप भी जघन्य सा
भाव ये भी चख लिया
कवि है किन्तु धन्य सा

Duswapn aur satya

Duswapn ki vibhitsata
Se hei buri
Se hei badi
Sulagn vastavikata
[Tranlastion: The severity of a nightmare
is lesser compared to the wickedness and hugeness of burning truth]

Bhav jo
randhron mein ho
unse kadi
unse katu
hei satya ki vikatata
[Tranlastion: The feeling that is inside the deep trenches of the heart, fade away in front of the bitterness of truth]

Shayan ke hetu jab
Chakshu the munde
Pralaynkari varsha Se
Rudhir ke gire boondein
[Translation: When i shut my eyes for sleep, devastating skies rained blood]

Boond soorkh lal si
Mrityu ke bhi kaal si
Pran ko bhi sok le
Rakt ke gulaal si
[Translation: the drop was red, it was the nemesis of death. It was red like blood's color which would absorb any life]

Kampan ke dastak se
Edi tak mastak se
Tharrata jab jaga chith
Yam ke hi the nimit

[Translation: By the knocking of shivers, from the head to the toe. I gained conscisouness with a shiver. Those were the agents of Yama, god of death]

Sarah ke hriday ko
Swapn ke chalawe ko
Smriti se kiya pare
Kintu kavi ki vedna
Na gayi hai,  na jayegi
Waha to ekaant ratri mein
Fir hamein rulayegi
[Translation: After caressing the heart, tried to keep the memory of the nightmare away. But when has the pain of a poet left him, that it will leave now. It will come back to haunt us in lonely nights.]

Parantu ye aarambh tha
Kaal ka sthambh tha
Taral hua jo dambh tha
Jab satya ke sammookh tha
[Translation: But this was only the beginning. It was a pillar of time. All the confidence melted away when i was face-to-face with the truth, which was worse than the nightmare]

Aisi peeda ki chubhan
Dhara phate,  gire gagan
Prithvi ke vishwas ka
Ghaath ka ,  wo naash ka
[Translation: The sting of the pain , which shattered the earth and made the sky fall. It was the story of how the faith in terra firma could be shaken]

Vedna,  udvegna
Swayam daya ki bhavna
Shatru ke bhi sharir par
Aise ho ghaav na
[Translation: Pain, anxiety and self-pity. May the enemies also stay clear of this pain.]

Duswapn to thi bhavna
Ye satya hei darawana
Bhayavaha aranya sa
Paap bhi jaghanya sa
Bhav ye bhi chakh liya
Kavi hai kintu dhanya sa

[Translation: Nightmare was just a feeling, this truth is frightening. Like a scary forest, like an unpardonable crime. But the poet is grateful, for having tasted this nectar]

Trained to f**k minds

[Consciously or otherwise, we end up acquiring skills to play with our/other's minds, to the extent of the victim's mind feeling royally screwed. The catchphrase is not original. It's borrowed from someone :) ]

I have lived many a lives
Many flights, countless dives
The empires of nether in me she finds
O I am just trained to f**k minds

I know you hold it dear
The sobriety that you find here
But are you willing to discover
The by-lanes that you smear
Inside your heads wide
With colors of pride
Are you really robbed
Of the sight to look inside
When you clearly sobbed
Because you couldn't confide
Are you scared to look behind
O I am just trained to f**k the mind

Dont look at me
With scornful disdain
Just open your eyes
To release your pain
It may seem like it
But I am not a fiend
I am just trained to f**k the mind

काश कि तुम देख सकते जो मैँ देख रहा हूँ

(नज़र, नज़ारे और  नज़रियों के बीच अक्सर हम गलतफहमियों में रहते हैं।  जो नज़ारे शायद तुम्हे कभी दिखे हो , वो किसी और के नज़र से बच निकली हो।  इस मंज़र का जश्न सिर्फ  तुम अकेले ही मना सकते हो )

काश कि तुम देख सकते
जो मैँ देख रहा हूँ
मुठ्ठी भर लाल गुलाल
नीले आसमान में फेंक रहा हूँ

कैसे चिड़िया गाती है
ये जो हवा, रह रह के सेहलाती है
सारे सपने एक शीशे में
एक अजीब ही नशे में
सुरज में सपने सेक रहा हूँ
काश कि तुम देख सकते
जो मैँ देख रहा हूँ

वक्त और वजूद जहाँ मिल रहे हैं
पत्थर के सच हिल रहे हैं
इन नज़ारो के खुदा
और फरिश्तों के दर पर 
माथा टेक रहा हूँ
काश कि तुम देख सकते
जो मैँ देख रहा हूँ

(We often mix sights, visions and perspectives and get confused between the three. The visions that you would have witnessed sometime, might have missed the sight of others. This is the vision that you can only celebrate alone)

KAASH KE TUM DEKH SAKTE
kaash ki tum dekh sakte
jo mein dekh raha hoon
mutthi bhar laal gulaal
neele aasman mein phenk raha hoon

[Translation: i wish you could see
the visions that i witness now
a fist full of colors
am throwing in the sky now]

kaise chidiya gaati hai
ye jo hawa, reh reh ke sehlati hai
saare sapne ek sheeshe mein
ek ajeeb hi nashe mein
suraj mein sapne sek raha hun
kaash ki tum dekh sakte jo mein dekh raha hoon

[Translation:how the bird sings
how the wind caresses intermittently
all dreams in a mirror
in a weird stupor
am baking my dreams in the sun
i wish you could see
the visions i am witnesing now]

waqt aur wajood jahan mil rahe hein
patthar ke sach hil rahe hein
unke beech baithkar
in nazaaron ke khuda
aur farishton ke dar par
maatha tek raha hoon
kaash ki tum dekh sakte
jo mein dekh raha hoon
[Translation: the meeting point of time and existence
where the old truths are changing
am sitting among those
and bowing before
and the Gods and angels of the vision
i wish you could see
the visions am witnessing now]

Ode to gratitude

To the unrelenting faith
of the intertwined soul
in whose warm hold
i always felt whole

To the unwavering bond
of the unhindered spirit
in whose smiling games
i always had to trip it

To the unexplainable charm
of the unsuspecting muse
in whose magical moods
the lines wrote themselves