Personal Belongings

At arrival, it felt as if we had lodged in a hotel. Things were shiny, alien and neatly laid out. and with the flow of the sand , we never knew when the house turned into a home. our stray hair on the basin, a needle on the couch, old teddy in the corner, birthday mug in the sink...

The air suffused with our smells, our finger prints on the walls, our thoughts on the bookshelves...

Kya Kahen?

kabhi dard ki syahi sey kagaj rang diya,

kabhi aasuoney shabdoon ko seech diya,

kalam sey bhi ukera kuch dubbe khayal,

to kabhi batoh batoh mein kuch panktiyaan rach gayi,

ho chuki hai numaish sarey rasoon ki ,

soch mein hai behrupiyaan ki ab kya rang dikhaye

View from the window

I saw you climbing the stairs and linger at every step to glance back at me,
To say goodbye with restless eyes and wave at me with a heavy heart,
The new-born leaves on the tree by the window carelessly fluttered with glee,
But the tree I know shared my pain, its branches, an extension of my longing, reached out for thee,
I stood by the windows, till the darkness downed its curtains and there was no more to see.

Haadson ki Dilli

Yeh dekho is mod pey hai Nithari,

Woh dekho us makaan pey maari gayi thi Shivani,

Yahan gira tha dus aadmiyoan pey Metro ka khamba,

Wahan giri thi goli kha key Jessica,

Lal kiley ka hua hai rang feeka,

Qutub minar ka hai sharm sey sar jhuka,

Lutyens ab teri Dilli key dekhey kaun sey nazaarein hum,

haadson ki numaish hai yahan ab har kadam

The Snatch

She casts an eye on the luxuriant zone

Reviewing it with a condescending mask

She asks me : Are you married?

I ponder: what’s that got to do with marriage

She ignores my thoughts

And declares with an authority: There is more down here than on your head!

I wanted to yell: Why don’t you go ahead and thrust that scalpel as it is

Instead I, submissive like a tame sheep, let her shear my jungle

There goes the covering of my shame

Ah! The indecencies of undergoing an operation

A Derelict’s Smile

Sitting on the floor, she can idle away hours

With nothing else to share, she barters smiles

I wonder what it is that makes those lips curve

In the world we occupy, free smiles are rare

Maybe she smirks at her misery

Or maybe it is her most impressive wear

Though it doesn’t cost anything , for us

the moments that occasion it are precious

Are they ?

Well in the sky

i fell into the well in the sky,

to pull me out , the men they try,

the void keeps sucking me in,

all i do is bear and grin,

swirling in the emptiness around,

reaching out for the firm ground,

Pentacles floating about,

They look at me and they pout,

They refuse to guide my life,

to bestow mercy on my strife,

In am hanging in here,

my silence is for you to hear