Haze of Hope

That ray of light ain't that far away, yet really far!

Squint your eyes and you can see it fine,

Open 'em and it's a blur, a haze!

Just like that dark tunnel, a sliver of light piercing through,

Reach the end and you have glazed eyes!

Adhure Ishq ki dastaan

Woh waqt bhi aur tha 

Woh daur bhi aur tha

Khwahishein poori hongi, yeh vishwaas tha

Tasveeron ka kaafila aankhon ke saamne se guzar gaya

Yaadein slideshow bankar guzri.

Har frame mein ek-ek pal tham sa gya

Kuchh pal dil bhi thama

Usme ek chehra saamne aaya

Yaadon ki baadh aayi aur main beh gayi 

unhi haseen lamhon mein

Lamhe bade meethe the, kuchh namkeen,

Yaadon ki baadh mein main beh gayi usme

Woh lamha hai ab bhi qaid!

Aankhon ko ab bhi hain sukoon hai deta,

Jab bhi yaad aata hai woh pehla lamha jab hum mile

Woh shirt ki khushboo, woh mehek, woh muskurahat,

Wo ankhon ka pehli baar milna,

Jaise kuchh bayaan kar rahe the.

Woh thame hue se kuchh pal,

Wo har muskurahat par dhadkano ka ruk jaana,

Baar-baar dil ishaare de raha tha: kuchh toh baat hai usme!

Milne ke hamare wo silsile,

Wo haseen afsaane, 

Wo bheege pal,

Lamhe yunhi tham gaye mere liye.

Waqt guzarta gaya, 

Sheher badal gaye, 

Dooriyan bhi aa gayi.

Par wo coffee shop, wo saanjh, 

wo baatein, wo raatein wahi tham gayi.

Bas reh gayi hain unn dino ki yaadein, 

Wo khaas lamhe, wo ehsaas, 

kuch ankahe lafz, kuchh adhuri baatein,

Aur Hum!

Crosscurrents

So many thoughts engulf me,

Scare me, put my wits on edge.

Fears of the unknown plague a wounded soul,

Hungry, wild thoughts gnaw, threaten to break the mind's equilibrium.

Breathing raggedly, the heart thumps wildly at the doors,

Wet palms, trembling fingers shake a glass of water,

Setting in motion the vibrations at the surface.

Bubbling from within, crosscurrents of feelings

Raising goosebumps,

Frayed nerves reach a boiling point,

Convection currents cause the uppermost calm to sink,

Innermost turmoil bubbles over, spills, scalds the thin skin of emotions

Scarring mind, body and soul!

Years pass by, 

Scars darkened by the volcanic lava of emotional outbursts, turn numb

Dead skin gives way to new skin cells

Ugly, old scars buried.

Happiness resonates in a love-starved soul.

Wind chimes ringing in the chambers of the heart

Soulful music ensconces, encompasses, engulfs the body,

Sweet melody whispers in the ear, 

Passing by like a flutter in the wind, 

A breeze laced with the fragrance of nectar, 

drugs me into a soulless sleep.

Ansuni aahein!

Halki si roshni aati uss khidki sey,
Roz khidki ke paas baithkar chillati, awaaz deti,

Par uski pukaar kisi ne na suni,
Woh roti rahi, kehti gayi,
Mujhe yahan se bahaar nikalo, azaad karo 

Jab bhi baahar dekha, log toh they
Par koi nahi tha jo iski pukaar sunta
Kai baar socha ki woh apne aap ko maar degi 
Par nahi kar paayi…

Uski ek nanhi si jaan thi!
Usi ke liye toh jee rahi thi.
Jab bhi udaas hoti, woh apne bachhe ki taraf dekhti
Kuchh der roti, aur phir muskura deti.
Uski kilkariyon ko sun woh phooli nahi samaati!

Raat se usey behadh pyaar tha
Andhere mein sab ojhal ho jaata – aansu bhi
Woh iss tarah intezaar karti andhere ka jaise kisi premi ka !

Jaise hi raat hui, uski palkon se aansu chalakte,
Pehle toh chota sa jharna behta, phir baadh si aa jaati
Aur jab baadh ruk gayi toh, ek sannata chhaa jaata
Sannata itna zyada ki zor-zor se maano yeh keh raha ho
Azaad karo iss panchhi ko, panchhi tilmila raha hai!

Panchiyon ke chehakne ki awaaz toh aati usey,
Lekin band kamron aur khidkiyon ko woh khol na paati.
Chonch se panchhi ne khidki ko todne ki koshish toh ki,
Par nakamyaab hui, nirash hui 

Ek din ek panchhi aayi
Usne kaha, ruko, main tumhari madad karti hoon
Yeh keh kar chali gayi
Ab panchhi ko aas lagi, ummeed bandhi,
Intezaar kiya us panchhi ka,
Kab woh azaad hogi…
Sapne dekhne lagi
Ek pal woh sapne dekhti, par agle hi pal darr ke maare nidra se uth bhi jaati
ki sapna toot na jaaye!

Woh panchhi kabhi aayi hi nahi.
Ik aas lagi thi ki woh kabhi na kabhi aayegi

Kuchh dino baad, woh aas bhi tooti,
Aansu bhi laut aaye, phir wahi andhera chha gaya
Usne apne pankh fadfadana band kar diya

Ek lambi saans li aura ankh band kar diya,
Bas maut ka intezaar tha usey!

- TPR

Zakhm

Toote dil jud sakte hain, 

Par zakhm phir bhi rahenge,

Zakhm bhar bhi jaaye, 

Par daraar phir bhi rahenge,

Daraar judte nahi 

Aur nishaan chod jaate hain.

Iss qadr nishaan rehte hain ki 

Toote dil aur unn zakhmon ka malham, 

kahi nahi milta.

- TPR

Ek tarfa ishq!

Tera ho na saka toh kya hua,
Uske hasne ke wajah toh ban sakti hai tu

Dil na chura saki toh kya hua,
Muskurahat toh ban sakti hai uski tu

Dil ke kareeb na jaa saki toh kya hua,
Dil se door jaane ki wajah toh na ban tu

Ek tarfa pyaar ki taaqat samjho ya phir,
Apne dil ko sukoon dene ki koshish,
Par koshish toh kar le tu

Kareeb jaa, shamma banke jalja 
Uske pyaar mein tu!

Rainy Soliloquies

My heart was screaming for help, no one was there.

When I cried tears of blood, no one came to wipe it.

I was lonely, kept looking for someone to appear in the oblivion.

Someone who would hold my hand and tell: all is well

Someone who would love me unconditionally, 

Someone to tell me I am right,

Someone to hold me tight and tell me not to cry

Someone to say “I am proud of you”

Someone to say “I love you for what you are, who you are”!

Tears kept flowing down my cheek,

Eyes flooded with tears, 

A plea to the heavens for mercy.

A shattered soul full of questions, 

looking for answers.

A void in the heart, a chasm in my existence,

Identity at stake, wishing I was dead.

A pair of tiny hands reach out to me,

Small eyes full of hope looking up to me,

A hug and a kiss, a touch full of hope,

saying, “I love you, momma”.

The heart went aflutter again, 

A soul rejuvenated, revived!

Shayari nite (originals)

Hamein qaafir bhi kehte hain,
Apno ne apna nahi banaya,
Aur gairon ne paraya kar diya, 
Jo bhi hain ab bas apne hi hain!!

Anginat baar toota hai dil,
Ek tarfa pyaar ki keemat di hai, 
Par phir bhi, jab bhi pyaar hota hai, toota dil hi milta hai!

Shayari hum inn jaise toh nai karte, 
Par jab bhi lafz nikle dil se nikle,
Kuchh duayein bhi nikli, kuchh haseen pal bhi yaad aye!

Proposal mujhe aaj tak nai aya,
Propose hamne kiye, reject bhi huye,
Par kambakhat logon ko dekho,
Ro rahe hai proposal aane par!

Shayarana mood tumne banaya hai aaj,
Ab na roko mujhe,
Na rukenge, na thamenge mere lafz aaj,

Zalzala iss tarah aya hai jab hamne kisise dil ki baat keh di, 
Woh lamhe jab hum unse mile the,
Woh nazrein jis tarah mili, 
Woh chupkar palkon ke neeche se jab usey dekha
aur mud gaye, 
Bas inhi palon ki khaatir jee rahe hain ab!

Achha toh likhte ho,
Hunar ye sabke paas nahi,
Sambhalon unn lafzon ko, 
Jin lafzon ne banaya tumhe hai

Dil jalon ka dil aur nahi toot sakta,
Jitna tootna ta, toot gaya,
Sirf itna karna ki wahan itni sharaab ho,
Ki mohabbat ko mohabbat bhi na yaad aaye!

Kya ye mehez ek ittefaq hai ki hum ab tak nahi mile

Ya phir kisiki hai saazish hamein alag rakhne ki!

Uljhano ko suljhane wala mil gaya hota toh baat hi kya thi,

Mehez ek aaine mein apne aap ko dekh lijiye,

Uljhane khud ba khud sulajh jayegi!

Jo baat zubaan par aati hai, 
woh zaruri nahi ki boli jaaye,

Mehsoos bhi ho toh kaafi hai

Dil mein teer sa chubha, jab usne ilzaam lagaye, 

Kuchh aise laga jaise ki dil tham sa gaya, dhadkan ruk si gayi aur dil baith hi gaya.

Aisa hai haal-e-dil ki na saans liya jaata hai, 
na aahein nikalti hai dil se

Bas ek chuppi bhari hai dil mein

Aas paas ka shor maano zor se ye keh raha ho ki: 

Tere dil pe nishaan toh hoga 
par yeh shor hi tera malham banega!

Jo dikhta hai woh zaruri nahi ki sachh ho, 

ek parda bhi ho sakta hai jiske peeche sachhai chipi ho!

Jo uljhan na suljhe, usey ansuljha hi chod do, 

Nahi toh suljhane ke chakkar mein kahin tumhe hi uljha na dein!

Kabhi kabhi ek ajnabi apne se bhi zyada ban jaata hai 

Aur kabhi kabhi ek apna ajnabi ban jaata hai!

Aaj laga ki hum bhi kuchh hain, 
hamara bhi koi wajood hai,

Ehsaas hua ki hum adhoore nahi,

Aur pehchaan hamari sirf ek muskurahat nahi...

Sawaalon ka kaafila aa raha tha door se, 

They iss intezaar mein ki woh kab hamein gher le 
aur kab hum jawaab de,

Par jab woh guzar gaya bagal se, 
bina hamein dekhe ya chuye, 
dil mein teer sa chubha 
aur phir se sannata chhaa gaya!

Dil ki baatein (original)

Badi muddat aur fursat ke baad, maine ye likha hai...

Ilzaam lage aise ki dil mein teer sa laga,

Sawaal aise pooche jo dil mein khanjar sa laga,
Jaane ye kaise log hain jo chot pahunchakar khushi hain paate.

Kuchh ban jaate hain mukhpatr aur mukhbiir,
Shabdon ka jaal bunkar saamne waale ko gira dete hain khaayi mein.

Mudke bhi na dekhte ki koi ghayal bhi hai.

Gaur farmaiye, aur kuchh aise bhi hain, Janaab!
Jo chale hain sawa sher banne,
duniya ko dene chale hain apni hoshiyari ka saboot!