The Rise

The night damp and stale

burns slowly through my sighs

Its wetness squeezes through

unmoving sightless eyes

Empty breaths echo

through the emptiness of insides

The walls are painted black

with wrath, hurt and lies

With the mirror's broken pieces

the image i try to make

With stinging quiet needles

i draw the blood to lake

Buried in the darkness

of airless howling caves

the soul chained to reasons

that red so often paves

is this the way i live 

is this the purpose of weeping hearts

to be broken by dark whims

to be brought down by poison darts

laugh at my painful screams

drag me through the corridors of hell

but then do not you wonder 

where this fire came to dwell

burn me down to ashes

i will rise on the stairs of smoke

drown me down to depths

i will rise with the ocean's cloak

cut me into pieces

i will rise on the sword's red edge

melt me into drops

i will rise on the mighty cloud's pledge

halt me with all your might

and curse me with all your will

its my sunshine that's your night

and my life to your death until..

{nothing personal} ;)

We and India

Winston Churchill had famously remarked “INDIA is a geographical term. It is no more a united nation than the equator.” But Mr. Churchill could have scarcely imagined that this “geographical term” led by a ‘half naked fakir’ could emerge to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  Today, a powerful and recognized nation, we see India come and take a stand on the global power front, shedding its image of the pariah. Of course, Indians have a reason to be proud.

But the bitter reality is that today we ought to be more ashamed than we can ever be proud. On the national front, the disappointment has been overwhelming. Yes, the common man is disillusioned and frustrated with the amount of fiascos, scams and corruption related issues that have monopolized the headlines of his newspaper in the recent months. But he also well realizes the fact that he is as much a part of it as the entity he chooses to blame. Yet, there is hardly anything he can do about it. He cannot choose to shun his liabilities in order to be honest and upright. He does not intend to ruin his nation or bring it to shame, but only to live a comfortable life which doesn’t come at a small price. His needs and expenditures often overtake his earnings. Family pressures and ambitious plans often make him take a turn which the book of ethics and morals shuns. He wants to provide the best to his family and why should he not opt for the obvious means when everybody else is opting for it. He wouldn’t have time to spare to think about the long term implications of his trivial act and on a trillion dollar economy.

The root cause of the problem lies in the fact that India and her people have become two separate identities. An aam admi can hardly ever bother about the troubled state of affairs of the government beyond drawing room discussions. The best he can do is blame and criticize. His daily struggle stuffs him up to leave little space for food for thought. When his loans give him sleepless nights, when compromises become his only choice, when he is not able to send his child abroad for higher education, then Hasan Ali becomes a subject of envy instead of spite. In the process India merely becomes his nationality to fill up forms.

Consequently, the disaster  seems to be  a result of a cascade of events which stem from the basic human want of being secure. The lament is that he can never be secure enough. That is where the government is to accept its responsibility in the state of affairs. It hasn’t been able to provide social and financial security to its people, which is one of its fundamental objectives. It hasn’t been able to convince a nation that it is a nation. Till disparity will exist, greed will exist, hate and communalism will exist. And disparity exists because it is allowed and encouraged to exist. And no amount of fasts and mass gatherings and anti corruption bills will solve the problem. It is that tree whose roots have penetrated much deeper than we can comprehend. What is disturbing is that we are not too far from the point of no return.

We need to realize is that we are not Indians only when India wins the World Cup or when A certain US president praises us for having already emerged, but also when Commonwealth Games threaten to be a shameful debacle, and when the country tops the list of black money holders in foreign banks or when a poverty index indicates that there are more poor people in eight states of India then the twenty six poorest African countries. It is high time we stop blaming and criticizing and take up our responsibility to clean our share of mess. This is surely not what we want to gift our children as legacy. For long we have been a part of the problem. It is high time we become a part of the solution.

Prisoners of life

Prisoners of life
slaves of shallow breath
thy precious life is but
a dice in the hands of death
you think of the months and years to come
while your present silently embraces your past
you think of what you will one day become
and cease to be what today you are
your heart beats in the cage of your ribs
and prays to your soul for the freedom of blood
while you strangle it with the rope of fibs
and drown it in the ruthless flood
you always have tomorrow at hand
tomorrow you will be that one good man
while oceans wash your golden sand
and out of the gulfs of today they ran
into your haven, your safe happy land
with them they carried away your hopes
as u lie aghast on the shores of despair
prisoners of life
slaves of shallow breath
your veins contain the pain to bear
and now the grey clouds overhead cry
lament your dead future
remember your breathing past
and write your tales on winds that last.

Capture... enrapture

The ray of hope, of a better day... a promise..

 And i smile to sunshine and embrace it with open arms... the one who loves you will always make you grow...

 After the night, deep dark, behold the dawn, sings the lark..

Pick up the broken pieces and start again... whatever is truly yours is your will

 Sometimes, there are scenes which seem to be trying to convey to you the secret... though this scene overwhelms my soul... its still time before i decode.. :)

 Yes, they say the greatest saints are made in solitude.. mind, body, soul...

 no darkness is complete, so is no light...

if men could be at such peace with one another... one wouldn't have to look for salvation...

And it rained

I heard a laughter today

Loud, clear, ringing

Cutting through the air i breathe

It did not mock me as i thought it would

For my unearthly insides are marred with guilt

My dark side may be more of grey

If it pours for a while, the sky would be clear

What a shame, i love this grey so often

But only because it rains

Sitting by the side of a half blind sparrow

sheltering himself from the pour

It sat in quiet solitude

At envious peace with himself

Allowing me a little space

For which i was grateful

I tried to hold the string of water

And ended up with empty wet fist

The sparrow didn't move

Pensive and content

The earth was laughing loud

Washed from brown to a happy green

And its spirit seemed to be telling me

Be patient... wait

If there is a burning sun, there will always be rains

You cant do without either

That feeling, i am sure you feel it often too

When you are away from all that is near you

When you ponder about who you are

and why are you here

Were you born to somebody's child, sibling, friend, spouse

employee, relative, enemy

or were you born for yourself

or for this tiny microscopic world

Can you listen to the voice that calls you

from afar

Drowned in the clatter of love, hate and war

I can when it rains

When at some blessed moments

I become a nobody's nobody

And then seeps in a foreign sun

And my grey turns a shade light

Live my friend, even if its for a day

To make an existence possible.

Qne day in a life...

Today my ear met music that charmed it
Today my eyes met waters that becalmed it
Today my spirit met a soul that balmed it
Today my tongue met words that armed it
Today the rains that did not happen
Washed away some long lived fears
Today i smiled for a friend and said cheers
Today i left the book unread
Today i saw the sunrays spread
Today i lied, today i truthed
Today i died, today i lived.
Today life took me in its embrace with love
Today randomness delighted the dove...
Today i hold the dawns cool hands
and talk to dreams in rainbow sands...
:)

nothings...

The purpose i cannot see
why my fingers long to weep
the unsaid tales
when i think, there is nothing to feel
when i think, there is nothin to grieve
but when words touch my paper
they fall in love
i cannot write like you do
or like they did
but
as long as my pen writes
i know there is something i feel inside
and something wakes up the moment
i decide to embrace sweet slumber
it makes a promise
that i will still have the same heart i have tonight
and i will keep on loving
as i do...

Overwhelmed...