बिलखता बचपन

वो देखो बैठा है एक रोता बिलखता बच्चा...

चीथडो में सहमा सा ,भूख से लाचार वो ,

टुकड़ा -टुकड़ा बिखरते उसके पल - पल विचार, वो ....

धुल -मिटटी से लबरेज ,कितना परेशान हो बैठा है ,
उन मासूम आँखों को कैसे चट्टान बनाए बैठा है !

बेबसी की ये दुनिया भी उसकी कितनी गरीब है
उसके सपने तो देखो कितने अजीब है ...
रात के लिए रोटी ..और एक कम्बल - ठण्ड का सामान चाहिए ;
बीमार माँ की दवाईयां ..बस इतना ही मुकाम चाहिए !!

उसका मासूम बचपन तो उसी समय छील गया
जब उसके बाप को ,काल युहीं अकाल लील गया

अब तो बस ज़िन्दगी में काले बादलो के घेरे है
समय समय पर परीक्षा लेते समय के थपेड़े है ..

डर है कहीं ..ठोस धरातल और उसपे बसती जमीनी सच्चाई
उसका नाज़ुक बचपन ना तोड़ दे
उसकी जिजीविषा को कहीं अपनी उबड़ खाबड़ सतह से ना मरोड़ दे
अगर ऐसा हुआ ... तो फिर एक बचपन खुद से रूठ जाएगा
और - एक और घडा बनने से पहले ही टूट जाएगा !!

वो देखो - दूर कोने में बैठा है एक रोता बिलखता बच्चा....

Its all about Timing !!!

That was a very very tiring day in the office.I returned home at 10:30 pm.. and directly sat for my dinner....few chapaatis,meshed bhindi-alu and one bowl of extra salty tuar daal-result of Kaakaji's erring memory while cooking food... I had the TV remote in one hand as usual....switching between several channels serving mindless entertainment...finally I stopped on to see NDTV's UEFA Euro 2008 discussion..."Is this the best Euro ever??" NDTV's sports editor was asking to soccer expert Novy Kapadia ...He was reluctant to hail it the greatest Euro ever,but was quick to add that he almost keeps it equivalent to the 1984 Euro..which he thought was,when they used to play the best aggresive football.Okay-fair enough...after all,everybody thinks the times in his heyday was the best of times...!!!

I washed my hands,asked Manu about newspaper and sat on my COT ..comfortably..to take the daily dose of Newspaper reading....Inflation and its future ramifications were all around TOI...The top page showed prime minister's caricature dazed by blows on his head...one blow of the Nuclear Deal,the other one,more significant(for his political career),of Inflation-the 'Aam Aadmi' issue.what an irony...Inflation was again in double digits to haunt him after a span of 13 years...Then he was the finance minister,who after miraculously resurrecting the doomed Indian economy,somehow managed to get the inflation figures sky rocket to double digits,exactly before the polls..and now he headed the government which came to power by wooing the 'Aam Aadmi',showed excellent Economic growth figures of around 9% for four consecutive years only managing finally to get itself into trouble at the cost of increasing global crude prices-again,just few months before the general elections...and yeah.. he was already loosing on the bargaining power too,to get the Nuke Deal done-allegedly offering his resignation over the deal with nobody even giving heed to it...Timing my friend timing!!! only a few days back,the possibility of early elections was doing the rounds....The inflation was under check,hardly at 6 %,growth rates were stupendous and the international crude prices were lesser by quite a few dollars...He should have opted for an early election..Will the history repeat itself?? For me:Congress's fate looked inevitable for the next general elections..What a bad timing this....i said to myself.

"Arrey yaar chaay banaa de-doodh pada hai aaj"...a desparate cry from Ankit brought me back from my thoughtful thought.Wat da F dude!!!..tu kyon nahi banaata chaay...I asked him with a fake venom in my words..I was a little irritated though..the least
I wanted now was to get up from the bed and proceed towards kitchen.But the thought of having to swallow tea prepared by Ankit made me think it was worth taking the pain.After all...Normally,he wouldn't do any kitchen work..and if by any chance
he goes on to make tea(u can hardly call it tea),it would be quite inconsumable for sure.No way... I told him ,I have plans to make tea in few minutes,which was enough for him to get dissolved in his bed again with the third Chetan Bhagat Novel....

I plugged in my Lappy's power chord for the day's -final online session...or rather call it day's first online session...the clock read 12:05 am...Ankit had already tuned in for Euro Quarter-Finals.The formidible Croatia taking on Turkey @Vienna,Austria -in the second QF match of the tournament.Clearly,Turkey were underdogs for the match."Abey aaja match shuru ho gaya"..he shouted from the far end of our Hall...surely, the tournament was gripping and we had made it as our daily habit to watch UEFA before going to bed from the day it started.I assured him,from inside my room,that i 'll be joining in 5 minutes..and will also go ahead to prepare tea..he again,was back to his lethargic self after my response.

After a few minutes of useless browsing,i finally shut down my Laptop,pulled the power cable and came out of my room to discover that the game was progressing at snail's pace...78 minutes of game time had passed without a goal and there didn't
seem a possibility of any team hitting it either...sure chance of game moving into Extra time...I thought, it would be the best thing to get some tea now,as we had started feeling a little sleepy.

Sipping on hot tea,watching Soccer at 1:10 am in night....the moment took away all my exhaustion of the days's work...the match had predictably slipped into the extra time and still we saw no hopes of a goal from either side.The forwards from both
teams juggled hard with football only to find the opposing defenders.Suddenly i saw a surge in the croatian attack and goal !!! Thr it was ....Ivan Klasnic headed in Luka Modric's cross with a minute of the overtime period to play..that was it!!
The excited commentator announced .."Klasnic has certainly booked croatia's place in Euro 2008 Semis"...Croatian supporters were already celebrating...moment of glory for croats finally....But guess what?? before anybody could hold their breaths
back...the sensational kick off a deflection from 'Senturk' drove into Croatia's goal-post.Unbelievable!!! Turkey then went on to nail croatia 3-1 in penalties.Thrilling!!! Turkey - 3rd time in a row had managed to pull off a last minute victory..Senturk's kick was apparently the last kick of the extra-time.Timing again....so crucial!!! Who could have imagined this result when Klasnic had hit that goal in the very last minute for Croatia...
"Its all about Timing !!!" I announced in my worldly wise manner after soaking myself again into the thoughtful thought."Hmmm..abey so ja saale,its time to sleep..." was Ankit's response.."fir tu uthega nahi subah"....He was absolutely
right,time was well past 2:00 and I should sleep now at any cost...after all- it was all about time and timing..i murmured, before pulling the blanket over myself,lying on my bed!!!

Chrysalis !!!

The Pupa pushed harder through its cocoon,
portents said - yes,it will break the shield soon !
As it Awaited - A total Transformation,
Creating a new life,full of expectations !!
Stage was now set for the great metamorphosis,
Here it came - The Chrysalis !!!

But how could the process be so hassle free,
without any hiccups,any major difficulty ??
yeah-Setbacks,Road-blocks,issues were all on the way,
"No gain without pain" - as all of them say !

challenges,served in a platter - afresh
Threatened each time, the very existence !
New adversities,popping every now and then
Derailed the proceedings,disrupted all balance.

But the spirits flew high, in mystical exaltation,
Fighting all odds for forthcoming exhilaration !

Be a whisper through the air,or a thunderous cry,
With incessant hard work,they all had plied !
cruising through the days ,restless through the nights,
breaking all the grounds,reaching greater heights!
Hence the act of resilence,made in full earnest
paid its results - success,glory and the rest!!

May Rain !!!

May Rain in the air,wind in my nose.
The two drops coalesced, springing a new hope.

Another chimera or a fresh lease of life??
The cadence in the air,is just a device.

But what is the remedy of missing alacrity,
broaching the subject seems distant possibility.
Covert desires,clandistinely withheld,
no catharsis possible, says the portent.

The things as they stand, look precipitous
but the sanguine within,still stays solicitous.

Tacit feelings gathering cement and the brick ,
will tenacious attempts of temerity do the trick ??

A chance Encounter

"Stranded in the dark,with my obscure thoughts...
that familiar gaze,stirred my soul apart..

what contrast ; those vivacious eyes in the gloomy dark..
like zealous ending to a hazy start...

Beauty so desired but never unleashed
In the eyes of beholder,it rested in peace.

silence ,so eloquent in sombrely lane
curbing the feelings,here i refrained

the yellow mood still un-expressed
feelings turning anonymous,even more perplexed.

now,the point of inflexion,curve getting flat
one serendipitous [chance] encounter still awaits??"