Dua-e-Wahdat

Here’s another short poem I wrote today.

Hamaare faaslon ki misaal zameen-o-aasmaan kyon ho?
Dilon ke darmiyan mulk unke darmiyan sarhadein kyon ho?

Behr-e-hayaat se uthi waqt ki leher ke sab humsafar
Phir hum adna se katron mein koi zer to koi zabar kyon ho?

Zaat-o-zubaan-o-mulk, deen-o-mazhab-o-maseeha
Yeh gunaah hain hamaare to inki wajeh Khudaa kyon ho?

Khaak se khaak tak ka safar raha azal se hoga abad tak
Apne matla-o-maqta ek phir baaqi Ghazal beradeef kyon ho?

Kacche Khwaab

Another short Urdu poem…

Kuch kacche Khwaab palkon ke mehmaan hue
Yeh raat mein gar saje.n to din ko aankhon mein chubhte hain

Jinke soz se is zulmat kade mein roshni hoti thi
Waqt ki taariki mein yeh ummeed ke shamme bhi bujhte hain

Jab bhi gul ki baat chide, bahaaron ki baat chale
Ahl-e-naadaan-e-bazm sehra ki Khamoshi ka sabab puchte hain

Sadiyaan

Here’s a new Urdu poem I wrote.

Sadiyaan beetii, na beeta woh ek pal
Mehmaan tha bas pal ka, bane maraasim sadiyon ke

Hairaan na ho beher, gar bujhe pyaas tujhse
Barson piye ahl-e-talab ne, jaam-e-nihaan ashqon ke

Siyaahi bana humsafar, maujuudgi iski har su
Saayaa bankar wafaa kare, gar hon silsile ujaalon ke

Khamoshi (Silence)

Here’s a short Urdu poem that I wrote recently. It’s a metaphorical exploration of the notion of silence in different contexts.

Khamoshi bhi ek aawaaz hai
Bezubaan dil ka soona saaz hai Khamoshi

Hayaat ke is lambe safar mein
Afsurda lamhon ki daastaan hai Khamoshi

Dilon ke guzre karavon ke piiche
Aankhon mein chubhta Gubaar hai Khamoshi

Gaharaaiyyon ka pataa detii hui
Gehre zaKhmon ka nishaan hai Khamoshi

Har rang mein jale shama ke
Seher pe dhuaan hone ka rang hai Khamoshi

Chaand Khamosh, sitaare Khamosh,
Sehra Khamosh aur Khamosh hum
Sadiyon ki gardish ka silaa hai Khamoshi

I think Chopin’s E minor Prelude will be a perfect musical accompaniment to these thoughts on silence. What I love about this piece is the definitive air of inevitability that it acquires towards the end which makes it hard not to sense that something’s dying (as indeed the music itself dies down in the last few chords). Chopin himself used to often perform this piece and, fittingly enough, it was played at his funeral.

Here’s my favorite version of it by Sviatoslav Richter:

I’m currently learning this piece myself and will, hopefully, make a recording once I feel comfortable.

My first Haiku

I recently discovered Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry, while reading The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality and have, since, been fascinated by the concept of expressing a momentary experience in poetic form, as simply and minimally as possible, while remaining faithful to the original essence of the experience. In this respect, I think Haiku is to poetry what Impressionism might be to painting. As an example, here’s one that I found in the above book that very succinctly expresses the joy of living in the present:

I am cutting wood,

I am drawing water,

It’s so wonderful!

Last evening, I met up with two friends I hadn’t seen in a couple years. We hung out at the beach until very late in the night, drinking an exquisite Glenlivet, while sitting around a bonfire, amidst the calming sounds of waves crashing onto the shore. (As an aside, it’s amazing how, sometimes, utter chaos, such as that constituted by waves, can actually lead to something that is at once random and beautiful!)

On our way back, we stopped by what seemed like a reservoir. It seemed like a very profound place and time — perhaps the pleasant Glenlivet buzz had something to do with it! So, while my friends were taking pictures, I stood out on the edge of the water, soaking in the beautiful view that was formed in the night. Despite all that I apparently found lacking up until that time, that moment, strangely, felt very comforting!

I have tried to express the experience of all that was around me in that moment in the following haiku, my first one. I’m not sure if it can technically qualify to be a haiku but it, nonetheless, expresses what I had felt:

The rays’ gleeful dance on water in the moonlit night,

The crickets’ chirping, the wind’s gentle caress;

Nature’s sweet embrace is so comforting!

Sadly, as with everything else, that moment, too, passed! And here I am, writing about it as one would about a distant memory at best!

Dua (Prayer)

This one came to me in a moment of extreme emotional anguish!

 

Kabhi yun mujhe pyaasa rakkha, ho gum koi sehraa mein jaise
Aur kabhi yun meri pyaas bujhaayi, ho kareeb koi dariyaa jaise
[sehraa = desert, dariya = river]

Aankh khuli to qadmon ke nishaan paaye saahil ki reth par
Pyaas buhjaayi thi jahaan, saraabon ke the wahaan silsiley jaise
[saahil = beach, qadmon ke nishaan = footsteps]
[saraabon ke silsiley = series of mirages]

Ab bhi mila karta hai woh, yakeen dilaata hai aashnaa hone ka
Janmon se uska koi bada karz, mujhe aaj bhi ho utaarana jaise
[aashnaa = friend, karz = debt]

Gar tu bhi mera gumaan nahin, to karde aazaad meri rooh ko
Qaid hoon apne hi maGzh mein, dozaKh mein ho koi kaafir jaise
[gumaan = fantasy, rooh = soul, maGhz = mind, dozaKh = hell, kaafir = infidel]

 

There’re a couple other ones that I shall soon post! Happy reading!