लोग केहते हैं की मैं कोई भी हसीं चीज़ को

बुरा बना सकती हूँ।

क्या करुँ, मेरे रूम के कोने में वो

मोमबत्ती जो जलती रेहती है,

मेरे चैन की तरह टिमटिमाती है…

शायद काफी है, लेकिन काफी लगती नहीं।

बरामदे में लटके झूले पर बैठ,

मैं कई बार मधुमालती के सुगंध में खो जाती हूँ।

लेकिन फिर भी हर पल सोचती हूँ,

क्या ये मेरी तन्हाई तो नहीं,

जो अपने बदन पर परफ्यूम लगा कर,

दोस्ती का मोहरा लिए,

इन फूलों के निचे छिप गयी हो?

न मैं झूले से उठ पाऊं,

न ही वो शराब के नशे की तरह

मेरे ज़हन से निकल पाए।

उसे मेरा साथ मिले, मुझे उसका…

जो शायद काफी है, लेकिन काफी लगता नहीं।

They say monsters are found

under the bed,

I looked down, only to find

dust, made up of rending memories.

The night dawns,

and I dream of dreams,

tampered with ruthless reality.

.

The mornings are heavy,

a deranging frenzy of thoughts

seep into my brain

like the aroma of my strong tea.

I walk down the streets,

look at the trees.

They seem grey, just like the ashes

burnt from a dead person.

Or maybe it’s just darkness

lurking in the corners of my mind?

.
How do I put an end to this ordeal?

.
They say that monsters are found

under the bed,

How come mine are stuffed inside

the pillow that I sleep on?

Crawling into my thoughts every night…

 

मासूम गुस्ताखी

वो अभी अभी यहाँ से गुज़री थी,

शायद मुझे ही ढून्ढ रही थी। 

मैने ज़्यादा करीब से निहारा नही। 

जब खिड़की से झाँक कर देखा, 

तो वहीं खड़ी थी, रूठी हुई,

जुगनूं के साथ खेल रही थी।

सच कहूँ तो मनाना भारी पड़ रहा है मुझे। 

 

मैं करूँ भी क्या? 

रोज़ के नखरे, 

कभी आती ही नही सामने से वो मेरे पास। 

एसी भी क्या दूरी, 

बिन कोई मजबूरी?  

 

लोगो ने कहा,  

दिल बड़ा है तुम्हारा, 

एक कोने में ही सही, 

समा लो उसे। 

अब मैं उन्हें कैसे समझाऊं, 

कि मैं तो पूरी रात उसकी होना चाहती हूँ। 

लेकिन कम्बखत हर रात वो आने में देरी करती है। 

 

होगी उसकी भी बेबसी, 

वो बेवफ़ाई तो मुझसे करेगी नही। 

शायद उसने कभी मुझसे मोहब्बत ही नही की। 

 

चलो, आख़िर मिल ही गयी। 

चलकर आ रही है मेरी ओर, 

मेरी आँखों में अपना बिस्तर बना रही है।

A Silent Scream for Liberty

 

I’ve seen them walking, half shy,

Their timeless beauty radiating in their smile.

Their eyes so bewitching, I could get lost in them,

And their cheeks, plump and pink,

Like a blooming rose bejewelled with dew.

They were some proud teachers of a Montessori,

Somehow afraid of their own glory.

.

It happened one day, we decided to play.

Cameras covered, windows shut,

And thus began the frolic.

Their energy was sparkling as the sun,

Their happy faces, aesthetic,

Like a bunch of modest lotuses symbolic.

.

Have you seen a peacock dance in the rain?

Have you seen a more enchanting marvel?

I did. It was them. Their statuesque bodies, so charming.

 But it was the way they moved.

The way they moved, their bodies expressed.

The way they moved, their hips swayed.

The way they moved, their waists swinged.

The way they moved, their feet overjoyed.

The way they moved, it felt like they were princesses, so ethereal.

.

But they were not. They were not princesses.

For they were angels, screaming for liberty.

That dance, it was as much a revelation for them

As it was for me.

All they wanted to do, was to be free.

.

Then came the moment,

That swept me off my feet.

One by one, they took off their veils.

Took off their pain.

Took off their restrictions,

Took of their strings.

Took off diffidence,

Revealed their gorgeous mane.

And they danced like the goddesses.

.

For that momentary eternity,

They set their spirits free.

They twisted, turned, and created a memory.

It was a glimpse of incarnated glee.

But soon enough they went back to their decree.

Oh, all the difference is to me!

Ever Thought About Me?

In the beautiful canvas of the city, I want you to meet me.

Me, a person with the oldest briefcases,

A vendor, a pan wala, a waiter, a service,

I’m just another person in a sea of nameless faces.

My work stretches like an endless, hopeless scape,

While you wear your crimes like a rich and kingly cape.

p
Ever thought about me? Haha, why would you?

I’m in pain, broken and perished,

With fading memories of the times I have ever cherished.

You sit in your car, looking at me with a smirk,

Why? Because I have responsibilities others would shirk?

p
I’m a word dropped from a long sentence,

Someone you’d degrade without any repentance.

I am that guy in the tattered shirt running after a bus,

Even that guy in rickshaw compelling to give a ride to him who missed his bus.

I return to my 1BHK home, jaded to the greatest degree,

With no one to welcome me, I end my day sipping a weak tea.

p
I’m a window shopper at a Phoenix mall,

Barely making shillings, that too, with a haul.

I dig into my pocket, only to realise it is smaller than my hope,

And my hope? I find it walking on a fragile rope.

p
My entire existence is a cancer to my aspirations,

And in a city of Romanticism, I happen to be the Realism.

Oh, Beauty! You are Brutal

 

 

Oh, Beauty! You are brutal.

Brutal enough to ‘bottoms up’ the English drinks and leave a colonial hangover, comparing yourself with white skin.

Oh, Beauty! You are brutal.

Brutal enough to let those hungover drunkards invent a million of those creams only so you can be defined by a pretty look.

Oh, Beauty! You are brutal.

Brutal enough to let an anorexic drown in the ocean of depression, blinding the eyes of the society, never letting her swim, stealing all of her confidence, burying her deep in the crowds of what you let the society label ‘ugly’.

But oh, Beauty! You are brutal.

Brutal enough to teach what never seems to make sense, making yourself define all that a person could be, owing to everyone who made quotes on you, to work against the image you have portrayed.

But that will never work, will it, Beauty?

Because beauty will always reside in the colonial hangover that continues to perpetuate.

Because beauty will continue to be measured using one of those 8 inches long shade cards.

Because beauty will always be an elucidation of conventionally attractive appearance.

Because beauty- oh, beauty!

Because beauty will always be a pretty face. Not a pretty mind, or a pretty personality or a pretty soul. Definitely never a pretty heart.

 

(For this poem, I give full credits to my friend Riddhi Rathore who once put up a status as a facebook status. Were it not for her, this poem would not have gotten the shape it has right now. I thank her for giving me the inspiration of “Oh, Beauty! You are Brutal”)

Like a Diamond in the Sky

 

“Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!”
A cheer of ecstasy rushed through the entire nursery classroom. I felt nostalgic. Suddenly I was transported back to the time when I was in playroom, learning the same rhyme. But somehow, my feeling towards that rhyme wasn’t the same as my classmates. I couldn’t let out a cheer of joy. I couldn’t look at my classmates and clap at the achievement of completing the over and over practiced rhyme. It just wasn’t the same for me.

5 Inventions That Re-Defined Mankind

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. – Thomas Alva Edison

In the last few centuries, there have been inventions that have re-defined mankind. These inventions have made our lives easier and often we forget to think about these inventions or people behind these inventions. While the invention of post-it may not wow us but imagine sticking notes on wall and fridge with Sellotape (which in itself is an invention!). There are inventions that were accidental but there have been inventions behind which a lot of effort and brain was put in. Lets have a look at 5 inventions that changed our lifestyle and perception.

Please note: This list could be missing inventions that are equally important.

#5 Printing Press

Most of us take books for granted. Who’d read those long, boring printed pages with no pictures, right? What we don’t realize is that printing press revolutionized the world. Earlier the writer/author had to manually write the book and make several copies by hand-only. The numbers were limited and education was finite. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press which increased the accessibility of education.

It happened in 1450 AD during Renaissance. A lot of cultural and social changes in Europe kindled the spark of producing inexpensive methods to produce documents in a large number. To subsist with the changing times, technology flourished and an efficient printing press was developed. The invention of printing press brought about a lot of evolvement since the bible was written in various different languages and many opinions raised reached a larger audience which boosted the sharing of literature globally.

#4 Telephone

We can’t live without our mobile phone for a minute. We get agitated when we don’t find the phone in our hand bag or underneath our pillow. Long before mobile phone invention, Alexander Graham Bell invented telephone. Telephone is a system that converts sound into series of impulses of different frequencies and then reverses the procedure. As complex as it sounds the invention took time and dedication of Bell. Invented in February 14th, 1876, two individuals in the U.S filed the patent for creating this instrument. Graham Bell beat Elisha Gray by two hours. Letters were the only means of personal communication prior to the invention of the telephone.

Although now it is considered romantic, it was an exasperating and uncertain process back in the days. Telephone made the communication system faster and certain.

#3 The Light Bulb

The inventor of electricity, Sir Thomas Alva Edison, flew a kite in a stormy weather with a metal key attached to the end of the string. When the electric current passed through the string, Sir Edison touched the metal key, felt the electric shock which went down his entire body, entering the ground which on further research developed into the concept of Earthing. Thomas Edison tried various filaments of different materials over and over again to come up with one definite long lasting solution for getting light. After plenty of trials, Edison finally ended up with a light bulb that glows up to 1500 hours. The light bulb did not only change the world by providing source for people to work at night, it changed the world because it provided a groundwork to facilitate every home with electricity.

#2 Number Zero

Envision a situation where your salary has no zeros. Erasing even one zero to an amount would change the entire sum inordinately. The number zero, as we know it, wasn’t actually invented by Aryabhatta. It was, in fact, Brahmagupta who invented zero 1500 years ago but for different reasons. He used dots underneath the numbers to indicate a zero. It is also called sunya which stands as a symbol of nothing-ness, indicating that it’s empty. Then came Aryabhatta who was a great mathematician. He was computing his complex arithmetic calculations where he got stuck. He kept trying and trying and after about 200 trials he realized the incompleteness of the digits and came up with an assumed number which is now called zero. A digit, which on its own holds no value, can add or subtract great values when combined with other numbers. Such is the power of zero.

#1 Condoms

With a statistic increment in the demography of the world, a solution to control it was absolutely called for. Although the Vedas mentioned many natural contraception methods for women, most of us are either not aware of it or are very lethargic to follow the ayurvedas regularly. While you may think that condoms are being used only since the past few decades but they aren’t as modern as we think they are. The invention of condoms date back to 3000 years ago when the Egyptians created them from animal tissue, usually their intestine or bladder or membrane of the fish. Further development lead to condoms being made from vulcanised rubber during the 1840s. Gross as it sounds, these condoms could be washed and reused. Then came our modern condoms which are not reusable, made from latex and are disposable.

 

Also published in: http://www.hookedupon.com/5-inventions-that-re-defined-mankind/ 🙂

Chivalry: To Be or Not To Be

In a world filled with infidelity and late-night booty calls and hitting on people, it is easy to be jaded with the entire scenario of love and ‘going out’. One of the most confusing and misunderstood things these days is chivalry. No, not the religious and social code of the knights. The small gestures that make a boy a true ‘gentleman’. As women, we might have stumbled upon men who think they know how to flirt, men who just want to get into someone’s pants, men who keep girlfriends as a social status and men who believe in platonic love. We can carry ourselves in the best and handle ourselves in the worst. We know we can take care of ourselves. But old fashioned as you would call us, we do like to come across a man who would go through an entire rom-com movie without any ridiculous ‘I am too cool for this’ mumbling and kill the cockroach without any complaints. NO, we do not want guys to sweep us off our feet. As much as we love our independence, we want men to treat us like ladies. Some women might consider this flirting and some men might consider themselves too big for such tiny gestures. Arguably enough, some men might even say that in an age of equality, all of this is downright stupid. I personally feel that not only men, sometimes it is also okay for a woman to pay the restaurant bill, or to meet his family. But chivalry in total definitely makes a woman feel special. Old school as it is called, chivalry still remains to be one of the most gorgeous things a woman can find.

What is sad though, is that chivalry is dead. Especially in India. The reason could either be the men in India being too chauvinist or the women too vigilant to comprehend politeness as flirtation. On a communal scale, this is neither too good nor too bad, and neither too accurate nor too wrong. But as the saying goes: “Behind every successful man there is a woman”, chivalry is a series of cordial gestures to possibly convey a token of ‘thank you’ for the women. The country can be great, but the greatness cannot be unveiled if the citizens act like idiots. Stopping once and considering the repercussions of one’s acts is essentially frittered. As a matter of fact, most of them lack the very basic sense of respect, let alone be chivalrous. Disrespect from both the genders is the primary cause that leaves a negative impact on the society. In a modern society, what can be really done is that chivalry should become a two-sided act. When the stereotype suggests that a man proposes the woman, ladies, go ahead and propose the man you love. When opening the door by a man becomes too mainstream, open the door once in a while and make your guy feel special.

Courteousness can only be developed when a man becomes less of a jingoist and a woman becomes less of a sexist. All we can do is live on that hope for now and, if you’re lucky enough, you can get your Knight in shining armour. 🙂

Modesty

How difficult is it to be humble? A polite ‘hello’. Asking someone about their day. In a world full of hustle and bustle, modesty is often forgotten. Then a stranger comes along and lights up your face with a smile when you least expect it. I came across one such incident today.

Shopaholic that I am, I keep ordering various stuffs from several websites, Flipkart being my favourite. Since my delivery address is the same every time, the delivery boy is the same every time. I happened to graze my foot against a scooter stand a fortnight back making me almost unable to walk. Flipkart, being excellent in its swift delivery, got my product delivered on the day I hurt my foot. Agonizingly, I climbed downstairs to receive my product when I saw the guilty eyes of the delivery boy who was unaware about the anguish of my wound. I took the delivery, paid the money, and went back.

A fortnight later, I ordered another product, but the delivery guy was the same. I couldn’t recognize his face but apparently, he remembered mine distinctly. On asking him for my delivery, the first question he asked with concern was; “Madam, abb aapko pair mein thik hai?”  I immediately looked down on my foot. The bruise I didn’t remember I even had was borne in mind by that delivery guy who transports almost a hundred products each day. It was surprising.

I was genuinely touched by this. A stranger, who has nothing to do with my well being, who is busy the entire day delivering products to various houses in the deadly heat of Ahmedabad, asked about my lesion which had almost recovered and wasn’t even very evident. What is really surprising  is that sometimes, an unco makes you smile bright when the friends you consider your closest make your day dark. It also sends out a message that politeness costs nothing.

So go out and make someone’s day. Make him feel wanted when adversity is all he has to face all the time. Be that stranger about whom you’ll be penned down in such an article. Who knows, someday you may become someone’s hope. Become an inspiration like this delivery boy became mine. Be modest. Spread a smile. It’ll make you feel happy. 🙂