take me away
I've got nothing to say
the world and its glory
are all fading away
looking here and beyond, i find
everything in a disarray
this way that way
tread, untread, here, and away
Give way, Give way, Give way
It's all ok...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
barren lands, lush vegetation
desert and ocean
earth and sky
manifestations of oneness
visions of duality
facades of existence
denouement of cruelty
signs of weakeness
belief of impermanence
inability to change things
visions of being in control
things slipping out of control
pause, think, reflect
cast away the shallow intellect
take refuge, beg for mercy
He who's got it all wrong
cannot be so wrong
You who wants to set it right
cannot be so right
try you may though
with all your might!

26/11 - An year on...

An year later - a lot of things must presumbly have happened since the dastardly incident took place. Widows must have learnt to live with the harsh realities - the kids must have grown up perhaps a tad more insecure, perhaps way more frustrated at the inablity and ineptitude of the people responsible for ensuring that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to book. What we have done so far is spend 31 crores on keeping a man alive who should have been dispatched from this world by now.

What have I to say or write other than express my grave sadness and perhaps my own helpnessness in being able to do nothing to contribute to redressing the situation. Criminal Justice procedures are bound to take time, but in a water-tight case such as this one, I fail to understand what is taking them so much time to book Mr. Kasab.

I was reading an article in TOI that talks about Mrs Kamte's account of the incidents leading up to the death of Mr. Kamte along with the other brave soldiers. Rakesh Maria's role has been directly questioned by her. Apart from adding a sinister twist to an already intriguingly bizarre incident, this has revved up a huge sensation worthy of being investigated to the minutest details so that those culpable are immediately brought to justice. Of course, the Government always has its agendas which are far more inscrutable than one may think; Government afterall is run by people who are not entirely beyond their personal whims and fancies. What had possessed Maria during those dire moments could be anybody's guess but an apparent lapse in duty that has the added implication of complicity with the enemies of the nation is a far more serious allegation than the whole tragedy itself. Could it be true that a certain section of the Police may have been just wee-bit more discomforted with Mr. Karakare's deep resolve to get to the heart of the matter in the case relating to Samjhauta Express? Was he made a scapegoat - an easy target in the face of one of the biggest tragedies that India has seen in the recent times?

While the Babri Masjid inquiry took seventeen years to conclude what was painfully obvious from day one - I hope this does not take as long. Babri incident was the demolition of a physical structure - but 26/11 was the demolition of Humanity. If the case is not dealt with swiftly and justly, it will amount to a justice no smaller than the Crime it seeks to address.

As we move on - our dear country faces insurmountable challenges on virutually every possible front - Kashmir, Assam, Naxals, Arunachal Pradesh and China, the roller coaster relationship with the US and India's emergence as an economic superpower with the macabre realities of infrastructure problems and of course Corruption and Division of society on flimsy ideologies and hollow principles of Caste and Region.

The list goes on...but it's also true that the very same people who are responsible for the problems have the solutions too. The need is to wake up to them and build a robust plan to start tackling them one by one.

मैं भी हूँ इक आसमान का मोहताज

तू क्या जाने तेरा क्या जाता है
गया जो जहाँ से एक बार फिर वापिस नहीं आता है

क्या फायदा ऐसी मुरीदगी का
मुसीबत के वक़्त कोई काम नहीं आता है

मैं भी हूँ एक आसमान का मोहताज़
मुझे भी गर्दन उठाना आता है

तुम भी चलो सब चले गए अब तो
आखिर तेरा मेरा नाता क्या है?

कही जाग न जाऊं नींद से मैं
उम्मीदों के सपने चकनाचूर करता क्या है

चलो खून के प्यासों को दो बूँद पिला दें
शरीर के इस चीथड़े में अब बचा क्या है

On This and That

Settled firmly in non-duality
Life goes on unmindful of the reality

That which you treat as scum of the environment
Is but the making of a sham called Civility

All the infighting has made you weaker
The facade has taken a toll on humility

Now you must fight to cover up the crass
And be doomed forever to protect the shallow nobility

For whom the vicarious sufferings
For whom the talk of all cruelty

Where lies the seeker Where lies the sought
Aren't they but objects of a whimsical mind's felicity

Oh India!

I happen to be living in Maharashtra these days. In fact, I have lived here on and off over the past 10 years. I was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. Until a few years back when Raj Thackeray was sucking candy in his pram, I used to think that Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were part of a single democratic republic - India. Events unfolding over the past few years - especially in Maharashtra but not exclusively so - have led me to question this premise. Is it unfounded? Are outsiders the root of most evils plaguing Maharashtra? And 'outsiders' with respect to what? Just because the Freedom of Speech and Ideas is enshrined in the Constitution vested interests can go about on a free mayhem-spreading spree? What kind of Politics are these people indulging in to garner petty votes?

And mind you, this is not just Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, which has been the Hiranyagarbha of all kinds of politics, a similar game is being played out albeit with a different undertone. But the underlying idea of polarising the masses on ideological grounds by exploiting the underlying faultlines of age-old vulnerabilities is the same. It is when things such as these happen that we are forced to realize what kind of society and world are we living in?

I briefly want to touch upon the incident that took place in the Maharashtra assembly. The goons took a person to task because he chose the national language over the local one. People have gone to the extent of questioning whether Hindi is the national language or not. If truth be told, even I know it from what I have been told. Commonsense and practical realities alike tell me that except in a few states, Hindi is not spoken in the other states leave alone the question of it being recognized as a National Language. Does the Government or anyone feel obliged to clear the air around it once and for all?

Leaving the question of language aside, it is the fundamental right - and this I hope is not in question - of every individual to choose the language of his liking - no matter what the constraints. Is Maharashtra a Private Property of the Sena where they can do as they please? They can go and break people's necks, break offices, smother public opinion, criticize and chide national icons with impunity? And the Government comes back with a sordid "We will punish them"? Why can't they simply book them and lock them in Jail?


Emotional diatribe aside, this is a grave matter. The foregoing may appear unduly sentimental, but the fact of the matter is that the situation in Maharashtra is going from bad to worse. If this continues, we will not need a British to polarize us and break ur pristine national fabric into a rotten piece of yarn. This rat infested mentality spreading hatred and violence and inciting the animal instincts of a people who have for years lived in a culture of peace and harmony will spread like wild fire and engulf other states in its wake before China or Pakistan can even dream of attacking us. Oh India! what need have you of external enemies when your own sons aren't chary of splitting your soil in the name of being "sons of soil"? What kind of polarized love for motherland is this?

We are surrounded by scheming enemies. We are splintered from within. People commit crimes with impunity and far from feeling sorry justify their actions in the name of short-sighted, narrow and bogus agendas. And those responsible for bringing them to justice look on.

I wish the courts took suo-moto cognizance of the happenings in the recent past and took some action to restore sanity in the minds of people who are getting more and more insecure with every passing minute.

Religion and Spirituality

Recently during a conversation with a friend, a matter of deep interest to me came up. I was mentioning to him about a site that offers an elaborate explanation of the Gayatri Mantra when an amazing brain wave struck his mind. He was reminded of a dialogue in the very famous movie Matrix where Neo is told that even though Agent Smith, the adversary of Neo, the hero, may be smarter and more powerful, yet Neo could defeat him because the former was bound by rules ... a kind of a program, while the latter was free from any such rules. This, my friend mentioned seemed similar to what he considers a major point of departure between Spirituality and Religion. He said Religion is a codified set of rules that help in realizing God where as Spirituality - though seemingly unfettered by rules and thus appearing more ad-hoc and esoteric - is a more powerful way of reaching God.

This discussion triggered a chain of thoughts in my mind. I do not consider myself a scholar or a subject matter expert on either subject - Spirituality or Religion. Yet, I felt compelled to give an expression to the countless thoughts that immediately took possession of me when this subject was broached. I personally find it a daunting task to understand these subjects even at a very elementary level. And the most fundamental reason is the seemingly infinite number of theories that have already been advanced by scholars and nincompoops alike.

So what is Religion and what is Spirituality and is one superior than the other in the quest of realizing God? Religion is like a school, which teaches us the basics of life and survival, equipping us with tools that will help us lead a life filled with happiness and purity. It has a codified set of rules that offer a way to see beyond the mundane of life and question its nature so that we may find its true essence. To that extent, Religion is like the Primary School where we must go to study, if we ever hope to make it to College and Beyond. However, somewhere down the line, Religion seems to have gotten polluted with vested interests to sustain not the legacy of God per se, but the legacy of those propounding it. This may sound extremely vain of me to make a point-blank remark like this. Yet, even though the religious leaders wanted to perpetuate and spread their own version of God (each one does it anyway just as I am doing right now) – anything, and I reiterate, anything that talks about God is better than everything else that does not. In the Bhagwad Geeta the Lord says that even if you take my name accidentally, you will still be benefited. Spirituality on the other hand is a more personal way of communicating with the Highest Being or God. Spirituality is more internal than external and can sometimes cause a situation similar to being exposed to a naked wire connected to a million volts circuit.

Religion has its merits in that it offers a structured approach to finding God. If one is astute enough to ignore the riff raff and concentrate on the essence - Religion is a surefire way to get to God. Spirituality however is not meant for everybody. It is a stage of development. I personally feel one becomes Religious first due to the effects of positive Karma whether in this life or in one of the previous ones. Spirituality becomes the nature of that man who has already advanced beyond the stage of religion. Religion is like that little 'Walker' that children who are too young to walk by themselves are given to learn walking from. Once they know how to walk however, there is no need for it. The child can walk all by himself. So, to get to the stage of spirituality one needs to be mentored. Religion is prescriptive - it tells you to do X, Y, Z to understand God. Spirituality is practice - one is constantly engaged in and tied to the object of devotion and does not feel the need for an external aid to get him in the zone as it were.

So as far as Spirituality and Religion are concerned, on account of their respective characteristics, they cannot logically be compared because they are not at the same level; they are more chronologically linked such that one precedes the other on the path leading to the Supreme Being – the ultimate Truth – the object of the seeker and the goal of both Spirituality and Religion.

This discussion however also brought me to think more deeply about the nature of God as described in the numerous Holy Books and also about my personal understanding derived from my study of these Books. One of the key things that strikes my mind is the apparent contradiction that evinces itself quite clearly when studying the nature and characteristics of God as described in these texts. In the Bhagwad Geeta, God has unequivocally stated that He is not interested in men's good or bad karma. And, even though He is the Creator, the Provider and the Sustainer of all that does and does not exist, He holds no passion towards His work. As is mentioned in the text - He is udaseen (disinterested) towards all that He manages and controls. He further says that every human being is bound by the seeds of his karma and is bound to suffer or to reap enjoyment in accordance with the nature of the seeds he himself has sown. In technical parlance, these dualities of Pleasure and Pain are an integral part of our coming and going on Earth, and form the basis for what is known as the Samsarik Chakra. Samsara has been discussed elaborately in the Bhagwad Geeta and elsewhere. It is one of the fundamental Truths which is rivaled only by the other fundamental Truth about the existence of Atma and its non-connection with the physical body it is 'seemingly' housed in. Armed with the battery of senses, this body is destined to experience the fruits of Good and Bad Karma and act according to its own nature. In that sense, controlled by the mind and the senses, we seem eternally doomed. Desires make us run from pillar to post keeping us constantly engaged in meeting our pursuits – good or bad not just in one cycle of birth and death, but in countless,...8.4 million to be precise, as the Vedas put it.

So is there a way out of this? God is benevolent enough to offer a prescription. This is where this whole thing becomes mysterious though. I fail to understand this very simple thing - God says he has no “Asakti (attachment)” in anyone and in anything. He is impartial and treats everyone at the same level. Yet, as some scholars have expounded, He seems to become partial (or at least slightly more partial) towards those human beings who fondly take His name with all due Shraddha and Bhakti. I find this odd. How can He change his stance all of a sudden? And then people ascribe numerous other esoteric qualities to God to help Him continue with His partiality. God clearly says that while everything exists in Him alone, He exists in nothing. This is understandable; just as our physical bodies have various divisions from Head to Toe, we ourselves are none of those - neither the Head nor the Toe or anything in between. God says that He has nothing to do with anyone's karma. In one shot, God has absolved Himself of the Good or the Bad of the entire cosmos. He seems to be entirely dispassionate, unconnected and unconcerned with what goes on in the very scheme of things He has created. What then may I ask is His role or what then is our incentive for reaching such a God, whether through Religion or through Spirituality?

As the Upanishads say - there is only one reality, nothing else. Everything else is a mere appearance. Now this comes in for a lot of criticism from the critics of Advaita Vedanta. But this seems to be the only logical justification, because every other picture or description of God seems self-contradictory. He is unattached, yet caring. He shows no interest in the affairs of the cosmos and yet is partial towards His Bhaktas (devotees). He does not propagate Right or Wrong because He is free from both. Indeed the scholars have even gone to the extent of saying that this contradiction too has been deliberately created by God so that only those who persist in finding Him with the utmost faith and sincerity alone can find Him. No wonder the texts instead of giving a holistic picture of God tend to confuse people and create a phantom out of God. There are very few sources of authentic information. And they too are in a language which no one understands in the modern times. So we have to rely on commentary – again created by Humans howsoever exalted they may be. Yet these commentaries and sub-texts are our only source of understanding the Vedas and the Upanishads. And finally one has to rely on one’s own commonsense and intellect to make sense from them.

The Upanishads mention that if freedom were something to be acquired - it would not be desirable for then either it would take an infinite effort to acquire it or it would be reached by some amount of effort and thus become like any other object that can be reached through time and effort. What we desire is primordial bliss, absolute and boundless Freedom and Happiness. It can't be anything but. In a nutshell, the nature of this kind of freedom would be infinite. And to reach infinity an infinite amount of effort would be required – something which none of us mortals is capable of exerting. That being the case, Freedom or Moksha would become unattainable. And yet we do get a glimpse of that freedom even if fleetingly in deep sleep, when we leave behind all worries and troubles and sleep as though we have cast our body away. That freedom, which we obtain routinely in deep sleep, cannot therefore be unreachable. That then means that we must already have it. This is the knowledge we need to ascertain. This is the God we need to find. Yes people may call it preposterous accustomed as they are to a God with name and form; indeed people may call it a denial of the existence of God as understood by humanity. This is where the learning comes. I cannot force anyone to follow what I am saying. All this is a matter of direct experience. Efforts are directed to achieve things ... what we don't understand is that there are two kinds of achievements - achievement of that which is “not already achieved” - which is how achievement is understood generally, and the achievement of that “which is already achieved”. Now what is this second kind of effort? If something is already achieved why would one waste his time to achieve it at all? Yet this seemingly incongruous quest is what we are all engaged in when trying to achieve freedom, true happiness, moksha or God. To give an example, you may have forgotten that you are wearing your watch and in that mistaken notion you may go from one corner of the house to the other finding the 'misplaced' watch only to be reminded by your mother that you are already wearing it. Now the 'finding of the watch' is akin to an “achievement of the already achieved”. Till such time as the knowledge was not yours, you were struggling to “find” the watch. Similar is the state of all of us. We don't know that what we are looking for is verily what we are. We just need to get rid of the cobweb of Agyaan. That's all. This seemingly simple principle is I daresay at the very core of this entire drama that we see around us. This has spawned countless generation of universes and countless lives and countless sages and countless scriptures and cults ... not to mention Spirituality and Religion. It is impossible however to get to this direct fact but by winding through the maze of all that this universe has to offer. To get to this stage one has to take “Ishwara's Sharan – take refuge in His might”. Yes, I had said earlier that He is impartial. I still hold by it. Yet to the seeker He does show the way ... not because He has any special incentive for doing so but because that's the way His rules are set. He just lets the Srishti run itself by the rules He has laid down. Everything works with clockwork precision.

The foregoing discussion is now ready to snowball into a full-fledged enquiry into the nature of Existence and of God. I have shown the inherent contradictions and yet shown that these contradictions have a basis. God has set rules by which He adheres. No matter what happens, His rules are uncircumventable. The special interest He seems to evince in creatures who come to Him is not because He fancies them - but because NO CREATURE will be inspired to take refuge in Him unless he has learnt the folly of pursuing materialistic desires and in that way has cleared himself of the cobwebs of Maya.

But this would have to be a separate discussion which I intend to take some other time. For now suffice it to say that the God we so earnestly desire to find is not to be found outside of ourselves. He resides in us. Indeed there is nothing save Him. But this knowledge does not happen accidentally or by fluke. It's a culmination of years of Sadhana(contemplating on God). One needs all the tools prescribed in the texts - and to that extent confusing as they may be - one has to wade through the rigmarole and the contradictions to get to the essence. One must not get confounded. Using the same battery of senses which are normally outwardly aligned one has to turn the attention inwards and use them to cross the bridge of Samsara. Yes, the same very senses that are the cause for pain will catapult us to the path of supreme bliss. Just as the knife can be used to kill someone, it is also used by the surgeon to give life to a suffering patient. The knife in and of of itself has no intent or desire. The use to which it is put depends solely on the entity operating it. So it is with our senses. So it is with everything else. So it is with God. Blame Him or love Him - He remains unmoved and unfettered.

Hari Om!

दुविधा

अब मेरे सब्र का और इन्तेहाँ न लो
परेशानियों की ज़मीन भले ले लो उम्मीदों का आसमान न लो

मन्दिर मस्जिद पीर पंडित सभी से हार चुका हूँ मैं
अब इन्हें मेरे तुम्हारे दरमिया न लो

पैगम्बरों के बोझ तले दबी जाती है दुनिया सारी
इन्हें पालने का अब गरीबो से दाम न लो

रस्मों रिवाजों में फसी इस कायनात में
चैन पाना है नामुमकिन इसका नाम न लो

सुना है ये जाल तुम्हारी माया की कारस्तानी है
एक पागल कह रहा था कल "करुना के सागर" का नाम न लो

भूख

भूख लगी थी उसको खाना नही मिला
खाना था जिसके पास उसे वक्त नही मिला

चंद कुत्ते भी थे उसी जूठन की आस में
इंसान के पेट में जिसे ठिकाना नही मिला

कितनी ही बस्तियों में न जाने चूल्हा नही जला
खाना फेंकते वक्त तुम्हारा ईमान नही हिला

भूख की जलन को वो क्या समझे
खाली पेट सोने का जिसे अनुभव नही मिला

दो दाने को तरसते है न जाने कितने लोग
और किसी को मनपसंद खाना नही मिला!

जूठन फेंकना जब भी तो याद कर लेना
उन बदनसीबों को जिन्हें खाना नही मिला

ज़ख्म

सुना है वक्त हर ज़ख्म का मरहम होता है
कोई ये क्यों नही बताता ज़ख्म क्यों मगर होता है

सितमगर तो हर ज़ख्म मुसलसल करते जाता है
क्या बात है जो सितम मगर हमसे नही होता है

सफर आग के अंगारों पर बेपरवाह
ये कौन सिरफिरा करता फिरता है

आज ज़िक्र छिड़ा फ़िर उस रोज़ की वेह्शत का
सिलसिला हैवानियत का चला तो फ़िर कहा थमता है

क्या से क्या हो गया!

इज्ज़त बक्षी तमाम उसको
ख़ुद बेईज्ज़त हो गया

लज्जा का सबक पढ़ना चाहा
ख़ुद ही लज्जित हो गया

बात करी जब ईमान की
अपना सा मुँह लेकर रह गया

दिल पे बोझ लिए फिरता हूँ
समझ सके जो उसे ढूंढता ही रह गया

बड़ी उम्मीदे थी ख़ुद से
ता उम्र उन्हें ढोता ही रह गया

अजीब कशमकश में काटी है ज़िन्दगी
रब से यही गिला रह गया

चलते चलते थक सा गया हूँ
एक ठंडी छाव को तरसता रह गया

सोचता था मौत धो देगी गुनाह ज़िन्दगी के
मौत के मरहम से भी महरूम रह गया

क्या क्या संगे खिश्त खा कर भी
लहू के एक कतरे को तरस गया

के धो लूँ गुनाह तमाम अपने
ये आरजू लिए लिए ही निकल गया

अजीब पहेली है ज़िन्दगी भी यारब
इक शब्द के लिए ये सुखनवर भी तरस गया

कल का पाठ

कल के जो बच्चे होंगे
वो किनके जैसे होंगे ?

जब खाने में होगी मिलावट
तो कैसी सेहत पाएंगे ?

जब सोच में होगी मिलावट
तो क्या शक्सियत पाएंगे ?

दौडेंगे भागेंगे पछतायेंगे
तबीयत मसोस के रह जाएँगे

माँबाप सिखायेंगे दुनिया का चलन
एक दूसरे की खाल नोचते जाएँगे

मुँह पर कुच्छ और मन में कुच्छ और
भावनाओ से खेलना बखूबी सीख जाएँगे

हाँ कुच्छ अच्छे इंसान भी बनेंगे
मगर इंसानियत की वेह्शत कहा तक झेल पाएंगे ?

सभी कहते है सौरभ इतना बुरा क्यों बोलते हो
ख़ुद बुरा न कर पाए बस औरों को उपदेश पढायेंगे ?

जद्दोजहद

कितनी मुसीबतों को गले लगाया
फिर भी मैंने क्या पाया ?

क्यों लड़ता रहा हालत से मैं
आख़िर कौन मेरे साथ आया ?

जूझो अपने हालात से सिखाती है दुनिया
फरेब करो हर उस शक्स से जो तुम्हारे काम आया

दौड़ रहे है सभी आगे बढ़ने के वास्ते
अपाहिजों पे तरस किसी को भी न आया

क्यूकर करू मैं रहम तुम पर
बड़ी मुशकिल से ऊँट पहाड़ के नीचे आया

नाम न लो देस परदेस का मुझसे
दोनों जगह एक ही सा तमाशा पाया

किस बात का गुरूर किया करते हो
ऐसा क्या है जो तुमने ख़ुद में पाया?

माना तुम भी हालत के हो मारे
फिर वो कौन था जो कल मेरे ज़हन में आया?

हाँ उसे रहम नही आता
उसे तो मैंने अपने से ज़्यादा मजबूर पाया

नाम ले ले के जिसका लड़ते रहे लगातार
वो शक्स बेकार मेरी ज़िन्दगी में आया

बे इन्तेहाँ मोहब्बत की जिससे
उसे मैंने अपनी बाहों में दम तोड़ते पाया

पुछा खुदा से क्या इन्साफ है तेरा
जवाब में ज़माने भर का सन्नाटा पाया

ज़िन्दगी दी है जीने के वास्ते
ज़िन्दगी में फरेब के सिवा कुच्छ भी न पाया

खुदगर्ज़ ज़माना क्या सिखायेगा मुझको
चराग ले कर ढूँढा एक सच्चा इंसान न पाया

कहते है इश्वर के नियम को समझाना है नामुमकिन
क्या है क्यों है ये कोई नही समझ पाया

मुझे माफ़ कर देना चलता हूँ अब
यही समझूंगा मिटटी का क़र्ज़ नही चुका पाया

मै भी सबके जैसा हूँ

कितनी हसरतें पाले बैठा हूँ
आह! क्या मै भी सबके जैसा हूँ?

मोहब्बत है मुझे भी ख़ुद से शायद
बोझ ज़िन्दगी का तभी ढोता हूँ

जानता हूँ जबकी मौत ही है आखरी निजात
फिर क्यों नित नए सूरज तलाशता हूँ?

तुमको देखता हूँ ऐसे
जैसे मैं तुम्हारा आईना हूँ

मेरी तकलीफें क्या समझोगे तुम
बतलाऊ क्या ख़ुद सोच में पड़ जाता हूँ

खौफज़दा हूँ यादों के मंज़र से
कब से न जाने मैं मरता रहा हूँ

सुना है रहनुमा है खुदा अपने बन्दों का
बन्दा कौन, खुदा कौन, बस इसी कशमकश में हूँ

दस्तक दे रहा है आज फिर कोई दिल की गहराइयों से
चलो अन्दर कौन है चल के देखता हूँ

सदियों से बैठा रहा है जो बुत बनकर सदा
कारोबार उसी का है ये सब, क्या मैं नही जानता हूँ?

वो ही मैं है, मैं ही वो हूँ, दरमियाँ भी हैं हमीं दोनों
आलावा इसके और मैं कुच्छ नही जानता हूँ

Kaun Hai Wo Jo...

kaun hai wo jo rehta hai sada dil ki gehraiyo mein
swayam-prakashit hai jo andheron aur ujalon mein

soch ki soch hai jo khayalo ka khayal hai
swapnon ka swapn hai jo vishayon ka aadhar hai

hone bhar se jiske hota hai sabka bharan-poshan
charachar srishti hai jiska anant aangan

jab faasla usse hai tinke bhar ka bhi nahi
ojhal hai kyu phir wo, nazar aata kyu nahi?

khatam hoga silsila in saanso ka jis pal
samajh jau ye paheli mai shayad usi pal

kya kahoon?

aksar sochta hoon ki kuch kahoon
phir sochta hoon, kya kahoon?

sun sun k batein logon ki
thaga sa reh jata hai, kya kahoon?

ehsaas ke bawandaron mein aksar
bikhar ke reh jata hoon, kya kahoon?

chalo rehne do bas bahut hua
kisse kya sunoo, kisse kya kahoon?