Another Mortal Life

Baat mere sawaal ki hai, ya,
Baat tere agar magar ki hai..

Kuchh mere dhadkte dil ki hai,
Kuchh teri jhuki nazar ki hai..

Mehsoos ki hai jo maine, keh de,
Toone bhi agar ki hai..

Baat teri meri na hokar
Kyun bas jamaane bhar ki hai..

Guzar to jaayegi yoon bhi
Baat to rehguzar ki hai..


...

Baat to asar ki thi
-Kuchh to asar ki hai..

Ik waqt tha, jab baatein bahut thii karne ko,
Par baaton ke liye hamaare paas waqt na tha..
Mohabbat, arsa intezaar me rahi, bayaan hone ko,
arsa-dar-arsa, magar, uska wuzood hi na raha.

Mit chuki hai zehan se ab, yah,
ik arsa ho chala,
Is qadar bin-aawaaz toota ye rishta
pata bhi na chala.

Zindagi ke jhamelo mein
yoon zindagi chali gayi,
Sab kuchh to hai paas hamaare
khud ka par pata nahii.

Aaj waqt bahut hai paas magar
kahne ko kuchh paas nahii,
Chalte to hain saath aaj
hain magar hum saath nahii.

Bahut unchi ho chali hain diwaarein hamaare beech,
Par zindagi to, zaroor, aage badhti jaani hai.
to aaj se, priye, aur aage se,
tere mere sukh dukh ki ab alag alag kahani hai.

Chalo chhod dein khud ko zindagi ke bahaav par
le jaati hai kahaan ye humein dekhein zara
Aur haan,
apna khyal rakhna zara.


--- An unauthorized translation attempt. Hope the poet, who happens to be still alive, doesn't sue me...

Hamaare ik diljale dost ne farmaaya kal raat...
ke 'un mohtarma' se anban ke baad...
bade azeeb-o-gareeb janaab ke haalat ho gaye hain--

-"Aur kya kahein, maan lijiye Taare nazar aa gaye hain..."

Ham kahne lage- Janaab, Haalaat zaraa bhi azeeb-o-gareeb nahii...
sab kuchh to ho rahaa hai is duniya ke chalan ke anuroop hi...
ke hamko ummeed na thi ki panchve darje mein padhi baat aap bhool jaayenge--

-"Jin raaton mein 'chaand' gaayab hoga, taare to nazar aayenge hi aayenge!!"

:P

Mere zehan mein
Aksar
ek bachcha aur ek vayask
der tak lada karte hain..

Aur, aisi ladaaiyon ke dauraan,
mere zehan-o-dil ko zakhmi hota dekh,
Vayask,
jo apne aap ko mera hitaishi samajhta hai,
(aur sach hi to samjhta hai),
garazne lagtaa hai
Bachche ki saalon-saal badhti manmaaniyon par.

Aur, karta hai udghoshnaa
-soojhaata hai nit taaze zakhmo se bachne ka upaay-
-sunaata hai nirnay-
"antar mein bachpan ke liye ab jagah nahii"

Aur, har baar,
sochne lagta hoon main,
ke, haan,
zehan-o-dil ke in zakhmon ka kaaran
ye bachpana
ye naadaaniyaan
ye manmaaniyan hi to hain.

Un chhano me, lekin,
ik aawaaz,
antarantar se aati hai

ke, jaao,
tijori mein rakho apna dil..

kal ka taaboot tumne aaj hi khareed liya.

Found this in a draft of 16/03/09.
..............................................




"Hey Parth,.."

"Hello! But, Parth? I'm not Parth!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Churchill."

"It's okay, God. Happens to everyone. What do You come here for? Here, in Bombay, this nuisance of a place?"

"The world will be at war, Churchill, in the coming century. At a big war. Such a war as this the world has never seen."

"O Lord, does Your Design has me playing the one who would stop it?"

"No, Churchill, no! You'll lead one of the sides."

"But, Lord, I don't like war!"

"It's been such a chill life for you, Churchill. Now it will churn! It doesn't matter whether you like it or not. You are merely a player in the vast scheme of things."

"With due respect, O Almighty, I'm not merely a player! I have lead my Polo team to 5 consecutive wins. I'm good at it!"

"A joke is a serious thing, Churchil. Remember."

"*With his eyes down* What will I be doing in the war, sir?"

"You will be fighting to uphold the good things in the world: Good things are simple.. and most of them can be expressed in one word- Freedom, Justice, Honour, duty, hope."

"I like the idea, Sir. Can I quote it to the world as my own? *Eyes down, expecting another warning*"

"Oh you can. I am the only originator of every idea in every world. It is with my inspiration that poets write, it is with my inspiration that birds fly. You, like everyone else, are merely a medium."

"Yes, Sir."

"So Churchill, prepare! Prepare for the holy war!"

Churchill first thought of asking why the Lord was referring to the war as holy, but then ate his words. (That very moment he got an idea - an idea he would tell the world with much pride - that eating words never gave him indigestion.)

"Yes sir. Sir, when will the holy war be?"

"There is time."

{That was the first of the many conversations between the two. First of the many tapes my friend Ved received.}

[The words Churchill ate were not available in the tape. God himself told Ved about what transpired in Churchill's mind.]