इन्तजार 

हम सोये कहाँ
बस खोये हैं
रात-रात भर
जाग कर
जब भोर में सोये हैं
तो अपना आपा
आपके इन्तजार में
खोये हैं

क्या विस्मृत करूँ
उन स्मृतियों को
जब खुद को आप में
खो कर
सार्थकता में निरर्थकता को
खोये हैं
और पुनर्मिलन की
आस को संजोये हैं .

Life's Canvas

 

                                                      A Veil Of Smile

                                                  I put on a veil of smile

                                                   To bury my anguishes.

                                                  I feigned a brave heart

                                                  To conceal my weaknesses.

                                                  I had summer dreams

                                                  To be free from the nightmares.

                                                  I embraced my solitude

                                                 To shut off the heartless masses.

                                                 But, I splashed in color
                                                To liven up the life's canvas.

To me, getting car-servicing done is an opportunity in disguise, not an ordeal. This Sunday, I packed my water colour box, sketching pencils, a bottle of water, Sunday Times and The Telegraph and reached the Hyundai Servicing Center by 10 in the morning. The center has now shifted to Digha near Bata Factory. This one is far more spacious than the previous one. It was  advantageous for me not having a TV set in the customers' lounge. Knowing that it would take not less than 2-3 hours, got settled in the sofa, went through all the news and then after water coloured the outside view. By the  time the car was serviced, my water colour was almost done.

                                                    

कटी पतंग 

जीवन तो यूँ ही कट जायेगा,
जैसे हर सुबह की ढलती शाम.
पर संध्या की गहराती तन्हाई में
मन क्यूँ कटी पतंग सा था जा भटका?

....... आओगी का दे स्नेह निमंत्रण,
छेड़ दिया था ह्रदय में इक विकल स्पंदन.
है प्रेम पर था तुम्हारे तो पूर्ण विश्वास
पर नहीं आया विधाता को ये रास,

क्यों  विगत हो गए स्वर्णिम से वो दिन?
क्यों रुपहली रातें गयी मुझसे छिन?
तब मेरे ही स्वप्न मुझको मुझसे गए छल
प्रस्तर प्रतिमा बन कहाँ ढूढूँ इन प्रश्नों के हल ?

A Maze of Lines

Had been to Indirapuram (Gaziabad) to meet my mother-in-law...It was so overwhelming to see her after a gap of one year. Though she has deteriorated....with so many lines on her face, sagging skin...feet swollen from long duration of sitting hours...yet retorting to my Father-in-law's taunts (on her resigned posture) in her same old strong voice...babysitting for my nieces....sometimes nagging at them on their carelessness and negligence but most of the times doting and loving them. The little wonders are her elixir now....sedative and painkiller.... .masseur and nurse. May they be the antidotes for her soul-crushing anguish....!!!

"Lines....lines....a maze of lines....!
As like destiny and age together aligned
To etch out on one's face some unreadable signs
To make one pine for no sin but let grieve to be fined
Yet the spark of love stays and outshines these freaky lines..."

The Real Picture of these Mushrooming High Rises

I don't know why sometimes I am filled with that vague sense of void and uneasiness esp. on weekends. It being second Saturday, had prepared a to-do-list but except one errand rest fell prey to that unseen mystical force (the mischievous Ariel of Midsummer's Night Dream). So, took out my sketch book to sketch the workers busy in cooking before starting their day. 

A Pair of Tumblers

                                             

A pair of unbreakable melamine tumblers
Had I bought once with love,
For my friend and me-
To share the morning tea together.
One orange and the other one yellow
Both looked so good and mellow.

One day, the yellow one chinked at the bottom
The cracks sprawled like parched openings
Out run the tea through those cracks
And, alas out run our affinity, too.
I, with broken heart cleaned the mess
But the spots and indelible stains remained.

Last week, while decluttering the kitchen
I found it tucked neatly in corner of a drawer
Reminding me of its unbreakable fragility.
A lump, a bump and then a drop of tear
Were all left with the chinks, as if,
Tagged with- "Fragile- Handle with care".

The yellow one is still there
Sitting on the kitchen shelf now
And the chinks telling of its 'Frail Tale'
It was a song sung off key, off limits
So, the affinity took an off road
No reverse gear could ever revive it.

And now, the rigor mortis has set in too.

A Sketch Break

The increased working hours from 6hrs.10mins to 7hrs,30mins leave us exhausted with nothing else to do in that over crowded staff-room with both the shifts sitting together and shouting off their knowledge and experience......and as such,arrives this handy stress booster- 'sketching a few faces at work.'