मी.......

रंगात जीवनाच्या मिसळून वाहिले मी,
कळले मला न काही का धुंध जाहले मी

गंधात त्या फुलांच्या, स्पर्शात त्या कळ्यांच्या,
आकाश तारकांच्या संगतीत राहिले मी

ऐकून गूज गाणी, हळुवार हासले मी,
समजून शब्द सारे हरपून राहिले मी

स्मरुनी कधी तुला मी, रचिली नवी कहाणी,
विसरून भान सारे, जणू स्वप्न पाहिले मी

हस्ता कधीच रुसले, रुस्ता कधीच हसले,
ऊन पावसाचा खेळ पाहिला मी

डोळे भरून येता, मिटले हळूच डोळे,
भानावर येता कळले, आसवानी चिम्ब गेले भिजून मी.......

Soulful or tummyfull ;-)

" How good one feels when one is full - how satisfied with ourselves and with the world! People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily obtained. One feels so forgiving and generous after a substantial and well-digested meal - so noble-minded, so kindly-hearted.

It is very strange, this domination of our intellect by our digestive organs. We cannot work, we cannot think, unless our stomach wills so. It dictates to us our emotions, our passions. After eggs and bacon, it says, "Work!" After beefsteak and porter, it says, "Sleep!" After a cup of tea (two spoonsful for each cup, and don't let it stand more than three minutes), it says to the brain, "Now, rise, and show your strength. Be eloquent, and deep, and tender; see, with a clear eye, into Nature and into life; spread your white wings of quivering thought, and soar, a god-like spirit, over the whirling world beneath you, up through long lanes of flaming stars to the gates of eternity!"

After hot muffins, it says, "Be dull and soulless, like a beast of the field - a brainless animal, with listless eye, unlit by any ray of fancy, or of hope, or fear, or love, or life." And after brandy, taken in sufficient quantity, it says, "Now, come, fool, grin and tumble, that your fellow-men may laugh - drivel in folly, and splutter in senseless sounds, and show what a helpless ninny is poor man whose wit and will are drowned, like kittens, side by side, in half an inch of alcohol."
We are but the veriest, sorriest slaves of our stomach. Reach not after morality and righteousness, my friends; watch vigilantly your stomach, and diet it with care and judgment. Then virtue and contentment will come and reign within your heart, unsought by any effort of your own; and you will be a good citizen, a loving husband, and a tender father - a noble, pious man. "

-Three men in a boat (Jerome K Jerome)

A writer's block !

For the last one month, there have been no posts. I have been experiencing what people term as a writer's block. Not exactly, that is. There have been thoughts zooming in and out of my head, yes they have. But then the only thing that has prevented them from being presented here, has been my utter laziness in giving them any form whatsoever. And now that a whole month has gone by without any constructive thinking for that matter, it has been decided (by me and only me, under no pressure from the world, that is) to resume my writing and put an end to the chaos within me, that seems to have found existence in the absence of a channeled outlet. So watch out world, here i come again !

Oblivion

as morning comes and the day begins,
i feel a certain emptiness
the moments pass, the hours unfold,
my heart, it feels a heaviness

the voices all around me fade,
drown me in my solitude,
the faces stare me in my eyes,
my gaze, it wanders past them too

my brain, it thinks, my hand, it works,
my feet, they walk, my eyes, they see,
oblivious to everything,
the chores get done, the day is gone

the night, it seeps in like a thief,
engulfs me in its deepest voids,
i hold its hands and like a child,
i close my eyes and fall away.....

Just another day...

A post after a long time..havent written for quite some time now..so thought i'd give my brain cells some fodder to chew upon. So whats on my mind today? Well lots of things or maybe not. Its some kind of a garbled expression that forms up when i try to put things in perspective or analyse them. So let me not bother myself (or anybody for that matter) about setting things right ! Will leave that for eternity ( herez where i snigger !!)

अयुश्याचा दिवा......

एका चोठ्याश्या गवत नदी पलिकडे एक जुने मंदिर. गावातल्या एका मुलीचा रोजनियम कि संध्याकाळी पेटविलेला दिवा हातात घेऊन नदिपार करून तो मंदिरात ठेवणे। माहिती नाही आयुश्याची किती वर्षे प्राणा पलीकडे जप्लेला। एक विचित्र संध्याकाळ। दुपारी पासूनच ढ़ग दाटून आलेले। जोराचा वारा सुटलेला। झाडाचे पान फान्दीवर थाम्बेल तर शपथ। विजांचा नाच चाल्लेला। नदिने तर समुद्राचे रौद्र रुप धारण केलेले। एकुणच सारे काही सैरभीर। बिचारी मुलगी गोंधळून जाते । पण पेटविलेला दिवा नदिपार मंदिरापर्यंत कसा घेऊन जायचा? मध्येच दिवा शांत झाला तर प्राणच संपले सारे। याच एका जिद्दीने प्रयत्नांची पराकाष्ठा करत मुलगी नदी पार करायला सुरुवात करते। निसर्गाला अजुनच चेव चढ़तो। नादीत्ल्या लाटांचे तुषार दिव्याच्या ज्योतीशी स्पर्धा करायला लागतात। बेफान वारा झाक्लेल्या हाताच्या पोकळीतून आत शिराय्ला बघ्तो। सगळेच शत्रू बनून समोर ठक्तात। पण जिद्द मात्र मोठी। मदिरात दिवा ठेव्ण्याची। शेवटी उम्बर्ठा ओलांडून आत येते। "जिंकलो एक्दाचे। किती अडचणी पार करून 'मी' हां दिवा इथ्वर आणला। चला माझ्या कर्तुत्वाचा आनंद व्यक्त करुयात"। एक इव्लासा सुस्कारा.........................................दिवा शान्त होतो !
एक, फक्त एक मोहाचा क्षण आणि सर्व काही सम्पून जाते। त्या मोहाच्या क्षणावर विजय मिळ्वून जर आपण पुढे गेलो तर ह्याही पेक्षा सुन्दर , आश्वासित आणि अमर्याद आयुष्य आपण उपभोगु शकतो। आवश्यकता आहे ती त्या मोहाच्या क्षणाला बळी ना पडण्याची।

अन्यथा शिल्लक राहील फक्त भोगणे
---Courtesy : A Long Lost Friend

A blooming bunch!

A Gulmohar bloom..

A bunch of Gulmohar in full bloom...Captured on the way to Mumbai from Shirdi...

Music...

music fills my heart with love,
     as i hear my favourite song
the words take me to a different world,
     to a place where i belong

one moment i am flying high,
     like a bird, i soar the sky
next moment i just drift along,
     afloat the ocean's rythmic stride

the gentle wind brushes my cheek,
     a drop of tear then fills my eye
i watch the world through the hazy mist,
     hum to the tune of a melodious bliss

with gentle swaying steps so light,
     i tread the path in solitude
my soul now drenched with peace and calm,
     is brimming full of gratitude

the closing words, the parting tune,
     bring me back from my reverie
my heart profuse with melody,
     sings the words then back to me !

Twilight

The fading day embraces the oncoming night with a subdued eagerness. The sun has begun its gradual descent across the horizon. The faint sunlight struggles to seep in through the engulfing darkness. Once in a while, a gentle breeze breaks the monotony of the otherwise creeping silence. The trees cast their dark shadows on the tranquil waters. The occasional whiff of breeze causes the leaves to flutter and stirs the still waters creating ripples which take a new form before they merge with the stillness once again. The dim light from the street lights seem to brighten up the waters with their reflection.

She sits at the bank soaking in the solitude, hoping to drown the clammer of thoughts in her head with the surrounding silence. At a distance, she spots an elderly couple engrossed in deep conversation. The sound of an occasional soft laughter coming from their direction fills the air. Her fingers aridly trace a pattern on the sand. She is completely unaware of the depiction that is forming. She stares disconnectedly at it, as if the fingers creating them were not her own. A shrill calling of a bird awakens her from her dreariness and she struggles to comprehend the outline on the sand. Unable to fathom her own thoughts, she erases the pattern with a quick effort. All that is visible across the horizon now, is a crimson hue of the faded day. There are not many people on the bank. The elderly couple has left. Caught between conflicting possibilities of staying a little longer and a quick retreat home, she wonders what she ought to do. There is not much to do at home. To linger a few moments more would not do much harm. Having quietened her inner conflict momentarily, she decides to take a walk across the bank to soar her dampened spirits. Her agile steps which sink into the sand displacing it, the feel of the coarse sand against her soft feet, seem to dissolve her agonies with every step. She can feel a lightness filling her heart. Her footprints on sand now weigh with the heaviness once borne by her heart. These too will fade away soon. Just like her dispensed gloom, the footprints will be washed away in time. Tomorrow's twilight will probably have a different tale, a different pattern and new footprints...

If.....

what is it that makes me laugh,
     what is it that makes me cry
what is it that makes me live,
     through the days and nights alike?

if today was my only day,
     what would i really care to do?
go on living as yesterday or
     would i squander it all on you?

would i stop to smell the flowers,
     would i stop to feel the rain?
or would i dread the time thats passing
     and fear this will be never again?

if i were to speak my mind,
     what is it that i would say?
would i speak of this and that,
     or would i pour my heart away?

if i knew what makes me happy,
     fills my heart with laughter and play,
would i care to sing and frolic,
     and do just as my heart would say?

if i knew there was an angel,
     watching over me all the way,
would i care to share my fears,
     the ones that bring me down to tears?

if there really were no such questions,
     how different would my life be then?
if i really knew the answers,
     would i live differently then?

this again is just a question,
     that flutters through my wandrous mind,
never mind the questions or the answers,
     could i just start afresh again?