साक्षात्कार : The Interview

0 April 2020

Photo by Daniel Lonn on Unsplash

साक्षात्कार	The Interview
अजीब सा आलम है दिल में न जाने क्या क्या छुपा है	A strange mood engulfs Unknown, unacknowledged emotions Tucked away in the corners That my own heart shuns
कहना चाहता है दिल दस्तक दे रहा है कई दिनों से पर सुनने की फुर्सत कहाँ	Yet it hopes to express Knocking for days at my door-step It's so easy to repress Who has the time to listen
या फिर एक खौफ सा है… न जाने क्या क्या कहने लगे? कितने सवाल कर बैठे?	…or is it simply my fear? What might it say, and what will I hear? Questions I may want To just steer clear?
पर अब इस दिल ने ही अपने दिल को मजबूर कर दिया थाम लिया यहीं कि बैठो कुछ देर मेरे पास उठने दो सारे एहसास	But now this heart itself has forced My heart to re-familiarize Held me in its arms, saying with a smile -  Come! Sit with me for a while And allow all emotions to arise
भर जाने दो इन अँखियों को आज गर उफन उफन के निकले ये गुबार कहने दो सब, बहने दो इन्हें हर बार	Let these eyes get filled up today Let the roiling storms boil over this way Let them speak what they must Let them flow my dear, let them just…
शायद दर्द की कोई सीमा ही न हो...   क्या उसी में समाए हुए हैं सारे गीत? क्यों वहीं नज़र आते हैं  ये कविता-संगीत? क्या दर्द की शह में ही होती है  इस दिल से मुलाकात?	Perhaps there's no limit to sorrow… Is that where these songs dwell? Is it the only destination For poetry and music to cast their spell? Can I meet my heart only  In the face of pain?
क्या ये ज़रूरी है मगर? क्या ख़ुशी के गीत वर्जित हैं मुझे?! या फिर इसी उतार-चढ़ाव में बंध जाने पर सच्चाईयों का सामना होता है? क्या मोह में पड़ कर ही  माया का जाल समझ में आता है?	Is this necessary though? How can it be so? Are songs of joy simply forbidden? Or facing Truth always bound in fluctuation? Is this the only clue to illusion - A web of endless attachments?
अब भी उथल-पुथल सी मची है ज़हन में अजनबीपन सा है खुद से ही नैन मिलाने में न जाने फिर  नयी हिचकिचाहट क्यों है?	The turmoil persists The stranger within insists Yet Meeting my own eyes Stops me in my tracks A new hesitation desists
सवालों के इन बहाव में बेबसी के तनाव में छुपे कई अहम चुनाव हैं!	In the endless flow of questions Under the stress of helplessness Lie several crucial considerations!
इस पल का खिंचाव है  इस तन का रिझाव है इस मन का बर्ताव है इस रूह का प्रस्ताव है	The magnetism of this moment The body's persuasive element The mind's untamed behavior The spirit's proposition the savior
प्रश्न सिर्फ पड़ाव हैं न है प्रेम का आभाव न ही किसी और का दबाव अंतर-मन की व्यक्ति में अंत-हीन प्रभाव है इस अनोखे अनुभव में ही इस साक्षात्कार के उत्सव से ही पूर्णतः हर्षोल्लास संभव है	The questions, a pit-stop To simply reassure That there's neither the lack of love Nor any external pressure In connecting with the inner-self In unfettered self-expression Lies endless transformation This interview, this celebration Makes possible my unbridled exultation

 - 10 April 2020

Companion... हमसफ़र

Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash

 

 

हमसफ़र और कोई नहीं साथ अपने हूँ खुद मैं ही हर सफर है मेरा ही नक़्शे-कदम यूँ ही चुन लूँ	Companionship overrated My own company underrated Each journey sacred is mine alone Choose each step with intention
हमकदम दूसरा नहीं अलहदा भी तो कोई नहीं हर कदम है पसंद मेरी खुद ही आप से मिलूँ	In-step with no other I see An all-encompassing eternity Each stride of my own volition Merging within without condition
हमनशीं हर कोई यहीं इस पल का नशा ही है सही है मेरे लिए हर ये खुशी उसे क्यों ना नज़र उतार लूँ	Each co-traveler, a soul beloved Each moment, itself bewitched Each joy, one I cherish Each embraced, in wholehearted satisfaction
-Nov 23, 2017	-Jan 18, 2019

Of fluorescent greens and magical scenes

  

Stately 

Mutely

Subtly

Totally

Lining

A warm welcome 

Holy

Inviting

Shimmering 

Glittering 

Murmuring 

Whispering

Sweet nothings 

From an ancient past

Gurgling 

Laughing

Dancing

Skipping

Meandering, yet

In full flow

Picking it's own unique path

Flapping 

Chirping 

Rustling

Crunching

Each step leading 

Playing its part

Each sound speaks

The language 

Of the heart

Leaves of Fluorescent green

An azure sheen

On waters pristine

Such magical scenes

Making one keen

To closely seek

That kaleidoscope within

Felt somewhat...

Yet not fully seen!

- September 6, 2017

From explorations of The Cascade Loop, WA

Evaporation...

 

Picture courtesy: indulgy.com

I resist

I order it 

To cease and desist

Yet...

It chooses to persist 

A sharp jab

Knifing through

Piercing 

Twisting

Writhing

Within this hollow shell

My abode

This palace of cards

Agonizing shards

This pent-up hell

At some point I thought

It would surely halt

But it grew with an aching onslaught

Suffering mode on default

Until I decided 

To be true and begin

To explore why it resided

So deep within

A dull ache persistent

A heavy heart insistent

I search and examine

Is there deep rooted anger

Underneath this pain?

Angst like a dagger

I'm choosing to retain?

So much to explain 

So much to gain

Some demons to slain 

Oh heart! 

Thee to train 

That it is okay

To display

To bare and to share

To wake mySelf aware

To find my own way

To let the eyes brim

Over, to wash

Away hurts I want to stash

Allow the aching to dim

To let go, surrender 

In the arms of my seraphim

Sometimes there's 

Solace in solitude 

Though often I find

When I'm willing to be kind

Enough to myself

To embrace Love

Freely offered 

To dissolve this outer shell

To let my nakedness spell

Out my vulnerabilities

My heart does remind

All is wholly aligned

Through this Holy Immersion

I reach the inevitable inversion 

To equanimity 

To the eventual 

Evaporation

Of Emotion

- 4/23/17

A Reminder...

A Reminder... Pause!

When you're always in a hurry

If your heart is filled with worry

When the lines get blurry

If you witness some flashes of fury

Pause.

Pause my dear

Stop!

And rest, right here

When the world around seems dreary

Shoulders stooped and weary

The eyes perhaps bleary

Or even maybe teary

Pause.

Pause my dear

Rest right here

In that lap Divine

Sip

Of a sweet, fresh breath

Savoring each bit

Filling yourSelf

To the brim

Drink

Of that infinite fountain

That is YOU

Dance

To the tune

That only you can hear

Whirl and twirl

Soak in

That depth of Silence

Drown in

The ecstasy

The elixir

Find yourSelf

Find your Bliss

Deep within

 - 9/30/16

अनन्त, अनन्य | Infinite, Inimitable...

कुछ अधूरे पन्ने थे यही अक्षर बन रही थी स्याही कुछ अध् लिखे से बोल थे कुछ अध् बुने से ख्याल ना गलत ना सही	A few incomplete pages Ink forming letters in different stages Some unfinished lyrics perhaps A few unspoken thoughts with gaps Neither right nor wrong Who knew where they really belong
वे सफ़े बह  चुके हैं  आज ख़्वाहिशों के महल  ढह चुके हैं  आज	Those pages have evaporated today The palace of desires  Has crumbled like clay
ना कल से था ना कल से होगा अब कोई लगाव	Yesterday melted away Tomorrow’s sway has no say Attachment at bay
कोरे से कागज़ का ये पड़ाव इसी पल के रस का ऐसा खिंचाव	This blank canvas is a perfect pit-stop Making this very moment pop
अनन्त अनन्य आनन्द का ऐसा भाव शून्यता का प्रभाव कृतज्ञ अश्रुओं का  बहाव	Infinite Inimitable Joyous Bliss This hollow emptiness Gratitude that flows Just as it arises

- July 31, 2016