From Unpublished Novel!

It was a soft pain, a pain that lingers through the several thousand miles that separated them now. A pain that lived across the distance, that survived the vagaries of time. He kept it cuddled close to him, like a soft toy hugged it through the endless , lonely nights. That was a part of him that none of his new friends knew. They treated him as someone who could enjoy life to the fullest, except that he had no girlfriend, and he never showed the inclination to have any!

He walked through the streets at night. The empty streets consoled him, understood him. The rustle of fallen leaves created the melodies that could soothe him. He must forget the past, he knew that, and yet past followed him like a shadow. It accompanied in every bright moment of his life. He was so used to thinking about her, that his momentary lapses into joy made him feel guilty, so much so, that these mistakenly enjoyed moments of joy were compensated by an elaborate ceremony of sadness.

Things changed when this sparkling stream of laughter splashed his face with her radiance. Her wit bewitched him, released him and eventually restrained him. The stream was a welcome breeze of promise of the future. A future that by being so, was going to grab him from the clasp of past and release him into promise of hope and possibility.

Faded Sarees!

Intro: Return of experimental poetry. Different colors, different people. Wrote most of these while attending a lecture on Quantum Mechanics, and you will see how deeply the subject affects me!

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Faded Green Saree

She is a faded green saree now
Washed out by the torrents she left
In her wake, as she walked away
As she walked away through the
Muddy fields of my heart sown with
Seeds of my silent passion for her!

She is a faded green saree now
In patches she smells of past
The stains have rubbed her of
A glory I happily conjured for her
Her glow, her sheen is faintly visible
Ah! Still visible in my memories of past!!

*************

Faded Red Saree

She is a faded red saree now
Consumed by the pest of past memories
She exists in the odour of moth balls
Her life is a listless wait in the dark
As newer hues have rendered her colourless
To those very eyes that once admired her!

She is a faded red saree now
Stranded in the nooks of neglect
She reeks of the mildew of sorrow
That fill her pores, for there isn't
A gush of wind to naughtily disturb
Her noted knack for a sauve silence!

**********

Faded yellow saree

She is a faded yellow saree now
Stripped off in the savagery of moments
Moments of hatred and rage and duncanry
That swept the streets in the name of Gods
And tore apart the fabric, exposing
The hidden fears, the blackness of soul!

She is a faded yellow saree now
Dishonoured rode of a dismal time
Carrying the blotches of blood and fury
And silted with tears and ugliness
The soft tissues devored by beastliness
Lying in pieces the victim of crime!

**************
Faded blue saree

She is a faded blue saree now
Crumpled and wrinkled, soft and supple
A gossamer separating living and etheral
She smells of years of loving sweat
That cradled and carried newborns
To lose her youth in the nights of labor!

She is a faded blue saree now
Still smells of Dettol and baby oil
That rubbed and scrubbed and earned
Her distinction of being the foster ma
The foster ma of a generation of joys, but now
Waiting for nirvana, for a recycled rebirth!

*********
Faded pink saree

She is a faded pink saree now
Ah! She was the rose petal that
Fluttered in the thousand sighs
And bathed in the dew of delights
Shimmered in the morning of her prime
Now lies withered at dusk of existence!

She is a faded pink saree now
Was once perfumed of pheromones
And settled in the mind of every eye
Was once a lotus in blossom
Glorious in youth, in splendor
Now lies wilted, withered, forgotten!

**********

(The classes thankfully last for a finite time)!

Pink Flyod in Hindi: Wish you were here!

Wish You Were Here Lyrics

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.


Translation:

Achcha tumhein lagta hai tum bata sakte ho
swarg ko narak se?
neela aakaash ko dard se?
kya tum bata sakte ho harey khet ko thandi salakhon se?
ek muskaan ko ghoonghat ki oat se?

kya tumhein lagta hai tum bata sakte ho?
Ya unhohne tumhein bech diye hai
tumhare yodhaon ke badale pret?
garam dhool, vrishakon ke badale?
garam hawa, thandey jhokon ke badale?
susth aaraam, parivaratan ki jagah?
aur kya tumne yudh mein chalnay ke badale le li hai pinjarey ki baadshahat?

Oh! tum yahan hotay, haan kitna chahataa hun ki tum yahan hotay!
Hum matr(a) doe bhatakti aataamein hai,
tair-ti aai hai machchali ki maratbaan mein
saal dal saaal
ussi puraani zameen par daudti firti
aur humne kyaa paaya hai
wahi puraaney khauff
kaash tum yahan hotay!

Mann re (Lost in translation)!

One of my perennial favorites:
Lyrics by Sahir... Movie Chitralekha

followed by a lousy translation (done by me)!


Man Re Tuu Kaahe Naa Dhiir Dhare
Vo Nirmohii Moh Naa Jaane, Jinakaa Moh Kare
Man Re ...

Is Jiivan Kii Cha.Dhatii Dhalatii
Dhuup Ko Kisane Baa.Ndhaa
Ra.Ng Pe Kisane Pahare Daale
Rup Ko Kisane Baa.Ndhaa
Kaahe Ye Jatan Kare
Man Re ...

Utanaa Hii Upakaar Samajh Koi
Jitanaa Saath Nibhaa De
Janama Maran Kaa Mel Hai Sapanaa
Ye Sapanaa Bisaraa De
Koi Na Sa.Ng Mare
Man Re ...

****

O mind! Why aren't you patient
They heartless know no love, who you love so
Oh mind!....

This life's rising ebbing
Sunshine who could rein in
Who placed bars on hues
Beauty who could rein in
Why you endevour so
Oh mind....

Be gratified of as much as
Someone stands by thee
Union unto life and death's a dream
Set this dream free
No one dies with you
Oh mind!....

Soft Suds of Joy!

There were soft suds of joy about me
Bubbles that shimmered with the twinkle of
Your laughter that danced all around me
In the rainbow colors of dreams they showed me
You dazzled in the fiery passion of my eyes
Into realms of tranquility my desired towed me!

There were soft suds of joy about me
Bubbles that burst with the whispers of
Your silence that pinched all around me
In the transient moments of life they showed me
Beauty lies in instants, joy forms and fades
Into trance of oneness my desired followed me!

Vivek Sharma
Aug 31, 2005