वादा:A Promise

इक कली का वादा है मुझको -	I have a promise From a bud -
मिलूँगी तुमसे जब भी ढूँढोगे	I shall meet you Each time you yearn for me
किसी न किसी रूप में पा लोगे मुझको अभी अलक समाये हैं हरी पत्तियों की बाहों में	In one form or another You will find me Even though at present I'm tightly curled in the arms Of the leaves that bind me
कल निहारो तो पंखुड़ियाँ नज़र आ सकती हैं शायद  मिलो परसों भी मुझे अगर प्रेम से सहला पाओगे	Tomorrow perhaps you may see Another delicate petal Maybe you can caress it If you visit the next day as well
खिल उठूँगी मैं चूम लूँगी उन किरणों को प्रेमालिंगन में बाँध लूँगी मैं उन चंद मधुर क्षणों को	In my blossoming I will kiss those rays Those few sweet moments In loving embrace
हो सकता है सुगंध मेरी तुम्हें खींच लाए  फिर चाहो तो बटोर लेना मुझे बना लेना मुझे होली का अबीर	It is possible my fragrance Might draw you closer If you wish you may gather Use me in Holi's colorful abeer
या समा लेना मेरी महक इत्र की पनाहों में बसा सकते हो अज़ीज़ किताब के पन्नों  में भेंट चढ़ा सकते हो गुलदान या किसी माला में अर्पण कर सकते हो मुझे पूजार्चना की थाली में	Or distill me into sweet perfumes Tuck me away in the folds of a book that's dear Present me in a bouquet with a few other blooms Or offer me on a platter to that all knowing Seer
चाहो तो होने देना मेरी मुलाकात और कई यार-दोस्तों से भी चख सको फिर शायद मुझे शहद के लज़ीज़ स्वाद में कभी या फल के आनन्द में ही	If you like Allow me to greet Other beloveds in shared destiny Perhaps you may then meet Me in the taste of some honey Perchance fruit as a sweet treat
हो सकता है ये सब कुछ न हो बस इसी पल का हमारा ये साथ हो	It is possible though None of this may come to pass This present moment We may never surpass
किसी रूप में मिल पाऊँ या पाँच तत्वों में विलीन हो जाऊँ	Whether I greet you again in form Or merge within the five elements
पर वादा है प्रियतम  हमेशा मिलूँगी तुमसे जब भी मुझे ढूँढोगे	I promise you my dearest We shall meet Anytime you yearn for me
May 24, 2020	July 4, 2020

मिलन : Union

Sunset at Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle

पनियाला सा सूरज फिराक में है कई देर से कि पानी से जा मिले बीच में मगर पहाड़ों की दीवार आ गयी है	A watery sun has been Looking for a chance Yearning to meet the water itself Prevented it is By a mountainous wall
पूनम का चाँद है दूसरी ओर तक रहा है घड़ी के कांटे वह भी   छुप रहा है बादलों के पीछे कि अभी वक़्त है बाकी दर्पण से मिलने में	The full moon on the other side also Stares down the clock Hides behind the clouds Counting down moments Until it can meet the glistening mirror

- May 9, 2020

Hiding in the stone

I've heard it said
That figures lie
Hiding in the stone,
For the sculptor to set free

I've often wondered
At this mystery...
How does the sculptor
Know the real story?

I've been fortunate to
Have met many Masters
Adept at their art and
In their own way, unique sculptors

I've felt their glance
Pierce through my soul
Purging everything within
That didn't make me whole

I've experienced
Their words, their music, their art
Set me free, liberate me
To follow my own dear heart

I've let the sands of time
Chisel away
At everything within
That didn't need to stay

I've set upon my path
Seen how my journey
Becomes my destination
When I am present, it's uncanny

I've learned the art
Of looking within
Of trusting life even if
My patience runs thin

I've witnessed how my thoughts
Create my reality
How everything is me
No possibility of duality

Now,
I've given up figuring out
That which is limitless
Un-knowable, inexpressible
Unbounded, formless

I've seen how there's no doing
There can be only being
Loving, Living Life
Laughing, Celebrating

That the seer, the sight, the scenery
They're all really one
I am the sculptor, I am the chisel,
I am the stone

- December 18, 2011
(This was first published in the book 'You are Michelangelo and You are David' by Shahana Dattagupta)

Picture Courtesy: Akshardham Temple, Gujarat

एक खोज:The Quest

Photo by Ilkka Kärkkäinen on Unsplash

कुछ समय पहले तक खालीपन से लगता था डर	Scarcely understood My palpable fear Of loneliness under the hood
अकेलेपन से मन कतराता तन्हाइयों से दिल घबराता	Isolation would make the mind freak Loneliness could make my heart break
भर दिया उस समय को न जाने कितने लम्हों से भिनभिनाते, मंडराते शोर मचाते खयालों से भागते फिरते थे उन दिनों अनगिनत सवालातों से	I filled this time With countless meaningless moments Buzzing, hovering Noisy, nauseating thoughts I resorted to running away Escaping from endless questions at all costs
वो बेहिसाब प्रश्न जाना चाहते थे गहराइयों में	Explorations too loud Pointing to something deeper I seldom ever allowed
साहस बटोर के डुबकी जब लगाई अकस्मात छलक पड़े कई रंग फूट पड़ा उल्लास	Courage showed up Unexpectedly one day I dove right in Colors splashed about Adorning a joyous, gleeful grin
उन कोरे कागज़ों पर रंग भरते भरते हुआ एहसास	Filling up the empty pages With these myriad colors I realized my missteps and my errors
होती है हर सुबह नित नयी शुरुआत!	That each morning can bring A brand new beginning!
जिज्ञासा सहित परिक्षण है आनंद की परिभाषा हर्षित ध्यान हर क्षण प्रेम की प्रथम भाषा	That curious, joyful examination Can be an adventurous loving meditation
सवाल अब भी हैं अनगिनत पर अब ये हिसाब नहीं मांगते	The endless questions still abound Though they no longer seek an account
आप की गहराइयों की बाहों में प्रश्नों को हैं समेट लेते	In the arms of the Beloved An inquiry takes a new birth
डूब जाते हैं अपनी ही शून्यता में जब खालीपन का अनोखा रस चख लेते हैं जब शून्यता की पूर्णता में सा की साधना में रम से जाते हैं अब -May 8 2017	When I submerge  Into this still vastness Into tasting the nectar of emptiness In the very fullness of this hollowness In merely the practice of this 'Sa' note as a meditation I dissolve in the Self, immersed in the infinite ocean -May 8 2020

Slice of life

A half-eaten apple

A bite from a slice of toast

In the ripple

Of a life on this west coast

Tousled sheets on an unmade bed

Pillow indented where lay the head

Laundry-mid stream… clothes hanging out together

Waiting their turn to greet the washer-dryer

Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash

A laptop tangled amid a collection of wire

Spreadsheets beckoning hither

Phone asleep on the charger

A notebook open, pens and papers

Ready to greet a few new capers

A sketchbook perched this way

Charcoal pencil holding sway

Over a distant memory on display

Baked glass goodies, waiting to be put away

Paintings to be hung, thirsty plants on a tray

Were you to walk through my door

What stories would you share

From this personal slice of life on display?

 -

12 July 2019