Umeed !!

Ye pighalti hui Chaandni, ye Badal, ye guzaarti hui hawa

Sab milke raat k sannate pe kuch isshare karte hain

Kahi ankaahien, suni ansuuni kuch ehsaas

Jo iss kadar dil ke kareeb hai ki dil ko chun sake

Inn Ehsaas ko shabdoon pe bayan karne ki tadap de jate hain

Dil chahta hai tumse keh dun par haq nehi hai uska

Labzo ke taar ched k bass khamoshiyan hi gunzti hai

Kis haq se umeed kare tumse, kis haq se khafah ho tumse

Aise umeed ki, ya khafah hone ki koi rishta nehi hai tumhara humse

Dil toh naadan hai kuch bhi soch baithta hai

Jaane anjane se kisko dil ke kareeb le aata hai

Yun toh iss kadar dil ko chune ki izzazat hai nehi kisisko

Yun toh aanson palko tak le aaye aisi gehra lagao nehi kisise

Par tumhari ye chotti chotti harkatien aachi lagti hai hume

Iss kadar inn hasin lamho ko jata ke ehsaan tale na dabo iss dil ko

Aapna mana hai tabhi izzazat hai tumhe

Warna binn wajah khus rehne ki aadat hai hume !!

HoPE & dESpAiR !!

It’s been ages since I have been a little here & there

It’s been ages since I had a heart felt happiness

Why this despair, why this lost hope !!

The alluring beauty of my love is still as striking as before

Yet my feet would shudder at it’s first boulder

The more you reminisce the old memories, the more you despise your overpowering leisure

The world’s happiness, the riches, the luxury, the love of dear, nothing gives you pleasure

Nothing seems to touch your pain, there is no respite no rest

All your memories which you once wore with pride now torment

Yet you smile, yet you rise, yet you leap & you fall

The consoling thought “It’s not yet time” still holds its pacifying potential

But the hope shudders, the heart flutters with fear

It’s not the misery that you have fallen into, it’s the sightlessness

The deepest secret behind your smile, your happiness, your optimism now lay bare

And every day, every moment your thoughts oscillates between extremes of Hope & Despair!!

Departing soul (Life’s Journey)

With an unlimited scope to discover, explore & invent, I was created with an expiry date

I was sent to sing the song that resides in our soul & create positive change on this mystery land

Suddenly it got interrupted with life goals & the element of skill & chance played role in deciding fate

With eyes filled with dreams & heart tied down by desire I guarded my innermost feelings

In some unguarded moments when I desired to relive the song of my soul

Either the words were not right or the instrument was out of tune & the agony of wishing grew in my heart

Moment’s indulgence with one’s own self got interrupted with endless toil to bind with finery or fame

Now all I desire is to freely walk into last minute of gentle surrender But Can I??

Pre-planning, the most frequently used term is often linked with career, possession, and lineage

But why did I fail to link it with life & life goals

Now as the golden streams break loose the far off sky, my soul surrenders itself with restless wind

With a dying wish that let my word take wings & break all falsified nests that spell bound every heart

To spread that the perfect sweetness resides in depth our heart & it can be felt only by sharing..... 

InTO tHE MYstERiOUs MoUNtAiNs

Some span of time gets imprinted in memory without a replay button

All we do is revisit the memory lane with a smile & goose bumps

It all started like a Journey rich beyond dreams

The initial thrill to be on time, the speculation about teammates

The initial DJ, to crazy ride on bus top & the pain in the a**,

The first sight of snow clad peak shining bright in moonlit sky

& the thrill within to conquer it over the time

The first steep climb, the breathlessness, the pushing up hard

All got tougher owing to the continuous laugh

There was intoxication in the air that made every moment too precious to be missed

The rush in the chilling cold to watch the 1^st ray of sun to singing aloud to the setting sun

To lay down shivering on the cold exterior & watch the consortium of stars twinkling all over

There is a beauty in watching them appear, making shapes, tracing them fall

Till the moon overpowers & protect them from the unsatisfying eyes of the earthly beings

The sound of whispers of water from beyond the fog covered valleys

The walk through the trees breaking the silent secrets of the jungle

To the sight of mountains half covered with forest & the never ending meadows there after

The 1^st camp sight, the bonfire, the initial struggle with sleeping mats

Later it became the comfortable Grey tent, with a hanging torch, 3 spoons & random chit chat

Ofcourse the tough gets tougher unless you have friends motivating each other

Diverting focus with random poses & selfies; talking about unachievable toofani passion

The final climb, the late start, the passion & the foolishness all reflecting a mixed emotion

No words can justify the beauty of the landscape that unfolded as we moved up far above the cloud

Ofcourse the serenity & peace will remain within me

More than that, I earned few moments, bonds, laughs, craziness mixed with the beauty of Roopkund

The perfect combination that gave me a lifetime of memories to smile upon

sTOp fOR tHe wORld, fOR wHAt It's WoRTh !!

A simple act of kindness brought me closer to myself

There is a beauty in reflecting upon oneself in silence & leisure

Some indiscriminate thoughts pour into my pool of thoughtlessness

Things done undone that I always wanted to do

Vision of happy idealistic world & creativity all around

I am no different from all of us

True that we are all dedicated people, with complete dedication to our work

Yeah we give our time & effort in blind desperation to advance in the boundless sea

Trying to ride or build the most creative ship that will sustain the might waves

But sustain to do what?? Do we ever ponder upon the ultimate purpose?

In the holy houses we fold our hands;

We beg for luxury & in return pledge to perform our obligation

Stop & read into the eyes of the creator, it’s not in need our obligation

It’s the intention that matters, the source of all our action with dedication

I agree that there is always a tiny urge within all of us to give back

But multiple chores of life take our attention & we procrastinate to ourselves

But I guess the concept is simple, it either NOW or NEVER

STOP FOR THE WORLD, FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH.......

Imperfection is brilliant !!

Imperfection is brilliant!!

It gives freedom to traverse the perfection’s mysterious paths

In our vague attempt to be one, we evolve in our perception

How do I build a perfect ‘me’ when the supreme couldn’t build a perfect ‘it’

I believe it’s the imperfection in one which led to split of perception

To the point of selling religion in the presumptuous ambience of sacred houses

Perfection is just the vacant truth in the eyes of critics along which we benchmark ourselves

So let loose your silent lies & appreciate your futile attempt to be perfect

Hold a mirror & look beyond the reflection of your lustful eyes

& smile at the perfection of your flaws

Coz that grants you a reason to stare at your reflection again....

Varanasi - A beautiful story in itself

Varanasi, previously known as Kashi, is a city as old as time standing by the river Ganges. The holy ‘City of Light’ shines bright during its evening Aarti at the ghats of Ganges. Though I missed this magnificent sight due to time constraint but it’s a must see for anyone travelling to Varanasi. The best time to catch this spectacular sight is during Dev Deepawali, where the entire Ganges is lit up with countless Diyas which float their way across the water.  Not to mention, Kashi Viswanath temple is a place to visit for all those who want to touch base the spiritual history of India. It is said that the 3 tombs of this temple is made of gold. It attracts a huge crowd during Maha Shivratri when the queue for darshan extends for hours together. Even a normal day attracts decent crowd to keep you waiting for half hour atleast. The Varan ‘asi’ , 80 ghaats from where Varanasi derives its name is beautiful with ghats leading down to Ganges waters. Varanasi is one of the seven sacred cities full of religious people who radiate endless energy to celebrate festivals with sanctity. Sawan mela which peaks in the 3 consecutive days just after completion of Rath Yatra is a big festival. 

There is special dish called ‘Naan Khatai’ which is found in all food outlets but only in and around Sawan mela. It is basically a cookie made of aata & little other stuff. Apart from it, the other must try is ‘Batti Chokha’. Baati is roasted Dough of aata with chaana masala stuffing inside & the Chokha is a sabji made by mixing aaloo, tamato, Baingan. Varanasi milk products taste really good, its paneer is one of the best. Leaving apart food items, Banarasi saaree is quite famous across.

Another thing to mark about Varanasi is its galiyan. The city is full of galiyan with hardly one man walking space. I have saved the best for the last. There is kahawat known as ‘Banaras ki Adiyan’. It is very interesting fact to know about Varanasi. It goes this way, “Suppose you start your day at 6 am with 10 min walk & you found a group sitting near tea shop. You go there & join the group with a cup of tea. Suppose you start a topic on your lost bag, you will find the group joining in with more stories of lost bags & it will continue for hours. Someone will leave & someone else will join but the topic continues. Suppose you leave the group, go to office & again visit the tea stall in the evening, you will find a group sitting at the tea stall discussing on the lost bags”. This is Banaras is ‘Adiyan’. So never fail to join adiyan when you visit Banaras & watch the magic happen. The city is full of easy going, happy & religious people who love leisure. Be a part of this beautiful city at least once in life time.

Allahabad is 125 km via road from Varanasi. First thing, try eating Rasgulla at “Dehati Rasgulla”, & take the feel of a soft gulab jamun melting inside your mouth. It damn yummy!!. Second thing to do is to try Cold Coffee at Amber Café. An interesting concept to see in Allahabad is its Jugaad Bridge which they put up during Kumbh mela or Magh mela. It is basically a temporary bridge made of hollow iron cylinders which float on water & are tied up to the river bed with the help of chain. Iron plates are placed over this iron floats & a bridge is made. And trust me trucks, cars ply over these bridges in huge numbers during this melas. By god !! heights of jugaad. My car was moving up & down the road & it was scary to drive over it. But it’s safe and has been approved by government. I heard they had set up 28 such bridges to facilitate transportation during Maha Kumbh in 2013. This kind melas in themselves is an entire topic to cover. 

Few Clicks at Sangam Allhabad: