sarhad paar se...

Gulzar recites...

Subah subah ik khwab ki dastak par darwaza khola, dekha
Sarhad ke us paar se kuchh mehmaan aaye hain

Aankhon se maanoos the saarey
Chehre saarey sune sunaaye
Paanv dhoye, Haath dhulaye
Aangan mein aasan lagwaaye...
Aur tannoor pe makki ke kuchh mote mote rot pakaye

Potli mein mehmaan mere
Pichhale saalon ki faslon ka gud laaye the

Aankh khuli to dekha ghar mein koi nahin tha
Haath lagakar dekha to tandoor abhi tak bujha nahin tha
Aur hothon pe meethe gud ka zaayka ab tak chipak raha tha

Khwab tha shayad!
Khwab hi hoga! !

Sarhad par kal raat, suna hai, chali thi goli
Sarhad par kal raat, suna hai
Kuchh khwaabon ka khoon hua hai

split must we?

we are getting divided
yet again
the splits are for loss
or, can't reckon, gain

one fasted silently
during the big partition
other abstined upto death
for another division

more want the markers
new borders to be drawn
more want clearly divided
a mornig from the same dawn

"this not your land
that not our land
you and us in the same hall
we both just can't stand!!

"you unaware of history
we were seperate once
perfect is the logic
we should slice hence

"sure it will pain a little
where the limb will break off
lust, not time, will heal
when we alone will show off"

why ride 'not slow'?

you've written 'ride safe not slow'... defend it!
well, safety first.
and the other half? thats something dangerous and contradicting the first half
no its' not. coz' still, safety is first
but...
yes, you can be fast and safe together. you'll be stupid if you always ride slow or fast or only safe. you should be riding smart and sensible.
but why not slow?
the world is not small. its un-imaginably huge. you can't see part of it in your whole lifetime even if you have a flying machine. so forget about biking.
and then when you are on your bike as a biker and not a commuter, you are with your machine to travel the world. you enjoy the road and the street and explore something new every time you tread on it. you watch and feel the scenics, surroundings, people, other vehicles, their passengers, an overtaking biker, a cursing tempowalla, a cautious truck driver, a honking car, cows, their dung, potholes, tarmac, bridges, speed, wind... lots so many things! how can you own all that experience riding slow in your small life?
but you'll rather concentrate only on road when you are riding fast! you can't pay attention to the surroundings?
not asking you to do 80+ kmph when i say 'not slow'. you just have to be 'not slow' enough to witness as much as possible in your small ride span. you have to think and really feel that there's still a lot more ahead and you have to see that. you have to believe that what lies ahead is definitely better than what you are seeing now.
... you have to tell the tale of what you visited atleast to yourself and you should never be short of tales, so you have to move... and move 'not slow'!
and why should i see more of this world?
simple... because this world is awesome!
and what you haven't seen yet is more awesome?
you bet! go ride :)

who won?

look... it is perfectly logical that eventually a handful of terrorists will surely be brought under control either by capture or by kill by any anti-terrorist force. it was to happen when their ammunitions were exhausted. so an arrest of one and killing of rest few is not an impact. impact was what they made. killed hundreds and damaged millions. they did what they came for.
pardon me, but i am not too proud of our police/military force on 26/11. they just got passing marks and the government escaped with grace marks.
here we din't fought. yes, we saved a few lives but otherwise we let the actions happen. we were defensive. we waited for our turn and thought of it after they had taken theirs. just a handful against a big force! victory and fight was there, on the peak of Kargil. there was the pride. there were martyrs.
we were not prepared in mumbai. not long ago did the '06 blasts happened. we didn't did our homework. we didn't learned our lessons.
we can still be under attack anytime. who knows? can anyone even predict let alone declare? are we safe? and how longer our country will be the favourite soft target? where are the tough guys? seems useless to say or question anymore. we have to live like this. let the world flow and we too floating on it like a dry leaf. sometimes stuck against rocks, sometimes in rapids, sometimes hit by a stone some boy has thrown.
that force was not at fault. they followed orders. the system which ordered was malicious.
we will have a contingent of cops at a single square to catch hold of vehicles without helmet or seat-belts but too few or none to stop two terrorists at a huge railway station. these will be carrying sophisticated speed guns to catch a speeding vehicle but not enough advanced ammunition to stop terrorists roaming on our streets and in our hotels!
we don't have power and are at the receiving end, so we care. and those who have the might... who cares?

wake up gaurav!

... and what could be better for gaurav than getting what he wished since his childhood. a home close to a railway line! then the best thing... morning 7 am train waking him up with its loud horn, then, when he snoozes, another one at 7:15 pushing him off the bed for a fine morning. the fresh mind then starts running alongside the tracks and the thumping of wheels continues as the tea brews.
hmmm... lovely morning these days. just a few hours left for yet another one. after the hours of sleep which will seem to have passed in just a few minutes.
its winter. when days are short. but this meteorological fact is more of a theory in job-o-logical fact. the day starts at the same hours of clock and ends with the same shows on TV. let the stars and planets do their job; we have to do ours.
so lets sleep light sleep tight for a great and good night :)

media exaggerates

now the subject is not at all new. we all know it... even the media guys. they exaggerate, obviously just to create sensation irrespective of the truth percentage in their deliveries.
very recently this happened. my brother and other about 90 of his fellow armymen created a rampage and damage at a medical college hostel few kms from Indore city. reason: one of their collegues was beaten and held up whole night in a hostel room by medical students.
in the words of my brother, they went on bikes, 2-3 were carrying sticks, hostel was evacuated and not a single student was hurt. they broke glass windows, furniture. of course media was there.
words of media: "रक्षक बने भक्षक (saviours became eaters)", "they threatened medical students of their life", "they were carrying guns and fired in air!!", "they hurt police"
my brother: guns... hehe, outside academy... hehe... in civil area... haahaahaa!!! sure we would be punished but the fake media reports have made the matter worse and action against us could be serious. why media does this? why should we trust it?
and same is what i feel and ask myself again and again: why and when should we trust media? why is there no control on them? why can't they just put and show real plain facts? why they still shamelessly ask a man sitting outside his devastated house how he feels now? where can one find real sense and reality in news?
i trust them even less now

come wind come rain

one funny dialogue from movie 'Bhool Bhulaiyya' "itna susu tum laate kahaan se ho?"
i ask myself these days daily morning between 9 to 10... "where do you bring all this sweat from?"
its hot and humid here in kolkata... and i enter office dripping the same as i do when i come out after my bath. wet, soaked shirt turns into different colour!
and its not only me... in queue, in metro, in lift, almost all are ditto. it feels as if me is moving in some viscous mix of stench and sweat!
then sometimes, it feels heaven with a slightest breeze of air... metro approaching, door opening, people moving, a bus crossing, lift descending, the fan oooohhh!
end this... send some wind send some rain, will do it myself... come wind come rain, we need you

and now i...

now i am woken up not by my phone alarm but by her voice
now i walk among the morning hustle of my breakfast and lunch preparation
now i see someone in prayers to god in other room
now i smell insence sticks burning and fragrance all around me
now i get delicious breakfast when i am dressed up and ready
now i dont lock up my flat behind me
now i honk and wave back to two hands as i move out on my ride
now i carry a lunch box to office
now i have my lunch on time
now i try to finish off my work on time
now i am more than eager to go back 'home'
now i don't worry where and what will i eat tonight
now i see four eyes in balcony and window as i look up to my flat
now i ring the bell and the door opens
now i see smiling faces and feel wait in the air
now i relax among the hustle of dinner
now i take a walk after my meal
now i don't think of 'office next day' at home
now i wait for another great morning as i go to bed
now i have my mom, dad and my wife making my home

global recession and my train waitlist

...
h1: so you see, its a bad situation out there and everywhere.
me: hmm... economies and finances all on down-hill. how about your business?
h1: its slow in comparison. but in one segment its interestingly growing. the cause and effect is amazing!
me: and whats that?
h1: see, this is a healthy season, so sales is already slow of our pharma products. but in the market, Anti-depression drugs are doing quite well! because of recession, markets are plunging, business are taking hit, money is lost and so more people are in depression.
me: and so more of that drug is selling. great! i suppose same will be the case in cigarrettes and alcohol.
h1: presumably yes, if we can cross-check with the figures. its all the effect of macro-economy!
and not only that, this recession and the resulting depression is sending people here to the camps of those saints who teach yoga and other techniques to relax your mind. like that Ramdev baba! his shivir (camp) is booked for next two years!
me: and others must be going to some picnic spots and tourist destinations to take a break. oh! now i see, why my wait-listed train ticket to home is not getting confirmed! there's no room!
h1: hahaha. you'll be going home, standing, through the overnight journey by the blessings of Global Recession!
me: great! *sigh... hehehe. the market fall should have happened after i had reached home for Diwali