Die-hard dreamer

Tum chale jaoge to sochenge, humne kya paaya, humne kya khoya Woh Kaagaz Ki Kashti, Who Baarish Ka Paani… Kal Chauddvi Ki Raat Thi… Pal, remember how we started talking? It started with ghazals and Jagjit Singh, didn’t it? You and I soon became friends for life. Life took us to different boats but those conversations have kept bringing the boats closer every now and then. Pal, we could not make that concert together. Apni Haathon Ki Lakeeron Mein Base Le Mujhko… Pareshaan Raat Saari Hai, Sitaron Ab Toh So Jao… Sadma Toh Hai Mujhe Bhi… Remember lending me those Jagjit Singh cassettes, D? And remember me making fun of you when you told me you listened to JS day in and day out after your first heartbreak as a kid? Remember how you and I – as different as chalk and cheese – connected over JS? D, thanks for lending the music and extending the affection. Baat Niklegi To Door Talak Jaayegi… Koi Fariyaad Dil Mein Dabi Ho Jaise... Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi Ki Har Khwaish Pe Dum Nikle… AS, re...

Are memories aromatic? Mine are. Sometimes, it is a smell that triggers a memory, at others, a memory brings in an aroma. Some of my fond memories smell of food and poetry. Yes, poetry has appealed to every sense of mine. I have seen the poetic stories unfold in the air. I have heard the clink of every word against my mind. I have found words appetizing. I have felt lyrics dance around me. And I have smelled the ecstasy that poems trigger in my heart. Ghanshyam Words appealed to me for as long as I remember, and poetry, rhythmic or otherwise, made more sense to me than anything else. Many mornings were spent reading aloud something Baba wrote. As our family of four gathered around Baba's office table with the chai and biscuits on the tray, we analyzed Baba's poetry , tried to understand the thought that lay its foundation. The discussions often stretched for hours with Baba praising poetic geniuses and recalling his interactions with some poetic stalwarts. In one of such d...

As a kid, I dreamt of a world without animosity; and I have brought along the thought in my growing years. This thought took a back-seat with me getting busy with my life. While I had stopped giving it much thought, I almost lived by the theory that one smile or good word could trigger a chain reaction of smiles. In spite of having the occasional temper spasms, I have tried not to be rude or mean to people. Friends and acquaintances have often advised me to become practical or cracked jokes on me, all in good spirit. Some have also attributed my behaviour to weakness, and there have been times I have believed them and cursed myself. But the kid in me always managed to take over and tend to the optimist in me. One of the areas my attitude has been a bone of contention is in the way I handled my maid while in Bangalore. In the five years she worked at our place, I shouted at her once. A smiled when I told him I gave the maid - Parashakti - a piece of my mind. He had overh...

ख़्वाब ये मेरा है, जिस तरह चाहूं देखूं ; मेरे इर्द-गिर्द ही सब होता है, मैं ही इसकी कहानी, इसका सार हूँ | इब्तिदा भी मैं, अंत भी मुझसे ही | हकीक़त के छींटों से मुझको न जगाओ, सपने में तो मुझको चैन से रहने दो |

परेशानियाँ ज़िन्दगी को रुख देती हैं, ऐसा मानना था हमारा कभी , आज मंजिल की ओर जाने का मन नहीं, राह में रुक जाना चाहते हैं | आँख मूंद कर विदा कर देना चाहते हैं तकलीफों को, परेशानियों को ; समेट लेना चाहते हैं इस बेफिक्र लम्हे को, बंद पलकों में | फ़लसफ़ा हर वक़्त बदलता ही रहता है |

There have been many times when I came to write something in the blog and returned without posting anything. Today, I happened to look at the drafts I had saved since I started writing here. I realized that I couldn’t possibly go into the frame of mind I was in when I started a post. So, I decided to share the drafts with you, the way they are. Some of them only have the title in place, some have a line or two that don’t clearly state what I had in mind, while others just touch the subject and end abruptly. Can you try making sense of them? 9 September 2009 Title: Identity of a place 20 November 2008 Title: I am a complain boy! No, I did not misspell the word. I was not indicating to the ad of yesteryears' that we so fondly watched. (By the way, have you noticed how both the kids endorsing the product never grew much tall! For the uninformed, the two kids were Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia.) 6 November 2008 No Title I seem to have become an expert in assorted posts. This one is go...