The fabric of forbidden love

You have gone through me like a thread through the eye of a needle.

Now,

every little moment that we spend together,

every minute that we walk, talk and dream together,

we stitch this beautiful fabric with our own unique hue and color.

Now I am happy,

I like this beautiful cloth that we are stitching,

like a veil, it hides us away from the real world,

takes us far away to our own cozy little world,

a place where there are no boundaries,

where everyone worships one God,

where love is the only God,

and our love is not forbidden,

where you and I are one.

Now I am scared,

for we both are trapped in a world of your own,

worlds that are globes apart,

worlds that are not in harmony,

warring to prove that one is better than the other,

soon this beautiful veil will be a shroud,

confine us from the world that binds us,

destroy our world, kill our God,

stifle us, and with us, kill this love.

क्या थे और क्या बन गये वो

दुनिया बदलने चले है कर कर ट्वीट वो,

जिन्होने कभी मुहल्ले में आवाज़ नहीं उठाई |

दूर मुल्कों में स्पोर्ट्स कार चला रहे हैं फरररर से वो,

जो बचपन में थे इस्कूल से घर पैदल आए |

आज वेस्टर्न क्लॉज़ेट के सिंघासन पर अँग्रेज़ी न्यूज़पेपर पढ़ रहे है वो,

जिन्होने थे कभी वेस्टर्न लाइन के पटरियों पर माल बिठाए |

अपने कंठ पर डिज़ाइनर लंगोट बाँध काम पर चले हैं वो,

जिन्होने थी कभी कूल्हे पे देसी लंगोट चढ़ाई |

थॅंक्स गिविंग और हालोवीन मानने चले है वो,

जिन्होने लड़कपन में थी मुहल्ले की गटर में होली मनाई |

आज बॉस बनकर बैठे हैं उन लोगों पर वो,

जिन्होने थी उन पर बरसो राज चलाई |

अपने मा-बाप को गांव छोड़,  दूर बस गये वो,

जिन्हे कभी उनकी लोरियों के बिना नींद नहीं आई |

सुना है आज घर में बर्तन मांझ रहे है वो,

जिन्होने कभी रसोई में अपने मां के हाथ नहीं बटाये |

You and me.

When you are near me,

It is just you and me.

Nothing or no one else matters.

When you are not,

I am lost thinking about you,

Looking for you, searching you,

Trying to find you, all around me,

In the books, in the songs on YouTube,

In the house, in my work,

In my stories, in my poetry,

in each piece of me

And then again,

Nothing or no one else matters.

It is just you and me

Just you and me.

The Night Before

Lying alone on a boundless bed

With a feminine scent all over my body

Staring at the smartphone in my palm

Hoping that something wonderful would happen

Something to break this monotony

A beep, a message, a ring perhaps

But nothing does

And so I wait.

I wait an endless wait

I fall asleep, with open eyes

I go looking for her, in the nether world

Faraway, somewhere in the mountains

Where she said she lives

In the deep jungles of my heart

Lost, in the vastness of my bed

I search.

I search, and then it rains

It rains, with thunders of her wail

and I am lost

lost gazing in those deep kohl lined eyes,

mesmerized,

As they burst like dark clouds and wet my face,

with droplets of tears running down my cheek

I drown.

I drown, as she pulls me down

Down into the depths

Into the depths of her teary sea, 

vast, sweet and salty

Amongst the rusted remains of many a shipwrecks

That tells tales of a similar love

Of love that was, at last found, not lost

Of love that lives forever

I rise

I rise, in love

In love, I rise.

The Hickey

Do you feel like someone is crushing you right now?

Like a tight warm embrace on a night filled with snow?

Like your eyes are closed and you feel kisses on your eyebrow? 

Just like the sun kisses a sunflower, bright and yellow?

Like a kid dancing in the rain and spots a rainbow?

No, don't wake up,

don't spoil it,

don't open your eyes,

this is just me hugging you,

warm, cozy and tight.

And if you spot a red spot,

don't go grab an ice,

that's my hickey,

Won't you just let it last for the night?

Talaash

Kuch yaad sa aa raha hai

Kahin dekha hai unhey pehle kahin

 

Kuch yaad sa aa raha hai dhundhla sa

Magar theek se kuch yaad nahin, kahan? kabhi?

 

Haan shaayad dekha hai kahin

Magar tha woh khwab ya haqeeqat, pata nahi

 

Woh chehra, apna sa, pehchaana sa lag raha hai jo

Jaise mile pichle janam mein aur bichad gaye ho

 

Woh pehchani si khusboo, woh muskurahat woh baalon ki silvate

Kahan se, najaane, kaise hamare zehan mein buss gaye woh

 

Aankhey bandh kar kay dil ki nazro se dhoond leta hoon

Shaayad mere dil ke kisi gali mein woh nazrey bhi mujhe dhoondti ho?

Tashkees

Jab hakim ko bhi ilaaj samajh na aaye

Aur din ba din marz badhta jaaye

Jab bheed mein khud ko tanha paaye

Aur duur tak koee apna nazar na aaye

Jab din bhar kaasid ka intezaar sataye

Aur raat mein tanhayi lori sunaye

Jab aks dekh kar khud sharmaye

Aur chand mein kisi ka chehra nazar aaye

Jab bina piye he surur chaa jaaye

Aur banda waqt be waqt sher sunaye

Jab din mein karey raat ka intezaar

Aur har jhonkha hawa ka laaye khumar

Jab Sapno mein miley koee yaar gaddar

Toh samjho aap ke mareez ko ho gaya hai pyar