I wonder whether..

once you stop taking anything seriously, things really start coming your way automatically, or is it that you end up lowering your expectations so much that whatever little comes your way seems like the world...

Mujhe Colonel Julius Nagendra Nath Wilfred Singh ki zaroorat hai.

Optimism vs I-don't-know-what

"Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahi ho sakta,
Ek patthar ko zara tabiyat se uchhaalo yaaron" - Dushyant

"Tabiyat zara kharaab hai, aur patthar kuchh kamzor
Koi aasmaan ko zara sa neeche bula do yaaron" - yours truly

Humein kya bura tha marna, agar ek baar hota

 My office-mate kills me everyday with the number of questions he asks me. Even ignoring doesn't make him stop pestering me. I almost feel like an irritated parent, except that I don't quite love this adopted 30 year old "kid" of mine. 

Just when I think I am ignoring too much and being rude and start being polite, he comes at me with another chain of questions.

Here is a small sample set: The questions I was asked in the last hour or so. Only those that I recollect now..



How were the seats in your night train to Barcelona?
Could you sleep?
Was there no place to lie down on the floor?
Was anyone lying down on the floor?
When you took the train, was there a power outlet in the train?
Did you carry your laptop?

When does the next semester begin?
Where can I find the exact dates?
How do you spell rektorat?

When is the InfSec exam?
Why do they not announce the date now?

Have you prepared the solutions for the exercise?
When will you do them?

What do you play with that racquet?
Where do you play?

When did you arrive today?
When will you leave?
Do you have any plans for the weekend?
Do you want to go to Vienna for the weekend?

What are you writing?
What are you working on?
Are these your results or the summary of what you read?
What is this webpage?
Do you write a blog?
A math blog?
Oh, a casual blog?

Until when will you stay here today?

Do you have the key to the office?
 Till when are you here?
Are you here for another half an hour?

Do you travel in Switzerland?




As the famous line from Ghalib goes: "Humein kya bura tha marna, agar ek baar hota"

...

"Wo dil mein sochna, kar ke kuchh dikha dein
Wo karna planning roz nayi yaar" :)

Pata nahi bachpana kab jaayega :D

Rendezvous with Gulzar: 3

 Knots

Dear weaver,
teach me the skill
of weaving.

I have often
seen you
busy with warp and weft,
tying up broken yarns,
joining loose ends
and continuing to weave.
No one can detect
the knots
in the woven fabric.

Once, I too had woven
a relationship.
But sadly, dear weaver,
all the knots in the fabric
stick out,
for all to see.

Translation:


Gaanthen

Aye julaahe,
Mujhko bhi
kapde bunne ka saleeka sikha de

Maine aksar tumhe dekha hai
Oon aur silaayi ke saath,
Toote dhaagon ko jodte hue
Dheele kinaaron ko kaste hue
Tum kapda bunte jaate ho.
Bune hue kapde mein
Gaanthen
Kahin dikhaayi nahi deti.



Ek baar maine bhi ek rishta buna tha.
Par aye julaahe,
Afsos
Us mein se
Saari gaanthen bahar nikal aayi hain
Aur sab ko dikhaayi deti hain




Rating: 5/10 (it ain't getting better as of now)

Wah Gulzar wah... this poem is absolutely beautiful.. if only i could word it better :(

Aa Gulzar hum bhi aaj khila ke dekhen chaand
Ki mere saawan mein tere patjhad sa nasha hai ki nahi

Rendezvous with Gulzar: 2

Landscape

On a distant
desolate shore
close to a young palm tree,
stands another aged one,
wrapped in rags
of dusty times.
Breaking the silence
of centuries,
the old palm tree
bends and whispers
to the young one:
It is cold and lonesome.
Why don't you say something?

Translation:

Ek nazaara..

Door kahin
Ek veeraane se kinaare par
Ek taaze taad ke ped ke paas,
Ek boodha ped khada hai,
cheethdon mein lipta
Jo guzre dhool mein sane palon ki
Yaad dilaate hain.

Sadiyon ki khaamoshi todte hue,
Boodhe taad ke ped ne
Jhuk kar
Taaze ped ke kaan mein kaha
"Yahaan bahut sardi aur tanhaayi hai,
Tum kuchh kehte kyun nahi?"


Rating: 5/10



(the translation is not good but i still give it 5 because the last line sounds much better in Hindi and that is in itself enough to win a 5.. )

A wanderer


A homeless wanderer
roams the city
straying from door to door.


He carries a few twigs,
an ear of corn,
a few drops of tears,
some silent sighs
and a lump of earth
for his own grave --
all with a vain hope
of a destination.


If only
I had your shoulders
to lean on.

Translation:

Ek raahi..

Ek raahi
Sheher mein ghoomta hai
Darwaaze-dar-darwaaze bhatakta hua.


Ikatthe kar raha hai,
Kuchh tinke,
Kuchh daane makai ke,
Kuchh boonden aansuon ki
Kuchh shaant aahen
Aur ek tukda mitti ka
Apni kabra ka saamaan --
Sab bas ek anjaani manzil
Ki chaah mein..

Kaash bas
Tere kaandhe ka sahara mil gaya hota..

rating: 5/10


Aa Gulzar hum bhi aaj khila ke dekhen chaand,
Ki mere saawan mein tere patjhad sa nasha hai ki nahi.

...

Read this quote long back, "Some people cause happiness wherever they go. Some, whenever they go."

It is kind of funny that I have been both kinds in a single life :D :D

Chalo dil ko kuchh roz ki chhutti de den...