Anita

"Anita is on leave" one maid at the hostel was telling another...

Yeah, Anita has been on leave ever since her counterpart/co-sister (what ever husband's second wife is called) was diagnosed with leukemia. So, Anita now does all the household work, looks after 'their' kids, and takes care of the sick woman as part of her wifely duties...and bears the responsibility of finding the leukemia its way right into 'her' veins through her curses! Of course! Why else would it happen to her and none else?! Of course! Who else had any job cursing the poor woman?!

Wow! What rewards! What rewards for bearing it all silently, and compromising at every step...Well, didn't she do it as much for herself? To 'have' a husband's roof over her head and his name appended to hers. To belong to someone, to belong somewhere!

So, she bore it all...the ignominy of being the second best, the ignominy of being the barren daughter-in-law...the one who couldn't bear the family a progeny to take its name to gen next...the one who gracefully compromised to sharing him, so the family would keep going.

"The second wife passed away last night.", "...the poor thing!", "...she left behind two little kids", talked the maids among themselves.

Anita now has 'being the step mother' added to her bag! The price to pay, for asking sometime, somewhere in life, to be 'the only one' perhaps?!

जलाये जा नये दीये

"बुझ गया एक और दीया."
खड़ा क्यूँ, ये सोचता?
जलते हैं सेकड़ों अभी
है रोशन चमन अब भी तेरा.
जलेंगे और भी अभी
क्या हुआ जो वो एक बुझ गया.
जलाये जा नये दीये
न रह यूं खड़ा सोचता!
जलाये जा नये दीये,
कि रोशन रहे चमन तेरा.

क्यूँ खड़ा ये सोचता कि,
"एक और दीया बुझ गया."
क्या पहले कई बुझे नहीं?
क्या रोशन नहीं चमन तेरा?
वो रोशन क्या खास कर सके,
झोंखे से एक, जो बुझ चला!
जलाये जा नये दीये
कि रोशन रहे चमन तेरा.

न रह खड़ा ये सोचता कि,
"दीया एक और बुझ गया"
कह दे अलविदा उसे,
जो साथ तेरे न चल सका!
कह दे अलविदा उसे,
जो राह में ही बुझ चला!
जलाये जा नये दीये,
कि रोशन रहे चमन तेरा.

"bujh gayA ek aur dIyA."
khadA kyU.n ye sochta?
jalte hai.n sekdo.n abhi,
hai roshan chaman ab bhi terA.
jale.nge aur bhI abhI,
kya hua jo vo ek bujh gayA.
jalAye ja naye dIye,
na rah yU.n khadA sochtA!
jalAye ja naye dIye,
ki roshan rahe chaman terA.

kyU.n khadA ye sochta ki,
"ek aur dIyA bujh gaya"
kyA pahle kaI bujhe nahi.n?
kyA roshan nahi.n chaman terA?
vo roshan kyA khAs kar sake,
jho.nkhe se ek, jo bujh chalA!
jalAye ja naye dIye,
ki roshan rahe chaman terA.

na rah khadA ye sochtA ki,
"dIyA ek aur bujh gayA."
kah de alvidA use,
jo sAth tere na chal sakA!
kah de alvidA use,
jo rAh mei.n hI bujh chalA!
jalAye ja naye dIye,
ki roshan rahe chaman terA.

जाने कब, कहाँ

जाने कब, कहाँ छोड़ आये हम उसको
या,
कौन जाने वो कब, कहाँ छोड़ आगे बढ़ गयी हमें,
ज़िन्दगी साथ ही तो चल रही थी हमारे,
जब नज़र मिली थी उससे.

सपने भी वो सारे ले गयी शायद...
बेज़ार, वीरान थीं जब मिलीं थीं हमें
 कल, आईने में दो बेचारी आँखें!

 jaane kab, kahaan chhod aaye hum usko
ya,
kaun jaane vo kab, kahaan chhod aage badh gayii humei.n,
zindagi saath hiii toh chal rahi thi hamare,
jab nazar milii thii usase.

sapne bhi vo saare le gayii shaayad...
bezaar, viiraan thi.n jab mili.n thi.n humei.n
kal, aaiine mei.n do bechaari aankhe.n!

A menace of its kind

"It's been irking me ever since I read in the news about a youth being thrown out of the train by eunuchs, today!" I wrote, on May 27, 11, but couldn't go on, for some inexplicable reason/s!


The sight of a drunk 'eunuch' trying to cajole money off any and every guy that he passed by, by clinging to them, and even pecking some odd guy brought it all back!


A winter afternoon on board the A.P. Express, en route to Delhi. I bring out a couple of poories and some vegetable fry, of my meager meal, and before I can lay my hands on it, a eunuch has turned up, and taken a bite out of my plate! Not just this, he has the audacity to tell me that he had just had a bite, to taste it, asking me to have the rest of it! He didn't like my idea of taking it all since he'd already 'tasted' from it!


At least I got away just with eating two poories less! The men in the train have to bear with their flirting and stuff and part with some of their money, or handle abuses and curses hurled at them, in generous measures!


As kids we saw eunuchs come over (uninvited of course) to people's houses if they had a baby boy or married off a son. They'd sing and dance to the tunes of dholak and manjire and bollywood songs. They'd bless the baby/the newlywed and their family and then, demand exorbitant 'inaam' (presents) in cash or gold!! Refusing them entailed inciting their wrath, and bearing with their threats of unclothing themselves right there, in public, to humiliate the unrelenting 'host'! People ended up parting with quite some money, food grains, even a piece of jewelery at times, other than some hours' time, in the name of saving their integrity!


The nuisance has taken a much colossal and uglier shape by now, what with their presence spreading its wings to trains, and even traffic signals now! With them knowing no bounds, from embarrassing everyone around, to even harassing them and now, pushing them out of running trains, things have really gone out of hand!


Yea, and they go scot-free, of course, given our superstitious, eunuch-fearing  society--police et al.!

There was not a whisper heard.
No one spoke...yeah, no word.
A little snap, and it was gone,
No ripple caused in anyone's world


Had the time just stood still?
Wouldn't of course, for some 'run of the mill'!
All that lay was some broken glass.
Who could say, of a broken heart!

Jam's Chronicle: Review of A Thousand Splendid Suns

Jam's Chronicle: Review of A Thousand Splendid Suns: "'Suggest me a book to read', I asked my friend . ' A thousand splendid suns ', came the reply in a blink! 'But, its not for a light readin..."

इस पल में...

इस पल में जी ले तमाम उम्र अपनी,

कल का दिन जाने क्या साथ लायेगा .

इस पल में कर ले हर तमन्ना पूरी अपनी,

कल न जाने किस शक्ल में आयेगा.

"isa pal mein jii le tamaam umra apni,

kal kaa din jaane kya saath laayega.

isa pal mein kar le har tamanna poori apni,

kal na jaane kis shakl mein aayega."

The ants 'episode'!

The other day I saw a patch of black on my bathroom wall, with specks of white in it. The sight transported me back into time...

A little girl crouched on the ground, next to a black patch on it, watching it closely--perplexed, amused, intrigued...Her mom, seeing her glued to the spot came over, to see what was going on with her daughter. The girl couldn't hold back further, and soon her mother was showered with a volley of questions! "What's wrong with these ants?" "Where are they all going?" How did sooo many ants get together?" "Are the little white things they are carrying, their luggage?"

Mom, her smile wider now, said "The ants have their own mechanism to know that the monsoons are round the corner, and it'll start raining after some time. So, they move from their current colony to a safer place. This is what these ants are doing right now. And, the little white things they are carrying are their grub which will hatch one day, and become ants like these ones."

The girl had sheer awe writ large on her face...her mom must have been thrilled at that priceless sight! (I'd have said here "wish I had a way to find out for sure" but I won't...any mom would have felt this way!)

The girl didn't forget what her mom told her, and not many days after the 'ant' episode, she came dashing to her mom, straight into her arms and said "can i go to the terrace and bathe in the rain?" Of course her mom couldn't say "no"! She never could, when her daughter asked to go get drenched in the rain...she even joined her if she could, at times!

I woke up to the sounds of pouring rain this afternoon...and that little girl from the past came bounding out! "Wow!! the ant thing worked this time too!! I knew it would!" She smiled...thrilled beyond measure!

"Wow! Am so happy! Am thrilled! :)" I texted my friend (my rain and clouds advisor :P) "It's been raining for almost an hour :) n its so cool! :) Is this monsoon?"

"Wow! I think so." He replied. "Visit www.imd.gov.in to see the satellite picture."

I did...checked the 'infrared' images per his instructions, and thought..."it must be monsoon!"

Out peeked the little girl then..."didn't you see all those ants with their grubs? This 'is' monsoon!"

They're so close to the nature, they don't need satellite images and sophesticated instruments and gadgets to figure this out--the ants! We do! We've come such a long way...so far away from nature, we can't hear her anymore!