जय माता दी

बर्फ़ की चादर ओढ़े,
पर्वतों की छाँव में,
रहती है माँ वहाँ,
दूर इक ठन्डे गाँव में।
शीत लहर चलती है जहाँ, 
घटा भी झूमती है जहाँ, 
ऊर्जा ही ऊर्जा है जहाँ, 
रहती है माँ वहाँ, 
दूर इक ठन्डे गाँव में।
बच्चे, बड़े, बूढ़े सभी, 
चलते हैं मीलों-मील,
'जय माता दी' दोहराते हुए, 
रहती है माँ वहाँ,
दूर इक ठन्डे गाँव में।
मन को शान्ति मिलती है जहाँ, 
तन नहीं थकता है जहाँ, 
रहती है माँ वहाँ,
दूर इक ठन्डे गाँव में।
हवा भी मधुर लगती है जहाँ,
मन अमृत लगता है जहाँ,
दर्शन पा धन्य हो जाते जहाँ,
रहती है माँ वहाँ, 
दूर इक ठन्डे गाँव में।               
   

हादिसा

गुलिस्तान में खिले गुलों 

की तरह,

तुम्हारा चेहरा,

कोमल, मासूम, आकर्षक 

सदा महकता तुम्हारा एहसास 

उस एहसास   

की डोर से बंधा रहा मैं 

एक उम्र तक।

हालात की तेज़ हवा का झोंका आया 

पत्ती-पत्ती बिखर गई 

डोर टूट गई 

लेकिन एहसास बचा रह गया।

जीवन की राह में 

हम बिछुड़ गए।

तुम्हीं कहो,

इस हादिसे को क्या नाम दूँ।    

माध्यम

डूबते सूरज को तू भी तो देखता होगा
गर मैं तुझे न देख सकूँ तो क्या,
यह सूरज तो हम दोनों को एक साथ देखता होगा।
आँखों से झाँक कर दिल के हालात देखता होगा,
मन में छिपि छोटी-सी इक कायनात देखता होगा।
इसी तरह से चन्द्रमा रात देखता होगा,
होंठों तक जो न आई,
दिल पर लिखी बात देखता होगा,
गर मैं तुझे न देख सकूँ तो क्या,
ये सूरज चाँद तो हम दोनों को एक साथ देखते होंगे।
इनके माध्यम से भी यदि हम
एक दूसरे को देख न पाएँ
तो कम से कम एक दुसरे को महसूस तो कर सकते हैं।
  

अलख रिश्ता

बादलों के शीश पर

आरज़ूओं का गगन,

श्वास हैं पथिक

अनन्त पथ के

मुझको इस जहाँ में चैन

मिल भी पाएगा कहाँ?

है वही मेरा जहाँ

लाँघकर ये आसमाँI

हैं क्षितिज पर तारिकाएँ

मेरे इन्तज़ार में,

जा मिलूँ उन से मैं कैसे

स्यात् यह संभव नहीं

लेकिन उनसे ऊर्जा तो

आ रही है रात-दिन

मैं वहाँ पहुँचू न पहुँचू

ऊर्जा आती रहे

ज़िन्दगी चलती रहेI

और जब चुक जाए

साँसों का हिसाब

ऊर्जा बन जाऊँ में ख़ुद

ऊर्जा ही ऊर्जा

बस यही अरमान हैI

उस की चाहत मुझे रहेगी

जब तक रहेगा  जीवन मेरा,

मुझे इस जहाँ में चैंन कहाँ 

बस तुम ही हो मेरा जहाँ।     

आत्म समर्पण

भयानकता वनों की
सूनापन सेहरा का
बेचैनी समुन्दर की
उदासी मौसमों की
बेनियाज़ी पर्वतों की
क्या नाम दूँ तुझको?
कभी ऊपर उठाती है
कभी नीचे गिराती है
कभी हर रास्ता परिचित
कभी हर राह अनजानी
मेरी मंज़िल अगर तू है
तो ले ऐ ज़िन्दगी
मैं बैठता हूँ
हारकर, थककर।    

हर पल, हर लम्हा तुझे याद करता हूँ
हर जन्म में तुझे पाने की आस करता हूँ
जीवन भी तेरा है कायनात भी तेरी
फिर भी इस घर से उस घर जाने की
फ़रियाद करता हूँ।  

Our best friend – Brother McCann

Look, your teacher is coming! This one line tends to send shivers down the spine of students even today but for us, it used to be a welcome visit. Every student who has passed out from St. John’s High School during Brother McCann’s time can relate to him driving a bicycle down to his house and it used to be a pleasure to receive him. It used to be a moment of joy for every student of his.

Brother McCann, till his last breath, kept his ties intact with his students. He believed that a teacher is a person of many parts. I recollect him telling me during one of our conversations, “A teacher is a person who not only gives you knowledge but is your companion too. He is the one who would always stand by your side whenever you need him.” And all his students would agree that he lived up to this his entire life. A fracture in the leg riddled him from driving a bicycle but could not take away his spirit. He still continued his visits to his students. The only difference was this that the school ‘Maruti Van’ used to drop him to a student’s place and from there that student would drop him to another’s place and this would go on till the time he got tired and finally one of us would drop him back to the Brother’s residence on the school campus.

So, not only his students, all those who have lived In Chandigarh for long , and ever saw a six-feet, fair, Irish gentleman, striding his bicycle on the roads of the city beautiful, can certainly take that man to be Brother McCann. But remember, he was never there to pass time, he used to be around on a very special mission, a mission of visiting his old students and enquiring about their well-being. I once asked him about his love for the bicycle and he smilingly said, “It is not a mere mode of transport but also an exercise that keeps me fit and fine.”

Brother McCann was not only a wonderful teacher, he was also an elderly friend to many a youngster in town. He is a person who will always remain an integral part of the life of his students. His wonderful thoughts, wide perspective and moral values will always help his students to surge ahead in life. He dedicated 57 odd years of his life imparting education and inspiring hundreds of students across various schools in India being run by the Irish Missionaries. I wonder if today’s generation would ever have mentors like him.

I am proud that I have been one of his students. You do not come across such wonderful teachers very often in life. If you have a teacher like him, then you do not have to worry about anything because he is always there to guide and help you out and to take away your blues. He was one of those few teachers who dedicated his entire life preparing his students for facing the one final examination called ‘Life.’ 

जय माता दी

बर्फ़ की चादर ओढ़े,
पर्वतों की छाँव में,
रहती है माँ वहाँ,
दूर इक ठंडे गाँव में।
शीत लहर चलती है जहाँ,
घटा भी झूमती है जहाँ,
ऊर्जा ही ऊर्जा है जहाँ,
रहती है माँ वहीँ,
दूर इक ठंडे गाँव में।
बच्चे, बड़े, बूढ़े सभी,
चलते हैं मीलो-मील,
'जय माता दी' दोहराते हुए,
रहती है माँ वहाँ,
दूर इक ठंडे गाँव में।
मन को शान्ति मिलती है जहाँ,
तन नहीं थकता है जहाँ,
प्रेम-ही-प्रेम बरसता है जहाँ,
रहती है माँ वहीँ,
दूर इक ठंडे गाँव में।
हवा भी मधुर लगती है जहाँ,
जल अमृत लगता है जहाँ,
दर्शन पा धन्य हो जाते वहाँ,
रहती है माँ वहाँ,
दूर इक ठंडे गाँव में।     

अपनी तलाश

भटक रहा हूँ मैं तबसे
जबसे होश संभाला है,
आत्मा तो बसती है मेरे भीतर
पर ख़ुद से मैं अनजान हूँ।
मैं क्या हूँ?
मैं कौन हूँ?
इसकी मुझे खबर नहीं।
चारों दिशाएँ चीख-चीख कर कहती हैं,
खोज अपने आप को खोज।
मगर मैं, लाचार, बेबस,
आँखें फ़ाड़-फ़ाड़ तकता हूँ,
इस आइनों के जंगल को।
मैं विधाता नहीं
की तीसरे नेत्र से देखूँ,
या धरती की तह तक पहुँचू,
मगर मैं, यह जान गया हूँ
की ख़ुद को पाने के लिए    
मुझे संघर्ष करना पड़ेगा।
अपने आप को जानना है तो
संघर्षहीन से मुझे,
संघर्षशील बनना पड़ेगा।

तुम से दो बातें

मैं अपने जज़्बों का इज़हार नहीं करता,
इसका मतलब ये नहीं कि मैं तुझ से
प्यार नहीं करता।
चाहता हूँ मैं तुझे आज भी पर,
तुम्हें सोचकर ख़ुद को बेज़ार नहीं करता।
तमाशा न बन जाये कहीं मुहोब्बत मेरी,
इसलिए अपने दर्द भी आशकार नहीं करता।
जो कुछ मिला है उसी में खुश हूँ मैं,
तेरे लिए अपने ख़ुदा से तकरार नहीं करता।
पर कुछ तो बात है तुझ में ऐसी वर्ना,
तुझे चाहने की ख़ता बार-बार नहीं करता।

PEN WIELDERS IN THE CITY OF STONES

It is often said, ‘The pen is the tongue of the mind’. But has anyone ever analyzed that the one who wields the pen is the one who is bound to sit in a corner of his study and give voice to undesirable human thoughts, desires, wants and emotions! Authors, no doubt, are a weird lot who are most often, forgotten by the society.

Chandigarh, the City Beautiful, deserves a fair mention in the history of Modern Township planning in India. A number of writers, poets and scholars have lived in this which include the famous Urdu poet Hari Chand Akhtar, Manohar Sahani, Dr.Mulk Raj Anand, Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Dr.Mohan Singh’Diwana’, Chand Narain Chand, Shiv Kumar Batalvi and many more! Unfortunately these names are aliens to the present day generation of Chandigarhians

.

But the city still has authors like Dr.Indu Bali, Dr.Naresh, Shakuntla Brajmohan, Dr.Gurcharan Singh and the like but to the misfortune of this ‘City Beautiful’ or the ‘City of Stones’ as called by the authors, these persons who have made Chandigarh proud by winning dozens of national and international awards, find a rare mention among the city residents.

As Ovid said, ‘Scripta fervent annos (writing survives the years)’, he failed to mention that writers do not. It’s high time for the city residents to recollect the words of Lord Byron and Don Juan that,

‘But words are things and a small drop of ink’

falling like dew, upon a thought produces,

that which makes thousands, perhaps a million think.’

And to realize that they ought to have a sense of concern for the esteemed personalities who have added heart to this city of stones.

Tujhme sama jayen, 
ab yahi ek chahat hai, 
apne ko kho dena,
 shayad yahi to ibadat hai, 
khud ko kab se dhundh rahe the, 
kho gaye the hum, 
aaj tum se mile hain to, 
fir kho jane ki chahat hai.

TOWARDS THE END OF THE TUNNEL

The morning breeze
the rays of sun
the humming birds
and lovely flowers
all make me believe
that there is God.
It is his nature
that we everyday cherish
It is He
who gives us an opportunity
to see another day.
Yesterday we didn't know who we were
tomorrow we will not know who we are
Still, charily we walk
on the path of life
expecting each day to
turn on us bright.
Let leave feelings
and expectations apart
lets move on chastely and far on the path.
Come on, lets try to find ourselves
its many a lives that we have passed.
There must be a way to get back home
so lets develop an insight onto the
deviations on the path.
Someday will surely come
when we will be back home.

SANITIZING A TOOTHBRUSH

When it comes to keeping our personal belongings clean, I am sure most of us pay utmost importance to it, be it clothes, hairbrush, car, anything for that matter, but still, we all tend to miss out on cleaning something more important than all these, our toothbrush! Yes, have you ever felt the need for cleaning your toothbrush? By cleaning I do not mean to rinse it with water just to make sure that there is no toothpaste left on it, but what I mean is that have we ever thought about sanitizing it? About making it germ free?

Our toothbrush is a perfect breeding ground for germs. A single toothbrush can harbor millions of micro-organisms, which, if not got rid off in time, may convert into harmful bacteria that flourish in a warm and moist environment of any average bathroom. Now what we have never thought of before is that from where do these micro-organisms come? Most of them come from our own mouth, the oral cavity, which harbors millions of them! And to add to these millions, the rest come from the environment, in which we keep our toothbrush. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S.A., has stated that ‘Even after being rinsed visibly clean, toothbrushes can remain contaminated with potentially pathogenic organisms.’

Now knowing this, would you like to use the same toothbrush again the next morning? Maybe not, but, at the same time, you cannot keep changing your toothbrush every morning with a new one either to make sure that what you are using is clean. So now arises the need as to what can we do to make sure that the toothbrush we are using is free from the growth of bacteria, germs and viruses. There are various ways to do so to make sure that the toothbrush we are using is 95% free of micro-organisms, if not 100%. The following are some methods that we can adopt.

Firstly, instead of rinsing your toothbrush with normal water, you can use warm water for the same purpose as that provides more cleaning efficacy, but that alone cannot make your toothbrush germ free. So, another option is that you boil your toothbrush for five minutes as boiling kills most bacteria. The only harm is that your toothbrush may wear off early because of boiling. Another way out is that you wash your toothbrush with hydrogen peroxide, or immerse it in a diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide for some time. This tends to remove upto 95% bacteria from our toothbrush, but again, the problem is that how many of us will take the pain of getting hydrogen peroxide and forming a solution and then keeping the toothbrush immersed in it, and then rewashing it with water, because being a chemical, hydrogen peroxide too may result in wearing off of the toohthbrush.

Though now-a-days we have ultraviolet toothbrush sterilizers coming up in the market, and though ultraviolet radiation is an effective way of doing the same, I believe that what should be adopted in routine is something we can easily do at home. After a lot of reading, experimentation and references, I came to the conclusion that the best way to do the same is to immerse your toothbrush in a mouthwash liquid for 15-20 minutes. This too results in around 90-95% reduction in micro-organisms over your toothbrush, or, you can place your toothbrush in a microwave for 15 seconds. This too will make your toothbrush germ free.

 Be it immersing in a mouthwash liquid, using hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet light, or a microwave, the choice is surely yours. All I suggest is that the next time you brush your teeth or clean your tongue, just make sure you are not using germs to fight germs. Happy brushing!

THE GOD'S SON

As I continue my journey
through the horrors of dreadful life, 
my past casts a shadow
over my true side.
I want to be happy
I want to be cheerful
but the evil in my mind
pushes me from behind, 
Reminding me of my past sins
I seek to know my fault 
he just smiles and tells 
You tried to be helpful
You tried to be good
and the gift you got in return
is a couple of strange looks.
Upon this I ponder everyday,
I ponder every night
but pondering again and again
does not take me to any conclusion
May doing good to others
may sharing sufferings of others
be a sin
I resolve to commit it again and again
whatever the reward
bouquets or brickbats
I don't mind. 

गज़ल

तन से जब तक साँस का रिश्ता रहेगा,
तेरे अश्कों में मेरा हिस्सा रहेगा I

दिल की धड़कन जितने दिन चलती रहेगी,
उतने दिन तू मुझमें ही बस्ता रहेगा I

शाख़ जब तक तुम ना दोगे बैठने को,
मन-विहग आकाश में उड़ता रहेगा I

अश्रु-जल संभव नहीं इसको बुझा दें,
उम्र भर ये मन यूँही जलता रहेगा I

यह तो सोचा भी नहीं था मैंने 'अनुभव',
धूप ढलने पर भी तन तपता रहेगा I

भारतीय नारी

नारी क्या है?
नारी की हस्ती क्या है?
हमारे इस महान भारत में,
नारी का वुजूद ही क्या है?
नारी वह कठपुतली है,
आदमी के हाथ में
जिसकी डोर है I
कहने को औरत
जगत-जननी है,
फिर भी उसका मूल्य क्या है?
बचपन में पिता के,
जवानी में भाई के
संरक्षण में पलती है,
शादी के बाद पति की बंदिनी,
वृधावस्था में पुत्रों की दासी है I
मरने पर, कफ़न के रूप में,
चूनर प्राप्त करके धन्य हो जाती है I

इतना नाज़ ना कर अपने पर सोच समझ

इतना नाज़ ना कर अपने पर रूप ना रहे सदैव,
कीचड़ बनती उड़ती मिट्टी जब बरसे है मेघ I

नाज़ अपनी सीमा से बढ़कर खो देता आकर्षण,
तड़ित उगा देता है नभ में मेघों का संघर्षण I

मैं अपनी सीमा में बंदी तुम भी सीमा बाँधों,
भावों की परिभाषा सीखो अर्थों को मत लाँघो I 
 

TOWARDS THE END OF THE TUNNEL

The morning breeze

the rays of sun

the humming birds

and lovely flowers

all make me believe

that there is God.

It is His nature

that we everyday cherish

It is He

who gives us an opportunity 

to see another day

Yesterday we didn't know who we were

tomorrow we will not know who we are

Still, charily we walk 

on the path of life

expecting each day to 

turn on us bright.

Let leave feelings

and expectations apart

let's move on chastily and far on the path.

Come on, lets try to find ourselves

its many a lives that we have passed.

There must be a way to get back home

so lets develop an insight onto the 

deviations on the path

Someday will surely come

when we will be back home.