Journey

Hold on...

2008-03-28T17:15:00.002+05:30

Hold on the beauty
that stands in front of the eyes
Hold on the time
that makes a memorable moment
Hold on the thought
that makes you feel 'Living'.

Hold on the zeal...
till the final call comes.

The Guiding Light

2008-02-19T16:35:00.000+05:30

What he is?
I know not
What he is?
I say not

Few say,
the enlightened one
Few say,
the brightest one

To me he is
the flow of river
the touch of water

To me he is
faceless
formless

Like others, I try to give him form…

On the blank canvas,
I splashed some red
I splashed some blue
I splashed some yellow

I painted my spirit on the canvas
And I found what ‘Buddha’ means to me.

The Woman Says…

2007-11-12T12:35:00.000+05:30

I am a ship...

I need an anchor that keeps me grounded when I want to rest.
I need an anchor that lets me free when I want to explore the depths.
I need an anchor that embraces me when I return to the shore.

I need an anchor with arms stronger than the jaws.

(Dated: Nov 6, 2007)

What???

2007-10-16T18:04:00.001+05:30

Live...
Love...
love to live
live to love
how to love?
how to live?
simple...but...

What an effort!

scared of death
death will come
anytime, anywhere
silently, violently
then why to live
and struggle till I die
but still I live
and keep circling till I lie

What a delusion!

then what's the purpose
what's the meaning - Nothing
yes, nothing is the answer
then why not,
Live...
Love...
live to love
cherish the feelings
till I live
and when silently I die
cuddle the feelings
that I have lived

Life is an illusion but love is not.

Wannabes

2007-10-14T11:38:00.000+05:30

Crying, whining babies

A crowd of wannabes —

Wannabe writer

Wannabe singer

Wannabe artist

Wannabe journalist

A breed of wannabes who hardly try

A breed of wannabes who cling to those who cry

A breed of wannabes who hate those who fly

It’s so difficult to be with such a breed

They have their own creed

I could never understand them

Neither they could me

I am happy, I am free…

Touch

2007-03-31T02:10:00.000+05:30

Through the window slit

Quietly sneaked in a ray of light

In the dark, cold room

I felt the touch on my bare arms

The touch of warmth – the divine bliss.

Cuddling, kissing, caressing me like a child

The ray sat silently by my side

I turned to see her

And softly she touched my cheek and my ear

And smiled at me like a mother

Then she softly stroked my hair

Till I closed my eyes…

I dreamt of sea, I dreamt of river

I dreamt of mountains, I dreamt of deep valleys

I dreamt of a butterfly making love to a flower.

I dreamt of peace, I dreamt of silence

I dreamt of love all around.

I slept for ages…

When I opened my eyes,

It was cold again

The window was open

It was dark again.

(Dated: 30/3/2007)

Zindagi chalti rahegi…

2007-02-12T08:50:00.000+05:30

Zindagi phir ek sawaal

hamesha ki tarah

Pyaar phir ek talaash

hamesha ki tarah

Sawanlon ko suljhate suljhate

Pyaar ko mehsoos karte karte

Dhoop-chaavn ka khel khelte khelte

Andhera hone tak, zindagi chalti rahegi…

The New Dawn

2006-12-31T09:50:00.000+05:30

As the old man leads the child

To the door of the new house,

We all hear the toddler’s footsteps

And wait to see the innocent face…

May the new dawn lead us to the right path.

Happy New Year!!!

Wo Jamaane Ab Beet Gaye

2006-12-25T11:04:00.000+05:30

(One of my Hindi Poem)

Chup-chup ke pyaar karne ke

jamaane wo beet gaye

unse nigaanhe churane ke

jammane wo beet gaye

Unki tawajjuh ke liye tadapne ke

jamaane wo beet gaye

Unke intezaar me kho jaaneke

jamaane wo beet gaye.

Najaane kyun chalte-chalte

Masoom muhabbat ke

jamaane wo beet gaye.

(Dated:1/11/06)

Why the Heart Aches?

2006-11-18T11:03:00.000+05:30

‘You are not respectable’, he said once

And I refuted with a frown

Then he added, ‘You are very sweet but…’

I cut him short and gave a stern look

He turned his face away and continued,

‘…but you don’t have respect.’

I was bemused hearing his words

‘Respect! Is it a medal that I have to flaunt?’

I questioned with tears in my eyes.

He retorted, ‘You will not understand.’

That day I understood the difference between love and life.

Love compels you to break the norms

And life compels you to follow the norms.

None of us were wrong.

I always wanted to love

And he always wanted to live.

(Dated: 23/05/2006)

All that is Negative

2006-10-24T00:02:00.000+05:30

What scares me is not the darkness
But the dazzling brightness
What scares me is not the dark night
But the piercing daylight

What scares me is not the silence
But the strange noise
What scares me is not the shadow
But people walking by my side
What scares me is not loneliness
But the fathomless crowd

What scares me is not the failure
But the struggle to hold success
What scares me is not an enemy
But a very dear friend
What scares me is not the hatred
But the tests of true love

(Dated: 23/10/2006)

Castles

2006-10-14T00:38:00.000+05:30

Castles are built in dreams
not in a day but in a moment.
Castles in dream,
have plain walls and are painted pink.
Castles in reality
are not castles at all.
They are structures,
bounded by rough and bare walls.

(Dated:6/4/2003)

The trodden path I walked…

2006-10-01T11:06:00.000+05:30

Part 1

The trodden path I walked…
With no vision, no goal, no smile
Fear and grief always stroked
As the trodden path I walked

Then in the way once
Flashed a bright light
And a sound said to me,
Smile without any fight

And from then on,
I walked with smile on my face
And love in my heart
And of fear there was no trace

And from then on,
As I walked, I found
Love is the only way
To put the grief away

So the trodden path I walked,
With a vision and with a goal
With no fear and no grief
And with love and peace in my soul.

Part 2

The trodden path I walked…
With no fear, no grief, no hate
Love and peace always stroked
As the trodden path I walked

Then in the way,
I met a child, a young man and an old man
And all of them had their own way.

When I met a child and I said,
“Never cry, never hate and never fight”
He smiled and held me tight.

And from then on,
As I walked, he followed me
He smiled and loved
As I always did.

When I met a young man and I said,
“Never cry, never hate and never fight”
He smiled and said, “I’ll try.”

And from then on,
As I walked, he walked beside me
He saw me smile and love
And tried to do the same
But how could he do it for long
With his ego full till the brim
But still he walked
For the love he had for me.

When I met an old man and I said,
“Never cry, never hate and never fight”
He releaved a sigh and said,
“O! These words sound so good,
But seldom can they be used.
You are a child and I am an old man.
I have lived life more than you.
What a pain it is!
No one needs me and no one cares for me.
My children hate me and the world ignores me.”
To him I replied,
“Don’t worry; you can still be with me.”

And from then on,
As I walked, he walked alongside
He saw me smile and love
And thought he could have done the same —
Only if life was not a shame
He walked so that his pain can be cared
And his sorrows can be shared
But there was always a wince
As he tried to convince,
How life can be painful
If you are not careful.

To his advice,
I was indifferent
The young man was cautious
And the child was ignorant.

They all walked with me…
The child followed
The young man loved
The old man cared

Part 3

The trodden path we all walked…
With different faith, different goal, different might
But we all had to find the light.

We all walked together until…
The child lost his way while chasing a butterfly,
The young man left so that in future he doesn’t have to cry,
And the old man died in grief but while dying he held my hand
And vent out a cry,
“If only I had seen the light and heard the sound as early as you did.
But alas! I could never give a try.”

(Dated: 1/5/2006
Edited: 27/5/2006)

The Cycle of Changes

2006-09-11T15:24:00.000+05:30

Yesterday it was raining heavily
Today there is scorching heat
The wintry nights are about to come
Seasons change, climates change
And with every change
I sit by the window
Feeling the soft rain drops
Feeling the warmth of the heat
Feeling the soothing winter breeze
Feeling the change — inside and outside.

And with every change
I sit by the window and recollect
The mathematical equations with definite solutions
The physics formulae which explained all phenomena
Those theories which claim they can explain everything
And then I think,
Can there be a formula that explains the phenomenon of happiness?
Can there be a definite solution to the unsolved equation of life?

I sit thinking for hours
And suddenly dark clouds cover the clear sky
It starts raining
I stretch my hands to wet my thirsty palms
I feel the first rain drop at the centre of my palm
Suddenly, my mom calls out,
“Close the window…the floor will be wet”
I quickly close the window.
Leaving my queries unsolved, the cycle continues…

----Madhuri Shinde (Date: 11 Sept. 2006)

Death

2006-08-16T00:26:00.000+05:30

She loves me
She is my destiny
The glimpse of her smile
I can see from far away
She is nearing me
I can see her on the way.

One day-
She’ll be in front of me
With her arms wide open
Then I’ll be in her warm grip
With my eyes closed – forever.

(Dated: Sept 2000)

Relive

2006-08-11T17:06:00.000+05:30

Back are the azure mornings
And the crimson evenings
Back is the rainbow
That was hidden in the colourless white
Back is the joy
That was engulfed in sorrow
Back is the silence
That was lost in fury
Back is the love
That was sleeping awhile.

(Dated: 1 July 2006)

The girl with simple dreams…

2006-07-22T23:23:00.000+05:30

Her harsh words can’t hide
The melancholy in her eyes
The depth of her lonely heart
The love in her caring heart
Seldom will people know

She’s an innocent child,
She’s a naughty sister,
She’s a caring mother.

You want to love her
You want to hold her
Don’t see the surface
It’s just a colourful disguise
Beneath she smartly hides
The serene colour white

The girl with simple dreams…
The girl with melancholy eyes
The girl who gives away her heart
If you just flash a friendly smile.

(Dated: 22/07/2006)

जिंदगी कुछ लम्हे

2006-07-12T20:47:00.000+05:30

चंद लम्होकी जिंदगी है
चंद लम्हे ही प्यारकी फुरसत है
फिर भी -
कहीं बॅम्बका धमाका है
कहीं गोलियोंकी बौछार है
कहीं लाठियोंकी मार है l
बस एक मुस्कुराहट का फासला है
उसे पार करते-करते जिंदगी बीत जाती है l

(Dated: 13/3/06)

The Cave

2006-07-11T11:45:00.000+05:30

A cave – dark and silent.
As I walked in,
darkness and silence both grew.
With my every step,
silence became larger than me.
As I walked,
I heard nothing but
the heart beat of silence.
I kept on walking till I was
lost in the depth of the cave.
What I found was nothing but
vacuum and ‘I’ locked in it.

(DATE: 22/4/2003)

उलझन

2006-07-10T01:10:00.000+05:30

क्या है जो तेरे दिलको तडपा रहा है
क्या है जो तेरी बेकरारी बढा रहा है l
क्यूं तेरी आँखोंमे नमी है
तेरा साथी तेरे साथ है
फिर कैसी ये उदासी है l
तेरी आँखोंमे शिकायतसी
आजभी एक पहेली है
जित्न सुलझाना चाहतें है
उतनी वो उलझ जाती है l

(Dated: 10/7/2006)

Candlelight

2006-07-07T01:21:00.000+05:30

You shine so bright
You dear sunlight
You hold the hand so tight
And become a guiding light.
You walk with me
When the day is so bright
But one thing you tell me
Why do you leave when there is no light?
When it is dark
There is the candlelight
It seems so bright
Because in the dark it spreads light.

O dear sunlight,
In the daytime you seem like
Any other light
But if you really love me
Can you be the candlelight?

(Dated: 7/7/06)

Humanity

2006-06-27T16:55:00.000+05:30

The world of men
and the world of dogs
is separated by a thin line
and on this line is a man-
despised by every man
and loved by every dog.
There is a mad dog in every man
and there is a cultured man in every dog.

(Dated: 5/1/2002)

मासूम

2006-06-23T16:08:00.000+05:30

तेरे नाजुक हाथोंका लम्स
मेरे दिलको सेहलात है
मेरी दस्तरसमे तू नही
सिर्फ़ तेरी यादें है l

लडखडाते कदमोंसे तेरा आगे बढना
कोमल स्पर्शसे दुनियाको जीतना l
प्यारकी एकही भाषा जाने तू
चलते-चलते कहां खो गया तू l
दिलमें बसी याद है तू
आखोंकी तलाश है तू l

आईनेमें दिखते नही तुम
दिखता है अक्स -
दुनियाके रंगसे सजा हुआ l
प्यारका हिसाब मांगे सभी
बच्चपनसा मासूम कोई नही l

(Dated: 11/5/2003)

Voice

2006-06-20T16:43:00.000+05:30

On the surface is the zeal
beneath is the silence that makes me feel
beyond the smile there’s a pain
nothing in particular but a strain
Because I think, because I feel.
The road is straight or a curve
or just a circle where we move
it makes no difference to you
but it does make to me
Because I think, because I feel.
I’ll walk with all of you,
I’ll smile like all of you
but beneath the smile there’s something
which burns me from within
Because I think, because I feel.
The journey is just vain
heart says time and again
but I’ll have to move
in the sun and in the rain
Though there is a pain
but no one I’ll disdain
I’ll just walk and enjoy my pain
I’ll be a child who enjoys the rain
Because I think, because I feel.

(Dated: 6 Dec, 2005)

EMOTIONS

2006-06-15T17:00:00.000+05:30

Dancing on the waves
Laughing with the wind
Banging on the rocks
Dying in pain –

Emotions.

************

Spinning top
Pierced earth
Clapping hands
Circles on the earth
At the center – a deep wound.
Earth left in pain.

*************

A bubble in the water
grows larger and larger
till it bursts and dies
in the arms of its mother.

*************

(DATED: 4/6/2003)

Perception

2006-06-14T00:00:00.000+05:30

A dot grows and forms a circle
and stretches to form a line.
A circle breaks and straightens to line.
A line bends and forms a circle.
Circle restricts, line liberates.
Forms change, the way we want them.

(DATED: 1/6/2003)

The Lonely Heart

2006-06-12T21:33:00.000+05:30

The lonely heart finds solace
in the loneliness itself.
Amidst the crowd and in the
moments of silence, loneliness
creeps in whenever it wants.
The bliss in the solitude stands
above all the treasure
the world cares for.
The silence around
enters the heart and
the waves are calmed
before disturbing the surface.
Then the journey starts deep inside
till the body finds the 'Self '.

(DATED: 1/7/2003)

Fooling Thy Self

2006-06-11T00:04:00.000+05:30

Being cruel with thy own people
Is torturous indeed
Not only to thy loved ones
But also to thy own self
Preaching godliness is very simple indeed
But is it easy to bring it in deed?
Our soul is still full of dirt
And we know nothing but to hurt.
How long a fool will sustain his fake sanity?
Knowing that he’s not the enlightened one
How long he can pose his integrity?
Greed is what empowers our soul
And we like fools call it our goal
Like hypocrites we hide our desire
Under the glittery coat of love.
Incapable we are to love
Senseless to understand love
And above all the things
Cowards to standby true love.
Love hurts, Love burns, Love kills
To bear the torture
Storng soul is what it needs
Not all fools who tread the path understand this
They walk halfway and then realize
They are incapable to bear the so called ‘bliss’
What befalls then is just a chaos
Neither the journey can be traced back
Nor it can be extended further
Desires stand still with no hope for future
And hatred fills the heart with no space for love to nurture.
Love stands in front with open hands
But the heart says,
“This is not the truth but an illusion because when I hold it,
it hurts, it burns, it kills…and I am too young to die.”

You stand still and love moves away.

(Dated: 23/10/2005)

STORY OF A POND...

2006-06-09T15:52:00.000+05:30

There was a pond amidst a jungle -
Crystal clear and full of beautiful pebbles.
Everything was fine,
but it was always left alone.
Man feared its depth.
Animals feared their real image.
So the pond was calm and undisturbed.

Once a lost child came at the edge of the pond.
The curious child was fascinated by the beauty of the pond.
He sat near the pond, drank the sweet water,
his thirst was quenched.
The pond was happy to see the satisfied child.
“At last”, the pond thought, “I have got a friend.”
The child played around the pond.

One day the child went away, but while leaving
dropped a beautiful pebble in the pond.
The child left, but the ripples of his pebble
had spread all over the pond,
and the pebble with memories,
had settled deep in the heart of the pond.

(DATED: 4/4/2003)

जिंदगी

2006-06-02T18:58:00.000+05:30

जिंदगी गीतबन

सुर्ख होटोंको सजाती है

कभी आँखोंकी नमीबन

हलकीसी छलक जाती है

कभी दिलमेबसी यादबन

दबी-दबीसी रहती है

कभी दर्दभरी यादबन

दिलको तन्हा छोड़ जाती है

जिंदगी सबाकी सफी धूपसी

जिंदगी रातके खोफनाक अंधेरेसी

जिंदगी एक पहेलीसी

जीनेकी वज़ह बनती हुई.

Madhuri's Hindi Poem

A Dream

2006-05-28T15:20:00.000+05:30

A Dream:
First - just a sketch.
Some faint shades
and light strokes of lines
What the lines form can't be seen.
Then the dark lines give the shape
and the sketch can be seen.

Second – the colour.
Blue at the background
red at the foreground
and a black shade at the border.

Last – the black shade grows
larger and larger and
the dream is gulped by the darkness.

The dreamy eyes wait for another day – to see another dream,
but it holds the shattered pieces of the previous dream.

(Dated:4/4/2003)

Reality

2006-05-27T01:29:00.000+05:30

Ocean – the heart.
Waves – the emotions.
From the calm ocean
rise impatient waves,
in fury they come
rushing towards the shore- the reality.
On the shore ends the fury
and the waves are back
into the depth of the ocean.

(Dated:13/04/2002)

Travel

2006-05-25T14:27:00.000+05:30

As I walk I sing a song - unending song
The day the journey ends, the song will stop.