हाय कवि क्या खाए कवि
जो रोज़ कविता हगते हो
क्यूँ उल्लू की सोहबत में
यूं  रात-रात भर जगते हो

सीधी बात कभी ना कहते
हर एक वाक्य जलेबी है
घूम-फिर के बस वही एक रोना
दुनिया बड़ी फरेबी है

दुनियादारी से है फटती
शब्दों पे इतराते हो
जो सच शब्दों में ना fit हो
उससे क्यूँ घबराते हो?

एक line में दिल के दुखड़े
दूसरी में कही धड़कन की
तुम्हें तो कुछ भी समझ ना आता
अगर ना होती तुकबंदी

क्यूँ तुक के पीछे यूं भागे
जब बेतुके हैं यहाँ सभी
लो फिर कोसने लगे सभी को
समझाया था तुम्हें अभी

खैर तुम्हारी भी क्या गलती
ये भी एक बीमारी है
और नहीं तो समय काटने
की एक कारगर आरी है

पाप का भागी

हाथ में चाँद के टूटे टुकड़े
जेब में तारों की बारात
भूले सब दुनिया के दुखड़े
याद है तो बस आज की रात

आज की रात क़यामत की है
कल क्या हो ये किसे खबर
आज तो मैंने जुर्रत की है
कल तक सीख ना जाऊं सबर

रात की चादर ओढ़ के मैं
तुझे लोरी एक सुनाऊंगा
तेरे बदन को तोड़ के मैं
तेरी रूह से ही जुड़ जाऊंगा

कहीं किसी को चैन नहीं है
यहाँ-वहां सब फिरते हैं
दिन भर गड्ढा खोदते हैं
और रात को उसी में गिरते हैं

अपना ग़म तो इस आलम  का
एक छोटा-सा हिस्सा है
किसी की ख़ुशी पे पड़ता डाका
किसी के लिए एक किस्सा है

इस गोरखधंधे से बचना
दुनिया बड़ी सयानी है
ढूंढें से मिलता है सच ना
झूठी सारी कहानी है

कहेंगे सब जीवन तो नदी है
बहना है बस उसके साथ
कहेंगे ये तो नयी सदी है
पाप से धो लो अपने हाथ

मगर नदी ही पाप की है ये
कच्चा सबको खा जाती
हर एक नयी सदी भी अपने
साथ नए पापी लाती

मैं भी कहूँगा तुझसे कि मैं
इस सबसे रहता हूँ दूर
अन्धकार के बीच में भी मैं
कायम रखूँगा अपना नूर

पर सच तो ये है मेरी जां
जब जब देखता हूँ तुझको
अच्छे-बुरे और पाप-पुण्य का
होश  नहीं रहता मुझको

मैं भी आज इक पाप करूँगा
गर तू इजाज़त दे देगी
धीरे से चुपचाप मरूँगा
जब तू बाहों में लेगी

ख्याली पुलाव

सोचा कुछ लफ़्ज़ों से खेलूँ, पर अब दिमाग खाली-सा है
सोचा खरीद लूं कुछ लम्हे, पर नोट फटा जाली-सा है

लम्हे के अन्दर लम्हों की एक लम्बी लड़ी लगी रहती
इस लड़ी में उलझी पड़ी कड़ी का रूप महाकाली-सा है

मन के बागीचे में सारे गुल बेमौसम ही खिलते हैं
ना खाद है ना खुर्पी पर समझे खुद को मन माली-सा है

कभी प्रेमी जैसे छेड़ दिया, कभी बच्चों जैसी जिद पकड़ी
मन का मुझसे रिश्ता मानो कुछ-कुछ जीजा-साली सा है

ना भूत-पिशाच की चिंता है, ना रावण से कोई पंगा है
तुलसी के निठल्लेपन का नतीजा हनुमान चालीसा है

इस महंगाई में चावल आलू मटर कहाँ से लायेंगे
अपनी तो है वो दुनिया जिसमें हर पुलाव ख्याली-सा है

Hey there Dalai Lama

There I go, ruining a perfectly good song again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_m-BjrxmgI

Hey there Dalai Lama what you got in your kitty
If it's freedom for Tibet the PRC will make it shitty
To be you
And this time where will you run to?
Maybe Timbuktu
Hey there Dalai Lama you've travelled a great distance
But never really found anything except Western reassurance
You're so wise
Can't you see through the disguise
Of a Nobel prize?
Oh it's no more a country
Oh it's no more a country
No more a country
Hey there Dalai Lama your entry has been barred
But you can still go to Arunachal and dance in their backyard
Yes you could
And we will dance with you real good
In da monkhood
Hey there Dalai Lama you can just hope and pray
That those hardened Chinese hearts will also soften one fine day
Skies will fall
Freedom will come to one and all
You will stand tall
Oh it's no more a country
Oh it's no more a country
No more a country
Your followers from near and far
Write songs and play a mean guitar
But never really make any leeway
The Indian government is too scared
That China will be all but geared
To drop an atom bomb just anyday
Dalai Lama I'm telling you
By the time your term is through
Your homeland will remain an ugly game
Free just in name
Hey there Dalai Lama your Yellow Hat's a mystery
But if Tibet is not freed soon it is set to become history
Don't be blue
Someone will always stand by you
And start anew
Oh it's no more a country
Oh it's no more a country

A Kri-tique of nothing at all

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोSस्त्वकर्मणि ||

You have no right to win, but the right to play is absolute

Inaction is no answer to inaccessible fruit

Now that it's done, the task seems like any other thing one would do. But for the last year and a half or so, I have lived in constant fear of failure. At every step of the way, no matter how detached I tried to be, no matter how much Bhagvadgita I read, all I ever felt was, "if I don't do this I'm dead." This is not an exaggeration, and I thought of it in very literal terms. I have noticed a tendency within me to think more deeply about things than most other people. It was for this reason that I chose philosophy as an optional. While the result made me feel glad about this tendency, it's not a very pleasant experience for me most of the time. During the preparation, it hounded me all the time: while attending classes, taking tests, studying at home, eating, even during the few moments when I fooled myself into believing that I was "relaxing." The only time I was free of the burden of thought was during sleep. During all of my brief professional life before this, I never slept easy, and always woke up tired. But during the preparation period, I always slept like a log, and even the afternoon nap became a regular feature of my daily schedule.

I don't really know what I'm trying to express here, except the fact that intense and gut-wrenching though it may have been, the entire experience made me feel alive. Being alive, in a very strict and admittedly cynical sense, is best felt through the fear of death. Fragility breeds excitement. We all live in a delicate balance, and theoretically every moment is trying to kill us. But it's easy, in today's urban setting, to fall into a rut without even realizing it. Everyday can feel the same, and the sad thing is that most of us look forward to such a feeling of being "settled". But movement and risk is what makes life worth living. Of course, not everyday can be risky and exciting for any sustainable length of time. But every few years, it's necessary to take the proverbial plunge and feel the freedom of the fall.

During all this time, one thing that kept me going was poetry. I wrote some myself, but also tried to find new and lesser known poets across all three languages that I understand. Subjective opinions of how good I really am at writing poems may vary from one end of the spectrum to the other, but for me writing was the only meaningful form of relaxation. When I began finding it tough to pen down new thoughts close to the exam, I started translating classical Hindi and Urdu poems that inspired me, into English. It turned out to be one of the most satisfying experiences of my life, and in the process I learnt that although languages shape cultures (and vice-versa), eventually every language expresses what it means to be human. In that sense, what's lost in translation is insignificant compared to what's retained.

I guess what I'm about to say next is something that countless people faced with what they thought is a do-or-die situation have said. But no matter how many times it has been said before, the Gita is a truly remarkable piece of literature and actionable philosophy. As part of my syllabus, I got the opportunity to study in some detail various schools of Indian philosophy. Having done that, I became an even more ardent admirer of Gita for the way it manages to summarise the teachings of every school without fully committing itself to any one of them. This is important, for the Gita is a piece of practical advice above all. It is not meant for Shastrartha, or theoretical discussion about the true nature of reality. It consciously eschews prescribing any particular theory on how life should be lived. While undertaking any practical endeavour, it helps to think of Arjun's plight as he encounters the most difficult task conceivable to any human: killing his own kith and kin. Taken out of context, it sounds like a clever charioteer hypnotised a gullible archer into annihilating his own race. But in the overall context of the story, it's clear that Arjun had no alternative course of action left. Whenever I thought of the situation he faced, I was reminded that there are bigger things in life than clearing an exam, and I must try to detach myself from the result even as I work towards it. As I said, I seldom succeeded in doing so, but even the few moments of detachment that I could manage were only when I was writing or reading some or the other form of poetry, including, very literally, The Lord's Song.

It's funny, but after Duryodhana is killed, Krishna turns to the Pandavas and says, "We've been lucky to win." This is God speaking. And so I realized that no matter how sincere or motivated the effort, the result was eventually a matter of luck. Somebody has to check the copies, somebody else has to judge my personality, and I can do nothing more than read the books and write the answers and try to appear confident during the interview. This spirit of detachment is reflected in every action of Krishna throughout the epic. Even though he's God and already knows the outcome of the war in a sense, he plans meticulously, tries his best to avert an inevitable war, and is nothing more than a highly 'aware' human being in the story.  

Finally, to me the whole rebirth theory as propounded in the Gita is nothing but a way of saying, "Hey! You're not that special. You like to think you came into existence at a special moment to serve a special purpose, but you've always been around, and so has everyone else. In this incarnation, if you can call it that, you are required or motivated to do certain specific things, which are not necessarily better than the ones you did in previous lives or will do in the future ones. Just focus on the task at hand, and not on how big a dent you can make in the universe. You will never realize the true worth of any task till you have finished doing it, and by then it won't matter because there will be a new task to be done."

न  त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न तवं नेमे जनाधिपाः ।

न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम  ।।

We have always been around, you, me and these leaders of men

No matter what the future holds, we will always remain

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय, नवानि ग्रहणति नरोSपराणि |

तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा, न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देहि || 

As men cast of old rags, and new clothes are worn

The soul leaves old bodies, finds new ones to return

What Krishna asks us to put our faith in, is an inherently empty belief that our efforts will be rewarded. But he also simultaneously tells us that we may or may not achieve what we try to, and so we must be prepared for both outcomes. Taken together, what he's trying to say is that if you're motivated enough you will very likely succeed. But the future is still uncertain, and here's what you can do about it: nothing at all.

मजबूर-ए-वफ़ा/Bound by faith

तुझको कितनों का लहू चाहिए ऐ अर्ज़-ए-वतन

जो तेरे आरिज़-ए-बेरंग को गुलनार करे

कितनी आहों से कलेजा तेरा ठंडा होगा

कितने आंसू तेरे सहराओं को गुलज़ार करे

तेरे ऐवानों में पुर्ज़े हुए पैमाँ कितने

कितने वादे जो न आसूदा-ए-इक़रार हुए

कितनी आँखों को नज़र खा गयी बद्ख्वाहों की

ख्वाब कितने तेरी शहराहों में संगसार हुए 

"बला कशान-ए-मुहब्बत पे, जो हुआ सो हुआ

जो मुझपे गुजरी मत उससे कहो, हुआ सो हुआ

मबादा हो कोई ज़ालिम तेरा गरीबां-गीर

लहू के दाग तू दामन से धो, हुआ सो हुआ"

हम तो मजबूर-ए-वफ़ा हैं मगर ऐ जान-ए-जहाँ 

अपने उश्शाक़ से ऐसा भी कोई करता है

तेरी महफ़िल को खुदा रक्खे अबद तक क़ायम

हम तो मेहमान घड़ी भर के, हमारा क्या है

O motherland, how much more blood must you drink up?

To make your wilted blossoms look some more florid

How many sighs will soothe your sunk downtrodden heart?

How long will tears irrigate your lands arid?

All your palaces are full of unfulfilled vows

Countless promises were just never lived up to

The evil eye was cast upon so many lives

And many dreams were stoned to death in your streets too

"Damn all these evil ones, what has been is but past

Don't tell them what I've been through, word will travel fast

God forbid some tyrant brings harm unto you too

Wash these bloodstains off your clothes, this will never last"

My faith binds me to your fate O my darling land

But who treats a lover with such outright disgust?

May God bless your majestic charms till kingdom come

I'm but a moment's tale, and will return to dust

यब्का वजह-ए-रब्बका/All that remains

हम देखेंगे 

लाजिम है कि हम भी देखेंगे

वो दिन कि जिसका वादा है

जो लौह-ए-अज़ल पर लिखा है 

जब ज़ुल्म-ओ-सितम के कोह-ए-गिरां 

रुई की तरह उड़ जायेंगे

हम महकूमों के पांव तले

ये धरती धड़-धड़ धड़केगी

और अहल-ए-हुकुम के सर ऊपर

जब बिजली कड़-कड़ कड़केगी 

जब अर्ज़-ए-खुदा के काबे से 

सब बुत उठवाये जायेंगे

हम अहल-ए-सफ़ा मरदूद-ए-हरम

मसनद पे बिठाये जायेंगे

सब ताज उछाले जायेंगे

सब तख़्त गिराए जायेंगे

बस नाम रहेगा अल्लाह का

जो गायब भी है हाज़िर भी

जो मंज़र भी है नाज़िर भी

उट्ठेगा 'अनल हक़' का नारा 

जो मैं भी हूँ और तुम भी हो

और राज करेगी खल्क़-ए-खुदा

जो मैं भी हूँ और तुम भी हो

हम देखेंगे

लाजिम है कि हम भी देखेंगे 

We shall witness

It's inevitable that we shall

That day we have been promised

Carved on the holy tablets

When mountains of tyranny

Will vaporize like clouds

Beneath our plebeian feet

The ground will shake and quake

When lightning strikes their heads

The high and mighty too will break

Almighty Lord's dominions
Will be sans every false prophet
Us kosher ones, shunned like demons
Will be given cushions to sit
All crowns will break down bit by bit
All seats of power will be hit

All that remains will be The Word
That is hidden but in plain sight
That is both seer and the sight

'I am the truth', will be our cry
Which is true of both me and you
His people will rule earth and sky
Which is true of both me and you

We shall witness
It's inevitable that we shall

~फैज़  (lost in translation)

मेरे-तेरे/Yours is mine

मेरी-तेरी निगाह में

जो लाख इंतज़ार हैं

जो मेरे-तेरे तन-बदन में

लाख दिल-फ़िगार हैं 

जो मेरी-तेरी उँगलियों की बेहिसी से 

सब क़लम नज़ार हैं 

जो मेरे-तेरे शहर में

हर इक गली में

मेरे-तेरे नक्श-ए-पा के बेनिशां मज़ार हैं 

जो मेरी-तेरी रात के

सितारे ज़ख्म-ज़ख्म हैं

जो मेरी-तेरी सुबह के 

गुलाब चाक-चाक हैं 

ये ज़ख्म सारे बेदवा

ये चाक सारे बेरफ़ू

किसी पे राख चाँद की 

किसी पे ओस का लहू 

ये हैं भी या नहीं बता

ये हैं की महज़ जाल हैं

मेरे तुम्हारे अनकबूत-ए-वहम का बुना हुआ

ये है तो इसका क्या करें

नहीं है तो भी क्या करें

बता बता

बता बता 

Your eyes and mine
Await each other's sight
Both of our bodies
Contain a heart torn by its plight
Just like yours, my fingers are too shaky
To hold a pen just right
In your town and mine
Every single street
Houses memorials to our footprints, hidden from plain sight
The stars that lit up our nights
Are wounded and bleeding
Our rose-tinted mornings
Are cut up into pieces
These wounds can never heal
These cuts you just can't sew
Some powdered with moondust
Some bleed of morning dew

Tell me, are all these real?
Or is it a cobweb?
Spun by the spiders of our past
If it's real, what good is it?
Even if not, what good is it?
Tell me
Just tell me

~फैज़ (lost in translation)

I in the sky

Can't catch myself
Much as I try
Running from this moment to that
Like a dog chasing its tail
Inventing motives
Creating reasons
To grow old and die

But in all this, where am I?

Tathagat, you were right
Always knew you were right
Everyone knows it, Hume sure does
But most of them are scared to admit
Rituals are too much fun
But when all's said and done
Who knows who made all this?
Or if all this was even made...
All that can be said with certainty
Is that Earthlings are small fry

And as one, so am I

Hindus, you are not what you were
When you were not Hindus
You could live your life without
Cursing and frothing at the mouth
At imagined insults to supposedly sacred symbols
Worrying too much about birthplaces of Gods
Believing in too many stories
Questioning the motives of every non-Hindu Hindustani
Asking where his loyalties really lie

Thank God that I am I

Muslims, you had conquered the world
Without killing off your best and brightest
Sure, there were wars back then too
But no one died without a clue
Twenty-somethings weren't sacrificed
At the altar of exaggerated interpretations
And political motivations
Ghazali was faithful, never mean
But crusades taught the Muslimeen
To disguise truth as lie

Think beyond you and I

Christians, I don't know much of you
Except that not too long ago
You were the most fanatical ones around
Until the Upanishads were found
You were witch-hunting and converting
Others to your faith
Though that's not what your scripture sayeth
Your religion sure is a funny one
To progress, it had to die

Oh Jesus, please don't cry!

Atheists, what is the deal with you?
What's so great about not believing?
Whether or not there is a God
Is something you don't care about
And yet you must scream and shout
Denying his existence
Under the pretense
Of rationality and independence
You like to think there's a rationale
Behind an irrational like pi
But to understand the irrational

You must begin with I

This being, that will always arise
Existence is both curse and prize
But you are not just you
And I am not just I
We are one

And we never die

मुसाफ़िर-ए-मन/Heartraveller

मेरे दिल मेरे मुसाफिर
हुआ फिर से हुक्म सादिर
के वतन-बदर हों हम-तुम
दें गली-गली सदाएं
करें रुख नगर-नगर का
के सुराग कोई पाएं
किसी यार-ए-नामाबर का
हर इक अजनबी से पूछें
जो पता था अपने घर का

सर-ए-कू-ए-नाशनासां
हमें दिन से रात करना
कभी इससे बात करना
कभी उससे बात करना

O my heart, let's explore
We must walk out this door
And leave our home behind
Call out on every street
And head to every place
Who knows who we may meet
A guide or friendly face
We can ask some stranger
How to find our own space

On these unknown pathways
We wander day and night
Chat up those who're alright
Even those who're uptight

~फैज़ (lost in translation)

कुपित कृष्ण/Howlin' Mad Hari

हरि ने भीषण हुंकार किया
अपना स्वरूप विस्तार किया

डगमग-डगमग दिग्गज डोले
भगवान कुपित होकर बोले

"ज़ंजीर बढ़ा के साध मुझे
हाँ हाँ दुर्योधन बाँध मुझे!

यह देख गगन मुझमें लय है
यह देख पवन मुझमें लय है

मुझे विलीन झंकार सकल
मुझमें लय है संसार सकल

अमरत्व फूलता है मुझमें
संहार झूलता है मुझमें

उदयाचल मेरा दीप्त-भाल
भूमंडल वक्षस्थल विशाल

भुज परिधि-बंद को घेरे हैं
मैनाक-मेरु पग मेरे हैं

दिपते जो गृह-नक्षत्र निकर
सब हैं मेरे मुख के अन्दर

दृग हो तो दृश्य अकाण्ड देख
मुझमें सारा ब्रह्माण्ड देख

चर-अचर जीव, जग, क्षर-अक्षर
नश्वर मनुष्य सुर-जाति अमर

शत-कोटि सूर्य, शत-कोटि चन्द्र
शत-कोटि सरित, सर, सिन्धु-मन्द्र

शत-कोटि विष्णु, ब्रह्मा, महेश
शत-कोटि विष्णु जलपति, धनेश

शत-कोटि रूद्र, शत-कोटि काल
शत-कोटि दंडधर लोकपाल

ज़ंजीर बढ़ा कर साध इन्हें
हाँ, हाँ, दुर्योधन बाँध इन्हें!

भूलोक, अतल, पाताल देख
गत और अनागत काल देख

यह देख जगत का आदि-सृजन
यह देख महाभारत का रण

मृतकों से पटी हुई भू है
पहचान कहाँ इसमें तू है"


Hari belched a horrible roar
Revealed his form some more

All stalwarts shook in fear
God's displeasure was clear

"Chain me and tame my quest
Duryodhana, do your best

Look, I contain the sky
My orders make winds fly

All sounds are lost in me
This world's my destiny

Eternal are my ways
Death in my garden plays

Hills rise on my forehead
On my chest, these plains spread

Arms encircle boundaries
Foot-hills are lined with trees

All stars from north to south
Reside inside my mouth

Try to see the first cause
I contain the Cosmos

Eternal and ephemeral
Beings divine and feral

Ten billion suns and moons
Oceans, lakes, and lagoons

Trillion holy trinities
Zillion sea-gods and rupees

Countless moments of pain
And countless ombudsmen

Chain them and tame your quest
Duryodhan, do your best

Search all heavens and hells
Ring all temporal bells

See how it all began
How great men killed great men

Corpses dumped everywhere
Look closely, are you there?"

~'दिनकर' (lost in translation)

इलाहबादाख्वार/Allahabadass

१
हंगामा है क्यूँ बरपा, थोड़ी सी जो पी ली है
डाका तो नहीं डाला, चोरी तो नहीं की है

ना-तजुर्बाकारी से वाइज़ की ये बातें हैं
इस रंग को क्या जाने, पूछो जो कभी पी है

उस मय से नहीं मतलब, दिल जिससे हो बेगाना
मक़सूद है उस मय से, दिल ही में जो खिंचती है

वां दिल में की दो सदमे, यां जी में की सब सह लो
उनका भी अजब दिल है, मेरा भी अजब जी है

हर ज़र्रा चमकता है अनवार-ए-इलाही से
हर सांस ये कहती है, हम हैं तो खुदा भी है

सूरज में लगे धब्बा, फितरत के करिश्मे हैं
बुत हमको कहें काफ़िर, अल्लाह की मर्ज़ी है

Why all this commotion just ‘cause I took a sip?
I did not steal or rob, just took a tiny trip

Clergymen can be chaste but never know this taste
Nor see this colour, unless faith does a backflip

Don’t care much for all these brews that burn the heart
The heart makes its own wine sweeter to the lips

I’ll grin and bear all of her punishments
My heart is like a crazy cat, hers is catnip

This light of being fills up even the tiniest speck
Each breath reminds us we are not a random blip

The Sun too has its own wounds by nature’s decree
The gash of idolatry is made by God’s whip


२
आब-ए-ज़मज़म से कहा मैंने, मिला गंगा से क्यूँ?
क्यूँ तेरी तीनत में इतनी नातवानी आ गयी?

वह लगा कहने की हज़रत! आप देखें तो ज़रा
बंद था शीशी में अब मुझमें रवानी आ गयी

Holy water! Why do you gel with infidels?
Without strength of your will are you holy at all?

“Before you judge me, Mister, just answer me this
Do I look better in bottle or waterfall?”


३
मुस्लिम का मियाँपन सोख्त करो. हिन्दू की भी ठकुराई ना रहे
बन जाओ हर इक के बाप यहाँ, दावे को कोई भाई ना रहे

हम आपके फ़न के गाहक हों, खुद्दाम हमारे हों गायब
सब काम मशीनों से ही चले, धोबी ना रहे नाई ना रहे

Let Muslims not be Muslim, nor Hindus Hindu-like
You are our overlords, brotherhood claims can take a hike

We pay the price for your talents that serve to severe ties
If machines can wash clothes why can’t they cut our hair in spikes


४
तअज्जुब से कहने लगे बाबू साहब
गौरमेंट सैयद पे क्यूँ मेहरबां है?

उसे क्यूँ हुई इस कदर कामयाबी
कि हर बज़्म में बस यही दास्ताँ है

कभी लाट साहब हैं मेहमान उसके
कभी लाट साहब का वो मेहमां है

नहीं है हमारे बराबर वो हरगिज़
दिया हमने हर सीग़े का इम्तिहाँ है

वो अंग्रेज़ी से कुछ भी वाक़िफ नहीं है
यहाँ जितनी इंग्लिश है सब बर्ज़बां है

कहा हंसके 'अकबर' ने ऐ बाबू साहब
सुनो मुझसे जो रम्ज़ उसमें निहां है

नहीं है तुम्हे कुछ भी सैयद से निस्बत
तुम अंग्रेजीदां हो वो अंग्रेज़दां है

The servant of the Empire wondered aloud
"How come the state has sympathy for Mr. Khan?"

"Why does he find favor forever with fortune?
His lore resounds around the whole wide world's wingspan"

"Movers and shakers move their schedules to meet him
Or play host as if he were the Shah of Iran"

"He doesn't shine a light to us enlightened souls
We have passed exams and mugged up legal ज्ञान"

"He has no knowledge of the Queen's tongue I can tell
We speak as if we were born in an English clan"

'Akbar', he laughed and told the bureaucrat
"Here is the secret to the flight of this black swan"

"You can never match up to his influence
You praise English and he praises the Englishman"

~'अकबर' (lost in translation)

ग़ुरबत-ओ-मोहब्बत/Love and other disasters

मुझसे पहली से मोहब्बत मेरी महबूब ना मांग

मैंने समझा था कि तू है तो दरख्व्शां है हयात 

तेरा ग़म है तो ग़म-ए-दहर का झगड़ा क्या है
तेरी सूरत से है आलम में बहारों को सबात
तेरी आँखों के सिवा दुनिया में रक्खा क्या है

तू जो मिल जाये तो तक़दीर नगूं हो जाये
यूं ना था मैंने फ़क़त चाहा था यूं हो जाये

और भी दुःख हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा

अनगिनत सदियों के तारीक बहीमाना तिलिस्म
रेशम-ओ-अतलस-ओ-कमख्वाब के बुनवाये हुए

जा-ब-जा बिकते हुए कूचा-ओ-बाज़ार में जिस्म
ख़ाक में लिथड़े हुए, खून में नहलाये हुए

जिस्म निकले हुए अमराज़ के तन्नूरों से
पीप बहती हुई गलते हुए नासूरों से

लौट जाती है उधर को भी नज़र क्या कीजे
अब भी दिलकश है तेरा हुस्न, मगर क्या कीजे


और भी दुःख हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा

मुझसे पहली से मोहब्बत मेरी महबूब ना मांग


Don't ask me to be your first love again, my love

I used to think that my life finds purpose in you
The pain of separation trumps all other sorrow
Your face imparts to this world all its lovely hues
What lies beyond your eyes, I just didn't wanna know

If I could make you mine I'd find my destiny
But it's not how I thought it was supposed to be

There are disasters bigger than my love for you
And elixirs beyond lips wet with honeydew

Countless centuries are witness to these tragedies
Spun in splendid shiny silks and rich in handiwork

Streets and marketplaces bustling with trade in bodies
Bathed in blood and covered in layers of dirt

Bodies burnt in ovens of festering sores
Pus streams oozing from decaying pores

Can't turn my eye from all these sights, what can I do?
Your beauty's still a shining light, but what can I do?


There are disasters bigger than my love for you
And elixirs beyond lips wet with honeydew

Don't ask me to be your first love again, my love


~ 'फैज़' (lost in translation)

हक़ीक़त-ए-हुस्न/Beauty and Being

खुदा ने हुस्न से इक रोज़ ये सवाल किया
जहां में क्यूँ ना मुझे तूने ला-ज़वाल किया
Beauty once posed this query to the prime mover
"Why couldn't you make my attraction last forever?"

मिला जवाब कि तस्वीरखाना है दुनिया
शबे-दराज़ अदम का फ़साना है दुनिया
Pat came the answer that this world is a picture-play
Men may die but the story goes on like night and day

हुई है रंगे-तगय्युर से जब नमूद इसकी
वही हसीं है हक़ीक़त ज़वाल है जिसकी
Winds of change have shaped and molded all that is
That which is ephemeral is the source of bliss

कहीं करीब था ये गुफ्तगू क़मर ने सुनी
फ़लक पे आम हुई अख्तर-ए-सहर ने सुनी
Word reached the moon as it was loitering nearby
Morning stars heard it as it spread around the sky

सहर ने तारे से सुनकर सुनाई शबनम को
फ़लक की बात बता दी ज़मीं के महरम को
The morning passed on this star-talk to the dewdrops
The gossip of the skies soon made its earthly stops

भर आये फूल के आंसू पयामे-शबनम से
कली का नन्हा-सा दिल खून हो गया ग़म से
Then flowers wept as they understood dew's message
Tiny buds bled their hearts out, oh what a carnage!

चमन से रोता हुआ मौसम-ए-बहार गया
शबाब सैर को आया था सोगवार गया
The sobbing springs left the Garden of Proserpine
Youth was a wanderlust, it left all but sanguine

~'इक़बाल' (lost in translation)

तू क्या है

कब मैंने ये सोचा था भला 

कहीं कोई तुझसी भी होगी 

इस समझदारों की दुनिया में

इक बावरिया मुझसी भी होगी

मैं बैरागी बनता था फिरता 

मन के दरिया में खेता नैया 

इस भोले-भगत को तूने darling

दो दिन में बना दिया कन्हैया 

समझ नहीं आता 

तू क्या है

नासमझ भी होना 

पर क्या बुरा है?

तू अक्स है मेरा मुझमें ही 

मैं बसता अब दो जिस्मों में 

Expert हो गया मैं भी अब

पागलपन की सब किस्मों में 

दिन में सूरज से जलता हूँ

और रात में तेरी यादों से

जब कहती तू पास आने को

लड़ता हूँ अपने इरादों से

अब किससे पूछूं 

की तू क्या है

मिलकर भी ना मिलती

ऐसी सज़ा है 

क्या किया है तूने मेरा हाल

खुद को भी दिया ये दर्द-ए-दिल

जी करे तुझमें गोते खाऊं

जब कहती है तू "आके मिल"

इस आग का तू ही fuel और 

तू ही पानी की धारा है

तेरी बाहों में मरना भी

जीने से ज्यादा गवारा है 

अब तू ही मुझे बता

की तू क्या है

दुआ का असर है या फिर

खुद ही दुआ है?

न रहेगा NREGA

क्या रोज़-रोज़ ये रोज़गार को रो-रो के पीटें मत्था

क्यूँ लाइन लगाकर सरकार से खींचें बेरोज़गारी भत्ता

चलो UPSC में बैठें 

और बिना बात के ही ऐंठें

भले जेब में कौड़ी भी ना मिले, जग-ज्ञान मिलेगा अलबत्ता 

बेताल-पचीसी के माफ़िक ये परीक्षा भी है परी-कथा 

इसकी गलियों में भटकी रूहें घूमें बिन कपड़ा-लत्ता 

पर है इसका कुछ अलग मज़ा

हर रोज़ नज़र आती है क़ज़ा 

फ़र्ज़ी बुद्धिजीवी के लिए ये वही है जो है कलकत्ता 

GS की कहानी कहता है बूटा-बूटा, पत्ता-पत्ता 

किसी current event सा लगता है, जो गली में भौंके कोई कुत्ता 

जो संविधान घोल के पीता है

Hindu ही जिसकी गीता है 

वही शहद के भटके में छेड़ता है ये बरैयों का छत्ता 

न रहेगा इक दिन NREGA भी, जब बदलेगी अपनी सत्ता 

फिर और बनेंगी schemes करने को गरीबी की हत्या 

पर जेब भरेंगी खादी की 

जय बोल महात्मा गाँधी की!

और हम सारी स्कीमों को चाट मरेंगे बिन चूना-कत्था

दो लफ्ज़ बिके चार आने के

हज़ार उज़्र तेरे दर से गुज़र जाने के

अब न हम जीने के बचे न ही मर जाने के 

जब से सूरत तेरी कर गयी है घर इस दिल में

हौसले हममें भी आ गए कुछ कर जाने के

यूं तो ख़्वाबों की बड़ी लम्बी एक फ़ेहरिस्त भी है

राहत-ए-वस्ल बिन सब ख्वाब बिखर जाने के

जो दर्द तूने दिया, दवा भी अब तू ही बने

क्यूँ लगाये फ़िज़ूल चक्कर दवाखाने के 

जो ये ग़म है तो हम हैं, ग़म नहीं तो हम भी नहीं 

ग़म सफ़र देता है वादे हमसफ़र पाने के

जेब खाली सही, आशिक को कहाँ इसकी फिकर 

तेरा दीदार मुतबादिल डॉलर कमाने के 

समझ न इसको फ़क़त फ़साना-ए-इश्क़-ओ-सितम

फुर्सत-ए-हस्ती ने चाटे शायर ज़माने के

A thousand reasons to walk past your door

I'm neither alive nor dead anymore

Your pretty face lives in my heart

It makes me braver than before

You can say I'm a dreamer but

?Without you what are these dreams for

You are my pain and elixir

?Who wants a medicinal cure

This storm is what sustains my ship

 It makes me promises of shore

Empty pockets don't bother me

Love isn't sold at the dollar store

Don't think of this as a love song

Poetry is my favorite chore

 उज़्र=excuse; फ़ेहरिस्त=list; राहत-ए-वस्ल=joy of union; मुतबादिल=equivalent; फ़क़त=mere; फुर्सत-ए-हस्ती=this idle existence

Non-Sense

Ears to smell, nose to touch
You get my senses all mixed up
I hear with my tongue and I love the sound
I’m lonely though I’m in a crowd

I can't believe how I found you
I can't believe I'm a believer too

I can't believe you're what you are

I do believe you're way too far

Last night I saw you dressing down
I’d give my teeth to be around
I try and try but it’s no good
You think I lie, I think I should

My hands are empty, white and dry
I wave and you go by and by
The humor in my eyes is sad
I can foresee the times we had

What’s it to you? To me it’s you
I’ve heard this thing about warm guns too
But in the end it’s all a play
Just wish I could get through today

Submarine दुनिया हसीन

In brilliant briny blues and groovy glistening greens

चल चंद चमत्कार-से लम्हों को लें छीन 

Dive deep down, make our final surrender

दरियादिल भी पहुंचेगा ही एक दिन समंदर 

All life, strife, and the first wife took birth in here

यहीं सब सेरों को सवा क्या, मिले सवा सौ सेर 

Who knows what random cell first felt like growing a dick

इन गहराइयों का इतिहास ही है प्रागैतिहासिक 

Where night and day are naught but unreal terminology

वक़्त की तेज़ रफ़्तार भी बताती है बस मछली 

Where questions get simpler, and answers more tricky

गोरखधंधे के अनदेखे कोनों में दुनिया दिखी 

The ocean's heart hides priceless secret treasures unseen 

चल चंद चमत्कार-से लम्हों को लें छीन

ShankaRhyme vs VasudeVerse: Rap-o-calypse Now!

Rudra roars

I am the unborn

More pervasive than porn

All so-called seekers of salvation are obsessed with me

Rest assured, they will one day be blessed with me

Living is learning to live and learn

Wisdom is slightly harder to earn

It is my fear that makes men wise

But they worship Vishnu, what a fuckin surprise!

If you want to know what the future will be

The onlyest way to find out is, to still be

Your thirst for truth is a lust for life

But I am unknowing, the liberation from strife

All knowledge you seek is mere pretense

I'll swallow it whole, you and your intelligence

I'm that riddle you'll never solve:

What happens when flesh and bone dissolve?

Worship whoever you wish, who cares,

or just for kicks, replace those prayers with swears

Hari has the space to do duties divine,

Hara has the time to make all of you mine

These robots you make sure are smarter than you,

Which is why they'll kill you one day, themselves too,

The day it all ends, I'll dance in delight,

Each dog has its day, but I'm its night

Unlike nuclear bombs, I'll find you in your bunker,

When I piss on your dreams, you'll know my name is लघु-शँकर

Svayambhu saves

I am the first-born

Every sliver of life I adorn

The so-called seekers of salvation are 'fraidy cats,

Pointlessly pondering over the point of chasing rats

All joy may seem momentary to you,

But that's no reason to remain forever blue

Truth is whatever keeps you alive and kicking,

Trying to know the knower is needless nitpicking

Why do you care what the future will be?

This moment alone can set you free

Wisdom may yet be born in fear of death,

The wise still worship life to their dying breath

All the world's a stage, and you must act

The code of reality isn't meant to be cracked

It's a riddle that doesn't need to be solved

You'll find the answer when you're amply evolved

Worship whoever you wish, doesn't matter

Deities and demons are both dead in the water

Hari is the space you all find for yourselves

Hara is the time you waste on fairies and elves

Robots are your servants, just like you are mine

When they become masters, it's a sure sign,

you have screwed things up beyond repair

But I can always create you again from thin air

Never mind the Matrix, there will never be a Zion

When I maul the machines, they'll know my name is नारायण