Cotton Candy

Sometimes we deal with things that make our heart weigh heavy like a block of lead. At all such times its a good idea to retreat into such nooks that offer the cosy comfort of a warm hug; and the truly liberating weightlessness of a cotton candy!

While cleaning up some folders just re-experienced some much needed 'cotton candy' moments, that took shape during a discourse between some wandering souls - cotton candies, floating through the sky.....

 Its a whisper on a frosty glass

 Its the touch of a gentle pass

 Its the dew on a blade of grass

 Its the beat of a drum and brass

 Its a cotton candy

 flaoting through the sky.

 Its the kiss of the first of rain

 Its touch of the sweet soft mane

 Its the caress of that quiet heart pain

 Its a cotton candy

 floating through the sky.

Hum Kya Jaanain

If there is one word one may define Ibn e Insha with, its: AMAZING.

He takes you along, to the bonfire at the end of his journey and reflects on that journey that never ceases to seem all too familiar. It is either your own journey, or of someone you may have known. The familiarity, the resemblance is striking! 

And at the end of it, you just wonder at his canniness at being a witness to it.

Insha Ji Bohat Din Beet Chukay

insha ji bohat din beet chukay

tum tanha thay, tum tanha ho

yeh jog bajoog tu theek nahi

yeh rog kissi ka acha ho?

kabhi poorab main, kabhi pacham main

tum purwa ho, tum pachwa ho?

jo nagri nagri bhatkay

aya bhi na mun mein kanta ho

kya aur sabhi choonchaal yahaan ?

kya aik tumhi yahaan dukhiya ho

kya aik tumhi par dhoop kaRee

jab sab par sukh ka saya ho

tum kis jungal kay phool miyaan

tum kis baghiyaa kay bayla ho?

tum kis sagar ki lehar bhala

tum kis badal ki barkha ho?

tum kis ponam ka ujyaara

kis andhi raeen ki oosha ho

tum kin hathoon ki mehndi ho

tum kis mathay ka teeka ho

kyon shehar taja, kyon jog liya

kyon wehshi ho, kyon ruswa ho

hum jab daikhain behroop naya

hum kya jaanain tum kya kya ho?

jab sooraj doobay sanjh bhaye

aur phail raha andhyara ho

kisi saaz ki lay par jhan'an jhan'an

kisi geet ka mukhra jaga ho

iss taal pay naachay pairoon main

aik chup chup behti nadiya ho

ho chaaron koot sugandh basi

jeevan jangal pehna gajra ho

yeh ambar kay mukh ka anchal ho

iss anchal ka rung ooda ho

ik gooT ro'pehlay taroon ki

aur beech sunehra chanda ho

iss sundar sheetal shaant samay

haan bolo bolo phir kya ho ?

woh jis ka milna na mumkin

woh mil jaye tu kaisa ho?

kyon aisay sapnay daikhtay ho

insha ji tum aap bhi sapna ho

ik beetain likhtay shayar ho

ik geet ugalti beena ho

yeh battain mun main woh sochay

jo kya batla'ein kaisa ho?

woh jis kay hath mein kismat ki

aik lambi gehri raikha ho

woh shakhas puranay qisoon ka

ik mud'mata shehzada ho

jo shehar ka rasta bhoola ho

aur jungal mein aa nikla ho

woh raja kaashi nagri ka

woh wali'e bulkh o bukhara ho

kuch uss kay taj pay kalghee ho

kuch uss ka chand sa chehra ho

woh malik mehal ataariyon ka

woh ruppey sonay wala ho

ya koye anookha gunn wala

woh jiss ka jug mein charcha ho

ya koyee sajeela banjara

jo nagri nagri ghooma ho

hum nagri nagri ghoomay tu

jab niklay thay awara ho

woh London ho, woh Paris ho

woh Berlin ho, woh Roma ho

woh Kabul ho, woh Lanka ho

woh sahil seen o rayan ho

ya sahil e neel o dajla ho

woh jeen ka daish washaal kaheen

ya pucham dais Amrica ho

woh chotti Fuji yama ki

ya Ulpus ka barpad ooncha ho

woh chattain gulabi laydan ki

ya neela aab Geneva ho

din Istanbul ki galiyon mein

ya sab ki sair praha ho

kuch sooratain theen, kuch mooratain theen

kuch aur bhi shaid daikha ho

jahaan nazrain thehri thutki hoon

jahaan dil ka kaanta atka ho

par hum ko tu kuch yaad nahi

kuch khoya ho, kuch paya ho

in batoon main, in ghatoon main

sajoog ka koi lamha ho

hum apnay jo khud aap nahi

phir bolo kaun humara ho

yun samjho shehar saraye main

shab bhar kay liye koi utra ho

koi pardaisi, koi saylaani

woh jis ka door thikana ho

shaam aye, sawairay koch kiya

jab dhundhla dhundla rasta ho

jab dharti sooni sooni ho

jab ambar pheeka pheeka ho

aik alam tha, kya alam tha

woh sacha ho, ya jhoota ho

hum apnay aap main doob gaye

khud pathar ban, khud darya ho

jeevan ghaas ka tinka jungle

jeevan aandhi main koi pata ho

hum kis say kahain, kis taur kahain

koi baat humari samjha ho!

hum uss say millain jo apna ho

hum uss say kahain jo hum sa ho

jab yeh bhi nahi, jab woh bhi nahi

kya baat banay, kya rasta ho

iss zindaan main koi rozan ho

iss gunbad main darwaza ho

ay jogi, ay darwaish qavi

kion umar ganwaye ramta ho

kion tun pay rakh bhaboot malay

tu gorakh naat ka cheela ho

yeh poorab pucham kuch bhi nahi

yeh joog bajoog bhi dhooka ho

jo tujh say juda sab maya hai

ya apnay ko gar pana ho

kion aur pay jee ko rujhaata hai

yeh peet ki reet tu phanda ho

jo hara jaan say haar gaya

jo jeeta woh bhi ruswa ho

dhooni na rama, basram na kar

bus alakh jaga kar chalta ho

tu apna reh, tu apna ban

tu insha hai, tu insha ho

Teray Ishq Ki Inteha

ترے عشق کي انتہا چاہتا ہوں

ترے عشق کي انتہا چاہتا ہوں

مري سادگي ديکھ کيا چاہتا ہوں

ستم ہو کہ ہو وعدہ بے حجابي

کوئي بات صبر آزما چاہتا ہوں

يہ جنت مبارک رہے زاہدوں کو

کہ ميں آپ کا سامنا چاہتا ہوں

ذرا سا تو دل ہوں ، مگر شوخ اتنا

وہي لن تراني سنا چاہتا ہوں

کوئي دم کا مہماں ہوں اے اہل محفل

چراغ سحر ہوں ، بجھا چاہتا ہوں

بھري بزم ميں راز کي بات کہہ دي

بڑا بے ادب ہوں ، سزا چاہتا ہوں

Translation:


The ultimate of Your Love is what I crave
Am I not a simpleton to be this brave!


May there be the callous vow of unveiling
My composure be tested, I make this brave!


May this Paradise be rejoiced by the pious
To be a beholder to Thine countenance is all I desire


Though but its a tiny little heart yet so bold
To heed to the same “Lan taranâ ” is what I aspire


My stay is that for a flash O those of the gathering!
The morning star I am, leave the sky as I fire  


In the packed house I disclosed the secret whispers
The insolent that I am, its the penance that I require

Poet: Allama Mohammed Iqbal
Singer: Malika Pukhraaj
Inapt translation: mine

;)

Yeh Janab-e-shaikh ka falsafaa, hai ajeeb sarey jahan se
Jo wahan peeyo to halal hai, jo yahan peeyo to haram hai

Step Up

• Swamps are to be crossed, and left behind, when one is in search for the better. 
• Haathi kay daant khanay kay aur, dikhanay kay aur; (literally (and very crudely) translated as: an elephant keeps dual sets of teeth, one for showing and one for mincing). I was just wondering if elephant could be the only animal to have this duality issue..... How about the social- animal?

Pushing The Rock

The following is such a lovely read that I couldn't help sharing it here.

Read. Relish. And refresh your faith :)

(Reproduced as found on Paulo Coelho's blog) 

a story sent by Nitin Mukundan K.P

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light. An angel appeared, showed a large rock in front of his cabin and asked him to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock.

Nothing happened. And he decided to make it a matter of prayer.

“Lord I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The angel appeared again :

“My friend, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”

“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard.

“Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have.

“You learned the importance of discipline and training,

” This you have done. Now it is my turn, my task.”

And the angel moved the rock, showing to the man a beautiful path ahead.

The Memory Creepers

A first salary slip ... a dark brown telephone set ... and an emotional me! :)

Many a times its so strange how memories creep into the mental lock up through vacuum.

The advantage of severing one self from any scars of the past is simply HUGE. Nothing in life matches the grandeur of Let It Go.
LIG isn't that simple altogether; it takes quite some part of yourself as well. It makes you wince in anguish, and fills you with a painful throb inside the chest. However, the good part is that this doesn't last forever. The pain finally subsides, and the anguish finally disappears, leaving behind a clearer vision, a brighter view. 
Well, so to say .... :)


Life can never wear the same color, like you! You need to change, even if that means not everyday. 
LIG enables you to not stick to one color life wore one fine time.


And this brings with it immense freedom. I mean IMMENSE!


It lets one smile for a smile that one once smiled. It lets one sway for the rhythm that some sway evoked. It lets one be happy for the time that one felt happy. Yet being fully present in the Present.
It lets one grow out of a mindset that restricts one from becoming a gushing fountain of gratitude, makes one a rich soil for a life that deserves to be lived.

So from absolutely nowhere, there is this thought of a brightly sunlit afternoon of a day at a place that is far far away from now. 






And I smile. 
Remembering. A first salary slip. A dark brown telephone set. And an emotional me!








PS:
Its being pure lucky to be able to have LIG reminders.... 

Hona Tha Pyar

Found it cute :). A song from the ace director, Shoaib Mansoor's upcoming movie "Bol". 

For those who have been following this blog, this may be a slight deviation from the kind of music I have been sharing here. 

Atif's vocals, despite their dominant nasal tone, have always had a strange appeal to me. And somehow, this never kept me from falling in love (quite later, and quite contrastingly) with Abida Parveen and her kind of music. Probably because loving asked so .......

Journey

Jaan gusaal chahay lagay, par niyat saaf ho tou har cheez ka ilaaj hai.

Asbaab aur hawadis kuch bhi hon, at the end of the day, what matters and what counts is the clarity of one's own soul. 

Dil ka aaeena-khana saaf rahay tou aks aur maakoos distorted nahi lagtay.

The night falls, the day fades, but the journey goes on. 

To enter into the realm of another day.

As is the promise of the Lord.

He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth. He causes the night to flow into the day; and causes the day to flow into the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him].