Unsung Heroes

The tricolour waving defiantly,
It is the rebirth of a nation,
A few suddenly become national heroes,
And fading memories of some,
Flowers and laurels who never chose,
They were the true martyrs,
And this was their dream,
No trumpets blew for them,
No flowers showered over them,
But their efforts were not forgone,
And gave us the freedom, the much needed,
They nourished it with their blood,
And spent their lives in its wake,
I bow my head to them,
For they are the unsung heroes.

(Wrote in Lucknow, late 1996)

Reflections

The sky is a brilliant red,
A group of birds fly back home,
I look up to them and reflect,
Does everything returns to where it belongs?

Memories buried deep down surface again,
Taking me back few steps in time,
The day I discovered a friend in him,
A moment I cherish to this very day.

His words inspiring, his concerns real,
His sharing simple, his praises true,
An assuring presence, a bewitching smile,
He brought a new zeal to my life.

Those moments of silence,
That period of rejoicing,
Our hearts got closer, our friendship deeper,
And our worlds changed for the better.

But fate had something else to offer,
Without any reason without dissent,
He left me alone as smell a rose,
The joy of living was not there anymore.

Still the hope of human heart,
Drives us all to carry on,
A quest for happiness, a quest for peace,
For one day we will find what we need.

(Wrote in Lucknow, 16th Aug 1998)

A Lover's Plight

He sits gloomily on a wall,
Gazing into the night,
Thinking what wrong he did,
To deserve such a fate.

With tears in his eyes,
And a lump in the throat,
Longing under the moonlit sky,
And waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

His feelings unacknowledged,
His prayers unanswered,
The night for him is darker,
The dawn even farther.

But he still carries hope,
That his beloved will realise,
The answer to love,
Is nothing but love.

(Wrote in Lucknow, 7th July 1998)

Tears

There is a pain in the heart,
The eyes start blinking,
A sea of emotions overswells,
Breaking the bonds that harnessed it for long,
Small pearls roll down the cheek,
Leaving a trail as they grace the ground,
A few others follow suit,
The beautiful face is full of sorrow,
Whose fault is it anyway?
The answer to it maybe none,
For the mystery of human heart,
We fail to understand,
Agony and ecstasy go hand in hand,
It's tears now, smile next.

(Wrote in Lucknow, 27th Jun 1998)

She

Like the boundless blue sky,
Or the endless green stream,
Shrouded in mystery,
My sleeping beauty,
A breath of fresh air,
A wave of her hair,
Unaware of the breeze,
That caresses her pink feet,
She lay in eternal peace.

I wait for her day and night,
For one day she will rise,
And reward me for my perseverance,
Till then it is a mere hope,
She will rise, she will rise.

(Wrote in Lucknow, 11th May 1998)

Rain

The light suddenly grows dim,
Dark clouds cover the blue heavens,
A bolt of lightening, sound of thunder,
You can behold it all in the air,
Millions of droplets appear in the sky,
Racing down to grace the ground,
A gift of God to mankind,
A bird dances, a farmer ecstatic,
Never before the earth so green,
Renascence of the barren land,
Solace to the heat oppressed man,
But mere rain to a few!

(Wrote in Lucknow on a rainy day, 9th Dec 1997)

A Tribute

Long after the guns ceased their fire,
Millions of precious lives lost,
And cry of pain and agony died out,
There remains a name to be cherished,
Oscar Shindler!

In a world of cruelty and hostility,
Where you find more foes than friends,
And saving a life meant risking your own,
Where shadow of death loomed large,
And killing of people was a wild sport,
Where women were object of sex,
And a child failed to soften hearts,
A man saved more than a thousand lives,
Sacrificing all he had for himself.

It was a saga of dedication and devotion,
And not just another tale to be told,
It's a message loud and clear,
That when the head of evil rises high,
A saviour comes as a Shindler.

(Wrote in Lucknow after seeing the movie Shindler's List, 7th May 1995)

Utopia

One night I had a dream,
I found myself in a whole new world,
A world full of smiling faces,
A common bond binding all,
A bond of pure love and harmony.

No differences, no quarrels,
No hatred, no violence,
No racism, no castesism,
No weapons, no wars,
Just eternal peace everywhere.

Flowers blooming all around,
The land turning into a flushing meadow,
Huge trees sheltering the smaller ones,
And streams of fresh water floing through them,
Man and nature in complete harmony.

Every breath taken sheer pleasure,
Every moment spent engraved on the mind,
Perhaps it was not just another dream,
It's a wish, a prayer, and a hope.

(Wrote while in AMU, 30th April 1995)

What is Life?

Is it a saga of struggles,
Or is it a bouquet of roses;
Is it an incessant strive for happiness,
Or is it a tale of woes;
Is it the path to a remote destination,
Or is it an aimless stroll;
Is it a long tiring journey,
Or is it a beautiful dream;
Is it a never ending story,
Or is it an unsung melody;
Is it an unfathomable sea,
Or is it just a shallow pond;
Is it a gift of the almighty,
Or is it a retribution of our sins;
What really life is...
I fail to understand.

(Wrote while in AMU, 3rd Jan 1995)

Solitude

Away from the busy world,
In a land of eternal peace,
Everything looks calm and serene,
This is the state I want to be in.

Nobody to bother, none to disturb,
Just me and my solitude,
Enough time to think and weigh things,
With only myself to carry on.

No responsibilities, no promises,
No questions, no directions,
No judging, no arguing,
Whatever I do, I do my own way.

This is the life I love to live.

(Wrote while in Aligarh Muslim University, 16th Nov 1994)

Pursuit

What eyes are to the blind,
Limbs are to the handicapped;

What water is to the thirsty,
Food is to the starved;

What parents are to the orphans,
Children are to the childless;

What husband is to a widow,
Home is to the homeless;

What love is to the neglected,
Money is to the poor;

What literacy is to the illeterates,
Knowledge is to the seeker;

Seek...


(Wrote in the summer of 1992, Class XI, CMS Lucknow)