आशाएँ...

ख़त्म करते हैं आज सब कुछ, सारी पुरानी बातें भूलकर

ख़त्म करते हैं आज यह ज़िन्दगी, सारे रिश्ते नाते तोड़कर

वो यादें, कुछ मुलाकातें, कुछ आँसू, ढेर सारी मुस्कुराहटें

वो चंद लम्हें जिनमें खोकर ख़ुद से रूबरू हुए

खामोश कर देते हैं आज सबको अपनी तन्हाइयों से

तोड़ देते हैं सारी बन्दिशें, हो जाते हैं आज़ाद हमेशा हमेशा के लिए

चलते हैं दूर खुद से हमेशा हमेशा के लिए

या फ़िर,

ख़त्म करते हैं आज सब कुछ, सारी पुरानी बातें भूलकर

और करते हैं एक नयी शुरुवात

क्योंकि

जिसे ढूंढता है तू हर कहीं, जिसे पाना चाहता है हर पल

झाँक कर देख अपने अंदर, कर बुलंद अपने हौंसले

राहों से मंजिलें और मंजिलों से राहें ढूंढता चल

कर हासिल वो शिखर

कि ख़ुदा भी झुक जाए तेरे जूनून के सामने| 

नीला स्वेटर...

नीले गगन के तले

खुद से बातें करना चाहता हूँ

कभी कभी ख़्वाबों में

खो जाना चाहता हूँ

पुरानी बातों को,

संजोकर रखना चाहता हूँ

उन पलों की चादर ओढ़कर

बच्चे की तरह,

सिसकियाँ लेकर सोना चाहता हूँ

उनकी गोद में सिर रखकर

मन की सारी बातें

बे-झिझक बोलना चाहता हूँ

मेरे दादा जी के साथ बैठकर

बस एक  बार और

शतरंज का खेल खेलना चाहता हूँ

बचपन में, जब भी मैं रोता

दादा के पास भाग कर छुप जाता

पढ़ाते, समझाते, लेकिन कभी ना डाँटते

मैं तो बस खेलता रहता,

वो पूरा दिन, पूरी रात

बस मेरे लिए पेपर बनाते

पूरी दनिया से वो मुझे बचाते

हर छोटी बात पर जलेबी खिलाकर मनाते

कॉलेज गया, तो कमी महसूस होती थी

उन्हें हर वक़्त मेरे सोने की चिंता सताती थी

रोज़ रात रोटियाँ गिनी जाती थीं

मेरे हर कार्यक्रम पर बस वाह-वाही होती थी

अभी तो मैं वापस आया ही था

आपके साथ दुबारा वक़्त बिताने

नयी यादें बनाने

लेकिन पलक झपकते ही

दूर चले गए आप दद्दू

कितनी बातें करनी थीं आपसे

कितने किस्से सुन्ने थे आपके

वक़्त कहाँ गुज़रा, पता ही नही चला

अब तो बस, याद कर लेता हूँ आपको

आपका नीला स्वेटर पहन कर

महसूस कर लेता हूँ आपको

आपकी आधी रात वाली ‘स्पेशल चाय’ बनाकर

और कदमों का पीछा कर लेता हूँ

आपकी चप्पल पहन कर 

अब तो बस,
नीले गगन के तले

खुद से बातें कर लिया करता हूँ

पुरानी बातों कोसंजोकर 
अपने दिल के पास रख लिया करता हूँ|

Strip that down for me

Yes, I love NUDe. Being a mechanical engineer I am sure everyone will understand the reasons why.

But, before you have your horses running, I love all kinds of NUDE. Nude books, nude pages to paint on, nude brains, thoughts and theories, nude personalities and attitudes, nude engines and bodies of cars (this is where the mechanical engineer in part kicks and not what was expected), nude mountains, nude skies full of stars and the list is endless.

The second thing I love is getting to the NUDe stage. Taking it off piece by piece, unfolding the mysteries one by one and getting deeper, savouring each and every detail. For me, understanding the nitty gritty is the real nude. Know a book by heart, understand a person in and out, dance to every single beat, be so passionate that everything unfolds itself to you revealing all the secrets.

Let us drop all inhibitions, forget everything known and empty our cups. Let us get completely nude, sit for a cup of coffee, open our hearts and talk. Let us tinkle the grey cells sitting dormant in the brain, discuss things never known before. Let us get nude with passion and venture into unknown territory.

So the next time we meet,

Strip that down for me…

Be NUDE, Be FREE!

And I am caught in the rain....with you!

Petrichor - the fragrance of land and mud just after rain.

This is not only beautiful, mesmerizing and out of this world but I fall short of words to describe the simple feeling of ecstasy.

All these feelings are from the bottom of the heart of a crazy optimist who has not missed getting wet in any rain in the past 6 or 7 years now (I have even lost my count). Be it the 3am drizzle, the thunderstorm at dusk, the midnight shower or the afternoon snowfall; I always end up leaving everything at hand and rushing outdoors. The tingling of first cold raindrops to feet dragging when completely drenched, everything just takes me to a different world. For all those who wish to experience a higher realm or those who wish to find their inner self, try walking alone barefoot listening to the pitter patter. And for all the crazy ones who like doing things differently, close your eyes and dance your heart out. 

They say, 'Madness is like gravity. All you need is a little push!'

(I was already falling but this made it permanent)

My pushing force which made me crazy about rains was a song by Shankar Tucker, 'And I am caught in the rain with you'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75TwwtXF9vo

Now, every time I am caught in the rain with myself, I explore a completely different me. I meet the most beautiful person on earth. I dance with him enjoying every single raindrop.

Now I know what heaven feels like. I make my own heaven on earth.

The Differently Abled...

Deepa Malik, India’s paraplegic swimmer champion

I don’t believe there exist  ‘disabled people’ on earth. My experience and understanding have taught me that there are only ‘differently abled’ people on earth who have their own ways of doing things.

A person may not have hands yet, he learns to do everything by himself. Someone may have only one leg, but he either finds a vulcanized leg to pair up or learns things the hard way. But there is one common thing about this broad genre of people. They all understand and have something in common which we may never even get close to. They understand the importance of loss and more importantly, they learn how to make this loss their biggest strength. 

Taking a very recent example of Arunima Sinha; she was thrown out of a moving train and got both her legs cut. She was crippled for life but rose to the occasion and has scaled 6 highest peaks of the world. She is not aiming for the highest peak in Antarctica. She has set the bar higher than most of the ‘normal’ people would imagine. The loss and pain she suffered have made her the toughest mountain climber there ever was.

The other very interesting aspect of the differently abled is that they achieve a heightened sense of their working senses or body parts. Some call it the 6th sense. Some try and explore the scientific explanations behind these changes. But the way I understand this is that they don’t think about what not working. Instead, they focus their energies on how they can make everything else work. Blind women are some the best listeners. They trust in themselves more than an average person can even dream of. Deaf and dumb are the most caring and expressive. A man with paralysed lower body develops immense upper body strength capable of carrying multiple people. And being a dancer, I can assure you that differently abled people understand music and dance better than everyone else.

Be it some restaurants hiring only the differently abled, “Planet Abled” starting travel services or our PM calling them “Divyang” instead of “Viklang”, today people are making efforts to understand that differently abled are just unique members of our family. In our monotonous lives, we are stuck in the cobwebs of jobs, our needs and responsibilities. We fail to do anything that we were once passionate about. But our differently abled friends decide on something and then pursue it with full dedication and passion. They make sure they raise the bar and become the strongest versions of themselves.

I grew up in a middle-class family and learnt things the hard way. I took risks, failed, got back up and failed again. I still fail quite a few times. But my daily inspiration and moral boost to never lose hope is my grandmother. I have never seen her grab a glass of water in one go because of extremely poor eyesight. She suffers from incurable corneal detachment. But this never came in her way of supporting the family in the best possible manner. As a child, I often tried closing my eyes and walking around the house imitating my grandmother. 30 seconds of blindness used to send shivers down my spine. Today, I get goosebumps at the thought of it. On the other hand is my grandmother who not only takes care of herself but everyone in the family. She is more alert and energetic throughout the day than anyone else in the family. Her sense of hearing is the greatest I have ever come across.

If you try and experience the life of differently abled without being one, you might end up losing sight of what is real because of the shock and impact. It’s only through loss that one can understand the importance of what he has. Differently abled have such interesting and passionate lives that most of us only dream of living. They are truly special and beyond compare.

"कमज़ोर मत समझ खुद को
उठ एक बार फ़िर
दुनिया कदम चूमती है उन्के
जिनके हौसलों के आगे शिखर भी सिर झुकाते हैं|"

Stay Behind, Stay Alone and be a Leader

Stay Behind, Stay Alone and be a Leader

One day a group of families was crossing a forest with their strongest and wisest member leading from the front. A few old men were finding it hard to keep up the pace. The canopy of trees was impenetrable as it became darker towards the hours of dusk. Suddenly they hear an eerie howl in the distant wilderness. Sensing danger, the leader asked the group to increase their pace. Meanwhile, a small pack of wolves attacked them from the back. The leader and a few strong men rushed back only to find their trailing members gone forever. The silence was broken by earth-shattering cries. Members went missing from the front end. They now moved closer to each other inching towards a distant cave for shelter. But the damage was done.

What went wrong? Was it the leader’s wrong decisions? Were the wolves too smart for him to tackle? Or, was the leader not prepared to handle such a situation?

This is the state of our entrepreneurs. A recent study “Entrepreneurial India” by IBM Institute of Business Value and Oxford Economics states that 90% of Indian start-ups fail in the first 5 years. Most common reason for failure is lack of innovation. For a moment, let us look at the bright side of all these failures and understand what we can learn from them. 

So, why is this happening? We definitely don’t lack the brains (after all we are Indians, being brainy is considered obvious) or the resources. But we lack the experience of fire-fighting situations, taking instant or effective decisions. We do hope for the best but we fail to plan for the worst. 

Let us now talk about wolves. They always move in a fixed formation. The oldest stay in front and set the pace lest they be left behind. Next are a few strongest members of the pack ready to defend any attack from the front. They are followed by rest of the pack. Final few members are again the strongest ready to defend any attack from the back. Finally, the leader walks last making sure no one is left behind. He is the most cautious and takes decisions immediately when needed.

Why so Serious Son?

Why so Serious Son?

Who do you like more - Jay and Veeru or Gabbar? I will give you an easier option - Batman or Joker?

For me, the antagonist wins by clean sweep. But, all my hero loving friends will agree that if the so called "Negative Characters" were not present in these mind numbing movies, our heroes would not have become so special and worth of our admiration.

Still don't believe me? A person who has never cried will probably never understand how special it is to laugh. Someone who has not hated anyone can never love unconditionally.

What we consider "Bad" is essential to make us realize the importance of "Good". Opposite values are complimentary to each other.

Most of us who have tried something very hard and failed have often been in despair for long. But have we ever realized what is despair. Wordweb defines it as 'A state in which all hope is lost'. But is it really so. I am the optimist kind. Let's look at it from another angle, let's define it again.

Despair is a situation where in nothing more can go bad (it already is worse), more importantly it is thus a situation where you can start again with nothing to lose! 

A little long for definition but I hope it conveys the meaning. When everything goes our way, we are never really hopeful for something great. The comfort zone kicks in. But only in despair we understand the importance and power of being hopeful. Use this situation to your advantage. When people throw stones at you, you can either keep getting hurt or, you use the same stones and make a shield.

When life gives you shit, turn it into compost...

P.S (please start loving the bad guys...they are bad, but not that bad ;-)