Whimsical Reminders

4 pawns and a die,

And that playful hustle-bustle.

6 jumpy players,

And that impish tussle.

2 sulky and 4 happy dice rolling tykes,

A game of chance, yet no gambling vice.

A 100 squares bestrewn with ladders,

A 100 squares bestrewn with adders,

Reminders of the present life,

And the race of humanoid mice.

4 in the evening, ashore,

And that tranquil emotion.

4 naked fishermen kids,

And their freedom in motion.

4 sets of age-old toys of whim and fancy,

That bamboo stick and a rubber wheel.

4 circles on a wearisome move,

All 4 withered in every groove,

Reminders of age of innocence,

Eroded peel by peel.

T.. P..

For once I’d write, about a place to dwell,
It is phonetically funny, so I might as well,
It seems American Indians lived in it,
It is just about a conical animal skin shell!

What sounds funny is it is called a Tepee,
If you plan to have one, have it on the lee,
For it most definitely is a single room,
Whether you use it to cook or to Pee,

Then again, from what I hear

It also is nice to have a warm cup of Tea
Not that in that space one can do much TP,
By TP I mean time pass, and I clarify
Because to Indians it may well mean "tea pi?"*

Aah, so many 'phoney' tricks, and yet some more to come…

For an inverted Tepee may well look like a Tee,
And its frankly is a space so Petty,
Every morn when the family files out of it,
The Tepee looks like a pod for many a Pea.

Now now, before you sigh in exasperation,

I know most after reading this bit about a Petty Tepee,
Would take a break for a leak, or as we say Pee,
But for those who find it more than mere TP,
Give those little Tepees a thought before you flee!

*("Chai piya?" - Again Pun Intended)

This on goes out to a very special Kid who got me thinking about this bit of wordplay! :)

Futility Complex

Over a night unslept

When thoughts run amok

As soft as wax, yet,

You turn as cold as a rock…

Realise…

‘Tis Futile!

Driving it away

Till you could no more,

Differ for the same person

Adore and Abhor…

Realise…

‘Tis Futile!

Handing the pain

To someone else

Albeit, kept the wounds

Within yourself…

Realise…

‘Tis Futile!

Listening always to the voices

Unheard, Unshown

Seldom finding them

To be your own…

Realise…

‘Tis Futile!

As you let your mind

Slip into a tender dream…

And soaked in the feeling

Of letting out the steam…

Nothing left restless

Silence nor scream…

But this time,

Realise…

‘Twas Futile!

यादगार

Ever so often there comes a person in your life that inspires you to talk, write, speak, communicate in a very special way. You may call that person a muse or an inspiration or just someone supernormally close to your heart. They trigger of a string of words and emotions like no other...

Now the person in concern is a very dear friend (no cliches here nor the mush story) and as a prelude to what follows...

मुकम्मल है हर शेर अपने आप में,

इस ग़ज़ल का जिल्द-साज़ तो बस मेरा यार है.

अनकही अधूरी ये बातें

ये दिलासा करती हैं,

एक और मंसूब-ए-मुलाक़ात तो होगी...

मुकम्मल है जो ये मंसूब

मुलाकातों का सिलसिलेवार

तो हलक तक आई जान भी एक ज़माना तो और जी लेगी...

अगर मासूमियत में चंद शेर रह जाएँ अनसमझे...

तो खैर करो की मुलाकातों में फिर ये बात छिड़ेगी...

दिल की बात जुबां पे जो आई

तो ताज्जुब है किया...

ना जाने अगर दिल दिल से बात कर लेते

तो क्या मंज़र होता...