They speak a strange tongue!!!

We did this before & we do it again!!
Arch & me...
After the earlier jugalbandi ,we decide to wreak havoc again with our freaky poetic confluence. So brace yourself for a really incoherent & tangential conversation in verse!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Arch: chills sweep me through ,
I drown in smoky boiling waters....
it takes me away to the long loving sleeps ...
I feel touched... I feel loved ...
behind the curtains.. you stare

Sri: hard desperation refuses to go away,
would care to join or jus look the other way?

Arch: to remind me I am still here...
to let you know I will be there...
take a look around and see a fainted face...
right behind the curtains wid orange flowers...
its my purple veil

Sri: this is not the first time,
this has happened before,
but I am tired of stopping,
pls go ahead, gimme more!

Arch: given myself away to you
I stand stranded waiting to be loved...
your hands when they come my way
I feel blessed in bliss....
but then when time flies by
and you stand still
I take a step forward towards my life..
eternal peace

Sri: rhyme is just an excuse,
time is such a recluse,
peace is just another fugitive,
eternity just a sad notion;
Whenever I move, whenever I am still,
I smell of empty space & forever will;
You keep filling me
with memories of yore;
but I am bottomless,
I always yearn for more

Arch: you are like the deep blue see that goes deep inside..
bottomless or shallow within...you decide...
pour out a fine evening..
lets drown in your rains...
your colors will splash up deep into my heart

Sri: Blue I appear, but am not;
all I do is wear the sky;
Worn it for ages, torn pieces of clouds;
it doesn't turn red, it doesn't fade away;
I will sing you a rainy evening,
will you blow the foamy sky away?

Arch: winds I will spray
so I see the rainbow of ur heart..
wipe away those tears
and let the springs come up...
the sun will then shine making you smile...
floating fragrance all around...
dance the happy summer song.. before autumn arives..

Sri: autumn comes & I shed faces
come by & pick them up for me
We will weave a kaleidoscope of smiles,
to look at when you drown the shore
& I reach the stars

Arch: waves will come & take me away...
but love is always here to stay...
we will make a bunch of our smiling times
and share the thorny piercing surprises...
add a few delights...
then when u see a shooting star,
come away with me

Sri: Yes, we will do that,
We will shred the moon
& hide behind the dark night.
While the stars scout for us,
we pull in the sun
& burn them all out!!!

Arch: lets play with the universe
then we dodge a planet or a few...
careful...don't hurt yourself....
the galaxy will burst out seeing us loose

Sri: no! on second thoughts, I would rather,
come by your door & gift you smiles;
I will send you a night full of loving glances,
you write me a dawn of warm hugs!!

Sri: & when the blinds lighten up with your lazy smile,
I will bring you breakfast
with orange juice & fourteen kisses

Arch : aaww sho shweet :P

To Wooden Endings

Another night fell dead on the barb-wire fence
It flew; it fled from a few blades of light
No remorse; no fear
Just pain in vain
Could you do something about the blotting red,
while I sit here tied to the stump of a dead tree??

The sky is hot glass & wishes have wax wings
Some lie beyond; some die within
No end; none mends
They won't stay; they can't go
Could you do something about the dripping wax,
while I sit here tied to the stump of a dead tree??

Words are entangled in smiles & camouflages,
each time they bump into my blue-eyed boy
No chalk; no charcoal
No ink; no lead
Could you do something about the unwritten thoughts,
while I sit here tied to the stump of a dead tree??

& any day you need to furnish
your museum of hearts
Just look up; don't look too far

I sit here tied to the stump of a dead tree!!

Patjhad

kaagazon me aahaton me naam dhoondhti hoon
raat phoonk phoonk-ke main shaam dhoondhti hoon
teri talaash me jam gaye hain saayen sadakon pe
khud raat ban gayi hoon, aaraam dhoondhti hoon

---------------------------------------------------------

sukoon sookha sa rahta hai
jaan simti si rahti hai
tu seene me jabse mere
patjhad sa chod gaya

thaki si roshni ab to
badi der se aati hai
udaas si subah jalti hai
sunn si hatheliyaan jalaati hai

pahron pehle hi ab
aasmaan shaam bulaata hai
saans dhundhli si uthti hai
pyaas chehre banaati hai

tere khayaal kohra bankar
aasmaan pe likhte hain
kab aake gaye kya pata
bas nishaan ab dikhte hain

khushfaham si khidkiyaan kabse
yun khuli sii chodi hain
sabaa sard subahon ki, khaali sii sili sii guzarti hain

aankhein rookhi si hain
aur neend jhadti rahti hai
ukhde se harfon pe
ab barf padti rahi hai

patjhad sa chod gaya
tu seene me jabse mere
awaazein toote se nikalte hain
aur lab chil jaate hain
sukoon sookha sa rahta hai
jaan simti si rahti hai

--------------------------------

kuch naram si muskaan tere
chod jaate hawaaon par
kaanpti raatein un par
senka karti main baithi yahaan

...................................................................................
An ode to a real cold winter whihc has just begun!

Faceless Autumn

I left your place
without my face
there were way too many others
to choose from

The one you gave me in May
The one we made on a lazy afternoon
The one I had, when I called you a 'goon'
The one I found when we talked under the moon
The one I saved to wear in winter
which now I cannot
or the others which tell different stories
to the world

Stories
all of them have the same today
but thousand different
yesterdays & tomorrows
covered with color
filled with gore

I tried to find my face
searching
in wordy labyrinths
which only return echoes

I tried to find my face
prodding
with unending glances
which go unnoticed now

I tried to find my face
looking up,
all those windows
filled with inanities
which felt so good

I tried all monsoon
I tried!!

If you find my face
hidden behind the smile you wrote me
once not long ago
please do not send it across.
It does not go with my wardrobe
anymore!

------------------------------------
Months ago, I had written an ode to a Faceless Intruder.
Now this again, is a note to the same idiot!

Unheard scraps

I come up each day to catch a gaze
I come down each night to have a talk
straining ears to hear muffled footsteps
but there are never any
turn around; make a sound ... will you?

Kill these nights,
identically sinister - all of them,
taunting me & haunting me...!
They don't let me in...
they don't let me go!
Kill them now, will you?

--------------------------------------

Of were-wolves & flying foxes,
eclipses, solstices & equinoxes
of vampires & flying shoes
of treasure hunts & confusing clues

of magic trees & wishing wells
of witches n wizards & confounding spells
of dames & dragons & fearless knights
or of heroes , hippos & sugarless nights

weave me a bedtime story tonight!

---------------------------------------------

A Wintry Romance

I sat on my leaf
my hexagonal glory
twinkling in the crowd
with every passing light

He stood across from me
looking at me through the night
not budging his look
from my face

His eyes were smiling nouns
while they played
noughts & crosses
with mine

He lost all games
but won my heart

& when dawn broke
I fell from above
swimming from shape
to nothingness

He did not look back
He did not look away

I was a snowflake
and
my snowman
had a cold heart;
Obviously!

------------------------------------
Like Utk said, one cannot switch on creativity; I add - neither can one switch off stupidity.
But then, yeah I think I have almost found my switch!! Amen!
Here's to better times.
Thanks Phoolan!! hehe (almost forgot that one, didn't you?!)

Subah

roshni ko khauff hai
mil na jaaye phir kahin
khaab koi raat ka
subah ki aad me
----------------------------------

kya bataaye
kya dekha tha

thode, soone seene ke ghar pade the
thode bujhe se raahon par khade the

ujle ungliyon ki aanch se
mere dar pe saare mar gaye

roshni ko khauff hai
mil na jaaye phir kahin
rang bikhre saanjh ke
subah ki aad me
----------------------------------
kya bataaye
kya dekha tha

parchaiyaan pahanke nikalti dopahre
ummeedein ugalte nigalte woh chehre

neend khuli to dhoop udi
aankhon me andhiyaare bhar gaye

roshni ko khauff hai
mil na jaaye phir kahin
hisse toote neend ke
subah ki aad me
----------------------------------

Har raat ki kahaani

Waise khwahishon ko likhte padhte nahin
par ham hain ki kuch bhi samajhte nahin

--------------------------------------------

badi mehrbaan hoon
shab-e-tajaruba hoon
subah ko saba hoon

Dhoond le ishq meri zameen par

yahaan hoon wahaan hoon
hawaa hoon dhuaan hoon
har kiski duaa hoon

Chod de ishq meri zameen par

jaan baqsh doon, jee vaar doon
jaan kaat-ke sau baar doon

har saans ko parwaaz de doon?

kal khaali aasmaan bhar dengi
khwahishein

---------------------------------------------------

ud lo zara to peeche peeche mausam bhi aayenge
saayon se jhadkar kheenche se ham bhi aayenge

ek umr kya; hazaar doon
seene ki shikan sawaar doon

har saans ko parwaaz de doon?

kal khaali aasmaan bhar dengi
khwahishein

-----------------------------------------------

peshani pe ab raat rakh le, aankhon ke faasle bhar jaaye
labon ki har baat chakh le, khamoshiyaan dabke mar jaaye

nigaahon se sukoon udhaar doon
in aankhon se junoon utaar doon

har saans ko parwaaz de doon?

kal khaali aasmaan bhar dengi
khwahishein

------------------------------------------------

kal subah
ek chehra hoga, ek naam hoga
kahin thahra hua koi kaam hoga

kahaani hogi par baat nahin hogi
peshani pe thami si raat nahin hogi

par jab raat hogi
phir saansein udengi

aur khaali aasmaan bhar dengi
khwahishein

On My Own

I changed houses
I moved into a dream
with an angel
who wore
my favourite part of the day
all the time
Was it a cloud?
was it a shroud?

I went blind
the windows were all nailed
the hinges were all rusted
but deaf-mute caresses
do not leave
space to breathe
the drying dew
was there a cue?

I open my window today
to autumn leaves & noisy winds
to alien smells & hideous sights
I am scared
but I think I will find my way
I think I will make
my own favourite part of the day

---------------------------------

I found a map
& took the right turn
that wasn't there
but then, my angel,
he did not tell me
he would head straight
Should I hit a brake?
Was it a big mistake?

I see a street
the pavement
a crowd of broken stories
I reach out
for that hand
which is around no more
Am I free?
Should I flee?

I unhook my shadow today
I have been in the dark long enough
I can leap ahead blind-folded, unarmed
I am scared
but I think I will find my way
I think I will make
my own favourite part of the day

The Call

I waited, punching on the remote
staring at the screen
the flickering images making me no sense

I waited, flipping through the magazine
staring unseeingly at the same page
again & again

I waited, brushing my hair
every other few minutes

I just did not want to fall asleep

I made myself a cup of tea
strange, it took longer than it usually does
but shorter than I wanted it to take

I waited last night
I waited till late into the night
I waited till it was night no more

I waited for the call which never came
& now it is night again.

But I am sure -you will call tonight!!

De do na!!

A re-post! Had posted this last August 11th...
you may ask em why?
well,for now, make do with the knowledge that this is my tribute to human stupidity (my stupidity)
I think this is apt for what I currently think!
I hope you like it!

-----------------------------------------------------
mutthi bhar roshni kar do soone se sehar me
chutki bhar chandni bhar do beraham dopahar me

aadhi hi sahin labon ko muskaan de do
sooni zindagi ko thodi si jaan de do

ek sadi ki nahin ek ghadi hi sahin
do kadam aasmaan aaj hamko yahin
de dona
...............................................................

sooni aankhon me armaan chidak jao
thahre dil me tum aake dhadak jao

boond kaafi hai ab doob jayega dil
chahaton, boond banke tapak jao

hai raahi ko bhi raaste ki khabar
aye rasta, ab tum khud bhatak jao

chup se honthon ko do chaar alfaaz de do
kabse baithe hain, ab humko aawaaz de do

umr bhar ke safar ka iraada nahin
do ghadi do kadam waise zyada nahin
de dona
...................................................................
subah baat karke dhuaan chod jao
jalte aasamaan pe ruuii odh jao

ruaa sa aasmaan ruaansa aasmaan
baras jaaye to thoda sa tod jao

seedhi lakeeron pe chalta hain waqt
aage rasta phir yahin ko mod jao

bewaqt bevajah kabhi dastak to de do
saath mera kabhi agle pal tak to de do

khokhle khaab kabhi nazar se guzarte nahin
tum waqt deke aankhon me thaharte nahin
de dona
.....................................................

Vengeance of a loving heart

You locked me up
in your big dark house
I painted blue skies
on all your walls
Now every time
you enter your house
all you see is blue
all you see is clouds

You tied me down
to a starless night
I stretched my arms
& flew away with it
Now every time
you open your door
all you see is yellow
all you see is day

You closed your window
on my face
I pasted my smile
on your sill
now every time
you look out at the world
all you see is
my smile on a zillion lips

You hurled my song
on a cobblestone walk
i just went mute
& I still am
now every time
you take a step
all you hear is
my silence creaking under your feet

Now you crave a home
you crave that night
you crave my gift
that smiling song

how you wish you did not do
all that you did
how you wish
oh, how you wish!!

Sleep, Darkness, You & Me!!

This is an age-old Jugalbandi...! Thought this surely deserves a place here!
Thanks Archie!
& thanks Bling & Hobbes for occurring to Archie when she was writing this with me!!
Thanks me for an awesomely meaningless conversation! :D

Thanks to the Eco endterm tomorrow which is driving me to post insane stuff!! lolz!!

---------------------------------------------------------

sri : last night
sleep did not join me in bed.. neither did you!

arch: why did not that bitch sleep come?

sri : it likes sleeping with you...

arch: i am straight
i had darkness with me last night
he is nice....
he doesn't hurt me
but then when that ass hole light comes...
he runs away
i wonder why cant he stand her

sri: did he keep you awake?
did he try, too hard?
but then he never had colors to wear, never wanted them either...
maybe that is what keeps him away

arch: he wears colors for me.... he knows i love them.... he can't disappoint me....
he doesn't keep me awake...
he is happy with even watching me sleep
says he sleeps in my sleep even more peacefully...

sri : then why did he never come my way?
i am colorful too
and am always game for a pillow fight
then why was my bed empty but for 2 strands of hair?

arch: he is straight too!!!!

sri: send him home sometime...
maybe he can try me once
i was straight too not long ago
but then this - ain't bad at all!

arch: hmmmm will ask him....lets see what he says
hes adventurous but
then i have tlod him about you
he likes people who write weird stuff
and are as big idiots as me
but he is scared of sandu....
says she can be senti

sri : darkness is all i ever wanted
even before i knew he existed
he can do whatever he wants
after i fall asleep
sleep me and darkness will be quite a threesome

arch: like bling does when you are asleep....
he kisses my nose...thats you....
he is open to anything but i am afraid he loves being loved....
you love him so deeply
he will be affectionate to you
he is gentle
he is kind
but when he goes to his deep dark mode
i am afraid he falls for blood

sri : red darkness has never crept on my walls
just for once i want to see that creep
and check out how deep he is
& then i wouldn't seek anymore

arch: he makes you addictive
he makes your insides scream
he will erase you from the peace's map
he will make you see color in dark
he will make you crave dark in the light...

sri: i do see him all the time
each time i close my eyes
each time i pull down the blinds
each time i slide under the covers
don't ask me what we did the last time around
but then i don't know why
sleep does not visit me
with him around
am I too busy for her
she can make me see things
much worse than he ever did
every night in my dreams i see you i feel you

arch: she makes you see things you might want to see....
but he makes you see things you never want to see....
and beyond......
par the boundaries of what you can see what you want to see
and even what you don't want to see.....
and he will never leave me.. he will drag you for me

sri: sight is a handicap
i don't want it anymore
i like it the way i am
with him around
blind as love
and dead as a night
let him drag me let him drown me
let him... will he?

arch: he loves it..
he loves me..
if i say..
he will....
we have been together forever..
he cant disappoint me...
my first love he is... { fourth first that is}...

sri: just noticed - don't know if i should tell you
but he lives in my pajamas when they aren't down
yes, it is dark in there
when they are up n moving

arch: he hides so you don't get scared....
he has got many things to him...

sri: yes he wears and he wears me out
when he does all those unspeakable things to me
i can see what i want to and not see what i don't
when he is with me
which he seldom is

arch: he will be for you love him so much..
he wont deny you.. you adore him i can see...

sri : he is prose when he slides on my skin...
he is poetry when he dives right in
he is rhythm when he moves down me
he is the night for the rest of the world
but then he snores me the sounds of crickets
and his stubble pricks me at all the wrong places
no wonder sleep that lazy dame
never ever comes to bed with me
my bed is empty but 4 your memories n two strands of hair
neither is it dark nor can i sleep
take me away
take me away from me!!!

arch: thats not snores...
its the sneeze.....
when he screams world stops spinning....
and when he is pure passionate..
he will kiss your soul out of you...
he will take you away from you

sri : i cant wait i cant breathe
yes i am coming he is coming...
we are coming ..
and i can see she is coming too!
sleep my elusive bed-partner

arch: i will make sure she doesn't come near you and let you experience the exotic partner.

sri : pray let her! let her be let her see
let her cry, let her creep
pray let her be
pray let her, for me

arch: let her feel how it is when you don't get your beloved....
let her crave for you..
like you crave for me

sri : i crave to be rescued from salvation...
don't need oblivion yet
don't need bliss either
why let me away... why let me down
why let me out.. i will stay out forever or less
what happened to blue moon??

arch: blue moon is always burning seeing the dark play with me...
she comes...
see...
burn...
sometimes she comes full... sometimes she comes half... sometimes she dosnt come at all.....
lets us alone in the fantasy


sri: u evasive... conniving bitch.....

Raat bhi lambi laage!

ek khaab ke kone me ek syaah si raat mili
woh raat jo teri gali me utarke guzarti hai
kabhi raat ke peeche main bhi tahalne jo nikla karoon
woh lekar chalti hai kisi anjaan se saahil pe

geeli si mitti pe pairon ke nishaan tale
kuch narm si naazuk si khwahishein kinaaron pe

har din ki tarah samandar me bulbule bharti lahre
daudte huye aati aur saahil pe marti lahre
kya pata ke samandar me bikhri bhi kuch khwahish ho
aur raat me udte hue kuch khaab adhoore ho

dhoondha to bahut maine par aankhein tanha hi rahi
dhoondha to dekha maine paani khud pyaasa hai

phir samjha - lahron pe mohre to thaharte nahin
aur is sard se kohre me chehre bhi nahin milte

tu bhi to kabhi yunhi meri raat ke peeche nikal
tab jaanoge yun tanha lautna kya hota hai

ek khayaal ko odhe huye main jo kabhi mil jaaoon
dekhna tere chat par bhi koi saanjh pada hoga

---------------------------------------------------
raat bhi lambi laage
teri judaaiyon me
jaan ka tukda jaaye re

Gulzar

Another Christmas

Look at me
I am standing here on a busy street
waving & shouting out loud
But none ever looks at me

A Star for a fiver
A silver ball for a rupee
make your girl smile
make your child happy

please buy somethng from me
Sir
please buy somethng from me
Ma'am
please buy somethng from me

Everybdy's found a bzy road
I stand here, tired & wait
Won't somebdy sell me jus one smile?
I wanna live tomorrow again

Santa won't come behind
the park bench where I live
coz I don't have a fireplace
leave alone a chimney

So Bloody somebody
please buy somethng from me
Sir
please buy somethng from me
Ma'am
please buy somethng from me

Tommy wants a blue shirt
I don't want Tommy to wake up
to a torn & empty stocking

So
please buy somethng from me!!

Are Dinosaurs Extinct?

I like it when you whistle a 'hi'
I like it better when you just wink it at me!

I heard a dinosaur in a summery yellow day
Ah! I heard a dinosaur -
a T-rex dressed like a Sauropod

I still remember crumbs.
Thank God, I do!

Now, I dance to smiling afternoons
when swirling dusty winds play romance
on blazing empty roads

I heard a dinosaur in a raining silvery night
Ah! I heard a dinosaur
who now snorts down other ears

I still remember crumbs.
I wish I didn't!

I hate it when you bid 'good bye'
I hate it worse when you just leave without a word!!

Kill this space!

A night settling guy problems of a 6-year-old
A window overlooking a graveyard
A stupid rapid fire questionnaire
Nicole Kidman & Anna Kournikova

A debate - do we yell or do we not?
A talk about rages at the steering wheel
concocted stories - "barbie & barbaa"
Important clients , a delayed breakup

A game of pictionary with family
A round of booze , friends crashing over
A splurge of poetry which made me smile
A random stranger vs. the boss' daughter

Hours together, before we hit the sack
Are we still there? Are we coming back?

Are you sleeping? or am I dead?
Why is my smile blue? Yours is still red!!

Are we through? or is it just my head?
I donno what! Can you lemme out?

Not that alone, the world is all stone
But then each day leaves a little void
I still remember having read your say
A vacuum, small, is a vacuum after all!!!
-------------------------------------

Are dinosaurs extinct?

Rishtey

Purza purza raat jale
ab har dar bas khaak mila
shab bhar jalte saaye phoonke
phir bhi sahar naapaak mila

ghar se chale kisi aur dagar
phir usi afsaane pe pair pada
chub gayi wo shaam khaali si
wahi beraham ittefaaq mila

dil lagaakar dil khud kahta hai
'kismat to bahaana umda hai
kismat kos chalo, jo dil na mile'
zaalim dil ye chaalaak mila

band kamre me sab mausam to
bin dastak, aate jaate hain
kal hari thi peepal ki baahein
ab dekha soona shaakh mila

ziddi dil, toota sa, seene me
tanha kabse pada hai phir bhi
khwahish ugaane lagta hai
jab bhi aankh se aankh mila

purza purza raat jale
ab har dar bas khaak mila
har shab jalte saaye phoonke
phir bhi sahar naapaak mila

Click

A dark sky & a bright streak

A wet street & rushing people
A black umbrella & four feet

Click! there is a story


A dirty wall & graffiti

Caricatures & self-anointments
Love confessions & swear-words

Click! there is a story


A broken barbie & a garbage dump

A brown girl with a sack of grimy polythenes
A gleeful smile & a new-found fortune

Click! there is a story


Wild cities & unsung predators

Pug marks & blood trails
A carcass & a bunch of vultures

Click! there is a story


A red lane & colorful camouflages

Yellow taxis, men with stained teeth
Waxed skin, pink bangles & pasted pastels

Click! there is a story


A big dark rectangle
Rows of small lighted squares

Closed windows & hidden episodes

Click! there is a story

Click away
Dark moments with wings
need to be stored in frames-
memories!

Click all you see
pick all you can

You cannot click
muffled voices
stifled emotions

A flash cannot illuminate
everything;
can it?

Mowed

Now they do not write down thoughts
with toes
on the green lawn
listening to
the confluence of muffled syllables
in the air

The smell of mowed lawns
sits in the corridor

Now they do not watch the
shades of green
the lawn wears through each hour

'The night is a firefly
You cannot catch up with it
The day is a shadow
You cannot blow it away'

Now they do not wet their palms
when the skies rain down stars
stars which do not dry up
in warm thoughts

Now they do not notice
cringed noses
crumpled noises
'cause now they cannot

The smell of mowed lawns returns
every now & then
to the corridor

They sometimes wonder
on rainy noons
when feet are still or running -

would it smell as bad
if the sky were mowed?