Iktara.

The Iktara is an ancient North Indian single stringed instrument, capable of deep bass and sharp treble, and hence produces all seven notes distinctively, symbolizing  life in its myriad hues.

Few months back I heard one of the most soulful songs I've heard in many, many years, and these late spring nights when I stay up preparing for exams, in the silence of an otherwise maddening place nothing seems more beautifully haunting.



Rooh ka banjaara re parinda,
(Rooh- spirit, Banjara- nomad, parinda- bird)
The spirit, like a  nomad bird,

Chad gaya dil ka re gharonda
( chad- left. gharonda- shackles)
has broken  the shackles of the heart.

Chad gaya dil ka re gharonda tod ke
Has left, breaking the shackles of the heart,


Re gharonda tod ke, gaya chod ke.
Breaking the shackles, has left.







Je naina karun band, band,
(naina- eyes; band- close)
And everytime that I close my eyes,
Beh jaaye boond boond.(2)
(Beh- wash boond- drops)
Pain is washed away in droplets.

Tadpaye re, kyun sunaye re, geet malhaar ki,
(malhaar- a classical north Indian raaga, sung with the coming of monsoons, the source of life)
Then why do you make me listen to the anguishing  monsoon raagas?



Chorus:
Be malang tera Iktara (8)
The iktara has lost its melody and now continues without any symphony.






Itra tu baasi baasi,
(Itra- dialectical for Itr - a perfume made of herbal scents, popular only in the  northern parts of india. : baasi- stale)
Perfume, you are stale now.

Padi hai sirhane,
(sirhane- the area along the head of the bed, often, in india, a place to keep things.)
and lie uselessly along the head of my bed.

Band darwaaja dekhe, lauti hai subah,
(darwaaja- dialectical for darwaaza, or door)
 My closed doors see a morning return.

Thandi hai angeethi seeli, seeli hain diwarein,
( angeethi- a crude mud oven, used in the extremely chilly winters of north India to warm homes.)
The angeethi lies cold, and so are the walls.

Goonje takrake inme, dil ki sada
(goonje-echo)
And the dirges of my heart echo from these walls.

goonje hai re( 2) dil ki sada (2)
Ah, the dirges echo.

Je naina karun band, band,

(naina- eyes; band- close)

And everytime that I close my eyes,

Beh jaaye boond boond.

(Beh- wash boond- drops)

Pain is washed away in droplets.

Tadpaye re, kyun sunaye re, geet malhaar ki,

(malhaar- a classical north Indian raaga, sung with the coming of monsoons, the source of life)

Then why do you make me listen to the anguishing  monsoon raagas?

Chorus:

Be malang tera Iktara (8)

The iktara has lost its melody and now continues without any symphony.

The Chaos Theory.

Have you ever heard of the chaos theory?
It is a science.
It tries to determine underlying patterns in chaotic systems. Weather, Ocean Currents, that sort of things. Well, it turns out that there are few things more chaotic than the beat of a human heart. Speeding up, Slowing down. A pretty face, A flight of stairs.
It's always changing depending on what's happening.It's an erratic son of a b***h. But underneath all that bump-a-ta-bump mess, there is, in fact, a pattern.


A Truth.


And it is love.


The most important thing about love is that we choose to give it.....And we choose to recieve it.
Making it the least random act in the entire universe.
It transcends blood, and it transcends betrayal.
And all the dirt that makes us human.


This year-end, Figure That out.


P.S: my VLC media player has a red cap on its icon(with a fluff of cotton at the end), Though I still have no idea how on earth that happens every year. And I am wearing woollens. So yes, All Is Well.

Hum To Aise Hain Bhaiyya- 4

"nine out of every ten people on this earth" says Carlyle, "are fools."

" how flawed democracy is as a concept because it helplessly relies on the rationality of the masses who are inherently irrational and are so deluded that they are sure of their own rationality and infallible judgment. "
(quoted out of context)


My search for an understanding of our democracy keeps pushing me into uncharted waters. :)
Sure, principally men are fools but democracy is, very simply defined, a system of governance, that has, through the trials and errors of history, been recognised as the best.Its not a debate on whether men have the capacity to choose what is best for them. Though incidentally , as Dumbledore told Harry, we do have a knack for choosing what's worst for us.
Its a question of the right to choose what we want that forms the keystone of the entire , massive , framework of a government that's by the people. They might for themselves, choose a government that throws them into the 19th century, or go back to the Harappan Civilization in a quest for self- sustenance. But if that means that they are happy at having beaten the recession ,then hey, democracy's worked. Though of course no one's going to like it without electricity, and personal computers and sales and motorcars and yada yada yada.

I remember the discussion a few of us were having the other day, where most of the people present so animatedly favoured congress.Once inside the ballot room though , they might push a thumb as easily for BJP. And that, in my eyes is the sheer beauty of our democracy.We choose freely what we want, without fear or favour.Even if its an extremist, separatist and up-in -the arms agenda that we vote for, we've got only our conscience, or the lack of it to answer to.And India has always, overwhelmingly, and completely chosen moderation over extremism. Throughout.Though its violence that catapults radical leaders. It was Godhra that made Modi.And I fear that 11/26 shall make another one.

Are we really free? I ask. I know that I am.But the rest?? The real India as i like calling them. Are they free?? Is there coercion and force and threats and bullets that, unknown to me force ballots? By all that I've come across, No.Though of course, my memory reminds me, the biryani that a party served at elections last in lieu of votes can be sufficiently called manipulative. But as I think deeper, its probably not.We vote for what's important for us, and if I think that a biryani that I have once in a red moon is incentive enough, I vote for that biryani.Period.


P.S : above quote taken from here

Soulmates.

"Sometimes, in course of our life's journey, come messengers of our soulmates from unknown parts of the world, to enlarge the kingdoms of our hearts. They arrive unbidden. But there comes a time, one day, when they no longer answer to our call. Departing, they edge our life's fabric with an embroidery of flowers, leaving our days and nights forever enriched."

ME.

I play
I love long drives
I sing
I indulge
I celebrate valentine's(well, not exactly)
I own a guess (someday........)
I like quick money
I cross limits
I lie
I break rules
I splurge
I bunk
I eat junk
I trek (or at any rate, plan to)
I study (before the exams, yes)
I am aware
I question
I have opinions
I elect
I count.

A Second Read.

"In spring, when woods are getting green, I'll try and tell you what I mean; In summer, when the days are long, Perhaps you'll understand the song."
- Lewis Carroll


To feel the magic you don't always have to understand.......

Shaurya....

shaurya kya hai?

thartharati is dharti ko raundti,
faujon ki ek paltan ka shor,
ya sehme se aasman ko cheerta hua,
bandukon ki salami ka shor...

shaurya kya hai?

hari wardi par chamakte hue
chand peetal ke sitare,
ya sarhad ka naam dekar
andekhi kuch lakeeron ki numaish...

shaurya kya hai?

door udte kahmosh parinde ko
goliyon se bhoon dene ka ehsaas,
ya sholon ki barsaat se,pal bahr mein,
ek sheher ko shamshan bana dene ka ehsaas,

shaurya kya hai?

behti hui aas mein kisi ke khoon ka,
hole se sukhb jaana....
ya anjaane kisi firaaq mein,
pal pal ka dosakh bante jaana...

shaurya kya hai?

baarud se dhundhle is aasmaan mein.......
shaurya kya hai?

vadiyon mein gunjte kisi gaon ke maatam mein.....
shautya kya hai?

Shaurya...
shayad ek hosla,
shayad ek himmat,
hamare bohot andar...

goliyion ki betahasha shor ko
apni khamoshi se chunauti de paane ki himmat.
marti marti is duniya mein,
nihatte date rehne ki himmat.

Shaurya....
aane wale kal ki khatir,
apne hisse ki kayanat ko aaj hi bacha lene ki himmat.

shaurya kya hai????



aap kahiye...

Quote Unquote.

courage is what it takes to stand and speak up.....
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.