Hay udaas buhat yay raatain
chupee hain in bay-sudh sansoon main
kayee jaan ba'lub muskurahatain
jo kisi kay anay kee muntazir hain
hain jin kee umeed say bundhee
mayri sub natawaan umeedain
kay kisi din , kisi lamhay
jub koi dastkay day ga mayray dur pe
kaisay uthain gee bay'taab nigahain
uss chara'gar kee taraf
kay jis kay anay say khil uthain gee
mayray chaman kee sub kaliyaan
kahain gay jis ko dekh kay , sub laala-o-gul
'ab aa he gaye ho , to chalay ao hum-dum
buhat musafatain kaateen hain tum nay
buhat mudataain guzaaree hain hum nay
ao , yaaraan-e-chaman kay pass bhee
jo tuktay hain tumhain , baytab nigahon say
kehtay hain sub , iss gulshan kay rehnay walay
ae umeed-e-subah, ae umeed-e-bahaar
gurchay, kiya hum nay buhat tumhara intezaar
per nahi hay, koi shikwa hamain ab koi
guzar gaye hain ab sub zard lamhay
nahi aye gee ab yahan khizaan koi'
dhoondta hoon tumhain main aye dil-afroz
kay bujh raha hay mayra dil-e-pur'soz
per hay abhi bhee , kuch ajab see umeed
kay milay gee humain bhee koi naveed
dekhain hay hum nay ...
badaltay huay wekt kay dhaaray
aaj nahi jo hum say mukhatib ...
to kul hoon gay hamaray
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Shall We Not?
Are we not same , my devil!
fighting our ways through
fresh and polluted streams
of time and emotions
waging our wars on those
who dont accept us
who dont reject us, either
shall we not then shake hands?
eliminating our distrust
replacing it with some enemy
whose strings are attached to
his own self-confessed knowledge
whose dreams are hung by
his own self-constructed delusions
After all ...
neither you hold all the knowledge
nor do i...
fighting our ways through
fresh and polluted streams
of time and emotions
waging our wars on those
who dont accept us
who dont reject us, either
shall we not then shake hands?
eliminating our distrust
replacing it with some enemy
whose strings are attached to
his own self-confessed knowledge
whose dreams are hung by
his own self-constructed delusions
After all ...
neither you hold all the knowledge
nor do i...
Monday, January 7, 2008
Autumn.
in myself , i find self again
such is the vast land of existence
i stumble, i fall, as i run around
always realizing, i am earth bound
in the shadows of falling leaves
i make meadows of ever growing trees
as rain falls down on my face
i look endlessly to expanding skies
waiting for my smiles and sighs
looking for hellos...
...smiling at goodbyes
such is the vast land of existence
i stumble, i fall, as i run around
always realizing, i am earth bound
in the shadows of falling leaves
i make meadows of ever growing trees
as rain falls down on my face
i look endlessly to expanding skies
waiting for my smiles and sighs
looking for hellos...
...smiling at goodbyes
Monday, December 31, 2007
A Nation in Mourning - Waiting for Morning.
*bang* - *bang* - *bang* - *bang*
*blast*
thats all it takes to bring down 160 Million people to their knees , or lets say temporarily. Some say its a sad sad day , some say it was inevitable. Regardless of the fact which camp i belong to reality remains the same. Crux of this whole issue doesnt lie anywhere but a disease which i have been talking consistently about.
'Our love for heroes'.
Its again this syndrome that has plagued this nation. Whoever masterminded this thing , just knew what he was going to achieve. Remember 9/11? Whoever was behind it did it just not to blow away some building , it was a symbolic disaster. Shock & Awe - what americans used in Iraq war as a strategy , they had gone through it already. Same thing has happened on this Thursday. It was mind blowingly thoroughly 'Professional' act of terrorism. You had to be on the street to know how much fear was around. I was walking around on the streets of lahore , 6:30 PM - its a time in this city where life is just beginning to find its place on roads. And i could see shutters going down already. Shutters going down in Lahore? This doesnt happen even at 3:00 AM in this city. This is a city which never sleeps.If a city has cafes which have 'all night long' policy , how can life desert its roads? - So i went inside one such cafe and the moments later even it was shutting down , waiting for angry mobs. I was among 4 customers. I could see terror on their faces and why not? You dont associate such moments to Lahore. I stayed there for 30 minutes , and in those 30 minutes i saw the rumor 'Mobs are coming - shut down the lights , doors and shutters' entering and leaving the cafe. It was so terrifying - that i laughed. Such is the state of our nation , we are built on fear. Oh, you must watch 'Bowling in Columbine' to know why is it so. I would just keep having scenes from this documentary and it mapped so perfectly well to the situation.
I moved out of cafe , it was becoming too stupid for me. Out on the road , i decided to walk. Why fear? THey are my country men. If they choose to kill me , thats their choice. Why should i tell them that i am even afraid of them? So i walked , walked for 40 odd minutes. With everyone coming from all directions stating something or the other. Street lights were turned off , roads had no cars , no transport. A city succumbed to the fear of unknown. I could hardly see my city in this shape. How come humans just become so fearful of their own specie? Own race? Own religion? Own creed? - So is the reality. Fear makes people forget who they are.where they come from.where they belong to.
Very night , i got calls from many people about Lahore's situation. I will depart from Lahore now, and try to see what has happened in this country , to this country.
We are a nation obsessed with individuals. You remove that person from the picture and it looks as if whole nation is going to come to an end. Benazir is just not an exception. This country has never been on the path to democracy as such. If people think , bringing in Benazir would’ve solved the issue , I am always going to disagree. Our political parties are autocratic by nature. Answer me , if you can ever imagine PML without Nawaz Sharif or PPP without Benazir. Its just because there are no elections within these parties. These are the people who are going to remain at the helm , unless they die one way or the other. So it makes considerable sense to remove the person , who becomes the nexus. What if they remove Musharraf? I am sure there will be even more chaos. Its more due to the stupidity of Musharraf than anything else. Once you hold onto an office for too long , everything starts moving in and out of your corridors. But when you are no more there , no one knows who is going to take control.
They say, In every disaster there is an opportunity. So is true for this time.
Our politicians should realize they have to die one day , and it makes perfect sense if they adopt democratic policies in their own parties. You keep a revolving door at the top. Just like democrats and republicans do. If you make it a personal politics , then you will keep facing this situation again and again.
Our military should just take a hint. They have tried their best to run this country through their ideas but how many times more they want to reach a similar situation? Gen. Ayub tried to run his own way of politics , failed. Similar fates are shared by Gen. Zia & Gen. Musharraf. I think they should accept that enough is enough – already.
Our intellectual class should just come out and talk. Talk about where to go , what to do. They go into hiding every time something happens which requires their input. If you will let masses play it out , then you are already seeing how they react. You can speak up – and you should.
Our nation should just accept that one person , one party or one group doesn’t constitute Pakistan. They don’t hold the fate of 160 Million people. They shouldn’t. Did anything happen when Jinnah died? Did any disaster happen when Liaqut Ali Khan was killed? Did we break up after the hanging of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto? Why should this be any different moment?We should always remember that we are as much responsible for the progress and prosperity of this nation as anyone else. Why being so pessimistic and turn this feeling into a stupid frenzy of burning things down and creating a havoc. Whose loss are we doing anyways? Its ours. Its not that difficult a reality to accept and understand – or are we too dumb?
Lastly my friends – its been a difficult year for this country by any stretch of imagination.
Things have happened badly, disasters have struck. But shall we remember , as a nation we have always come out. This time it should be the same. We have lost a leader – but rest assured in the process of grieving and mourning we don’t lose out on many more. Hope is the only thing which stops humans from turning into animals. Lets hope , that through these dark moments only days of glory will rise. Let’s keep working towards a better tomorrow, for only we hold our destiny.
*bang* - *bang* - *bang* - *bang*
*blast*
This is what it should take to bring us back. Together!
*blast*
thats all it takes to bring down 160 Million people to their knees , or lets say temporarily. Some say its a sad sad day , some say it was inevitable. Regardless of the fact which camp i belong to reality remains the same. Crux of this whole issue doesnt lie anywhere but a disease which i have been talking consistently about.
'Our love for heroes'.
Its again this syndrome that has plagued this nation. Whoever masterminded this thing , just knew what he was going to achieve. Remember 9/11? Whoever was behind it did it just not to blow away some building , it was a symbolic disaster. Shock & Awe - what americans used in Iraq war as a strategy , they had gone through it already. Same thing has happened on this Thursday. It was mind blowingly thoroughly 'Professional' act of terrorism. You had to be on the street to know how much fear was around. I was walking around on the streets of lahore , 6:30 PM - its a time in this city where life is just beginning to find its place on roads. And i could see shutters going down already. Shutters going down in Lahore? This doesnt happen even at 3:00 AM in this city. This is a city which never sleeps.If a city has cafes which have 'all night long' policy , how can life desert its roads? - So i went inside one such cafe and the moments later even it was shutting down , waiting for angry mobs. I was among 4 customers. I could see terror on their faces and why not? You dont associate such moments to Lahore. I stayed there for 30 minutes , and in those 30 minutes i saw the rumor 'Mobs are coming - shut down the lights , doors and shutters' entering and leaving the cafe. It was so terrifying - that i laughed. Such is the state of our nation , we are built on fear. Oh, you must watch 'Bowling in Columbine' to know why is it so. I would just keep having scenes from this documentary and it mapped so perfectly well to the situation.
I moved out of cafe , it was becoming too stupid for me. Out on the road , i decided to walk. Why fear? THey are my country men. If they choose to kill me , thats their choice. Why should i tell them that i am even afraid of them? So i walked , walked for 40 odd minutes. With everyone coming from all directions stating something or the other. Street lights were turned off , roads had no cars , no transport. A city succumbed to the fear of unknown. I could hardly see my city in this shape. How come humans just become so fearful of their own specie? Own race? Own religion? Own creed? - So is the reality. Fear makes people forget who they are.where they come from.where they belong to.
Very night , i got calls from many people about Lahore's situation. I will depart from Lahore now, and try to see what has happened in this country , to this country.
We are a nation obsessed with individuals. You remove that person from the picture and it looks as if whole nation is going to come to an end. Benazir is just not an exception. This country has never been on the path to democracy as such. If people think , bringing in Benazir would’ve solved the issue , I am always going to disagree. Our political parties are autocratic by nature. Answer me , if you can ever imagine PML without Nawaz Sharif or PPP without Benazir. Its just because there are no elections within these parties. These are the people who are going to remain at the helm , unless they die one way or the other. So it makes considerable sense to remove the person , who becomes the nexus. What if they remove Musharraf? I am sure there will be even more chaos. Its more due to the stupidity of Musharraf than anything else. Once you hold onto an office for too long , everything starts moving in and out of your corridors. But when you are no more there , no one knows who is going to take control.
They say, In every disaster there is an opportunity. So is true for this time.
Our politicians should realize they have to die one day , and it makes perfect sense if they adopt democratic policies in their own parties. You keep a revolving door at the top. Just like democrats and republicans do. If you make it a personal politics , then you will keep facing this situation again and again.
Our military should just take a hint. They have tried their best to run this country through their ideas but how many times more they want to reach a similar situation? Gen. Ayub tried to run his own way of politics , failed. Similar fates are shared by Gen. Zia & Gen. Musharraf. I think they should accept that enough is enough – already.
Our intellectual class should just come out and talk. Talk about where to go , what to do. They go into hiding every time something happens which requires their input. If you will let masses play it out , then you are already seeing how they react. You can speak up – and you should.
Our nation should just accept that one person , one party or one group doesn’t constitute Pakistan. They don’t hold the fate of 160 Million people. They shouldn’t. Did anything happen when Jinnah died? Did any disaster happen when Liaqut Ali Khan was killed? Did we break up after the hanging of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto? Why should this be any different moment?We should always remember that we are as much responsible for the progress and prosperity of this nation as anyone else. Why being so pessimistic and turn this feeling into a stupid frenzy of burning things down and creating a havoc. Whose loss are we doing anyways? Its ours. Its not that difficult a reality to accept and understand – or are we too dumb?
Lastly my friends – its been a difficult year for this country by any stretch of imagination.
Things have happened badly, disasters have struck. But shall we remember , as a nation we have always come out. This time it should be the same. We have lost a leader – but rest assured in the process of grieving and mourning we don’t lose out on many more. Hope is the only thing which stops humans from turning into animals. Lets hope , that through these dark moments only days of glory will rise. Let’s keep working towards a better tomorrow, for only we hold our destiny.
*bang* - *bang* - *bang* - *bang*
*blast*
This is what it should take to bring us back. Together!
An Ode To Mother.
Read me the book once more
when there are no fairies anymore
lying beside you , in the winter nites
when the warmth of your hug
will enter in me and make me smug
while taking small steps in the garden
you will run to catch, as if i sprint
such are the memories etched in me
when you were the life in me
all your yelling , which once brought
tears , now bring a smile to me
so are you still around in the eden?
are you still in me,apparent and hidden?
my mind goes back to your laughter
kissing and telling me how much i matter
what shall be the life again , my only friend?
what shall be the heart again, my surreal love?
in your falling tears i found my discomfort
in you i found my soul's sole comfort
come home soon , my only shelter
your life is alone , dont let it stagger
when there are no fairies anymore
lying beside you , in the winter nites
when the warmth of your hug
will enter in me and make me smug
while taking small steps in the garden
you will run to catch, as if i sprint
such are the memories etched in me
when you were the life in me
all your yelling , which once brought
tears , now bring a smile to me
so are you still around in the eden?
are you still in me,apparent and hidden?
my mind goes back to your laughter
kissing and telling me how much i matter
what shall be the life again , my only friend?
what shall be the heart again, my surreal love?
in your falling tears i found my discomfort
in you i found my soul's sole comfort
come home soon , my only shelter
your life is alone , dont let it stagger
Phir wohi...
phir wohi baad-e-khizaan kay charchay
unhi payron pe phir say khushk zard pattay
kaisay hain iss gulshan kay rehnay walay
jo nahi samajhtay, tareek-o-rasm-e-ishq
kehtee hay faseel-e-shehr, aseeran-e-watan say
kahan jao gay mayray abaad kaaro?
mujh main he panah-e-dushman patay
phir mujh ko he ho raund daaltay?
nahi hay bahaar un kee
nahi hay khizaan un kee
nahi hay chaman un ka
nahi hay koi rung un ka
kay jis shehar kay baasion ka
na ho josh-e-kayamat apna
na ho jazba-e-zameer apna
phir wohi daykhta hoon aaj main
phir wohi ghabra kay sochta hoon main
'giree hay jis pe kul bijlee ,
woh mayra ashyaan kyun ho?'
unhi payron pe phir say khushk zard pattay
kaisay hain iss gulshan kay rehnay walay
jo nahi samajhtay, tareek-o-rasm-e-ishq
kehtee hay faseel-e-shehr, aseeran-e-watan say
kahan jao gay mayray abaad kaaro?
mujh main he panah-e-dushman patay
phir mujh ko he ho raund daaltay?
nahi hay bahaar un kee
nahi hay khizaan un kee
nahi hay chaman un ka
nahi hay koi rung un ka
kay jis shehar kay baasion ka
na ho josh-e-kayamat apna
na ho jazba-e-zameer apna
phir wohi daykhta hoon aaj main
phir wohi ghabra kay sochta hoon main
'giree hay jis pe kul bijlee ,
woh mayra ashyaan kyun ho?'
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Scattered Thoughts.
- Iqbal said , in his book Stray Reflections ,
' For centuries eastern heart and intellect have been absorbed in the question - Does God Exist?. I propose to raise a new question - new that is to say , for the East - Does man exist?
'I question the very idea to take it forward , Existence as compared to what? fellow humans? Animals? Plants? - or even non-existence?
- Muslims have become a creed of blind followers. We follow leaders , without questioning their ability to lead us. Its as true for a political movement as it is true for religious ideals. We dont question the authority. What is it that differentiates Quran? Its ability to stand the force of questioning. Its invitation to question. How wonderfully it asks humans to come up with a rational opposition to its theories. Thats the power of truth. But what are we now? We dont question because of fear. We are more willing to burn effigies than to actually dig out the real issue. Such a waste of intellect , time and feelings.
- God & Perfection are similar ideas. We do want to be perfect , but then how do we define 'perfection'? If we can define , then i believe we are in a better position to understand what we want to be. Similar to the concept of God. We do want to follow God, but can we define? I believe once we can define either concept , other will complete the picture. Then may be all struggles will come to an end
- One single pillar which constituted Islamic social system was Justice. Irony is now we want everything but justice. Justice which differentiates right from wrong irrespective of who is at the receiving end.
- More i help others , more helpless i feel. Its just too much of a mess out there. Shall i give up? - No seems to be the answer. Because , i can just start that one spark which can burn down this whole jungle of mediocre mentality , unjust theories , illogical rationalities , pseudo-intellectual religious transformations.
- I love you , but is this enough?
' For centuries eastern heart and intellect have been absorbed in the question - Does God Exist?. I propose to raise a new question - new that is to say , for the East - Does man exist?
'I question the very idea to take it forward , Existence as compared to what? fellow humans? Animals? Plants? - or even non-existence?
- Muslims have become a creed of blind followers. We follow leaders , without questioning their ability to lead us. Its as true for a political movement as it is true for religious ideals. We dont question the authority. What is it that differentiates Quran? Its ability to stand the force of questioning. Its invitation to question. How wonderfully it asks humans to come up with a rational opposition to its theories. Thats the power of truth. But what are we now? We dont question because of fear. We are more willing to burn effigies than to actually dig out the real issue. Such a waste of intellect , time and feelings.
- God & Perfection are similar ideas. We do want to be perfect , but then how do we define 'perfection'? If we can define , then i believe we are in a better position to understand what we want to be. Similar to the concept of God. We do want to follow God, but can we define? I believe once we can define either concept , other will complete the picture. Then may be all struggles will come to an end
- One single pillar which constituted Islamic social system was Justice. Irony is now we want everything but justice. Justice which differentiates right from wrong irrespective of who is at the receiving end.
- More i help others , more helpless i feel. Its just too much of a mess out there. Shall i give up? - No seems to be the answer. Because , i can just start that one spark which can burn down this whole jungle of mediocre mentality , unjust theories , illogical rationalities , pseudo-intellectual religious transformations.
- I love you , but is this enough?
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