Saturday, May 18, 2013

shyam...


Shyam…

Madham madham roshni
Sar pe lahrate badal
Samne shayam rang pani
Jeele dal.

Meri nazar tak seemit
Har kan-kan mei
Mere shyam tum they
Bas tum hi tum they.

Duur kahin hawaavuon mei
Mithaas bhari
Bansurie kie awaaz
tumhaari hie to  thee.

Par tum tab kahan they?
Jab aisie ek sham
Mera  ghounsla
Jal ke khandar huwa tha.

Kalyug me hei sahi
Ek aur  Droupdie ne apna
Astitva khoya tha…
Dheriya uska toota tha.

Tab bhi tum yahi kahin they,
Sham rang dhuwen se
Tumhari bhi aankhen
Bhar aayin hongie.

Palken tumhari bhi japkie
nahi hongi tab se
Ki aansun aankhuon se tapke
nahi they tab ke.

Utar aayi sharmati hui
Aaj jo chand boonde
Meine apni hathelie mein
Ge bhar ke samete liye

Yaad sadev rakhun gie
Ki tum bhi
Mere sang-sang kabhi
Zar-zar ro liye…..

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Izhar…. a legend!

Izhar…. a legend!

“I think you have every right to know that your friend , that is me, is suffering from Cancer and is fighting it right now in Bombay Hospital,” was the message I received one day from Izhar.

“What nonsense,” I said to myself. Not ready to accept it, for obvious reasons, I immediately dialed his number. As soon as I heard his voice I knew he was serious about it. Rest is understood as it is not always important to hammer the obvious. I don’t know what my silence conveyed to him and how many his words consoled me.

I had not met Izhar then, but we were connected through e-mail, FB and telephonically.He happened to read my article in Kasmir Times and sent one mail as feedback in response, that goes like this:

Awesome story

Inbox

x

Izhar Wani izhar.wani@gmail.com

12/15/09

to me

Dear Veena, read your story in Kashmir Times "entitled" "I saw God in his eyes". It made for a good read. It has been wonderfully penned down and takes a reader right into what you and your family had experienced at that time. I hope things will and are changing for the better. We will again be one. I will able to sit with all my Burn Hallian friends, including Sunny Pandita, Pankaj Mahaldar, Sanjay Razdan, Ajay Mam, Vikram Handoo and many others. I wish, I could see them all again. I miss my favourite teacher Munshi Sir. I miss your community like anything as my father, a university scientist had over a dozen Pandit friends and I used to enjoy the company of my well-read uncles and their kins. God bless you and your family always....regards Izhar

We exchanged our thoughts on different subjects and by and by I found him very straight and simple person, very decent to talk to, intelligent and having command over English language. Later I came to know that he happened to be classmate of my younger brother, Sunny Pandita.

Izhar Wani izhar.wani@gmail.com

12/21/09

to me

. Yes, I was in Burn Hall between 70s and 80s. Sunny used to secure first position in almost all the standards. He is a refined guy, always talked sense and his speech at times had no parallels. I haven't seen him after matriculation but a school mate -- Adil Bashir -- told me Sunny is in USA. This is life. I read your article. It moved me. I had tears in my eyes and I thought I should appreciate your write-up. And see here you are helping me to connect me to a school friend. Veena, anytime you are in Srinagar please do give me a call on cell NO: 09419000622. You will love to meet my family, incluidng my two naughty daughters -- Saira, 10 and Saba, 5. I have taken a short break from FaceBook but will be back soon. I am a journalist working for Agence France Presse (AFP) since 1991. I have covered Iraq and Afghanistan, but mostly I am based in Srinagar. It is a great honour to be in touch with you. God bless you always..... Izhar

We grew along with this friendship. It was a wonderful relationship. There would be time when we would not be in touch for a month or so, but when we would, it would be like as if we had been constantly in touch. I would not consciously think of him. But when I would, it would be acknowledgement to a constant being within me which perhaps needed no acknowledgement. We hadn’t seen each other but I had introduced him to my family. he promised a number of times that he would come to jammu to meet us, which he could never fulfill.

He was full of life, very pleasant to talk to, a very good photographer besides being a journalist by profession. Above all he was secular by character .once he wrote while we were discussing political scenario of j&k:

Izhar Wani izhar.wani@gmail.com

4/21/10

to me

Dear Veena
Not only Jagmohan, the fear also played its role in the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. When serial slayings of Pandits working in Judiciary, police or intelligence were carried out with impunity, it instilled fear among the minority community. Some of the leaders pushed panic button, trigerring one of the fastest exodus in the history. Pandits, living in cities, villages and even on mountains fled, leaving behind everything they had acquired over the decades. There is a need to investigate who pushed the panic button as around same time even Muslims were being killed by militants, mostly those associated with pro-India political groups, police and CID and IB. ,...regards Izu

He lived every change in nature and captured it through his camera and pen. His latest photographs of winter in Kashmir are worth seeing.

Who could have thought of such a deadly disease to such a lovely person. Not atleast me… but for this heart breaking SMS. That day onwards when I would call him, he would console me by saying, “I will fight it Inshaallah! But pray for me.” And I would always utter “amen!” and he fought it to a great extent for some time.

It is during this time that I happened to go to Sgr. And it was then i.e. on 28th of July, 2011, I happened to meet him for the first time and alas, for the last time as well…. to have that one life time memory. We fixed the evening time. I along with my brother went Dalgate, his home, to meet him. He had given me his address and I had requested him to remain indoors as I would be able to locate the address and I would manage to reach him. When we were about to reach his home I saw him waiting outside, on the road, which he later on explained that he could not hold himself indoors that time. I saw him coming in our direction and I asked my brother to stop the car. I got down and heard myself asking, “Izhar?” and him replying, “Veena?” simultaneously. He extended his hand and by the time I realized I have to extend mine in response, he had withdrawn his. Shaking or not shaking hands did not matter… in fact nothing mattered. We were meeting for the first time as if we had departed a minute ago or perhaps never departed at all. That day he introduced us to his family. We were together for about an hour. He came to see us off at the main gate of his home. Again it was difficult to depart…. Depart never to see each other again or depart to be in everlasting bond of friendship and purity and of selfless and sincerity… the bond I am still bound by.



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

aman ki chaadar....

Safed, khaamosh

Yeh aman ki chadar

Yehien hai, par gayi kahan…?


Dilun ko dhadkane wali

Aankhoun ko lubaane wali

Sardie ke mausam mein

Kashmir pe phelie

Yeh safed khaamosh

Barfeeli chaadar…


Ic mein daki hain

Dabi aanhe bhi

Un aman-pasand

insaanoun ki

Gin me kuch laapata

Kuch jalaaye watan…


Makaanoun ki chatoun se

latakti lambhi nokeeli

shishar-ghante jaise

saloun-saal

ankhoun se tapkte

munjmind aansoun…..


safed sun odan mein

kuch darkhtoun ki

tahaniyoun par

latakte patte

jaise bebas

zard chehre….


Kohre se lipte

Makanoun ke dareechoun par

Sar tikaye, aanhen barte,

Dam todti kashmiriyat ka

Maatam manaa rahe,

Chand buzarg log…..


Safed khaamosh

Yeh aman ki chadar

Yehien hai, par gayi kahan…?

Thursday, September 22, 2011

FIRAQ.....

firaq.....
aye baarish tu itnie baras
ki firaq-e-yaar dhul jaye
aye baarish tu itnie baras
ki dard-e-dil ghul jaye.........

tune har pate ko nikhaara hai
har chat tune bhigoya hai
patharoun ko tune taraasha hai
chataanoun ko pighlaaya hai....

merie bhie tu maseeha ban
kuch aisa hie waseela kar, ki
dhulie huie ek subh mile
dhulie shaam me din dhle.......

na aawaz ho kaanoun mein
na dastak ho darwaze pe
na aankhoun mein woh bassa rahe
na dil pe koyi khanjar chale.......

aye baarish tu itnie baras
ki firaq-e-yaar dhul jaye
aye baarish tu itnie baras
ki dard-e-dil ghul jaye....

Monday, September 5, 2011

baadal....

phaado`n kie chotie ke
beechon - beech
utartaa baadal
lahraata hua, bal khaata hua
tarastie aankhoun se
neeche zamein ko
ghuurta hua
dheere se keh raha tha:
mein aasman se
nikal kar
pahadiyoun kie uunchaiyoun
ko chod kar
mandraata hun
phirtaa hun, bataktaa hun,
tumhaarie aur badataa hun.
tum khaamosh
mere awaarapan kaa
nazaaraa dekhtie ho, aur
phir taras khaa kar
'barso' tum kahtie ho.
pagaloun ke tarah
mein aapa kho detaa hun
gharajtaa hun, koundtaa hun
aur phir barastaa hun.
tumhaarie andhar kie aagh
bujhataa hun, tumhe sahlaata hun.
khud ko mitaataa hun, aur
tum mein simat jaata hun.
mein tum se pyaar kartaa hun......

khamooshi.......

dour dour tak phaila
yeh ruka sa sanaata,
koi hawa kaa joonkaa
na parinde ki aawaz.
ghaadiyou`n ke raftaar
na chalan`e ke aahat.
d`ate pahadou`n ke
uunchee khamooshi
bhare aasman ke
ph`ale tanhayee.
bus mein aur
mere ander yeh shor,
kaash ki thum jaye
in sub ke tarah....

Saturday, June 4, 2011

‘Doond lein….’

Barsoun se apne khoye

Bachpan ko doond rahi hun….

Unhi galiyoun mein kanhi

meri javaani bhi kho gayi hai…

Suna hai ujade huae us chaman mein

Ab bhi, kuch dilwale baste hain….

Kah do unhen

ki kisee jadiee ke peechay….

Ya phir kisi

Gulab kee kyari ke neeche….

hoga wahi kanhi

meraa bachpan….

Aur merie ghar kee

khidakee kie nouk pe….

Atakie hogie kahien

merie javaani bhi…..

Ho sake to zara sa dekh lein,

Doond lein…

Jo na pakad paye agar

To mukhatib ho ke kahien ….

Kah de mere bachpan se

Ya phir mere javani se….

doud ke aye

jee han, lout ke aye….

Ki mein behataash

jeena cha`hti hun ….

Mein phir se

udna cha`htee hun….