Jesus loves black and white...Merry Christmas!

 Pride of my town: The Basilica of our Lady of Graces:

Linked to: The Weekend in Black and White

Credits: Aditi Amit

भूला गया

दीवला हूँ कोरी मिट्टी का,

पार-साल का.

मुझ तक आते आते 

तुम्हारी मुँडेर ही ख़त्म हो गयी 

और मैं बच रहा 

जगमग पंक्ति से.

करता रहा इन्तेज़ार साल भर

कि शायद 

चौबारे या चौराहे 

पर रख आओ.

नववर्ष, जन्मदिवस,

पूजा-पाठ में जलाओ

या किसी आत्मा-शांति के लिये

गंगा में ही बहाओ.

पर मैं तो ताक़ पड़ा भूला रहा

डरता हूँ इस साल 

नयों के नीचे

दबा न रह जाऊँ!

बेकार

फेंका नहीं जा सकता

बेचा भी नहीं,

ना दान दिया जा सकता हूँ

और उपहार में तो बिल्कुल ही नहीं.

सजता था कभी 

सजाता भी,

क़ीमती हुआ करता था

और उपयोगी भी.

पुराने फ़ैशन का

शानदार फ़र्नीचर हूँ मैं,

नये चलन के इस दौर से

मेल नहीं खाता.

...पर मेरे जैसे अब

बनते भी कहाँ हैं!  

दुआ

हे मेरे भगवान् 

कैसा किया इस साल 

तुमने ये काम...

हमें तो मार डाला गर्मी में 

और पहाड़ों पर 

मचाया कोहराम

बारिश आती नहीं,

दुआ भी की जाती नहीं 

डर लगता है 

कि जो बूँदें 

मुझे जिलायेंगी 

उन्हें कितना और सतायेंगी 

जो रहते हैं 

मुझसे कुछ मोड़ दूर 

उन ख़ूबसूरत पहाड़ों पर 

जाने दो 

मैं सह लूँगा गर्मी का दर्द 

पर वहाँ मत करना और उपद्रव !

Translation:

Oh my God

what kind of benevolence

this year You showed!

We are dying in

heat sweltering

and Your game

in mountains is devastating...

Rain it doesn’t

and even pray I can’t (for it)

Afraid that the drops

cool me which

will give them despair

who live just a few turns away

in those beautiful mountains 

Forget it hence

scorching heat shall I bear

but kindly

no more destruction there!

What have we fools done to you mother..!

Quiet flows the Don...

And the infuriated Ganga...

Happily gurgling, sweetly singing, playfully cooling our hearts, minds and bodies...giving peace to eyes and soothing our souls, the Holy Ganga was enraged by the selfish deeds of Her reckless children..!
The height of water (and devastation) can be guessed and judged by comparing these two pictures.
The mammoth steel and marble structure around Lord Shiva's colossal idol is completely submerged, but His composure is out of this world!
The one on top was taken by me in April 2013 and that at bottom is the heart wrenching one of 16 June 2013.

_________________________________________________________
Disclaimer and courtesy: The second picture has been thankfully taken from internet and is not mine.

वक़्त

हाँ चाहा  था  मैंने 

कि वक़्त  ठहर जाए कभी 

और सच ही 

वो ठहर गया कहीं, लेकिन-

गाढ़े, भारी धुएँ की तरह… 

बर्फ़ की मज़बूत चट्टान जैसा!

न उड़ता है 

न पिघलता है.

Translation:

Yes, I wished the time 

to cease some time

And it somewhere stopped

but, indeed

Like heavy smoke thick...

like an iceberg robust!

Neither does it dilute

nor melt.

Let’s be spiritual and not follow a religion!

(My first post in prose J kindly read!)

An appeal:

None of us is going to enter the gates of heaven, howsoever fervently we might have washed our sins away, nor is our body going to get up from the dust on a particular day, howsoever zealously we may wait! And we are certainly not going to inherit the kingdom of God, in whatsoever way!

We have indulged in pleasures of the flesh throughout our lives, let’s please our body one last time by giving it a chance to be alive for some more years and not give it away to scorching flames or lay it in the dark and cold.*

There are lacs of fellow human beings suffering from terminal diseases waiting for untimely death, or a sagacious organ donor, in hundreds of hospitals. They are in a dire need of an organ to live further on. Just a few ounces out of our 68kgs mass weigh too little in comparison to a whole life it can save.

Our priceless organs, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys, eyes, heart valves, skin, bones, bone marrow, connective tissues, middle ear and blood vessels, of which we are the sole owners, will be burnt away or buried mindlessly if we do not act now in our senses and able bodies.

“Take me from darkness to light. Take me from false to Truth. Take me from death to immortality”.

Let’s pledge our body or organs for donation after death to save some precious lives from being lost before their time.

Don’t let any so called religious myths or sentimental pressures hinder your way once you make up your mind. Persuading your family will not be difficult when you remember how many times you cajoled them into something you wished them to do J

I have done it!

Organ Retrieval Banking Organization of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, is the place where you can perform this noble and very religious ritual, and be content about it!

 _________________________________________________________

*O.K., if your mindset doesn't allow you to forget  your body, you can have the last rites performed on it, by not pledging the whole, although the skin, bones and bone marrow are of vital importance too, which we shall leave behind!

Moods... Rishikesh in the Himalayas!

                                     Linked to: Skywatch Friday
                                                     Nature Notes#208

Crystal Vase

                               Linked to: TheWeekendInBlackAndWhite
                                                Weekend Reflections#183

Welcome Spring...Cupid Arrows!

                                    Linked to: Skywatch Friday 7/38

अँधेरे...

चाँद - सितारे 

किसे हसीं नहीं लगते 

सूरज ज़िन्दगी 

तो दीपक रौशनी दिया करते हैं 

मेहरबाँ कुछ ऐसे 

बनाए कुदरत ने 

जो गुमनाम अंधेरों को भी 

याद किया करते हैं 

Translation:

Who doesn't find

Moon and stars alluring

The Sun gives life

And the lamps light

Existence however has

Styled some kind souls who

The ignored dark

Remember too

This verse is gratefully dedicated to blogger friends Tangy Tomato Twist, Indu Chhibber and Panchali Sengupta for their inspiration! Thanks a lot grand ladies :)

हवाएँ...

बेमानी है बहुत 

मासूम हवाओं पे 

रखना  इल्ज़ाम,

ताश के पत्तों के महल 

बसने को नहीं 

हुआ करते.

Boats

                           Linked to: TheWeekendInBlackAndWhite

हाइकु

                                    (Image courtesy: Web)

दियासलाई 

जैसी याद तुम्हारी 

जली उँगली

Matchstick
is your thought
fingers burnt 

Grey and Green!

             Linked to: ABC Wednesday: G is for Grey...G is for Green

कोंपलें ...

                                                                  (Image courtesy:Web)

सरकती  नमी 

है ज्यूँ  ठूँठ में- 

बस चन्द कोंपलें 

और फिर क्षय 

चिर- स्थाई,

यूँ ही लरज़ती 

हो तुम –

मुझ में समाई!

Translation:

Sprouts...

Quiver you in me

like the damp,

in a stump-

sprouts

a few more,

and decay

Undying!

Explanation:

Sorry darlings, it can’t be explained...it can only be felt!!

Old world charm!

                            Linked to: TheWeekendInBlackAndWhite
             Dearest friends, My 'Doped' appears on the cover once again!
                         Thanks loadz to you all for your kind patronage:):)
                         Linked to: ABC Wednesday- 'O' is for Old world

Chutzpah?

nay...not the least!

In fact, dear blogger friends, while I’m so grateful to all the kind souls who considered me worthy of these wonderful awards, I’m on the other hand ashamed of my incapability of receiving any of them in the right way.

I was on cloud nine when I received my first one about this time last year, and started working on the obligations right away. But I soon felt a stress building up on finding there was no answers to some questions asked by the giver or I did not want to reply to some others...which in turn posed a bigger problem when I understood that the friends nominated by me might find themselves in the same fix!

Within a couple of weeks I received many more, adding to my predicament of fulfilling the riders.

I also faced a traumatic dilemma of who to give and who to leave, for there were lots who I wanted to give away to but there always was a restricting number of prospective receivers.

And then they were like pouring down...there was one or two every third day! Ego fanning it definitely was but a realization soon came as a price: I couldn’t cope with the fact that I have received so many of them so many times, and the blogs I adored most had none! It was like savoring delicacies with deprived friends around.  Adorning my blog with awards and seeing those I loved without any was an excruciating pain, resulting into my failure of being game!

As if all this was not enough, I noticed some awardees mentioning the number of times they received it beside an award, which somewhat appeared as an obscene display of superiority, and at this point I decided (although I had accumulated a dozen by then) to steer clear of this quandary, and excused myself by deleting all the homework I had done to properly accept and nominate for my awards.

As I have received more than 20 in last one year, and still regularly get nominated by nice friends I believe it is my duty to tell you all the facts behind my having not continued the chain and my reasons of sitting on the favours bestowed upon me. I have so many wonderful blogger buddies and lovable blogs around that I just can’t pick and choose.

Your kind visits and lovely comments are my awards and rewards, and I value YOU more than anything else. Your loving support motivates and encourages me always, and I hope you will continue being with me at all times!

Warm regards and hugs J

-Amit/Safarnaamaa

PS: My sincere apologies to generous friends who gave me these awards, but I couldn't accept  them!