Kamala

For no particular reason I searched for kamala das today. Read a few of her poems. And could not help feeling impressed. Earlier had read somewhere that she does not waste words in her writings. Got some sense of what that possibly meant by reading her poetry. I am impressed with the way she puts her sublime thoughts into words. Am planning to read more of her. Two examples of her poetry copied from another place:

I cannot fold
my wayward limbs to crawl into
coffins of religions.
I shall die, I know,
but only when I tire of love;
tire of life and laughter.
Then fling me into a pit
six feet by two,
do not bother to leave any epitaph for me.

The Maggots (from The Descendants)

At sunset, on the river ban, Krishna
Loved her for the last time and left...

That night in her husband's arms, Radha felt
So dead that he asked, What is wrong,
Do you mind my kisses, love? And she said,
No, not at all, but thought, What is
It to the corpse if the maggots nip?

Tom Waits

well was just going through the lyrics for one of my life's favourite soundtrack 'Dead man walking'. If you haven't tried that soundtrack you are definitely missing something becoz as per me it just can't get any better. Neway coming back to lyrics of this one particular song 'Fall of Troy' by 'Tom Waits' :

It’s the same with men as with horses and dogs
Nothing wants to die
Ethel and James they killed in a game
With guns too big for their hands
Just off St. Charles in no man’s land
And you’ll have to find your own way home, boys
You’ll have to find your own way home

The oldest was Troy, an eighteen year old boy
Shot dead in March in a robbery
His brothers started out to hell and to ruin
Troy’s killer was never caught, they say
Young Nick, he just went bad that day
Now he’ll have to find his own way home, boys
He’ll have to find his own way home

Why cook dinner, why make my bed
Why come home at all?
Out the door and through the woods
There’s a world where nothing grows

It’s hard to say grace and to sit in the place
Of someone missing at the table
Mom’s hair sprayed tight and her face in her hands
Watching TV for answers to me
After all she’s only human
And she’s trying to find her own way home, boys
She’s trying to find her own way home

My legs ache, my heart is sore
The well is full of pennies

Google and Blogs

Sometimes when I have nothing better to do, I log onto the internet and do random googling on people I know now or knew in past. And I never fail to feel happy when I find their mention on some web page. Its enough to make me feel connected to them even if just for that while. And today I did a search on one such friend and gosh, it was not just a mere mention that I found. Rather, I found his blog!!

Well, and after reading his blog, I felt that I understood my friend a little better. And the following aspects of blogging revealed themselves to me:

When a person writes his blog, its not his social obligations forcing him to behave (here write) in a certain way. He is free to choose the things that seemed important to him in his solitude. So, the topics in his blog are his choice rather than dictations of a group.

He had nobody but himself to argue with while writing his blog. So his blog is completely his thought process and not a conversation with inputs from foreign elements.

So, to sum it, I feel a blog helps you understand that person a little better.

ghazal

ilzaam bahut huye zaalim, ab hamein sazaa bhi de
zindagi ke lutf diye, kabhi maut ka mazaa bhi de

auj pe taanga der bahut, chhodne ki zahmat toh kar
aag mein jhonkne ko hamein apni kabhi razaa bhi de

yeh dastur-e-ulfat kaisa, ki gham se mulaqaat nahin
sahraaon mein bhatakne ki, humko bad-dua bhi de

kais ko pathhar mile, farhaad ko hua sahra naseeb,
'kaafir' ko sadmon mein ulajhne ki iltaja hi de

bulla ki jaana

For the first time today, I heard this song 'bulla ki jaana main kaun' fully. And I could feel my eyes go moist as I sat in the car trying to catch the meaning of the song while trying hard not to bump into another car. well, hats off to bulleh shah. I wish if I could also write something so original and secure myself a place above all the sameers and anand bakshi's of the world with just one such masterpiece.

Da Vinci code

Finally the movie is arriving and the people are making a furore over the movie. The movie is considered blasphemous because it questions the very basis of christianity. And the christians want a ban on the screening of the movie. I wouldn't have found it strange if this was happening in Europe or the Americas. But its happening here in India.

What I find strange is that the christians of India consider Indian system of Gods a mythology but have never ascribed a similar word for Jesus. As for myself, I do not find the mythology part offending because I feel that the people of the yore had probably invented such a system as fiction but with time people have forgotten the context and started believing that fiction as real events of the past. But I certainly dislike the double standards that such people take while ascribing to others' religions. These people who want India to ban display of this movie do not for a second hesitate from preaching against Indian system of beliefs on Indian cable television in Kerala and other places where they are evangelizing with full rigour. These people did not for a second challenge the claims of these evangelizers when they went ranting against Hindu beliefs. But they would be the first to protest against a movie which comes from the land where Christianity is practised as a majority religion.

ghazal

another ghazal from me.

sochta hoon kisi tarah sochna bhool jaaoon
ghamon ki tahen khanrochna bhool jaaoon

ummeed ke dhaagon mein ulajhana na pade
ankhon mein khwaab dabochana bhool jaaoon

'kaafir' rahoon magar, khuda se vaasta na pade
apni haqeeqat-e-hayaat nochna bhool jaaoon