कविता: अकेलेपन का अपना ही मज़ा है

अकेलेपन का अपना ही मज़ा है
कभी कभी मिलना भी एक सज़ा है

चाँद  चुपके से 
बगल में चांदनी बिखेर देगा 
हवा की सर्र सर्र सरगम 
कानों में उड़ेल देगा 
कैसे कोई कहेगा तब 
की तन्हाई सज़ा है 
यहाँ तो ज़िन्दगी भर की 
रज़ा है !

कविता: चंद लम्हों की गुफ्तगू

गुम हुआ हूँ या कि अँधेरे का शिकार हुआ हूँ

मैं खुद को छू कर भी ढूंढता रह गया 

तेरे पहलु में बहारों की कमी तो नहीं 

एक मुद्दत बाद मैं भी तैयार हुआ हूँ 

चंद  लम्हों की गुफ्तगू 
इक उम्र की जुस्तजू 
कितनी यादों की लहरें 
कितने बीते दिनों के समंदर 

सबसे पहले तुझसे मिलने की उम्मीद 
सबके बाद भी लम्बा इंतज़ार 
बेइन्तहा लम्बा सफर 
कोई दरख्त भी नहीं छाँव देने को 

कबसे गम है 
कबसे गुम हूँ 
किसे मालूम 
गहरे में उतरे बिना 
गहराई का इल्म 
नामुमकिन है !

10 Things To Do Before I Die: Guest Post: Namitha Varma: Sub Editor The Hindu And A Writer

Recently I reviewed a very small (18 pages) poetry book from Namitha Varma titled My Heart is Your Brothel. You can read the review here. She read my post on Indiblogger in the current IndiSpire topic and got inspired to writer her own 10 wishes that she has posted on her blog. I am re-posting it here so that it gets a space in IndiSpire.

@PebbleInWaters @indiblogger Just read it. & got inspired. Have borrowed your poem's title for my own 10 things. http://t.co/pyLfBCMfRD
— Namitha Varma-Rajesh (@namithavr) September 14, 2014

Above is the tweet from her. Below is her post:

10 Things To Do Before I Die

Glean a baby’s smile

steal a cat’s cuteness

gather the raindrops and make a necklace;

touch the whispers of the wind

feel the murmurs of the stream

drink a bowlful of moonlight

breathe in the sunlight and glow from within;

travel on the sound of the chugging train

sleep on the froth of a rising tide

walk a mile in my mother’s shoes.

If I can do these before I die,

why, death would then hardly count. 

Poetry: Ten Things I Must Do Before I Die

One thing is for sure
that whosoever has come
has to go
But before I go
I have a wishlist to show.

First and foremost
I would like to climb Himalayas
when I am Eighty
To make a record
that is mighty.

Second in my list is a 
World Tour
to visit every place
good and bad
to meet every one
rich and poor.

Third in the list
is a personal meet
with a terrorist
to shake his mind 
and soul and 
turn back into a humane.

Fourth thing in my list
is to finish all the books
that are unread so far
and read again those
that I loved to read
in first go!

Fifth is to spend a
full moon night
in a vast desert
alone
with my better half.

Sixth in the list is
to write so much 
that every search on any keyword
brings my name
on the first page of the list.

Seventh - to revisit all the people
who came into my life
at certain moment
and accepted to be my
guide, mentor, coach or teacher.

Eighth in the list is
to meet top politicians 
of past and present
and ask what right they had
to play with the respect of 
my country.

Ninth wish is to see the whole country
every village, city and citizen
happy and mindful
rich with knowledge 
and 
wisdom.

Tenth wish is to ensure
that all above nine wishes
are adhered to
unconditionally,
and none remain
unattended.

haiku: childhood memories

i wanted you to share on a long drive
your old childhood memories with me
you handed over a pen drive saying - here it is

10 Favorite Books I Would Love To Read Again and Again To Build And Rebuild Myself

Books are like old people, they always share their wisdom. Books are like young kids, they make you curious and inquisitive. Books are like women, you read more, you want to know more, till the end. Books are in fact able to provide enormous strength by refining your thought process. Books are able to knock you out with a punch. Books are treasure.

Here is the list of 10 books that I would love to read again, anytime...

Fish by Stephne C. Ludin: This book teaches you many lessons of real life in a very simple manner. It tells about the fundamental qualities of leader, doer and go-getter. It talks about faith - in yourself and in others. But if you are not able to do former, latter will not be possible to achieve ever in life. It tells how to swim safely in turbulent waters and also to make others enjoy the turbulence. It also tells how to achieve results in any kind of situations.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: This is a personal guidebook for anyone. It teaches to set some basic fundamental rules of life. Kahlil Gibran's writing always hits one's mind and heart in one go and stays there for long. Somewhere Kahlil talks about Love by defining it as speechless but gets expressed when one cries. Love is like two extremes - it can crown you, and at the same time it has power to crucify you. True love is there when there are no desires or expectations from the other. Excellent stuff - soft but hard hitting.

Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt: Excellent book and is more popular among professionals especially working in production or manufacturing environment. But even if you are not, it has lot to give. There are excellent learning hidden in the book. It tells you about simplicity in life that makes you think loud and clear. It also teaches that common sense that is supposed to be common is not too common. Most of the people lack it. It makes you understand that if your thinking is clear and you don't lose common sense in toughest of the times, you can easily come out of any kind of problem.

The Book Of Ram by Devdutt Bose Patnaik: The book is based on the epic story of Ramayana's main character Ram. It presents Ram in 11 different iconic versions and its correlation and relevance in today's scenario. 

The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi: The book creates a connect between the ancient and modern.The story of book goes in two different eras in parallel to each other but gradually builds a strong connect between the two in a very intelligent manner. An excellent mystery fiction.

Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky: As we all know that Gorky could not have formal education but then he had life to teach him the best of lessons and thus developed him as best of authors. The Lower Depths was the second play written by Gorky and it was released in 1902. The play soon became a big hit at Moscow Art Theater. Though it had no big plot, so to say, but the presentation of sequences in an extremely fascinating manner by Gorky made it a big hit in no time.

Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran: I have been a big fan of Kahlil Gibran and have read him time and again. Every time I read any of his book, it gives me a different perspective of life. His writing has been magical and touching. Broken Wings. The love story has no happy end but still the writing is fabulous to give a different meaning to love, life and death.

Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra: This book also gives you great learning for practical life. It tells you the power of silence, meditation and talking to nature. It also tells you to be non judgmental about people, instances and things. 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Husseini: The story is about two women, with a big gap in their ages but still sharing something very significant and common to both. 

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum: The book was released in 1986 and has a beautiful compilation of life illustrations in form of short stories. And each story promises to teach you a new lesson.

Poetry: Prayer

Give me power 
for not to count my wounds
but to heal.

Give me courage
for not to focus on my pains
but to recover fast.

Give me Understanding
for not to blame others
but to empower myself.

Give me Learning
for not to become cocky
but to be docile.

Give me humility
For not to run away 
but to stop and take one out of distress