Gumsum si aankhon ne ik din ek khwab sa dekha tha,

Aaeene mein usne apne andar jhankna jaise seekha tha…

Nadaan sa balak tha wo, par kab tak nadaan reh paata ?

Sochta tha dharti par hi kahin ek swarg hai,

Par aakhir kahan tak dhoondh paata ?

Kisi ne kahaa tha us se ki door kahin pariyon ka des hai..

Wahan rehti hain shwet sundar saloni pariyan..

Mamta ki deviyan, karuna ki moortiyan..

Chal pada ik din wo us des ki talaash mein,

Paar karta gaya nadi, naale aur parbat un pariyon ki dhun mein..

Jab bhi thak padta, tanik ruk jaata woh ,

Khwabon mein un pariyon se ik baar mil leta woh…

Aur phir chal padta us ansuni aawaaz ki or,

Jo khinche ja rahi thi use, jaise koi kacchhi dor…

Na paanv ke chhalon ki thi use parwaah,

Na thi badan ki choton ki koi darkaar…

Bas dradh lakshya tha uske saamne,

Hawa, Paani, Dhoop sabne koshish kar li thi rokne ki…

Ab sab jaante the, chala hai wo na thamne..

Aur upar badalon mein kisi ne ik thandi saans li..

Pareshan ho gayee thi kucch shaktiyan…

Uski chaal se dagmagaa gayee thi kucch kursiyaan…

Use na pataa tha, wo to chala jaa rahaa tha apni masti mein,

Kya farq padta tha use, dar to tha hi nahin uski hasti mein…

Jaanta tha wo ik din manzil milegi to sahin,

Raasta na tha to kya, vishwas ki kami to nahin..

Phir ik din ik jangal mein wo pahuncha,

Hare hare ped jaise gaa rahe the wahan,

Panchhi jaise khushi ke maare chahak rahe the..

Na jaane kyun laga use jaise use hi wo bula rahe the..

Phir dekhi usne ik nadi,

Chhal-chhal behti, ithlaati nadi,

Hansti khilkhilaati, Sangeet sunaati nadi..

Moti jaise paani ke boondon waali nadi…

Na jaane kyun mehsoos hue use achaanak,

Jaise yeh nadi aa rahi ho wahin se..

Jahan thi uski manzil…

Jaise ye nadi ho uski humsafar,

Par jhijhaka wo, socha, nadi se hi kyun na poochh le..

Manzil aur raasta, dono hi ki kyun na sudh le ?

Phir socha usne, gar hai yeh usi des se aa rahi,

To phir kyun kar hai yeh kahin aur jaa rahi ?

Ghabda sa gaya woh, ab kya karta ?

Kya nadi se sach jaan kar laut padta,

Ya phir nadi ko bhi ik paath pada jaata …

Bataata use, is baar who bhi galat thi,

Usne bhi auron ki tarah dil ki na suni thi…

Baahav mein duniya ke woh bhi bas beh chali thi,

Phir bhi reh na paaya woh, puchh hi liya nadi se…

Kahan se ho tum aayee, kahan ko ho chali ..

Kyun ho uchhalti yun, kyun itna ho itraati,

Tum pe dayaa nahin, hansi mujhe hai aati…

Itna sun ke nadi chaunk gayee ik pal ko,

Phir jo khilkhilaa ke hansi, aur chal di apni raah ko…

Sochta hi reh gaya woh ki aakhir ho kya gaya,

Ik ajeeb si asmanjas mein ab tha bechaara pad gaya..

Na dikha jab koi raasta, na koi roshni chamki,

Kuchh gussa sa aaya use,

Kuchh sansani si machi uske dil mein..

Par is baar bhauhen tan gayee uski,

Daant bhinch kar, mutthiyan bandh kar chal diya phir..

Nadi ke kinaare chala jaa raha tha..

Par na dekhta tha us dusht triya ki or..

Aasman mein suraj jaise use dekhte dekhte thak sa gaya tha,

Phusphusa ke chanda se bola suraj – Ab mein chalta hoon,

Is pagle raahi pe nazar rakhne ka kaam tumpe chhodta hoon…

Chanda bujh na paaya, kehne lagaa – kyun kar uska hi dhyaan rakha jai ?

Aise to sainkdon hain, phir is chhote se alhad par kyun yeh karam kiya jai ?

Suraj mand mand muskaaya, bola arrey naadan, ye hi to hai wo kiran,

Wo kiran jo hum dono ko chamkaati hai,

Wo kiran jo saare jag ko roshni se nehlaati hai..

Dekh kaise jaa rahaa hai madmast..

Kaun kar sakta hai iske hausle ko past ?

Itne sunne par chanda ne jo ik nazar dekhi wo chaal,

Kayal ho gaya wo bhi us shakti ka, gayab ho gaye uske saare sawal…

Aur wo masoom kayaa thi, jo is sab se anjaan thi,

Wo to bas ik nazar, ik nischay se chale jaa rahi thi..

Pariyon ke us des tak ik din uska pahunchna tha tay,

Saari shristi yahi chahti thi ki uska wo milan ho mangalmay…

Phir kya hua ? Kya woh safal hua ? Kya use mili apni manzil ?

Yeh to pata nahin, par kehte hain wo ik taara ban gaya..

Apni roshni se kitne hi sansaron ka sahaara ban gaya…

Raat ko gar kaale aasman mein dekhoge uttar ki or,

Paaoge use wahin sada, yuhin muskate, yuhin sharmate,

Par sada yuhin drudh, kabhi na digne waala..

Yahi thi us taare ki kahaani, yehi thi uski gaatha…

Use jo chahe kahen, mujhe to ab bhi wahi puraana balak dikhta hai,

Jab bhi dekhta hoon use, wahi anand sada milta hai…

Kyunki wo hai ab ik taara,

Aur yaad mujhe sada dilaata hai,

Ki abhi nahin, abhi nahin hoon main haara…

At first...

It was a slow realization at first. He had spent the last 10 minutes in a daze. Everything seemed to be happening in the proverbial slow motion. For no reason, he suddenly remembered an idiotic TV ad about a hair oil which was showing a 10% extra promo. Switching back to the present with an effort, he saw her move as if to get up and leave. He panicked. Suddenly he didn’t know what to do. He must prevent her from leaving. And he knew that all he had to do was ask. But he couldn’t. She was smiling. Her face was smiling as well. He couldn’t see her face right now, but he couldn’t be surer of her expression. She didn’t know he was in here as well.

It had all started an hour back when he had walked into this restaurant with a colleague for a late lunch. It was when he was on his way back from the washroom that he had noticed her. She was three tables away, with a friend of hers. Nothing surprising – after all it was her favourite joint.

She looked radiant and fresh - clearly enjoying herself. She laughed suddenly about something in their conversation – throwing her head back, convulsing uncontrollably, almost on the verge of falling off from her chair. Free flowing innocence garnished with unbridled passion. His heart skipped a beat. And then she curled her little finger around the lone strand curving strategically from the left end of her left brow, bouncing off her left cheek and stopping just above her upper lip. But what really did him was the eyes. Big eyes, innocent and childlike – sparkling like the drops of water they show in mineral water ads, yet carrying that unmistakable calm of sensitivity and sensibility.

His colleague had left in a hurry after a phone call, and he had been left staring at her. Her face seemed so clear – as if he was watching through a telescope. She had a way of talking to the waiters that you could immediately see them almost worshipping her. She clearly was aware of being treated as a goddess and was quite nonchalant about it. Obviously it was a regular happening. Then it struck him that after all it was her favourite place and it was very likely that the staff knew her.

She was listening to her friend relate something, and was paying careful attention. He could see the glint of intelligence as she clearly grasped all that was being said to her immediately. He felt himself being drawn irresistably to her – almost a force dragging him physically. It was déjà vu. 5 years down the line after having fallen in love once, it was happening to him again. Stupid as it was, 10 minutes after having seen her first, he was absolutely sure about this. This was stronger than the last time. Some rational voice tried talking to him inside his head, but there was no point. The last time, 5 years back, it had been a blurred sequence of events. This time was no different. Nothing had changed. Not even the girl.

Large shiny black eyes, beautiful thick brows,

Thin mouth set firmly, as if everything she knows,

Silken flowing black hair, falling on arms slightly bent,

Fists tightly closed, as if on a mission she had been sent,

A mission that maybe she had never liked at all,

Against which her heart had given a passionate call…

Oft when in the morning the mirror she saw,

Wondered she – with her face what was the flaw ?

Whence came the fear she saw in so many eyes,

Could no one even hope that she might be nice ?

For they hated her even before seeing her once,

Her fear was passed away from fathers to sons,

So less were those that had seen her face full,

They loved her beauty, said they – of grace she was so full…

And they said her eyes were full of love and pity,

Find they could not why others thought she was all cruelty,

Had she not ended so many unending sufferings ?

Had she not gone to those who had called out her name,

In moments of hopelessness, who had gone by her fame,

Thinking that to all their problems she would be the solution,

Though never did she know how they got this notion …

For only she knew what it was to face the mother of the son she went to,

To look into the eyes of so many others he had been known to,

To each of whose hearts were tied strings he had pulled,

They all blamed her, not seeing the tears she had in her eyes,

So she had learnt to smile, not waiting any longer for her prize…

For such was her task, such was her existence,

But I bow to her, for I have heard my sentence,

Hear me, I look forward to meet thee,

And I can hardly stop feeling all glee,

I shall love you forever, till time doth stoppeth,

None can take you away from me, my dear Death !