Just a thought

Never in my wildest imagination I could have thought what we are facing today. If you are like me, you might have watched movies that highlighted global pandemics but with a skeptical view dismissing any such possibility as mere fiction in our “advanced ” world. But here we are, in 2020 facing one of the worst global pandemic mankind has ever seen.

Things have changed in just a matter of days and weeks. This adversity has shaken us and shown that we are dependent on something much bigger than we think. It has made us to appreciate the luxury we live in, family, friends and realizing that all this while we were taking everything for granted. It has stopped us to see how lost we are in our busy lives and focus on things that may not matter at all.  All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting. It’s so bizarre that an invisible virus has shaken the nuclear super powers of this world. Countries around the world have spent millions of dollars to make equipments and machineries to fight against each other but they all put together are failing to provide even the cheapest 75cent face mask at this hour of need. In some sense, this fight against the virus is worse that the great wars fought in the last centuries. In the past, societies have joined together during adversities. But this time, we are faced against something that can only be won by separating ourselves from our fellow neighbors, friends and families. 

Apart from all the sadness this adversity has also given us all one very important thing, “Time”. Yes, corona virus has given us time to think who we really are and what really matters at the end. All over the world people are waking up to a new reality, and realizing how small we are and how little control we really have. This crisis has allowed us to put aside all our problems which we thought were so “important”, and allowed us to focus on what is really important to us. It has helped us to learn how to face our worst fears with the help and support of our loved ones and our community. We may have divided ourselves into different religion, race, ethnicity but at the end we all are part of one community which is “humankind”. It has given us moment to re-evaluate our lives. Surprisingly, I have started appreciating older and simpler things in life like learning to cook, small talks with my parents, random video calls with my friends and making sure they are doing okay. I never thought that things that really give me happiness are so simple and free. In last one month of quarantine I have learned the power of hope and gratitude that at this moment, right now, "I have enough". I am thankful to all the doctors, nurses, and frontline line warriors who are fighting selflessly to keep us all safe. 

I come from a family of doctors, my dad is a doctor and so is my sister, so I have the first-hand experience of the huge pressure and sense of duty they through each day during this time of crisis. This world is witnessing new masked super heroes that we have not seen before.

I feel like I am a part of science fiction movie where someone has hit the reset button and paused everything. To reduce the wide spread of this virus, all public places are locked down, all tourist spots are closed, institutions and entertainment centers are closed down and there are fewer cars on the road. While much of the news is scary, there is a silver thread of hope in this pandemic. Because everyone is quarantined at home, pollution level is coming down, ozone layer is healing, water bodies are getting cleaner because most of the people are at home with family. There are many other good news from different parts of the world. For instance, In Italy Dolphins have returned to the coast thanks to the missing ships, swans are returning to the canal which are otherwise filled with tourist’s boats. In Singapore otters are roaming freely thanks to empty public places.  All these things are a grim reminder that how we humans have taken over the earth. We have encroached the territory of other living beings. We have destroyed their habitat, killed wild animals and over used resources. This is a reminder that we humans don’t own this planet, we share it with lot of other living beings. Our life is as much about co-habitation as about survival of the fittest. We humans can not be burning down forest, polluting oceans, destroying habitat of other living beings and putting their survival at risk. These dolphins belongs to the water of Italy, these swans belong to the canal. Let this crisis leave us with the lesson that we should learn to co-exist otherwise nature will find its extreme ways to reclaim its space. Think about it!!

The Choice

Sometimes when you want to cry
But all you can do is, fake a smile!!
When you want to clear your thoughts
But all you can think of is a  lost cause.

When you want to throw all your trash away and, make a  fresh start
but whatever you do takes you to the same path.

When you have deceived yourself and convinced the world about your life,
As they all can see,
Not truly in your heart, but in your eyes

But whenever you see your self in the mirror,
You see your true inner self filled with skies
As they say,
Mirror never lies.

Suddenly, all those moments that you have been dying to forget, gets more alive
It fills your heart with agony and distrust,
So is that all!!
Is this the end?
So is this how you have imagined your story to end?
May be there is no such thing as "the end"
It's just the point where you “stop writing it”!!

So you look up and scream out to the skies...
Hey Mr. Fate man, if you are listening..
See, I am still here,
not shaking,
not breaking,
Still standing tall....

Take me to the place where,
there is no beginning and no end,
Where my nights turn into days
And my tears turn into smile,

Once again you shrugged off all your pain, hold yourself up,
And convince yourself,
Hell yeah!! This is the hardest choice,
But unfortunately the right one
The experiences that have made you bitter, have made you wise.

You have decided to keep sailing, 
Jusst keep sailing......
in any random direction, as you can't afford to stand still.

Let your emotions flow

Times when you sleep open eyed,
falling from this world to the darkness inside,
Times when you just want to scream,
and shout out to the skies,
Restless to find all the answers that's bugging you inside,

This world is a nasty place,
they ask you to smile
because nobody like teary eyes,
your shaky trembling hands will be misjudged for your confidence
your scared strained voice will be misread for your grit
So cry all you want but don’t you quit.

Let your sadness choke your lungs,
and make you numb to feel the rise and fall in your chest,

Let your fears cripple you and left you unawaken
and make your world so dark
that no dawn can break,

Let the emptiness fill your void,
and leave you in the chaos where everything gets destroyed

But don’t you stop, just let it flow
Let it hurt
Let it burn
Let it consume you,
B’coz the ashes that will be left in the end, will be the real you !!

It's not about what you get, it's about how you feel about it.

As the Socrates said in Peaceful warrior, “Suffering is inevitable, if you don’t get what you want you will suffer, if you get what you don’t want you will suffer and even if you get what you don’t want you will still suffer because you can’t hold on to it forever”. So don’t waste time in sorting out life rather live the life as it comes. Don’t fall into the trap of “If only I had this, I would be this, If only this, If only that, if only…..I would get happy” It's not about what you get, it's about how you feel about it. Try to fully engage in the moment, don’t waste time gloating in the past or worrying about insecurities of future, instead “Experience the moment”. The secret of life is to enjoy the moment, “Here and Now period”.

Life is no race, no one is loosing and no one is winning. Success matters only when you are able to enjoy it, otherwise its just a number and no one is keeping the score. So don’t pin your success on outcomes. Love what you do and do what you love. Remove the trash from your mind, clear off your mind from everything that you don’t need or you don’t love. Make peace with yourself and accept yourself and every situation as-is. Don’t be envious of others success or try to imitate them in your life. Instead, find your own goals. Everyone wants to tell you whats good for you and what you should do, they don’t want you to find your own answers rather believe in what they say. Don’t listen to them. All your answers are within you. Listen to it!!

Don’t try to go somewhere, rather be at the moment. Now, this Time !! At the end the only thing that matters is not what you did, but how well you did it and did you love what you did.

"कदम डगमगा जाए तो गिरने न देना,
रास्ते भटक जाए तो मंज़िल दिखा देना
इस भीड़ में , इस भीड़ में। ......."
-----------------------------------------------------

pain, loss, tears, bloodshed
Aren’t u afraid? Life asked
Death smiled.

---------------------------
Among  high-quality pictures in her album,
lied one shabby blurred picture
For her, it's the best “Me and my Mom”

-------------------
life slapped her in the face,
harder she said
-------------------

mascara checked,
eye shadow checked,
foundation checked,
once again she has put on her mask to hide the scars
-------------------

he kissed on her forehead,
love you dad, she replied
-------------------

loud music,
dance floors,
late night parties,
nothing helped her forget her pain
her father’s smile did
-------------------

less salt, half cooked vegetables and over baked chappatis
it's delicious, she replied to her dad
-------------------

in the world where everybody leaves,
I will always be there for you,
replied the brightest star
-------------------

"I was right", said the mind mockingly to heart
Once again heart has no answer!

--------------------

बीता हुआ कल

बीता हुआ कल है एक ख्वाब सा,
क्यों है दिल मेरा कुछ बेताब सा

कल तक जो ख्वाबों के बाग थे ,
सुलझे हुये सारे हर जवाब थे ॥
यादों के रंगों में कहीं खो गए ,
जागी हूँ मैं पर क्यों ये सो गए ॥

क्या कहूँ क्यों ये दिल उदास है,
ना कोई दूर है न कोई पास है ॥
धुंधले से सारे सपने मेरे ,
लहरों में कहीं खो गए ......

 तेरी कहानी, तेरी ज़ुनाबी !! 

 

माना कि राहोँ में काँटें हैं तेरे ,

पर तूने रूकना सीखा ना कभी । 

माना कि सवेरे धुँधले हैं तेरे ,

पर तूने थमना सीखा ना कभी ॥ 
 

                               आसान राहें चुनी कब हैं तूने,

                                ये ज़िद्दी सवेरे तेरे । 

                                खुद से किये वादों के, वो ढृढ़ इरादों के,

                                दिल में बसेरे तेरे ॥ 

जो  बातें तेरी कह ना पाई ज़ुबाँ कभी,

वो आँखें तेरी कर देंगी बयान । 

जो गम हंसी में छुपा लिए हैं तूने कहीं ,

वो तेरी खामोशियों में गूँजेंगे सदा ॥ 

                                 रोके ना रुकेगा कभी तू,

                                 रख खुद पे यक़ीन तू इतना । 

                                 तेरी कहानी, तेरी ज़ुबानी,

                                 इक दिन सुनेगा ये सारा जहाँ ॥