I AND MY WORDS

एक शमा कही जली है हुस्न-ए-मग़रिब पे एक दाग़ आज लगा है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी इन्सां को आज फ़िर से कोई बुत बना गया है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी नुजूम के तारे कोई ग़र्दिश में लपेट गया है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी वक्त की भट्टी में उन्हें तपिश में छोड़ गया है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी चिलचिलाती धुप में यूँ नंगे पाँव चलता देख रहा है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी ख़ाक छानते हुए कोई ग़ुरबत में  रो रहा है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी काँटों की सेज पर बैठा कोई हमको छोड़ गया है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी नाकामियों का सेहरा कोई सिरे बाँध गया है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी इंसानियत का जनाज़ा आज फ़िर से उठ रह है एक शमा कहीं जली है एक आतिश कहीं लगी थी यादों की शमाएं हमने आतिश-ए-हस्सास से जलाई थी उम्मीदों के दरीचे हमने इन्ही शमाओं से जलाये थे पर ये ज़मीन में कुछ बात है के अनकहे अनसुने किस्सों से ये ज़मीं आज भी रोशन है खुश्वार है, उम्मीद से है आज फ़िर एक शमा कही

The recent news of the demise of Robin Williams left a void in me that I do not think will be filled up soon. An actor whose work taught us as much about life as it rendered entertainment, and that too from a rare genius, is hard to replace. The world will surely miss him, but yes, there is an important thing to realize, one that we often overlook due to our own personal discomfort, little knowledge about issues of mental health and general disapproval of such people and ideas that leaves much to be discussed. Depression is a deeply personal fight for me. People who may know me are aware of my fight with depression on more than one plane. My mother has been fighting this problem for over a decade now, and though it started off due to hormonal imbalances, the clinical depression has set into an ever-constant fear, that she shall be left behind all alone in this world. That triggered off a host of other health issues, including bacterial antral gastritis. Fighting this disease for so

It was one of those humid sunny days that the season always brought in. Sweat drips down not just your brows but streaks across your back, making every effort to discomfit you. More often than not, the attempts are successful, if you go by the number of people making irritable faces, attempting to reach out to their backs, as if their contorted hands will help improve their position; after all, even if one such streaker were to be successfully thwarted, another would come racing. I was amongst the countless many, as I stood there. The sun decided to come out today, making the afternoon an unbearable affair. Nothing monumental about it. As is always the case, I stood at a bus stand along the R..... Road, hoping to catch a bus that leads me to my destiny. The bus could hopefully give me a temporary reprieve. Air conditioned buses had been introduced recently, and the heightened fares seem to have had little impact on the enthusiasm of one and all in boarding it. And who can be blamed fo

"I know I have a Tough Task" - Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi in a Pose for cameras (courtesy Dainik Jagran ) It is ironic that every budget is labelled historic in India, completely sidestepping the incovenient facts. Any country that has raised itself in our geographical vicinity has shown policy stability. An annual general budget is a moronic idea to promote economic stability, and I believe it should be replaced with an economic charter at the beginning of the government with no changes through an amendment to the Constitution. Alternatively, governments should focus on one budget and pass votes on account in subsequent years that uphold the policy framework laid out in the budget earlier. Unlike February, the General Budget is being presented in the middle of a truant monsoon this year. A change of government with a mandate not seen since 1984 has meant that Narendra Modi has a tide of hope carrying him. This tide can also leave him high and dry if he fails

Sagacity is a precious commodity in the markets of collective wisdom. However for this gold, there is always a platinum, which needs to be identified by the term common sense. This commodity called common sense is indeed rare. For every thousand people, barely half a person will  display it. Such is its importance in the public discourse and governance that no less than a great thinker like Thomas Paine had to write a book to extol its virtues. Sadly, however, the people who control public discourse in India stake claim to this commodity, even though despite their perceived first right to use is contradicted by the sheer inability of their wit and wisdom to reach out to this, thus making it a much sought after valuable. One may wonder why I am out to praise common sense today, especially given the circumstances. I lay heed to one woman's doorsteps who with her sheer brilliance has often left us poor minions gobsmacked, struggling to search for answers in the radiant light of he

"Why am I asked about my caste when I go to the police? Am I not a citizen?"   The recent horrific case coming out of Badayun has many layers to the problem. Caste oppression has been one aspect of it. Members of the Yadav community have been found guilty of misusing their status in society to commit such dastardly acts including murder and sexual assault on Dalit girls. Another has been the appalling state of sanitation in India and the subsequent harassment women face, which has implications on public health and, as the case shows, law and order as well. While the latter is no less troublesome for a nation that aspires to be a global superpower of this century, a major worry for me personally has been the perpetuity of the ills that the decaying caste system carries with them in the form that it is seen across many parts of the country even today. Caste system existed in India in a certain time and context. It is not a racial profile as is often misconstrued by lazy a

India Washed Saffron (Courtesy, Firstpost.com) Post the emergence of the election results in the world’s largest democracy, all that one can see are two particularly telling trends. These trends are telling because it shows more about the new Opposition and its so called ‘leaders’ than about Narenda Modi, BJP and its allies put together. Let us discuss in detail these two trends. Since the beginning of this week, there has been so much ‘wondering’ and ‘amazement’ about the BJP gaining a  clear majority with just 31% of the nation’s vote . This is nothing but an attempt at best to find ways of how the victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP and NDA can be belittled. Worst, it consciously chooses to ignore facts. North and West India have a far larger number of seats compared to the rest of India, even though population may be nearly the same. In many of these states, more than 50% of the population voted for the BJP in two way contests. Even in Uttar Pradesh,  more than 40% of