Economics and Poetry

When my mind and heart both run towards economics and poetry both, in no particular order, I get more insane than usual. Wrote the following verses in such a state at different times...



One for Microeconomics of demand and supply:

तेरे गुस्से की सप्लाई कुछ इतनी ज़्यादा है जानाँ 

तेरे गुस्से का भाव दिन-ब-दिन गिरता ही जाता है 

And one for macroeconomics of inflation (first two lines are for setting the tone only):

मौला मेरे ऐसा कर दे
उसको मेरे जैसा कर दे

इन्फ़्लेशन बढ़ जायेगा गर तू 

मिट्टी को भी पैसे कर दे 

And one for socialism:

जिनके बच्चों को रोटी मयस्सर नहीं 

उनको सपने दिखाये बदामी सुनो 

एक नज़्म माज़ी के नाम

लिखने पता नहीं क्या बैठा था, लिख पता नहीं क्या गया। जो लिख गया वो, हमेशा की तरह, समझने वाला एक ही है। और अब उसकी भी कोई खबर नहीं आती। खैर, इसी बहाने लेकिन एक नज़्म तो हुई - उन पुराने दिनों के नाम - 

तुम्हे पता भी नहीं 

वो

तुम्हारे वास्ते 

सुबहों को 

लाता था पपीते जो 

तुम्हारी इक हँसी के वास्ते  

चुन-चुन के 

रटता था लतीफ़े जो 

तुम्हारे वास्ते 

भर-भर के 

पढ़ता था कसीदे जो 

तुम्हारे वास्ते जिसने 

बदल डाले अकीदे वो 

जिसे तुमने कभी अपनी 

कहानी का कोई 

फ़रियाल लिखा था 

कि जिसके कंधे पर 

सर रख के तुमने 

कुछ न बोला था 

कि जिसके सामने तुमने 

बिछा दीं बारहा 

तस्वीरे 

अपने माज़ी की सारी 

कि जिसके सामने तुमने 

सभी मासूम अपनी ख्वाहिशें 

ज़ाहिर करी थीं ना 

वही इक शख्स 

जिसकी इल्तिजा बस इतनी रहती थी 

कि तुम हँसती दिखो हरदम 

वही इक शख्स 

जिसकी हर दुआ इतनी ही रहती थी 

कि आसूदा रहो हरदम 

वही इक शख्स 

जिसका एक ही इसरार था तुमसे 

बनो ता-ज़ीस्त के हमदम 

वही इक शख्स 

अब हर शब 

तुम्हें यूँ याद करता है 

किसी दम दम निकल जाये 

तो शायद तेरे दामन तक 

कोई फिर रास्ता निकले

कि अब तो इस जनम के रास्ते सारे 

बस इक अंधेरे कमरे तक 

पहुँच कर 

खत्म होते हैं।  

4 अगस्त 2012 

नहीं लूजिये जी होप थोड़ा फाइटवा करो जी

Life has been terribly busy past few months. Admittedly, I have been entangled in way too many things too - birding, photography, poetry, writing, research, teaching, course designs, administering programs, debates, history, politics, and what not...!! To add to that already huge basket of interests and activities, two more things got added - HoD of economics area and Warden for student affairs. An avenue of solace, whether personally or professionally, has been as easy to find as an oasis.

The work schedule has taken its toll most on my own writing, whether blogs or research. I don't know how many blog posts have been written inside my head and forgotten. The new blog on eco-politic affairs I so often talked about is not born yet. There are songs and movies, policies and politics, books and authors, places and pictures I have been meaning to write about but free-thinking time is sheer luxury.

Anyhow, few days back, I heard these lines from Gangs of Wasseypur - II:

फ़्रस्टियाओ नहीं मूड़ा नरभसाओ नहीं मूड़ा  

जो भी रौंगवा है उसे सेट राइटवा करो जी 

नहीं लूजिये जी होप थोड़ा फाइटवा करो जी

And then, yesterday, I stepped on an old post of this blog - the one belonging to the time when I was in the final months of my affair with IIMA and started a fight against the system there. Find it here: Inspired again. This was the post that reinvigorated me all over again - the fighter me shall never be dead!!

The Owl that tried flying in the day

Sitting in my study today noon, I noticed the watchman crossing several times and then some ruckus. As I looked in that direction, there flew a large bird towards my porch. I thought that these watchmen are chasing and harassing some poor bird and ran outside barefoot. 

Indeed, there was a barn owl that was being chased, not for a sinister reason though. The watchmen were afraid that this (probably) injured owl, blinded by day-light will fall prey to a stray dog or cat. 

Slightly confused, more concerned, I snatched a curtain and gave it to the watchmen for catching the owl and leave it in a safe place. And they did that swiftly and softly enough. 

Within less than a minute, we were trying to put the owl on a branch high enough to keep it safe. The poor soul couldn't even hold the branch properly. Anyhow, it fell into the safe zone beyond iron grills and tried moving for few second blindingly.

I checked on it till late evening and it was sitting there peacefully. The eyes were opening better as the darkness dawned. However, the pic below was the last one that I clicked, as I was sure the wise owl was already tired and scared enough of his human interaction today.

P.S. - Just checked for it now at 10 pm. The owl is not there... hopefully it has flew away and having a happy dinner with family :)

मुझको फिर से गलत कहेंगे वो...

Since I abandoned my poetry blog some years ago, I never shared my poems on any other forum. 

However, last month I shared a ghazal through a Facebook note. Sharing the same here again: 

दौरे-हाज़िर में रह रहा हूँ मैं

किस कदर ज़ुल्म सह रहा हूँ मैं।

अपनी आवाज़ भूल जाता हूँ

कितना खामोश रह रहा हूँ मैं।

इक समन्दर है मेरे भीतर ही

और चुपचाप बह रहा हूँ मैं।

कभी उठा था आस्माँ की तरह

अब तो टुकड़ों में ढह रहा हूँ मैं।

ये जहाँ मात चाहता था सदा

और हमेशा ही शह रहा हूँ मैं।

जब वो यह चाहते थे वो था मैं

चाहिये वो तो यह रहा हूँ मैं।

मुझको फिर से गलत कहेंगे वो

फिर से कुछ उनसे कह रहा हूँ मैं।

Anniversaries

Today, it's been 8 years since I arrived back at home after leaving IRMA. Between the day and night of the day eons ago, my whole life changed. About a week back, I was with one of my FPM batchmates and I happily reminded her that it was 7 years since our very first class at IIMA.

In 3 days' time, it will be 2 years of a great back-stab and in 9 days' time, of another. 3 weeks to the 8th anniversary of the day, when I decided to end this life and second anniversary to the time, when life went for another full toss.

Well, if you are wondering what is so special about this month of June, there is nothing. June has been one of the more happening months of my life but so is the case with November, March, October, May, December, April, August, and 4 more months.

In a month, it will be almost a full 2 years, when we talked for the first time. And in exactly a month, it will be full two years, when talked for the last time. In essence, every day of the year has a memory associated with it - seeing you or not seeing you, missing you or missing you completely, finding you completely or losing myself completely....

Sometimes I wonder - how many anniversaries can I remember? How many anniversaries should I remember? There have been ups and downs and special occasions in my professional life and more so in my personal life. Both have affected me for good and for bad but every time any such date crosses the calender, it crosses my mind too. And as I live those memories over and over again, I get sometimes nostalgic, sometimes poetic, sometimes idiotic.

But now, I think it is been too much for too long for too many memories... they have run their course...they are faded... they are too far back in past... the persons do not matter any more... the events are beyond impact... the past is dead... I better forget it now, for now is the time...!!!

मैं ये हर शाम कहता हूँ 

कि तुमको भूल जाऊँगा 

मगर जब सुबह होती है

भुलाना भूल जाता हूँ

Poetic Geniuses - 4

Read Poetic geniuses - 1   Read Poetic geniuses - 2   Read Poetic geniuses - 3

When the television debut of Aamir Khan - Satyamev Jayate - opened today with these lines, I knew what I am going to write next here. I knew I am going to talk about Dushyant Kumar today. Before I begin, here are the lines quoted by Aamir Khan:

सिर्फ हंगामा खड़ा करना मेरा मकसद नहीं

मेरी कोशिश है कि ये सूरत बदलनी चाहिए।

मेरे सीने में नहीं तो तेरे सीने में सही

हो कहीं भी आग लेकिन आग जलनी चाहिए।

My first encounter with Dushyant Kumar (दुष्यन्त कुमार) was during my first year of graduation. The Student Federation of India (SFI), the left-wing student organization, was running a poster gallery on the Lucknow University campus. Although I had little idea about their political philosophy but I was so impressed with their slogans that I became their life-member then and there. I still remember those posters with lines of Dushyant Kumar: 

भूख है तो सब्र कर रोटी नहीं तो क्या हुआ 

आजकल दिल्ली में है ज़ेर-ए-बहस ये मुदद्आ| 

गिड़गिड़ाने का यहां कोई असर होता नही 

पेट भरकर गालियां दो, आह भरकर बददुआ| 

and also, 

रहनुमाओं की अदाओं पे फ़िदा है दुनिया

इस बहकती हुई दुनिया को सँभालो यारो

कैसे आकाश में सूराख़ हो नहीं सकता

एक पत्थर तो तबीयत से उछालो यारो

Years later, I realized that what I was introduced to that day will come back some day to stay with me for life. In my post-graduation days of 2003, when Hindi literature was nowhere on internet, the good old book-guide uncle at Indian Book Depot, Aminabad suggested me a book called - Saaye Mein Dhoop ( साये में धूप). For very long, this was the only available volume of Dushyant Kumar. I started liking this poet all over again. He was perfect for the age I was passing through, for he had a perfect rebel in him -

मत कहो, आकाश में कुहरा घना है

यह किसी की व्यक्तिगत आलोचना है 

रक्त वर्षों से नसों में खौलता है

आप कहते हैं क्षणिक उत्तेजना है

and at the same, a perfect romantic too -

चांदनी छत पे चल रही होगी 

अब अकेली टहल रही होगी 

जिन हवाओं ने तुझ को दुलराया 

उन में मेरी ग़ज़ल रही होगी 

Few years later, when internet was all pervasive and I had enough time and know-how, I started reading about Dushyant Kumar. It came as a shocker to me that he died at an early age of 42 (September 1, 1933 to December 30, 1975). He was the greatest signature of Hindi ghazal till today, with only Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' coming close. The rebellion spirit in his poetry is no less than what Faiz Ahmed Faiz brought to Urdu poetry. This is why he is the most quoted poet in any 'energized' gathering even today.

Recently, I ran a 10-day long a-picture-a-day series with Dushyant Kumar's couplets as a tribute to him. The series can be found here. However, my most favorite poem of his still remains the one, which I had quoted on a hand-made card to my nephew on his first birthday.

जा तेरे स्वप्न बड़े हों।

भावना की गोद से उतर कर

जल्द पृथ्वी पर चलना सीखें।

चाँद तारों सी अप्राप्य ऊचाँइयों के लिये

रूठना मचलना सीखें।

हँसें

मुस्कुराऐं

गाऐं।

हर दीये की रोशनी देखकर ललचायें

उँगली जलायें।

अपने पाँव पर खड़े हों।

जा तेरे स्वप्न बड़े हों।