गम न कर ...

ना गम कर उन पलों के लिए, 

जो ग़ुम  हुए जा रही है,

जश्न मन उन लम्हों का,

जो आज भी तेरे साथ, 

धड़क रही है तेरे सीने में,

हिसाब रख उन घड़ियों का, 

जो हर पल है ज़िंदा, 

तेरे  सांसों में और उसके एहसासों में I    

रचना: प्रशांत 

तू ज़रा मुस्कुरा दे !

ये आपनापन आप से ही मिले,
जो दौड़ आए किनारा छोड़ कर,
इस मे भी इतनी मिठास थी,
जो जिंदगी की प्यास बढ़ाए,
यह भी हमने सीखा,

सब अपने हैं जो जब मिले,

बस मिलने की प्यास खुद मे हो,

एक बार जो मुस्कुरा के हाथ बढ़ाए,

सितारे साथ साथ चलें, 

और तक़दीर मुस्कुरा के यह कहे,

ज़न्नत हर मोड़ पे है, 

जो तेरी इंतज़ार मे,

तेरा इंतेहा लेती है, 

बस तू मुस्कुरा दे,

ज़रा और मुस्कुरा दे I 

रचना: प्रशांत 

हम तो मुसाफिर हैं...

चित्र साभार : http://www.buenosaires-berlin.com/good-relationship-between-the-traveler.html

हम तो मुसाफिर हैं,

जो हो कर भी नहीं,

आज यहाँ कल वहां, 

आज किसी के करीब,

कल किसी से दूर,

आज अपनेपन की सौगात,

कल बिछुड़ने को मज़बूर I 

हमें मंज़िलों की परवाह हो क्यों,

अपना तो  है रास्तों से वास्ता,

हमें महफ़िलों की रौशनी से क्या,

अपना तो सूरज की रौशनी से ,

तपते सपनो से है वास्ता I 

हम तो मुसाफिर हैं,

हम ठिकानो में नहीं,

निशानों में बसते हैं 

हम तो मुसाफिर हैं 

हम मयखानों में नहीं

हम नज़रों के पैमानों में बसते हैं I 

रचना: प्रशांत 

मंज़ील हर काफ़िर की खोज है...

 चित्र साभार: http://pixabay.com/en/street-road-straight-horizon-381227/

मंज़ील हर काफ़िर की खोज है,

जहाँ ज़िंदगी थम जाने की डर हो,

मुझे उस मंज़िल के आगे जाना है,

मुझे बेमंज़िल होके भी, बामंज़िल हो जाना है I 

रचना:प्रशांत 

दो ज़ुदा अतीत के दोराहे पे ...

दो  ज़ुदा  अतीत के दोराहे पे फिर आ पहुँचे,

दोनो अपना सा लगे, दोनों सपना सा लगे,

उम्मीद  हमें किसी से भी नही,

तकदीर माथे पे सजाये,

फिर हम आ पहुंचे एक मोड़ पे ,

गुजरने एक दौर से I 

रचना:प्रशांत 

Trapeze and my act of boldness!

I was born to a family of acrobats. I had been raised on the diet of trapeze acts. Both my parents were skilled trapeze artists. People used to clap profusely watching their daring acts.  Be it static, flying or swinging trapeze they were master at everything.  

I used to watch my parents from back stage while taking care of my baby brother. Elder sisters are supposed to take good care of their little ones. And I was assigned the job of handling my brother while my parents performed their art.

People used to say that I would be a very good trapeze artist as I had the trapeze art in my genes. I also used to imagine myself performing before a packed crowd and acknowledging their applause. 

When I was 6 years of age, my parents had started giving me the training in gymnastics. Today after 5 years of training I know that my body muscles have reached a level of flexibility that is required to be a trapeze artist. I knew that I had the required combination of agility and flexibility to be a successful trapeze artist. I had been doing all the exercises to strengthen my muscles. I had taken the right diet to increase my stamina. In summary, I thought that I was all ready to make a foray into starting my trapeze lessons.

On my 12^th birthday, my parents thought of initiating me into the flying trapeze acts. As I reached the top, my heart started racing with excitement.  I played it down and tried to focus on the action ahead. My father showed me one act where he went from one trapeze bar to another with making smooth transition from one bar to another. I also tried to emulate my father but failed. I could not catch the second bar because I could not leave the first bar because of the fear of falling down. 

Despite my training in the gymnastics, flying acrobatics seemed a different ballgame all together for me. I observed that I was stricken with the fear of heights. I was not provided the safety rope assuming that being the daughter of amazing acrobats; I could manage without the safety rope. Of course there was a safety net, but that didn’t help my confidence either. I just kept clinging to the first trapeze bar. 

When I came back, I explained my problem to my parents. My father got disappointed in me big time, my mother tried to make him understand that I would feel better with time. But he was really dejected seeing my performance.

 I kept thinking whole night about the incident. I could not sleep well. I had lost all confidence in myself. Next day, when my parents told me to go to the flying trapeze training, I pretended to be suffering from headache. I could hear smirk of the fellow trapeze artists of my parents at circus. They were whispering that I was a coward and making excuses to avoid the training. 

Though they were right that I was making excuses but I was not a coward. Yes, I was scared… and that too… to death. 

I had left the trapeze training altogether and was happy attending to my brother. One month had passed since my first day fiasco. On night I heard sounds of sobbing coming from my parents’ room. I tried to overhear.  It was my father sobbing and discussing my unwillingness to try trapeze again. That hit me like a thunderbolt. I didn’t know that my father rested so much of hopes on me.

The next day in the early morning, I went to the trapeze training area. I overcame my fear by falling several times on the net (I didn’t use the safety rope). After falling for ten times I succeeded in catching the second bar in the eleventh time.  Hearing my father sob filled me with courage and boldness to try my limits and that courage helped me start a new life. Today, I am a successful trapeze artist and my parents are truly proud of my trapeze antics.

P.S:  This is a creative account

 

Lessons that I needed to learn!

For last one week, on every single day my boss used to give me additional job that made me stay up till 8 O’ clock in the office. I had given my time to my girlfriend that week but was not being able to spend any time in the evening with her. She was terribly upset with me for that. She thought that I was making excuses to avoid her.

Sometimes, I felt really angry at my boss. But I could not do anything. I slogged my ass off till late in the evening whereas he left from the office at 5 O’ clock sharp. He got extra time to spend with his family whereas I was being stopped from even starting a family. “How cruel life is!” I mumbled in my mind.

When I talked with my girlfriend in the night after going from office she gave me an ultimatum. “Either we are meeting tomorrow or we don’t meet again ever,” she blared like a lioness.

Next day, I implored to my boss for releasing my early, but he told that I was the future Sr. Manager of the purchase department and if I would show such irreverence to the hard work then my future prospects might hamper. I knew he was blackmailing me. But, I needed the job badly.

My boss again left the office at right time. And I was alone in the office to ruin my love life and create my future. I felt like breaking my head. My girlfriend just hung up on my call as I told her that I wouldn't be able to go in the evening together.

I knew that my girlfriend was furious but I couldn't do anything.  I decided that day that I would leave this job. “Job is there to facilitate life not to ruin it,” I convinced myself.

I decided that next day I would convey my decision to leave the company to my boss. Next day, when I tried to go to my boss’s chamber, his secretary informed me that he had taken leave for that day. I thought of informing him through sms but then changed my mind. A face to face conversation is always better in such circumstances.

I thought of telling him the next day. But next day again he was on leave. Three days of the leave passed by. My girlfriend wanted me to quit the job as soon as possible. She had sent my CV in her company and they were also interested in me. But the problem was that I was not being able to contact my boss.

On the next Sunday, finally I got some time to spend with my girlfriend. My girlfriend was again complaining that I was making excuses and not telling my boss about my leaving of the job, she also told that I was not man enough to tell my boss that I was leaving because of his tyrant work hours imposed on me. As I was driving my bike to a restaurant to calm down my girlfriend’s anger with some good continental cuisine, I spotted the car of my boss parked outside a stadium.

I stopped my bike and told my girlfriend, “Come along with me, I will tell my boss about my resignation before you.”

“But how will you find him in this crowd of the stadium?”

“I am a man, I can find him out,” I told her with a manly pride.

As I entered the stadium, I found that there was an athletic meet of schools going on. My eyes scanned for the face of my boss. After searching him for twenty odd seconds, I found him out.

“Follow me!” I ordered my girlfriend.

As I inched closer to him, I saw a young girl of ten coming close to him. He made her sit and sprayed her left leg with an analgesic bottle. He moved to the right leg of the girl and unwrapped the straps of the prosthetic leg that she was wearing and put powder on the stump knee. In a few minutes the girl was ready to run. She went in the line for the race of 100 meters. 

We were watching all this from a distance.

My boss was backing her up with all the encouraging words possible. She came second in the race. And my god, my boss seemed to be on the seventh haven.  The girl came and hugged him.

My girlfriend and I kept looking at the whole scenario from a distance. We didn't say each other even a word but we understood that it must have been due to the preparations for the athletic meet of his daughter that my boss used to leave the office early. I felt ashamed that day because my boss was trying to fashion optimism in the life of his daughter but I was thinking that he was being tyrant to me. That day, my girlfriend and I knew that life is not only about being restless as lovers but patient and enthusiastic as parents in the hardest of times for their children.

That day, I came to know what it takes to be a man!

That day my girlfriend and I matured as human beings and started respecting life more than ever. After that episode, we came to know the new meaning of togetherness.