It's All in the head.

Nobody is gonna fight your battles if you don't fight your own.

You must've hit a high. But now when you are down and low,

You let out a cold sigh, thinking how did it all get so slow?

You remember the old times when it all used to be perfect.

All the happiness you enjoyed, and small pains you could neglect.

While murdering the time when it was abundant you missed an under-tone

Nobody is gonna fight your battles if you don't fight your own.

The success had faded a long time back, you were living in an illusion.

It was wilful, not involuntary, the chosen sad state of delusion.

They asked you to stitch it in time and save the other nine.

But you didn't stop your high horse, blindly consoling, It will all be fine.

And now that it all shatters, bringing you in this risky zone,

Nobody is gonna fight your battles if you don't fight your own.

Although the sun disappears by the night it does rise again the next day.

Continuity keeps prevailing in its own constant and subtle way.

Maybe you did get fooled by ignoring the dimension of your time instants?

Just in case it helps, "They're limited.", with very few other constants.

You could've spent them all on the skills and virtues you could hone.

Nobody is gonna fight your battles if you don't fight your own.

You have to seek the clarity, disparity you gotta let go.

For all the things that you gotta do, you have to make it a point to show.

As the rabbit didn't win the race because it stopped before the finish line.

Be the rabbit but don't stop, because that is the only way you can shine.

Challenges are not just yours. They are faced by everyone you've ever known.

Nobody is gonna fight your battles if you don't fight your own.

Does progress make you complacent? A disaster while moving ahead!!

Why don't you just make a deal with your conscience, instead?

Teach your head to not stop at progress, but to keep running until no more it can sweat.

Because its a situation, where you yourself are your biggest threat.

It always was and always will be the mental mettle that has to be shown.

Nobody is gonna fight your battles if you don't fight your own.

In the midnight near the Tree.

In this midnight hour of panic,

Near a nostalgic site volcanic,

I stand next to this leafless tree,

Which has been running long on an autumn spree,

This tree whose seed I sowed in zeal,

A choice I was too eager to reveal,

Everything was good, but then this sudden upheaval,

The future had with it Reality to unveil

But what is future? Isn't it just a reflection?

Correct or Incorrect? Isn't it the matter of selection?

Because no one ever called upon themselves the storms,

But still they were chased in all different forms,

So this sapling which was young, got to know early what struggle is,

And it knew how to hold its ground and still stood strong in the debris

Damages are relative, and that's the tautology of life.

However long you run, still you have to face the strife.

Most of these storms are connected deeply.

The hill from here goes up very steeply.

If one slow's down, they may topple and fall,

If they go fast, they'll surely ruin it all.

While climbing up this hill, the sapling grew strong

Fighting the erosion of time, it defeated all the wrong.

Survival is something that's not invoked, it  kicks in.

If you fall down you, stand back up with an urge from within.

The way the soul works is pretty simple.

The mind just makes a move to create a ripple.

A wave it creates which provokes you to fight.

A wave that calms you down at the same time to hold on tight

In this delicate overlap of these impulses,

You'd find the rhythm of your pulses.

Its not the always the sounds, but the silence that matters.

Because a dream acts really quiet when it shatters.

To pick up the pieces and glue them together

Seems to be the only way that will make it all better.

It has worked in the past once, maybe it will work this time too.

And once again, you'll have to be quick in what you do.

Because this time again the tide wont wait for you, you know

But you will be well aware of the constraints in which you'll have to show.

For the spring is soon to come, and the leaves will be all green.

It'll surely be refreshing to see the rejuvenating scene.

Midnight Rant: Dealing with a Spinning head.

The conscience is blank. As blank as it could be.

Cant remember the last time something was "how it should be".

Expectations were never a forte ever.

But the changes did have their own fervor.

Its important to move on from what "could've been",

And look forward into the reality that shall now be seen.

But its an infinite loop of images flashing fast.

Some images known and others just feelings that as an image, cant be cast.

An image full of vibrant colors,

but having cracks because of all the tremors.

The head starts spinning from right when it all went south,

to when you wanted to say a lot but just couldn't open your mouth,

To every inch of unresolved doubt,

Closure isn't probably all this is about.

Its more about the imagery that remains uncertain.

The prize that was behind the other curtain.

Then there is a realization amidst the alleged pain,

It was your choice to choose the curtain with a stain.

Although some images can never be retained,

Just because at the right time, they never pertained.

Some loss in transition is indispensable.

Some transitions can be tough but never abominable.

the mind accomplishes some limits where comprehension fails.

Its a spinning head, it can't walk straight on rails.

It has to go in circles round the streets where it shouldn't have been.

Across all the images that need to be forgotten and rendered unseen.

Through all the instances you would prefer to call as destiny.

But this open trespassing is the brain's usual mutiny.

The wound seems internal, something that you could fake.

But pretensions of not having it at all are easier for everyone to take.

It sounds so bad, is it really this tragic?

Is it time to give up and believe in some magic?

Magic is not a myth, it does happen several times.

Not every magic can convert your cents to dimes.

But is it too early to believe that its all over?

Or too late to understand that it cannot go any lower?

Time too is money, but it is rather just a reference.

Something that can patch everything or create all the difference.

Its said for consolation though,to "give it some time".

Some consolations are sufficient indeed. just like this rhyme.

Its a new day every time you wake.

You have everything in the world to take.

It might be hard and it could be unbearable.

It may also sometimes be simply "un-shareable".

It sounds like some excruciating pain.

But its your head! So your own responsibility to contain.

Just ask it simply to take a break for the day.

And give it some rest for the next if you may!.

And after the rest you need not tell anyone you haven't slept.

Just laugh it off saying you overslept.

Because its not just the head that is spinning, its your thoughts too.

A blur that is there which you just can't shoo.

But right after the reboot on waking up you realize, 

it was just a bad dream not at all a big surprise.

Its better to deal with all the baggage before it will clutter.

Not all the bad dreams will last forever.

Rather than pondering upon the mess that you've made,

You need to find a way out because its a maze that you've made.

Howsoever the painting be, you made it so hang it on the wall.

Its just a matter of perspective. Just have a Look! Its not that bad after all.

-Aishwariy

Pieces

When you were running out looking for peace

But find yourself in pieces

When you think you've lost your niche

Buried down under all cliches

When the links were all broken

Loosing all the tokens

Making it look like it was meant to be!

whereas It was an attempt to set yourself free.

It was all about the things that were never talked out loud.

It was all about the stings whose healing wasn't allowed.

The pain was thought to be temporary

and was assumed to be necessary

For all that was to be done wasn't for someone else's sake.

Whatever was to be done was for getting over that one mistake.

The one mistake that will always keep you fretting

The one that no one will ever be forgetting

The one that wasn't worth all the sweating

The one that occurred by not reacting.

All you wanted was for them to endorse.

But instead you ended up with a deep remorse.

A remorse in which anyone would engross.

It was a forfeit! not something you fought with force.

You may find it smooth to give up, leave the fight.

It may look easy to do, but is not that right.

It may look too gloomy but it could be bright.

Maybe if you keep going, it will get allright.

Because a mistake isn't really meant to define you.

But all it does is refine you.

A cleaner version of yourself shines in the mirror.

A brighter light reflects with vigor.

Because every broken piece that you found has to be mended.

Its your life and you know it has to be amended.

Its natural if some pieces are no more a fit.

And that's why you have your mind, a toolkit.

Some pieces need to be filed and fixed.

Be careful this time, they shouldn't be mixed.

The mistake you made was an expectation.

A new mistake but not beyond your creation.

You were expected to make it, thus an error by choice.

You chose to expect thus an error of choice.

But there is only one thing to keep the stone turning.

Whatever may come ahead, never stop learning.

And all the regret you keep, and all that remorse

Shall fade away maybe, with time of course.

And the glue of learning that you used to stick those pieces,

May make the "peace" permanent and could even correct your glitches.

-Aishwariy

A Little Girl

I once knew a little girl

Who seemed to be obsessed with Pearls.

No matter how the sea would whirl

She would try to go deep with a swirl

One night when the moon was nice and bright,

But still there wasn't enough of light,

To see what the sea held at its shore,

The girl didn't know what for her was in store.

The sand on the beach, a shell it held

Ecstatic was how the girl had felt.

Another pearl for the collection she thought,

Certainly cannot leave it here to rot.

But she didn't know it really well,

how carrying herself away could unleash hell,

Because the Shell Opened for once and for all,

And engulfed the girl, she couldn't even call.

What, when ,where ,whom to tell?

There was no one to hear her yell.

She was probably turned into a churl.

That's how Once I knew a little girl,

Whose soul found fatal, her obsession with pearls.

Inspired from this lovely piece : http://cruisingalone.blogspot.in/2016/09/a-little-boy.html

-Aishwariy

The Escape through a Landscape

Sitting by the window, gazing through the diaphanous drape

Meditating on the squirrel's half-eaten grape,

Undeterred by the tree that was completely out of it's shape,

Someone was planning her great escape.

It was not as easy as it seemed to be,

Maybe it wasn't even meant to be.

But what kept the mind busy

was it's determination to be completely free

A resolution was passed with all the might

"No one would find me! Let it just for once be night

I have had enough of all this fight!!".

But howsoever small it was, there was a small plight

Because she knew that escaping was not right.

She would savour the taste of which later, It wasn't such a bite.

And it was nowhere near dark yet, the day was still bright.

A tug of war was on, between courage and fright.

The conscience's fight was brilliantly being fought.

With great conquests achieved, the heart was also not easy to be caught.

It was not at all a new agony that was brought.

Amidst all this there was a part of her that was distraught.

Claims of sanity were proving to be fake

It was all to much to be kept at stake

"What if destiny was pre-determined? and it wasn't something I could make?"

"What is going to be left for me finally to take?"

These questions had already kept her for three nights, Awake!!.

She was always taught about the final call that could make or break.

She remembered, "To make such decisions you should be placid like a lake."

She soon realized the importance of this utterance, making this choice was not a piece of cake.

Suddenly a thought came across and she felt beaten

"What if I also leave the grape like the squirrel?; half-eaten"

And suddenly the tree caused the hope to lessen 

"What if complete freedom leads me to 'something' that must not happen?"

And as quickly as these thoughts were initiated, they were in the very next moment equilibrated

All the sufferings released, all confusions gone,every doubt & all the pain abated.

The squirrel was back for the half-eaten grape, which wasn't something she had expected,

And then a bird flew back to her nest on the skew branch of that tree, she felt elated.

Although not everything is in it's place right now, but there will be a day for sure,

When all of this will seem to be a bliss and stopping is never the cure.

When the situations are compelling, it becomes easy for "lets-run-away" to lure.

And one moment of clarity, could bring back your parity, it is "lets-run-away" that you abjure.

Amidst all these thoughts when the sun gave-in for the day.

And the moon embedded itself in the dark night's drape.

Running away now felt funny to say

As she already had her escape...

through the landscape.  

-Aishwariy

आज़ादी ?

आज आज़ादी को उनहत्तर  साल पूरे हुए हैं । देश में जश्न का माहौल होना चाहिए। आज़ादी है भई ! आसानी से थोड़े  ही मिलती  है। और फिर बात भी हो रही है तो "भारत" की आज़ादी की । ऐसा देश जिसे प्रगतिशील देशों में एक युवा देश के रूप में देखा जाता है । और फिर जब युवा ही देश में बहुसंख्यक हों तो आज़ादी की बात पर जश्न मनना तो बनता है । ऐसे युवा जिन्हें देश की महानता पर कोई शक या शंका नहीं है, और न ही शंका है अपनी आज़ादी पर। फिर भी कुछ चीजें मजबूर करती हैं ये सोचने पर कि आखिर आज़ादी है क्या?

कुछ प्रश्न.....

क्या सड़क पर पान की पिचकारी मार पाना आज़ादी है? या दूसरों को पिचकारी मारने से मना करना आज़ादी है? या दूसरों की पिचकारी को विवश होकर झेलना आज़ादी है?

क्या चौराहे पर यातायात सिग्नल का पालन करना आज़ादी है ? या सिग्नल को तोड़ देना आज़ादी है? या सिग्नल का पालन कर रहे व्यक्ति के पीछे खड़े होकर बार बार हॉर्न बजा कर उसे सिग्नल तोड़ने के लिए विवश करना आज़ादी है?

क्या उसी सिग्नल पे छोटे बच्चे को फटे हाल स्थिति में अखबार बेचते देखना आज़ादी है ? या उस बच्चे के द्वारा अखबार बेचा जाना आज़ादी है ? या उस बच्चे का पढ़ने-लिखने की उम्र में पेट भरने के लिए ऐसे काम करने को विवश होना आज़ादी है ?

क्या उसी अखबार में छपी एक बाढ़ की खबर को पढ़ना और उसे नज़रअंदाज़ कर देना आज़ादी है ? या उस बाढ़ को इसलिए नज़रअंदाज़ करना क्योंकि उसे दूरदर्शन पर नहीं दिखाया गया, आज़ादी है ? या समाचार चैनलों का उस खबर को तूल ही न देना आज़ादी है ?

क्या उसी समाचार चैनल पर, चैनल द्वारा कुछ लोगों  की चिल्ला-चोट को प्रसारित कर पाना आज़ादी है ? या उस चिल्ला-चोट में भाग लेने वालों का आपस में हाथापाई कर पाना आज़ादी है ? या उन चैनलों पर समाचारों के स्थान पर सास बहु और साज़िशों के बारे में देखना, दिखाना आज़ादी है ?

क्या उसी टी.वी. के किसी चैनल पर अंधविश्वासों से भरा कोई कार्यक्रम देखना आज़ादी है ? या उस चैनल का उस कार्यक्रम को प्रसारित कर पाना आज़ादी है ? या उस कार्यक्रम को देखकर अन्धविश्वास जाग्रत करना आज़ादी है ?

क्या उन अंधविश्वासों से प्रेरित होकर उनका पालन करना आज़ादी है ? या उन अंधविश्वासों का विरोध करने वाले किसी व्यक्ति की हत्या करना आज़ादी है ? या उस व्यक्ति की हत्या के विरोध में दिए हुए सम्मान को लौटना आज़ादी है ?

क्या सोशल मीडिया पर अपने विचार व्यक्त कर पाना आज़ादी है ? या उन विचारों से आहात होकर विचार व्यक्त करने वाले को  हवालात की सैर करवाना आज़ादी है ? या बिना किसी ताथ्यिक पुष्टि के सोशल मीडिया पर  किसी भी पोस्ट को सच मान लेना आज़ादी है ? 

क्या उसी सोशल मीडिया पर चिर-विरोधी नेताओं का एक दूसरे की भर्त्सना कर पाना आज़ादी है ? या उन नेताओं के कार्य क्षेत्र में उनका विरल ही शक्ल दिखाना आज़ादी है ? या उन नेताओं का साधारण जनता को रिश्वत देने के लिए विवश करना आज़ादी है ?

क्या उन नेताओं का संवाददाताओं द्वारा पर्दाफाश कर पाना आज़ादी है? या उन संवाददाताओं द्वारा सत्य को छुपा पाना आज़ादी है? या उन संवाददाताओं द्वारा बाढ़ पीड़ितों से संवेदनहीन होकर पूछना कि "आप कैसा महसूस कर रहे हैं ?" आज़ादी है?

क्या सेना के प्रयासों का श्रेय नेताओं के द्वारा ले लिया जाना आज़ादी है? या सेना के द्वारा मारे गए आतंकी की मौत पर जनता का मातम मनना आज़ादी है? या मातम मनाते हुए, जाना द्वारा सेना पर ही पथराव कर देना आज़ादी है?

क्या धर्म के नाम पर देश को माँ का दर्ज़ा न देना आज़ादी है? या देशभक्ति के भाव को पूर्णतया एक ही वाक्यांश से जोड़कर देखना आज़ादी है? या उसपर धार्मिक सियासत खेलना आज़ादी है ?

क्या किसी पशु विशेष का मांस खा पाना आज़ादी है ? या उस पशु विशेष के मांस को ग्रहण करने वाले को स्वायत्त होकर मृत्यु दंड दे  देना आज़ादी है ? या किसी पशु विशेष को धर्म से जोड़ना आज़ादी है ?

हम आज़ाद हैं.....  सच में ???

"हम आज़ाद हैं" बोलना आसान है, और सुनने में भी अच्छा भी लगता है।  लेकिन ये वाक्य २ प्रश्न उठता है।  जिसमे से एक के "उत्तर" में ऊपर कुछ प्रश्न आप पढ़ ही चुके हैं, और जो दूसरा प्रश्न है, वो है कि "हम" में कौन आता है?

भौतिक रूप से हर भारतवासी परतंत्र नहीं है । भारत एक स्वतंत्र देश है ।और इसी परिभाषा से हर भारतवासी स्वतंत्र देश का नागरिक है। लेकिन आज़ादी कभी भी केवल भौतिक नहीं हो सकती। आज़ादी व्यक्ति के मन से होती है, और विचारों से भी।  वैचारिक आज़ादी के बगैर यदि कोई मनुष्य स्वयं को आज़ाद मानता है, तो यह केवल एक विरोधाभास से बढ़कर और कुछ नहीं। 

परतंत्र होने के पहले हमारे पास भौतिक रूप से आज़ादी तो थी और वैचारिक रूप से भी। लेकिन इन दोनों के हनन के पश्चात और आज़ादी के लिए पुनः लड़ने के उपरांत जो आज़ादी हमारे लिए हमारे देश के बलिदानी वीरों ने जीती उसे हमने केवल भौतिकता की जंजीरों में जकड़ा हुआ छोड़ दिया है, और वैचारिक स्वतंत्रता से देश का आम नागरिक अभी भी दूर ही प्रतीत होता है।  

वैचारिक स्वतंत्रता के आने के बाद भी सब कुछ सही हो जाएगा ऐसा नहीं है। लेकिन वैचारिक स्वतंत्रता का क्रियान्वन बदलाव लाएगा, इस बदलाव के लिए महत्वपूर्ण कदम वैचारिक बंधनों की ज़ंजीरों को तोड़ना है। फिलहाल , समय की मांग है वैचारिक स्वतंत्रता से क्रांति लाने की। जब तक  स्वतंत्रता के साथ वैचारिक स्वतंत्रता का मिलाप नहीं होगा, तब तक दो ही प्रश्नों पर हम फंसे रह जाएंगे,  क्या हम आज़ाद हैं ? और अगर हैं भी तो इस आज़ादी के मायने आखिर हैं क्या? और फिर वो आज़ादी भी आज़ादी कैसी, जो चंद  प्रश्नों के भी उत्तर न दे पाए। 

और हाँ.... स्वतंत्रता दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं....... :D  

-ऐश्वर्य