वो इस साल की सबसे सर्द रात थी,
इक सुक़ून का चादर और कुछ सिलवटें भी,
इक पुराना रिश्ता, एक नयी अनुभूति, कुछ जादू सा था,
वो दुनिया का सबसे मेहफ़ूज़ और नायाब घेरा था,
मोहब्बत का इंद्रजाल था, सुकून से सरोबार था,
ख़ुद को खोने की ख़ुशी थी,
खुद को और खुद में तुमको पाने पाने का एहसास था,
तुम ही तुम थे और बस चारो तरफ तुम्हारा ही नूर था,
आलिंगन में आरोहन की अनुभूति में बस सब कुछ चूर था,
वो नूर, वो सुरूर, मेरी मोहब्बत, बस जलवा-ऐ-तूर था....

तुमने कहा, हमने सुना
की तुम्हारे शौक़ बदल गए है,
तुमने जो नहीं कहा, हमने वो भी सुना
की तुम्हारी हर महफ़िल, आज भी अधूरी है। 

कैसी हाय, कितना तौबा

हर किस्सा माखौल लगता है,
हर आह कोलाहल
ये कैसी सरज़मीं है
जहाँ कोई न ज़िन्दगी के सही मायनो का कायल

आँखों के रंग, रंगों की नज़र

हज़ार रंग देखे,
सहस्त्रो रंग देखूं,
तुम्हारे साथ देखे,
बस तुम्हारे संग देखूं।



Hazaar rang dekhe,
sahastro rang dekhun,
Tumhare saath dekhe,
Bas tumhare sang dekhu. 

Lost yet found

She never knew what she was looking for,
Probably that's why she never knew what to look for, who to ask, grab when it was before her, know she had achieved it, go on, all happy and smug.
Then she realised, she din't really want anything specific, just something that caught her fancy.
Such fanciful thinking, such a waste of life...

All that glitters

She excitedly bought some fancy lights but on reaching home she never managed to put them up. They have been lying there, in their packing, for months now. Holding inside them the promise of many colourful hues and moments.
Maybe the darkness is too dense for the lights to combat. Maybe she wants to keep them hidden from the clutches of the enormous darkness around them.
For now, both she and the lights, breathe the darkness, day and night, hoping and somewhere knowing that there will be a time for those magical lights and the moments spent their warm glow.

Sleepless in anticipation, excitement

Most people gear up for something grand by catching up on some much needed sleep and waking up fresh and replenished. Not me. I remember going for my most important assignments, interviews, dates, journeys and the likes, wide awake from the night before. Inspite of being too old to understand how utterly stupid it is, the anticipation of what lies in store just does not allow me the liberty of even a few winks. Life's passing just too fast before our eyes, sleeping and waking up for something substantial just does not seem like giving the occasion its rightful due. Having said that pardon me if I have ever met or meet you with seemingly bloodshot, dreamy eyes, they might have been stretched beyond their might, just for you...