یوں کبھی کبر کی ملاقات سے کب جی بھرا ہے میرا 

گر میرے خیال میں او توں بار بار او 

ونی            

 Budh Purnima

किन फिकरों में गुम रहते हो

चलो शुरू से शुरू करते हैं

उस दिन से जब चाँद नय़ा रहा होगा

बारीक एक लकीर सा आसमां में टंगा

कुछ डरा भी होगा घबराया भी

सब कुछ नया जो था

आसमां नया , तारे अजनबी हावायें अंजान

दुनिया की किसी शेह् से कोई वाकफियात ना थीं

बेमानी से दिन और अफसुर्दा रातें गुज़री होंगी

और फिर उसके साथ भी वही हुआ होगा

राह में , सफर में , मांजिलों की जुस्तजू में

लोग मिले होंगे , दोस्त बने होंगे,

कुछ देर साथ भी चले होंगे

एक राह पर उस मोड़ तक

जहां तक रास्ते यक्सां रहे होंगे

अब इस लमहे में उस चाँद का क्या हुआ होगा ?

वही जो हुआ करता है

उस सफर में, उस उम्र के बीते हुए दिनों ने

समझ दी होगी उसे , और हौंसला और कुछ बेफिकरी भी

बिलौस चमक और पूरे शबाब के साथ

अपनी राह पर चलते रहने की

अपनी उम्र जी लेने की

आखिर और किस लिए ज़लता बुझता है चाँद ...

-विन्नी

बुध पूरनिमा 22

 यकबयक 

यूं मामूली सा दिन था 

हवाओं में सर्द नमी सी थी 

सेहर से ही पानियों के किनारे 

धुंध सी थी 

दूर , धुँधला सा  एक अक्स  

शायद साहिल पर जगह होने के इंतज़ार में 

कोई कश्ती 

कभी दिख जाती थी , कभी नहीं भी 

और कोई आस पास न था 

थी,  फ़िज़ाओं में घुली वही बू 

वही अनबूझा सा एहसास 

वही अनकही सी आवाज़ 

वही अनसुने से अलफ़ाज़ 

वो जो अब था नहीं रूबरू 

उसी मंज़र की उलझन में धड़कते अरमान 

 यूं लगा की माज़ी सामने खड़ा हो

हाथ बढ़ा कर छू लू उसे .. 

और फिर, 

याद की सरहद के इस पार 

यकबयक  ये अहसास  भी ,

की माज़ियों में जीने से 

जिंदगी की सचाइयों से राब्ता टूट जाता है। .. 

~ विन्नी 

१०/२/२१ 

Mitavali's stupendous Yogini Temple

I've been wanting to go to this Yogini temple at Mitavali, Morena, for a long while, it's remote, off the circuit location, made that difficult. The road winds it's way through villages, narrow and rough in most part, with nothing to indicate the way to the temple, except Google maps ! Finally got there the day before yesterday in very intense heat. It was about 48 degrees with a rough hot wind, the loo, blowing across. About a hundred steps, roughly hewn into the rock face, lead up to the circular temple, on top of the isolated outcrop of rock. That made the climb very strenuous. Nothing breaks the hardship, there is no shade, no provision for water or refreshments of any sort. It's such an amazing site though, one which in any other country, would make a major tourist attraction. there were 64 yogini statues in the 64 enclaves, that have been removed to a museum now ( i don't know which one), the temple is striking, though a tad empty , without them.

Go in better weather!

one hears that the inspiration for Parliament House in Delhi might have come from this temple. It is when you step inside that you realise that it could be true. Unlike the Parliament House that has pillars on the outer verandah, the Mitaoli Temple has pillars around the outer circumambulatory path that opens into the central courtyard. There are sixty four mini temples or niches each housing a shivling. The central courtyard is ringed with the main shrine again circular in shape and housing a large shivling.

Later, looking at google images of the Parliament House with its open inner central courtyard and domed structure in the centre, you can’t help but wonder if Herbert Baker did get some inspiration trawling Indian heritage sites before designing New Delhi with Lutyens. But then again – is it one-off design or is it the standard design of Tantric or Yogini Temples

The  three temples groups in Mitavali, Padavali and Bateshwar were part of an extensive temple building exercise during the rule of Kachchhapaghatas. Kachchhapaghatas who ruled from Gwalior rose to prominence in central India during the last decade of tenth century and were believed to be vassals of Gurjar-Pratihars and later Chandellas. Along with these temples, they built temples at Kadwaha, Surawaya, Mahua, Terahi (all in Shivpuri district of MP). The pretty Saas-Bahu temple at Gwalior Fort is attributed to them too. that the Morena district has these treasures, is something i have known for long, getting to Padavali and Bateshwar is next.

The top   shot is off the internet..the other pictures are ours, from the trip .

unfinished

Unfinished

 I thought I’d entrust our tale to the stars,

She said,

The  words inked

Into the dark of the firmament

 Catharsis, will help heal

Memories of times long past,

The telling will exorcise

The light and the dark and the shadows in between,

Wait, he said,

The last words are not yet writ,

As it is,

The sun and the moon disagree,

About what lies beyond, yet unseen

~vinny

8/12/18

मौसम ए सरमा

मौसम ए  सरमा

शदीद इंतज़ार था जिसका
इस बरस, वो बहार
गर आये ही नहीं तो क्या हो ?
यूं गुल कुछ पशेमान हैं इस बरस
हवाएं सर्द  हैं और मौसम परेशां
कुछ गफलत सी है
कुछ है छिपा हुआ उस जानिब
कुछ है जो आशकार नहीं
दिल कहता है
ये ख़ैर की अलामत नहीं 
और वो बहार जिस की जुस्तजू
टिमटिमाती हुई एक लौ की मानिंद
मेरी हमराह रही है इस मौसम ए सरमा
अब बुझ जाना चाहती है
यक़ीनन उस उम्मीद की मानिंद
जिस की हकीकत नसीब न हो
मुमकिन है इस बरस
बहार आये ही नहीं। ..
~ विन्नी
३/३/१९

mausam

मौसम 

कुछ यूं हुआ होगा 

मध्यम हुआ होगा सूरज 
और जल उठी होगा शम्मा 
हारी होगी लड़ाई उसने 
और धीरे धीरे बुझ गयी होगी रौशनी 
मौसम यक ब यक नहीं बदला करते 

खिड़कियां खुली ही होंगी पहले पहले 
फिर एक अंधड़ उठा होगा 
बंद की गयी होंगी खिड़कियाँ 
मौसम यूं ही बदला होगा 

दिन तो खुश ही रहा होगा
रंगीन, रोशन , हरा भरा 
फिर शाम की सियाही ने मिटाये होंगे कुछ रंग 
 तनहा  रात हारी होगी उदासी से  
मौसम यक  ब  यक नहीं बदला करते 

सर्द हवाओं ने दिशा बदली होगी 
सब्ज़ बाग़ कुछ सहमे होंगे 
पीले पड़े पत्तों में सरसराहट सी होगी 
परिंदों ने भी चुप रहना सीखा होगा 
मौसम यूं ही बदला होगा 

हँसती आँखों में समाया होगा 
बदरंग सा तिनका कोई 
सैलाब सा आया होगा 
रुक गया होगा होंठों पर 
मन का मौसम यूं ही बदला  होगा 

~  विन्नी 
४/१२/१८ 

CHURCHILL, the film

was a rather dull day, almost melancholy , and one needed distractions in order to prevent the mind from dwelling on the morose.
As it turns out this film, Churchill, was not a good choice to accomplish that task, for it deals with the dilemmas and dread that Churchill faces as he contemplates D Day, the Normandy landing in all its possible consequences. This must be a first of sorts for me , for i saw a film that deals with the subject of war (WW II) without showing any fighting at all, just the trauma , the dilemma, the dread involved in decision making, a decision that will send 20000 men to war, a focused invasion of france, meant to liberate it from the Germans, and achieve a decisive victory. The invasion at Normandy was a success and was the beginning of the end of the war , with the Germans in retreat thereafter, this we know now in hindsight. the movie however shows us a Churchill, tormented with the thought of failure, riddled with the guilt of Gallipoli (From WW I), unwilling to send innocent young men to their deaths, battling with the thought of a similar debacle, very troubled.
in many ways he is a man living in the past, fighting the American Generals, disagreeing with the plan, unwilling to be cast aside in the process of decision making.
Critics have pointed out the historical inaccuracy  of that disagreement, as also the inaccuracies in the portrayal of his domestic relationship, with his wife and his employees, the screenplay plays the disagreements up, perhaps in order to dramatise Churchill's psychic state.
this must happen to most generals and kings and warlords, they must be, at some point in their lives, haunted by the souls of those they send to death.
the actors are brilliant, Brain Cox tears into the role, and honestly it was for him that i chose to watch the film,  and Miranda Richardson as his wife makes her character come alive.
it is a rather sympathetic portrayal, subtly British, the great leader, torn apart with the pain of the common people he leads, empathetic of their concerns, wishing to prevent death and bloodshed, yet courageous enough to contemplate joining the troops at the front.
That said, its difficult to reconcile this image with that of a man who quite cynically and deliberately, in full knowledge, made the decision to withdraw food and grain bound for Bengal and the Eastern parts of India, in order to prevent it falling into the hands of the advancing Japanese army at about the same time as the decision for Normandy was being made. Creating a "Scorched Earth" scenario for the Japanese meant the creation of a Famine in Bengal that was unprecedented in scale and resulted in the death of a million Indian citizens. the Bengal famine was a catastrophe , a tragedy of horrendous proportions, created by that decision alone that resulted in the unavailability of food, condemning hundreds of thousands of Indians to slow starvation. Perhaps not equal enough with the Europeans at stake on the Western Front? a film that certainly makes one think, regardless of perspective.
sympathy for Mr Churchill will be hard to come by in Indian parts.
Vinny
19/11/18

पतझड़

पतझड़ 

तुम,
दरिया के पार जो गए 
कोई सदा लौट कर  नहीं आयी,
चाँद उग आया है आज, शब् ढले  
हवा अब सर्द है और रात सियाह, 
और ये एक चाँद काफी नहीं दिल को रोशन करने को, 
मैं,
साहिल पर खड़ी 
सदियों से इंतज़ार में हूँ,
किसी एक रात में दो दो चाँद दिखें 
और तुम लौट आओ
यूं  ये महज़ एक ख्वाब हो शायद 
या कोई वहम, 
वक़्त के इस लम्बे वक़्फ़े में, 
सब अनबूझ सा लगता है, 
बस ये एक चाँद है, मैं  हूँ 
और है एक आस, 
दरिया के पानियों सी 
उठती , बुझती,
और हवाएं अब सर्द  हैं 
~ विन्नी 
४/११/१८ 

The last of the rains ...

THE LAST OF THE RAINS
You arrived riding a tumultuous storm,

In the months of your sojourn,
I've learnt to read your moods,
written in the winds and the clouds,
The sights and the smells ,
Of wet earth and blooming lotuses,
Blinding and stormy at times,
reminding one of one's insignificance,
in the grand order of things,
the melancholy that nostalgia invokes, the joys of old,
swept away, As if to make way for the new,
Calming and soft often,
Replenishing, steadfast , joyous
They tell me that you will inevitably depart,
 if I were to ask,
Would you tarry a while to share my confusions,
I need you to be munificent with your magic,
While I weave my tales,
Often to very illogical conclusions.
-vinny
21/9/2013

nazm adhuri hai

Nazm adhuri hai

Harf bewafa hue chahte Hain

Nazmem rooth gayeen Hain hamse

Kab se baithee Hoon jaanam

Siyahee sirf ungliyaan rangti jaati hai

Lafz kareene se bandhte hee nahin ...

Barishen sab dho dalna chahtee Hain

Sookhe Patton ke manind zamidoz Hain ahsasaat

Umr poori ho chuki ho jaise

Marmar ke pathar par bicha paani

Ek Naya sa aqs dikhlaata hai

Is mausam ek Naya darakht ropa hai

Lekin Kon jaane kab gulzaar ho

Nazmem Jo rooth gayeen Hain hamse ..

Baaz waqt dikhayee dete Hain kuch Gul

Betarteeb bikhre hue,

Yoon jaaise khayal jab yaksan na hon

Apne apne hijjon mein takseem

Lafz kareene se baithte hee nahin

Harf bewafa hue chahte Hain ..

-Vinny

26/8/18

rekh...(the line in the sands)

रेख 

शाम की बरखा ने आज फिर 
राह की रेख मिटा दी 
धुंधलके में आज फिर 
भटक गयी हूँ मैं ,
अपने ही शहर में,
अजनबी सी में, 
नए अनजान मोड़ पर खड़ी हूँ,
सेहमी , सिमटी, हिचकिचाती , 
कोई पूछ भी ले तो ,
अक्सर कह भी नहीं पाती,
कहाँ से आयी, जाना कहाँ है मुझे,
जाने वो कैसे लोग होते हैं, 
जो हर हाल अपनी राह ही चलते हैं, 
राह की रेख हो, 
या न भी हो। .. 
`~ विन्नी  

पैगाम मंज़िल तक पहुंचे !

इंतज़ार
हम मुन्तज़िर हैं अज़ल से
कुरबतों की इनायत हो
वस्ल की रात हो
चाँद उरूज पर हो
उन के साथ का ख्वाब है
मुख़्तसर सी , नाज़ुक सी बात है
आखिर किस तरहाँ कहें
इस  ओर रिवायतें ज़बान रोकें हैं
उधर अरमान मचले जाते हैं
 मुसलसल इंतज़ार में
दिन व्  रात ख़्वाबीदा से हैं
एक नज़र देख ले
नवाज़िश हो।

मुक़ददर का फेर है
वगरना यूं हम भी बुरे नहीं... !
~ विन्नी
१६/५/१८

chup

आज  उस ने पूछ ही  लिया आख़िर, 
इस क़दर ख़ामोश  क्यों हो? 
क्या कहूँ 
क्या न कहूँ 
खुद ही सुन  ले  
वो जिसे सुनने का शऊर हो  

चुप हूँ उन खामोश किताबों की मानिंद 
जिन की ज़िल्दों  से अलफ़ाज़ झांकते हैं 
~  विन्नी 
14/5/18

सेमुल

सेमुल


भीतर लगी अगन
बाहर फूट पड़ी हो जैसे
शाख़  पर सुर्ख  फूल ही फूल
कोई सब्ज़ पत्ता बाक़ी  नहीं
हसीं दिलनशीं दिलकश,
फरेब है लेकिन
नज़र भर का
खोखला है फूल का अन्तःकरण
कुछ सेहरा में मोह्बत की आस की मानिंद 
कोई सुकून नहीं
बस फरेब है
नज़र भर का
~ विन्नी
१०/३/२०१८. 

Padmavat: the movie

The controversies that surround the film , all seem so unnecessary, especially redundant in hindsight, not even worthy of comment. For the many months that the film's release was withheld, the nation debated, folklore and history, the right to privacy, the freedoms of speech and articulation, poetic license and cinematic freedom, multiple perceptions, even the obligation celebrities have to respect public perception. Feminism, the glorification (or otherwise)  of Sati and Jauhar, how those two differ , and how war is fought and won and lost by several means!
What a waste of time and effort in a nation where people starve and diseases ravage , where  life lapses into  the poverty and the paucity  of the medieval world with depressing regularity, where everyday struggles are basic and involve survival, not merely human dignity, which comes a distant second. Must one look for statements and issues in everything? Nah, this is merely entertainment.

That apart, the films 's claim to authenticity are two, first, the Jayasi epic is its bedrock, history is largely silent about the story (though folklore is not) and second, its adherence to the times of pre electricity brightness, the dark and the light, the fires serves as symbols of what one knows the film's trajectory to be, as well as the only sources of light apart from the Sun and the Moon, all symbols for Bhansali, who must see himself as a poet in images, if not in letters! everything is thus muted, subtle.

The Khilji  character is a monster, yes, but that too is not in your face. He is shown eating, the mannerism raw, he breaks the food apart with his bare hands, his appetites (all of them ) ravenous. However the camera focuses on him, not the food. Bhansali establishes that everything that the man covets, he must have, it is this that fuels his appetite for the elusive queen, the denial.
He is the better strategist, the better General, organises his forces better and inspires them to loyalty as well, the Rawal, in  contrast, rules a tradition ridden nation, given to pomp and splendour, a tad complacent. Is it any wonder then that the Khilji won?

It's all very grandly, very well done, the Rawal who has the Queen ,  comes across as a cultured man, bound, a tad too much and perhaps foolishly, to the dictates of tradition, antiquated notions of honour , a code of conduct that his adversary will not adhere to, and a code that his Queen too finds perplexing. She is a foreigner to the land after all and understands better the laws of nature, where might is right and power is everything. Introduced as a hunter, ( reminiscent of the forest dwellers of 'Avatar)  she is practical and forthright in her understanding of men and their motives. The Rawal, on the other hand seems hemmed in, chained to a tradition, a code of conduct  conspicuous by its absence  in the corridors of power. It's already dated, a thing of the past. He too is shown eating, the food served in silver bowls, several little dishes, each distinct, partaken of a morsel at a time, delicately!Perhaps civilization does this to one, as perhaps it corrupts others, institutionalising sentiment, alienating, dehumanizing. The metaphors abound, she comes from a kingdom that earth and water, he comes from one that's arid and hot, fire reigns.  Those contrasts are drawn out, in the individuals who have imbibed them as well as the cultures that have fostered them. 

Everything is fair in love and war, anything for success. Two contrasting worlds. the characters merely play their parts, including the Queen, who must die to uphold honour, not to do so would be an unimaginable disgrace.

The 'Ghoomer' song is a delight, showcasing not  only the art form, but the scale and grandness of the set as well, Deepika's best moment!

The human element comes from Kafur, there's real emotion there.  this character gets a brilliant introduction. A slave bought in the market, he is presented, veiled as a woman, as a "nayaab cheez" to khilji, who has just been robbed of another 'nayaab yakut' ( his could be the Kohenoor diamond that he did get as part of the loot from Deogiri, but one is not told so) Kafur is a vicious killer and an able general, but more importantly he becomes Khilji's most trusted aide and perhaps his lover. Does he love Khilji afterall? or is  he merely a slave bound to wish fulfillment. The Actor's face falls everytime Khiji mentions his desire for Padmani, the author backed part superbly played out on screen. Kafur gets the best song too!

Bhansali has over the years created his own genreI in a film where one knows the entire trajectory beforehand, the possibilities are limited, despite that the Bhansali essentials are all there, the grandness, the costumes, the chandelier, the lights the Bhansalieque one lines. There's plenty to remind one of the jungles in 'Avatar', in the opening scenes with Deepika and the 'Game of Thrones' in the battle scenes and the Khilji courtroom in the latter half. Also as Ranvir runs through the battlements of Chittor in the Climax, does he conjure up an American footballer in the mind's eye...his multi layered shoulder guards do!

The fact that it's based on a poem would not be lost to those familiar with the Operatic world.The film is an Opera in another medium and perhaps for that reason lacks  the intimacy of storytelling, or it may be that reducing a legend to the personal tragedies of the protagonists, always a difficult task, escaped Bhansali, in this telling.

Do watch it though, there's enough to keep one engaged and watch it in 3D , Do!

Missed this one on screen. it is perhaps, the softest of the songs in the album and could have added the human sentiment, the emotional content missing between the Rawal and his  beauteous queen.
~Vinny
9/2/18

Black and Blue

Black and Blue

I've had a long day, she  said, 
I've  often wondered, he said,
What does  it mean when one says that ?
For all days are measured much the  same, 
Are they  not? The seconds and  the minutes,

 the hours precisely count to twenty four !!
All together and apart!

His eyes twinkled!
Ah! She sighed,
there are days that begin mid morning  and end late afternoon,
Gently fade into nothingness,
With the Sun,
And then  there are those that one endures,
From dawn to  dusk and  beyond,
Unceasing the clock goes  on and on, 
Don't you know those? She said, 
The ones when the light burns  your soul
Black to a cinder,
And  the night  whips up a wind,
That scatters one's parts  apart, 

incessant, such that one comes undone,
Ripped asunder,
They say the Japanese have an art
Whereby they patch up such parts
With gold, such that the broken 
Illumined, shines better than one that is not! 
He smiled
Though one be broken, black and blue,
That is where the light gets in !
~vinny
6/2/18

Green!

Green

Everyone has a story to tell, he said,
your's for instance, could be Envy,
considering you are all green today!
i wonder what has you so thralled!
Ah, she said,  shouldn't you know?
considering that you  are the one telling the tale!
i merely count the what ifs' and the would bes'
that pepper the telling, he said,
it's your tale, coloured with the oohs' and the ahs'
that collectively give you away!

I've been looking, she said,
in admiration , (i tell myself!)
at this and that and the other,
the curl of that eyelash and the bounty of that mane,
the rose in that cheek and the spring in that step.
the zeal, the zest and the laughter,
the effort in the fragrance, disguised just so, with such elan,
and I've been wondering if i can keep up with the pantomime,
so rehearsed, yet so nonchalant!
yes, i could well be Green, she said!
~Vinny
2/2/18

safar

सफर

कभी किसी  सफर में दो मुसाफिर मिले
कुछ दूर साथ चले तो
 बात भी हुई
वो कहते हैं ना
जो खुश हैं, सभी एक से हैं
ये  जो गम हैं, वही हैं अनेक
हर दिल को सालने वाली चुभन
अपने आप में अनोखी है ,
शायद इसी लिए जब तक बात ख़ुशी की थी
दोनों की एक सी थी
फिर जब बांटा  वो जो  दिल को  सालता है भीतर ही भीतर 
लगा नहीं ये मैं नहीं
ये तुम हो, कोई और हो, कहीं और से आये हो,
कोई और ही सफर है तुम्हारा
वो जो नहीं है मेरा, नहीं हो सकता मेरा 
उसी पल में बदल गया मन का मौसम 
एक बेरुखी आ बैठी बीच
और वे जो एक हो सकते थे
फिर से अपने अपने कोनों में  सिमट  गए
रेल गाड़ी स्टेशन पर रुकी
और अपना अपना बोझा लिए
अपने अपने घर को लौट आये
दो मुसाफिर। ..
- vinny
१४/१२/१७

madhavi

The story of Madhavi is found in the Puranas as also in the Mahabharat. She was the extremely beautiful and devoted daughter of the  Puranic King Yayati, who gave her to the Rishi Galava, so that he may use her to generate wealth enough to buy eight hundred horses, exceptional in that they had to be all white with one black ear each.This was the 'gurudakshina' demanded of him by Vishvamitra, his teacher. There was no one king in all of Aryawarta who alone could pay that price and therefore Madhavi was concubine-d to three kings and the Sage Vishvamitra himself, who all together gave Galava the wealth he required. She bore each one a son and when granted her freedom at last chose the life of a hermit rather than the patriarchal world of the powerful men she knew.

Her story is an extremely accurate comment on patriarchy and what it can do to those the system marginalises. This is a poem i wrote a few years ago about her, but this could be any woman really...

माधवी •
 क्या परिचय  है मेरा …
 राजकन्या,  यायातिपुत्री …?
नहीं , नहीं अब नहीं …
यायातिकुल में जन्मी मैं 
दान दी गयी वस्तु समान,
गुरुदक्षिणा अर्जित कर,
ऋषि ऋण मुक्त हुए, 
पिता महादानी ,महाप्रतापी कहलाये,
और मैं इनकी महत्ता हेतु,
भोगी गयी,
क्या परिचय  है मेरा ? 
अद्रित्य सुंदरी , दिव्य रूपवान आर्यकन्या ?
 नहीं नहीं और नहीं …
देह के रूप कारण विक्रय योग्य वास्तु हुई, 
 मूल्य  हुआ आठ सौ श्वेत अश्व ,एक कर्ण कृष्णा,
 चार पुरुष, चार पुत्र,
 हयार्शावा , दिवोदासा , उशिनारा , विश्वामित्र,
 और आठ  सौ धवल अश्व, एक कर्ण कृष्णा 
 क्या परिचय है मेरा …
 राजकन्या ,राजरानी ,जननी?
 नहीं नहीं  अब नहीं …
मैं  माधवी , मुक्त स्त्री , निष्कलंकित,
स्वतंत्र , स्वावलम्भी  , विरक्त  ,
 व्यक्ति ….

~ विन्नी 
२०१२