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 

Of Yul Brynner, a Siamese king and the Relics of the Buddha

Sometimes one thing reminds one of another, sometimes the linkages come together to forge a tale.Was listening to the musical, ‘The King and I’ Starring the magnificent Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, and was reminded of several connections that tell quite a story.
The musical  is based on the 1944 novel 'Anna and the King of Siam' by Margaret Landon, which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, Governess to the children of King Mongkut ( Rama IVth ) of Siam in the early 1860s. (1861-67). The musical's plot relates the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is marked by conflict through much of the piece, as well as by a love that neither can admit. The musical premiered on March 29, 1951, at Broadway's St. James Theatre. It is one of longest-running Broadway musical in history, and has had many tours and revivals.

The Thai  king featured here, Rama IVth responsible for the modernization of Thailand became ill with malaria in 1867 along with the then 15 year old future king Rama Vth. The ruling monarch passed away, the English teacher ( who falsely attributed the darkness of her complexion to her Irish ancestry, but was actually  Anglo-Indian, it was later discovered), then on a leave of absence for six months was visiting England where her daughter was, she intended to admit her son in a boarding school there and return with her daughter. Learning of the King's death, she never returned to Thailand, though she kept up correspondence with her former pupil Rama Vth, the new King.

This new king received in 1899, the relics discovered in the Piparhawa Stupa by William Pepe, amateur archaeologist and private British owner of Birdpore Estate.located about 60 miles north of the town of Gorakhpur, in north India.The discovery was marked by controversy on account of the fact that William Fuhrer, chief archaeologist of the then government of India, had access to the discoveries within four weeks of the unearthing. It was discovered soon thereafter that Fuhrer was responsible for several  forgeries and was a fraud. When the scandal broke he resigned in disgrace. The British were now faced with the problem of authenticating the relics discovered in Piparhawa about which both Fuhrer and Vincent Smith, the famous historian, and an official of the government of India  were of the opinion that they were of the Sakya Muni, Budha, the one-eighth share of the relics granted to his home clan the Sakas, buried there by them.the original burial would have been a simple one, the grand Stupa was built over the burial site, by Asoka Maurya ( the Mauryan king Asoka the Great), along with the precious offerings of gold and gems discovered there.

Faced with the controversy however, the British quickly sought to get the relics out of the country. William Pepe’s family retained a part of the jewels discovered, the relics were offered to Rama the Vth, Buddhist, King of Siam, in 1899, (Lord Curzon was Viceroy of India then)  who housed them in the Golden Stupa, in Bangkok, Thailand, where they remain. The large stone casket, Ashokan in all probability as well as the urn which originally contained the relics with the Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script on it, are housed in the National Museum in Calcutta.

It would be a tremendous event if all this could be put together and precise authentication arrived at, all things are interconnected after all...

निज़ामुद्दीन रेल वे स्टेशन

निज़ामुद्दीन रेल वे स्टेशन

उम्र से पहले बूढ़े हो चले
घिसे पिटे से लोग
वक़्त ने रगड़ रगड़ काठी झुका दी है 
ग़ुरबत कन्धों पे ढो रहे लोग
नज़र नीची आवाज़ सुस्त
भीड़ बहुत है
और अकेलापन भी
सीढ़ियों से ऊपर नीचे जाते
कोई किसी का बोझ साँझा नहीं करता
कोई मुस्कुराता भी नहीं
सभी अपने अपने खाँचे में बंद हैं
ट्रेन के डब्बे हों जैसे
जुड़े जुड़े भी कटे कटे भी
जाना सभी को वहीं है
लगाम किसी और के हाथ है
बड़ी बेबसी की बात है ...
-विनी
१३/११/१६

ट्रैफ़िक

 ट्रैफ़िक 
आज फिर पुल पर बहुत ट्रैफ़िक था,
ग़र्म शोले सी हो चली थी गाड़ी,
यूँ लगा मुझे के हम सब बूढ़े हो चले हैं जैसे,
मेरा शहर, उसकी सड़कें, और मैं, 
यूँ हम सब जवान थे कभी,
चमचमाते, तेज़ रफ़्तार, कहीं जाना था, कोई मंज़िल थी ,
जाने ये कब हुआ, कैसे हुआ के,
वक़्त ने चमक छीन ली, रफ़्तार थाम ली,
मंज़िलें भुला दीं,
अब सड़कों के रंग उतर गए हैं, शहर सुस्त है और मैं थक गयी हूँ,
कुछ यूँ के अब कहीं पहुँचने की कोई जल्दी नहीं,
ट्रैफ़िक में फँसी ग़र्म शोले सी हो चली गाड़ी में
बैठे रहना भी,
कोई तिलमिलाहट नहीं पैदा करता,
बस एक इंसानी बेबसी सी है,
पुल के इस पार से उस पार तक के सफ़र की,
और इस पुल पर भी,
ट्रैफ़िक बहुत है...
-विनी ४/११/१६

धूप छांव

कुछ धूप है,
कुछ छांव सी,
कुछ ज़िंदगी की मानिंद,
कभी धूप सी खिली हूँ मैं,
कभी रात सी मुरझाई भी,
यूँ तो ख़ुद में मुकम्मल हूँ मैं,
और यूँ भी है के, तुझ बिन कुछ अधूरी हूँ मैं..
-व
 २१/१०/१६