Ma

मेरी माँ 
सब जानती थी 
टीचर की डांट का इलाज 
रेड पास्ता से होता है 


कम नंबर आने की दवा 
मैग्गी होती है 


सहेली से लड़ाई का दर्द 
चॉकलेट केक से ठीक होता है 


सिर्फ मेरे नहीं 
सब मर्ज़ों का इलाज 
जानती थी माँ


खानदान के झगडे 
राजमा से सुलझाये जाते हैं 
और जायदाद के झगडे 
पैर छू कर.


एक दिन माँ 
गिरी
और फिर 
उठी नहीं
 
बड़ी अज़ीम हकीम थी माँ 
बस ये एक चीज़ 
गलत कर गयी 
अपने सारे नुस्खे, टोटके,
आज़माये इलाज
अपने दिल में 
रख कर चल दी 


उसके बाद 
इस घर को 
पहले
अहम् का नज़ला लगा 
फिर लड़ाइयों का बुखार चढ़ा 
अब शक का नासूर हुआ है
कोई इलाज नहीं चलता है 
सब, सब ही कुछ ले गयी माँ.
  ********


ਮੇਰੀ ਮਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਤਾ ਸੀ
ਦੋਸਤ ਨਾਲ ਹੋਇ ਲੜਾਈ ਦਾ ਇਲਾਜ
ਖੀਰ ਹੈ


ਤੇ ਘੱਟ ਨੰਬਰ ਆਂ ਦੀ ਦਵਾਈ
ਗੋਲਗੱਪੇ


ਹਰ ਮਰਜ਼ ਦਾ ਇਲਾਜ
ਜਾਂਦੀ ਸੀ ਮਾਂ


ਵੇੜੇ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ ਹੋਏ
ਤੇ ਰਾਜਮਾ
ਤੇ ਘਰ ਦੇ ਵਿਆਹ ਦਾ ਸਿਆਪਾ
ਤੇ ਪੈਰੀ ਪਾਉਣਾ


ਇਕ ਦਿਨ
ਮਾਂ ਡਿੱਗੀ
ਫੇਰ ਉਠਿ ਨਾ


ਮਾਂ ਮੇਰੀ ਨੇ
ਹਰ ਕਾਮ ਡਾਡਾ ਚੰਗਾ ਕਿੱਤਾ
ਆਹੀ ਕਾਮ ਮਾੜਾ
ਕਰ ਗਈ ਮਾਂ


ਬੜੀ ਅਜ਼ੀਮ ਹਕੀਮ ਸੀ ਮਾਂ
ਆਪਣੇ ਸਾਰੇ
ਤੋਨੇ ਟੋਟਕੇ
ਸਾਰੇ ਨੁਸਖੇ
ਲੈ ਟੁਰ ਗਈ ਮਾਂ


ਉਸਦੇ ਬਾਜੋਂ
ਇਸ ਘਰ ਨੂੰ ਲੱਗਿਆ
ਪਹਿਲੋਂ ਅਣਖ ਦਾ ਨਜ਼ਲਾ
ਫੇਰ ਲੜੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਬੁਖਾਰ
ਤੇ ਹੁਣ
ਵੰਡ ਦਾ ਨਾਸੂਰ
ਹੁਣ ਨਹੀਂ ਇਸ ਘਰ ਨੇ ਬਚਣਾ
ਸਬ, ਸਬ ਕੁਛ ਹੀ ਲੈ ਗਈ ਮਾਂ
**************
My mother
knew everything.
The cure for a broken heart
is red pasta.
A poor report card
is cured with Maggi
and the pain of a fight with friends
needs a chocolate cake.


She knew the cures
for every ill
Family fights
are settled
with Rajma
And property feuds
by touching feet.


One day,
she fell
And did not get up.


My mother,
who got everything right
got this one thing
totally wrong.
She took
all her magic potions, pills and cures
to the grave with her.


Since then
This house
started with the common cold
of ego
Then it developed the fever
of frequent fights
And now
it suffers
from the cancer of distrust.
Nothing will work.
My mother,
who knew everything
took everything with her.
***************








 

Sanskrit Lokokti

काक: काक: पिक: पिक:


कौवा कौवा है और कोयल कोयल.


A crow is a crow and a koel is a koel. Just because they look similar, they are not the same.

Bahut Din baad...

कुछ सालों में
तुम मुझ से हो जाओगे
बिलकुल मुझ से


कुछ सालों में
मैं तुम सी हो जाऊंगी
बिलकुल तुम सी

Jwalamukhi/ Volcano

तुम जानती हो,
ज्वालामुखी का मानक क्या है?
जैसे भूचाल का रिचटर 
और गर्मी का सेल्सियस 
ज्वालामुखी का?


नहीं. 
क्यूंकि
केवल ज्वालामुखी जानता है 
कि उसके अंदर 
कितना 
और क्या कुछ है 
और उस में से कितना 
कब निकलेगा 


ज्वालामुखी का दिल 
बहुत बड़ा है 
जब फटता है तब भी 
ज्वालामुखी रखता है 
ज़्यादा अंदर 
और फेंकता है 
थोड़ा सा बाहर


ज्वालामुखी का नाप 
नहीं हैं 
ये बहुत 
ज़रूरी बात है 


Do you know
the scale for a volcano?
Like the Richter
for an earthquake
or Celsius
for temperature?


No.
Because only the volcano knows
how much it holds within
and how little
it will spew out.


The heart of the volcano
holds much
and lets out
a very little.


There is no scale
for the volcano.
That
is a very important thing.

Logic Puzzle: Ziluland Mysteris: II

The Xanders of Ziluland have a tribal leader who is 3/2 times as old as the leader of the Yangees, but only 2/3 times as old as the leader of the Zuhus.

The age of the leader of the Zuhus is the same as the area of the town square in meters. The leader of the Yangees is not yet 18. No One's age is a decimal point. They are all whole integers. Can you find their ages?

Short Children's poem in Hindi

आँख में अंजन , दांत में मंजन,
 नित कर, नित कर, नित कर


नाक में ऊँगली, कान में खुजली,
मत कर, मत कर, मत कर.


मेहनत करो हरदम 
और बातें करो कम.
आलस को दो छोड़ 
लम्बी तुम्हारी दौड़ 



***************


पेट  नरम, पैर गरम, सर हो ठंडा 
फिर जो डॉक्टर आये 
तो मारो उसको डंडा 



These short poems were used often when we were children. Just recording them here - for a day when these wont be remembered that easily.

Sanskrit Saying on the impermanence of life

आयुष्यं जललोलबिन्दुचपलम्


Life is as temporary is a dot on the surface of water(a bubble)


Kabir expresses the same thought as under:


 पानी केरा बुदबुदा, अस मानुस की जात 
देखत ही छुप जाएगा, ज्यूँ तारा परभात


The human life is like a bubble on the surface of water
It will extinguish just as the star becomes invisible at the first sight of dawn.

Katranein: Mirza Sahiba

You knew, did you not, that I would come for you?


Have you?


Have I not?


I don't know. To get someone for keeps, and to really keep someone close - they're 2 different things, aren't they?

Fark/ Difference

लड़की 
और औरत 
में 
यूँ होता है फर्क 
की लड़की की आँखें 
देखती हैं सपने 
और औरत की 
घर बार.


लड़के 
और आदमी 
में 
यूँ होता है फर्क 
की लड़के 
ताड़ते हैं 
लडकियां 
और आदमी 
नौकरियां।

Mathemagic Puzzle

Arun was being his usual boastful self – bragging on and on about everything that he could do. “Do you know what is 17 squared – 16 squared?”
Everyone looked at him.
“Ha ha! Knew you didn’t! 33!” he gloated.
“I bet you memorised that all night only to impress us in the morning!” Nirvaan said.
“Really? Ask me the difference between the squares of any 2 numbers next to each other, any 2, and I will tell you in less than a minute.”
Ishaan, Vedant, Neel and everyone else took turns testing him, but he always came out on top.
How was Arun doing this?

Hindi riddle - Bin Hal ke Halwaha

बूझो बूझो बूझो
मगज लगा कर जूझो


बिन हल के हलवाहा
खेत जोतता , अहा!
कड़ी फोड़ कर मिटटी
ढीली करता गिट्टी


लगता अरे, सपोला!
लेकिन विष से पोला
भूरा कोमल फीता
मिटटी खा कर जीता


दिल रखे हैं आठ
ऐसे उस के ठाट
अंडे से हो पैदा
खुद है नर ो मादा


छू अंगुल तर हुआ,
कौन, कौन, _______________?


This is an excerpt from the book "Boojho boojho" published by Eklavya. Its a brilliant book on poetic riddles in Hindi.

Sanskrit Lokoti on inherent nature

अङ्गार शतधौतेन मलिनत्वं न मुञ्चति


Coal does not lose its dark side, no matter how much it is washed.


Meaning: A person cannot lose their inherent nature, no matter how much you try to reform them.

Vikas Khanna and the Single Story - 2 favorite TED Talks

One usually shares TED talks on facebook. But these ones are here because they will be relevant for a long, long time.


This one:
https://www.ted.com/talks/vikas_khanna_how_my_challenges_made_me_who_i_am#t-534564


And This one, which has defined my thinking since the day I saw it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

Goal Post, Goal aur Rumi

तुम्हे पता है,मुझे दुनिया में सबसे अच्छा क्या लगता है?
ये 'अच्छे बुरे', 'सही गलत', 'हमेशा, कभी नहीं' के goal post लगाना,
और उन पर "साणु की?" "हमें क्या?" "Let's not be judgemental" type ke goal करते रहना. 




एक दिन, रूमी की कविता पढ़ना :
'वो जो मैदान है, सही गलत के पार,
मैं तुम्हे वहां  मिलूंगा। '
और ठंडी आह भरना।


वो मैदान 
हमारा बनाया नहीं है 
पर उस मैदान की ज़रुरत ?
वो हम ही ने बनायीं है. 

Madhaniyaan

I'm SURE I'd selected great renditions of Madhaniyaan and put them here, but just can't find that post!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omz4dxpu4t4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhsTbX272Wo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFYSJ5arOyE


Update on 13th Sep 2019: THIS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2WhXmGBOc4





Do you know any others?


I grew up on the Musarrat Nazir version, but would like some others... deep throated pain types..

katranein

तुम्हे याद है , तुम कितनी अच्छी बातें करते थे ?


अब भी करता हूँ.  नहीं?


हाँ. पर तब मुझे, उन पर यकीन भी होता  था.

Why do we need a Women's Day?

This Women's Day, for the children's paper, I decided to take a question head on - Do we need a Women's Day? The first Women's Day was celebrated in 1909. Have we travelled far enough now to make the day redundant?
This is the cover story that appeared in the children's paper today.


Should people be paid different salaries for the same job, if they are doing it equally well? As Monster India found out, for the same job, women are usually paid only 80 rs where their male colleagues are paid 100 rs. At senior levels (more than 11 years experience) this gap was even more
stark – if a man is being paid 100 rs, a woman doing the same job would be paid only 75 rs.

Not only that, according to a report released by the World Bank, Unemployment rate is much higher among women.

School enrolment (sending children to school), both primary school (Junior school) and senior/secondary school, is almost on par, at 91.7% for girls and 92.9% for boys. 

The other good number is Life Expectancy.
Life expectancy means, if a child is born in a place today, how long that child can hope to live. The life expectancy for India is 68.5. It is 66.9 for males and 69.9 for females. While this is nowhere near the World No. 1 Rank – Japan (Females: 86.8; Males: 80.5, overall, 83.7), it is still steady progress over the last few decades.

Another important ratio that we need to look at is the gender ratio. Ideally, there should be equal number of men and women in a population. But India and China are 2 countries where there are much fewer girls than boys. There are many reasons for this. Most of those reasons are social in nature.
In 1951, India had 946 girls for every 1000 boys. In 2011, that number was 943 girls per 1000 boys. The last census was conducted in 2011.
However, a government report was released in 2017, which takes data from registered births. This report puts the gender ratio at 881 per 1000 boys in 2015. Registered births are births that are registered with the government and a birth certificate is issued to the child. Even though it is necessary, not everyone gets a birth certificate for their child.

Now, let’s take a look at the decision making power of women. A very good measurement used by the World Bank is the number of women in parliament – the highest law making body in India.

This value went from 9% in 2000 to 12% in 2016. For every 100 men, there are 90 women in the country. Which means that 47% of the country is women. But their representation in the parliament is only 12%.

Do women own property?
Let’s come back to that earlier number – 47% of all people in India are women. But only 24% of the property in villages, and only 19% of the property in cities, is owned by women. 

Do you think that more women are now working to earn money? You may want to think again. Since 2005, the number of women who are working outside the house to earn money, has been going down consistently.


I started creating this post with a simple question in mind – Is it really that different, being a woman and a man, in a progressive country like India? In making this report, I have read at least 50 indicators (and shared some of them with you). So here is the conclusion: Whether you will live to see your 5th birthday, whether you will be sent to school, whether you will get enough food to eat, whether you will grow up to work and earn money, and how much money you will earn for doing the same job – EVERYTHING depends on whether you are a man or a woman. It is everyone’s business to ensure that we create a country where these differences do not exist. And we look up to the children to make the change that sadly, our generation could not make.


Sources
1. http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/country/india
2. http://www.mospi.gov.in/publication/women-and-men-india-2017
h3. ttp://www.financialexpress.com/economy/women-in-india-earn-20-percent-less-than-men-says-monster-report/1090541/

Random quotes

There are very few ways to lose me. And you seem to have mastered every single one of them.
***********
From a WhatsApp video:
That which is taken for granted will eventually be taken away.


************
साथ रहने को साथ कहते हैं. साथ कहने को साथ होना नहीं.
********
जो किस्मत में नहीं है, वो सपने में भी न हो, ऐसा किसने कहा?
*************
किसी को पा  लेना, और उसे उम्र भर पालना - दो अलग अलग चीज़ें हैं.
******************


"I love you" is a verb. It means you have to DO something. "I am in love with you" is a state of existence. They are not the same thing.
****************


दुनिया सब की एक है, फिर भी अलग अलग है. - Unknown.
Duniya Sab ki ek hai, phir bhi alag alag hai.
*****************
Prayer is an action. Devotion is an emotion.
************
कुछ सपने, हमें सत्य की ओर ले जाते हैं, और कुछ हमें अपने भ्रम का आभास कराते हैं. मेरे ख्याल से, तुम वो दूसरी तरह का सपना हो.