Husn aur haseena

इस हसीना को पहली नज़र में देखते ही अमीर मीनाई साहेब का एक शेर यकदम याद आया था।  कुछ मजबूरियां थी उसी वक़्त तो पोस्ट नहीं कर पाया पर अब तस्वीर और शेर दोनों हाज़िर है। 

इलाही क्या क़यामत है वो जब लेते हैं अंगड़ाई
मेरे ज़ख़्मों के सब टाँके अचानक टूट जाते हैं

बात दीवार से आपकी तरफ आती हसीना की हो रही है नीचे वाली की नहीं  

#Kerala #kovalam #husn #izhaar

Tolstoy – Ma

Leo Tolstoy – ​fiddling with the book in her hands she sta​re​s blankly at the​ ​w​indow across her as I mention the name hoping that she would be able to recall ‘War and Peace’ or any other work by the ​great ​n​ovelist. She had read the Hindi translation of the masterpiece when we were very young, later all of us read both the English and Hindi translations. ​Today, the name didn’t ring any bells. Recalling and going back in time is an effort for Ma unless it is something to do with her childhood. I said, ‘today you look like Tolstoy without a beard and with a new cap’ – she blushed.

Bulbul’s song

This ‘sooty-headed’ bulbul has been singing outside my bedroom since early morning. Her long whistles today, punctuated with shorter dips, have a lilt of pain, of loss or physical discomfort. “Are you cold ? Co​me right in”, I invited her and opened the bedroom door offering an unripe guava from our tree. She looked around and believe me she blushed turning her face away. Look at her closely she has the extra flush of colour under her puffy eyes. Cutester. 

Bulbul on a cold December morning. 30-12-2023