The flashback

The flashback

On the terminal 1A of the Airport, I was trying to dip into what my smart phone had to offer. And I turned around, to find what my sight couldn’t believe. My retina had captured with its abilities a wonderful snap. Something amazing for my soul to come to terms with.

The hustle bustle of the airport, the cabbies buzzing through their cabs. Among them was an array of travelers trying to unload their baggage. People flew in like a stream full of ambitions, with their faces glowing with hope. Some of them came in with eagerness to fulfill their dreams abroad and few others to holiday out in leisure.

From a sky blue colored usual cool cab, appeared a girl with glares. As she put her left leg out from the rear seat, she came out wearing a Pink Tee, and Black Jean, she stood out facing the cab’s dark black glasses. As she got her bags unloaded, I got a glimpse of her. Much the same, beauty never faded with time, I thought. She looked eternal, timeless, although much time had passed since then. With time, actually, change did occur. But my crazy soul, as always, wouldn’t believe.

Among that flow of people she had appeared - from nowhere, absolutely. I was stunned for quite a few seconds. The vehicular traffic, the clamor in the atmosphere, and the haste in the air, nothing seemed to disturb me in those moments of me just looking at her. In fact, those 7 seconds, I was just gazing at her.

It was seven years since the last meet, and a huge wave of a flashback. The journey of my love just appeared before my eye in matter of Blitz Krieg - 15 seconds. And, the thunder struck, just as the love once had. A moment so blank, so silent, and devoid of special effects and the digital background sounds of a movie.  Yet it seemed more exciting as a romantic thriller. And unlike a movie it was more real, since it was Life. 

Following that quick encounter, I lost my sequence of thinking. The smartest of applications on my smart phone looked silly at that moment.  By now even the flavor in my bubble gum had dried away. Even that seemed worthless for its sole purpose of chewing.  I tried to blow it up into a bubble. But I couldn’t do it the way I always did. Even the simplest of things as blowing a bubble gum, seemed as rocket science extra ordinary.  I tried to check up with my bags, and they were around and assured me momentarily, to come back to the present moment.

She had pulled her wheeler bag with her right hand by its handle and another mini bag around her shoulder. In her left hand was her cell phone. She adjusted her glares from her eyes on to her forehead.

I took myself hurriedly with whatever bags I had, to a comfortable position to trace her.  On the chairs stationed, I got seated pretending busier than Bill Gates. But, my real intention lied in just having glimpses of her – in more continuity. I kept staring at her movements as long as my eye’s reach went. And she walked, she was just grace personified. She was good to get people’s attention even then. Now, even she commanded the same strange looks, I felt. She should only belong to me, I thought.

भूल गए है कही ज़िन्दगी का magic

ज़िन्दगी में अक्सर ढूंढते ढूंढते logic 

भूल गए है कही ज़िन्दगी का magic.. !!

करने की चाह में थोड़ा और dramatic,

हो रही है रफ़्तार इसकी थोड़ी सी tragic 

जो थी कभी किसी जमाने में classic 

हो चली पल पल जरा सी sarcastic 

बड़ी उम्मीद से निकल पड़ते है होके ecstatic 

खोजते राह आहिस्ते से तो मिल जाती है traffic 

fairy tale सी तो नहीं, फिर भी है fantastic 

ये ज़िन्दगी कुछ ग़मगीन, और कुछ romantic

थोड़ा खींच थोड़ा तान, बनके यु elastic 

बेफिक्र रहे, जीवन का सफर कटेगा automatic !!

From Ganguly’s t-shirt act at Lord’s, India have learnt to give it back.... !!

Sourav Ganguly, at the very famous Lord’s balcony, gave it back in style, by rolling out and waving off his jersey, after the winning runs were scored at the Natwest trophy final in 2002. Needless to say, he had retaliated in his unmatched way to Andrew Flintoff. Scores were settled and drama was avenged. India had just begun to answer back and aggression in the nerves had started to creep in.

India have come a long way, now. From being a timid test-playing nation who would be subdued and suppressed by the on-ground antics of the opposition, they had come a really long way. As India traditionally belonged to a defensive state of affairs, Andrew Flintoff’s t-shirt lifting act at Wankhede , Mumbai in 2002, bewildering momentarily. Until then India weren’t the ones who took notice of such display of emotions. They wouldn’t give much a thought, to get involved. And, there was an advent of new era in Indian cricket which introduced to the world, a much poised, very well calculated, smart and tactical aggression.

Before the early 2000s, there was incidents undoubtedly when India answered back dynamically. As I recall Venkatesh Prasad uprooting Aamir Sohail’s stumps and answering with no words, but with action. There were few other sporadic occurrences too. However, when the opposition sledged, ridiculed, planned a tactical verbal bout; and India decided to counter, that breed of cricketers were groomed post 2000, and its due credit should somewhere go to Ganguly.

In the recently concluded Test series in India, against Australia  in March 2017, there were many incidents where the two playing nations got involved. Australia were traditionally so much known for their verbal encounters. This time around, India were not the ones who were going to be just listening. The brand equity of India cricket had evolved. The face now belonged to Virat Kohli, which in a way, was trademarked by aggression. India played in style, whenever demanded answered back, got involved and gave a fight. The Australians would have got stunned by India’s change of stance and by the verbal retaliations. That is perhaps how the frustrations came out. The series ended 2-1 in India’s favour.

This again reminds me of Ganguly and the 2002 Natwest trophy final. And this goes without saying, India has learnt to give it back. 

Facebook याद दिलाता है....

Facebook याद दिलाता है आज-कल, दोस्ती मे पूरा हुआ सा हर एक पल,
मालूम ना चले, थे अजब से अधुरे, इसी बीच हुए जो कूछ साल पुरे....

अपनी दोस्ती को ये Facebook क्या जाने, हम दोस्त है जहाँ मे कितने पुराने,
हाथो मे Pencil, किताबो संग चले थे, वो 90s के दिन थे हम तब से मिले थे,
शुरु है सफर चल रहा कारवा है, गजब ये दोस्ती की दास्ता है !

आज-काल प्रेम वगैरे

आज-काल प्रेम वगैरे काही उरलेलं नाही
असं मला चुकूनही वाटलेलं नाही.

प्रेम आहे. आज-काल प्रेम आहे.
प्रेम आहे कारण....
फार दूरचं कशाला, दोन लोकांतच बघ ना,
भावना आहेत.
भावना आहेत म्हणून शब्द आहेत. शब्द आहेत म्हणून गीत आहेत.
गीत आहेत म्हणून गाण्याला चाल आहे. चाल आहे तेव्हाच तर संगीत आहे.
संगीत आहे त्यावरून आठवलं, Guitar आहे.
आणि Guitar वर अरिजीत चं गाणं कसं खुलून येतं.
किंवा "चुरा लिया है तुमने  जो दिल को" एकांतात ऐकलं की,
प्रेम वगैरे आज काल आहे, हा विश्वास अधिक मजबूत होत जातो.

कदाचित प्रेम वगैरे असं काही नसेलही,
पण प्रेमात असताना, आपण जे आता आहोत त्याहून अधिक Better होऊ पाहतो ना..
नकळतपणे का होईना, स्वतः वर आधी पेक्षा जास्त जीव लावतो ना.
गालातल्या गालात मना मध्ये खुद्कन हसतो,
लगबगीनं चालतो-बोलतो. अनेकदा बावरतो आणि याच प्रेमामध्ये सावरतो.
हे प्रेम आहे, असं  आपल्याला कळत नसेलही,
याच नादात केव्हा तरी स्वतः शीच बोलतो, अन वारंवार आरशात पाहतो.

प्रेमा मध्ये आपण कसे फुलासारखे फुलतो, आणि एका वेगळ्याच नशेत झुलतो.
म्हणून म्हणतो प्रेम आहे. आज काल ही, प्रेम आहे.

Yet another gaze

Yet another gaze,

From your hypnotic eyes,

Will drown me in them,

within all you comprise. 

And, land me in a deep trance. 

Yet another gaze,

From your searching eyes,

Will catch me at times,

with much of surprise.

And have me stumbled by chance. 

Yet another gaze,

From your questioning eyes,

Will pierce through me,

To get what your heart implies. 

And, have me wounded just by your glance. 

Yet another gaze,

From your revealing eyes,

Will traverse me in a dreamy world,

Which is lovely, sweet and nice. 

And, have me with you for a song and dance. 

Yet another gaze,

From your sincere eyes,

Is awaited by my longing soul,

When you will truly arise.

 

And, have me complete our perfect romance.

YOU

Like the dark clouds,

which predict the arrival of rain.

I can feel your arrival too,

with the longing and the pain.

And then suddenly comes bliss,

with the clouds having a fall.

Same as that, each and every time,

you make an unexpected call.

But now even if you don’t call,

I can feel you around me.

And I behave in my loneliness,

as if there you surround me.

About me, loneliness and my thoughts,

you may just seldom care.

Whenever you’ll need me,

recall me, I will be always there.

I am telling you this,

because, I can even now feel you.

The tapping of your feet,

the steps you take towards me,

this may happen at this moment,

O, may be or may not be.

And, then you’ll sit next to me,

I’ll tell you, all that I want to.

Believe me, its all from the heart,

each thing spontaneous, impromptu.

This way or the other, I think,

about you, every moment, everywhere.

And who in the world has time,

with reason about time to care.

I may look like a maverick,

but, I’m not really that mad.

I may not look smart enough,

but, I’m not really that bad.

The frequency, of my feelings,

that generate every second,

is genuine, like the word itself,

and frankly has no end.

The darkens clouds may shower,

in larger parts or just a few.

You think about me, or you don’t,

I’ll be just thinking about you.