Narendra Damle

मला फार फार वाईट वाटलं

2012-01-19T15:38:00.002+05:30

मी एकदा स्वर्गातून परत येत होतो
तेव्हा तू मला पाहिलंस नि विचारलंस
"काय रे, कुठे गेला होतास?"
मी म्हटलं, "स्वर्गात गेलो होतो"
"व्वा! बोलला नव्हतास जाणरेयंस असं",
तू आश्चर्यचकित होऊन म्हणालीस
मी उत्तरलो, "मी तरी कसा सांगणार.
देवाने स्वत: बोलावलं नि नेऊन आणलं
त्याची गोष्ट त्याने सांगायला हवी"

नंतर एकदा मी नरकातूने येत होतो
तिथल्या खास नरकयातना भोगून
तेव्हाही तू मला पाहिलंस नि
लांबूनच हसत हसत विचारलंस,
"व्वा! पुन्हा स्वर्गातून येतोयस वाट्टं"
मला याचं अतिशय वाईट वाटलं
दुःखात असताना तुला आनंदात वाटलो
अशी कशी तुला मूलभूत नाही समज
दुःख नि आनंद यातला कळत नाही फरक

माझा देव, तुझी लीला

2012-01-18T21:40:00.000+05:30

निमित्त फक्त निरांजन
देव मात्र माझा आहे,
देऊळ सारे माझे आहे
गाभाराही माझाच आहे,
घुमणारा षड्‌जं त्यातला
सप्तकातला तुझ्या आहे.

देवी तुझ्या स्तनांची
त्रिलोकी माया आहे,
शिवाच्या ताठपणाला
नम्रतेची छाया आहे,
गाभाऱ्याच्या घंटांचा
नाद स्तनी तुझ्या आहे

गाभाऱ्याचा घुमारा असा
स्तनार्ततेने भारला आहे
स्तन जरी तुझे असले
उभार त्यांचा माझा आहे
शिव जरी मी असलो
लीला सारी तुझी आहे

MP Passes Cow Slaughter Ban Act with a VERY Dangerous provision

2012-01-03T09:59:00.002+05:30

President of India has given approval to Madhya Pradesh's Cow Slaughter Ban (Amendment) Bill. I have my own views on this issue of cow slaughter, but thats insignificant right now.

The dangerous provision of this Act is "The amended Act puts the responsibility of proving the prosecution wrong on the accused in a cow slaughter case."

I dont know how the President and the Law Ministry approved this clause, I dont know if it is according to the constitutional principle of 'innocent unless proven guilty'. But I can sense a very great potential of misuse by state machinery.

TOO DANGEROUS INDEED !

वादळ आणि वादळ

2011-12-24T07:21:00.000+05:30

एक होतं वादळ
रोरावत आलेलं
घोंघावत घुमलेलं
ओसंडून वाहिलेलं.
थकलेलं भागलेलं
’घर देता का घर’
म्हणत याचक झालेलं

एक होतं वादळ
आवाजही न झालेलं
पानही न हलवलेलं
घुसमटलेलं गुदमरलेलं.
थकलेलं भागलेलं
मूक टाहो फोडत
निपचित पडलेलं

स्वप्न

2011-09-03T06:16:00.001+05:30

झोपेला जसे स्वप्न होते नं
तसे तिला मूल झाले
रडतरडत हसवू लागले
त्याच्या रडण्यात तिचे रडणे
कसे काय विसरून गेले
जाग आल्यावरच्या स्वप्नासारखे

प्राजक्त

2011-08-23T13:17:00.000+05:30

जागवलेल्या झोपेचे
स्वप्न मी आहे,

रातराणीच्या रात्रीचा
प्राजक्त मी आहे.

Jan Lokpal Bill - salient features

2011-08-19T09:42:00.001+05:30

A look at the salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill:

1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up

2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.

3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.

7. But won't the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won't be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.

8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.

9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/what-is-the-jan-lokpal-bill-why-its-important-96600&cp

पांघरूण

2011-07-25T14:55:00.000+05:30

थंडी वाजत होती तरी
तू मला पांघरुण घातलं नाहीस
म्हणून मी आता
स्वेटर विणतोय
तुझ्यासाठी

Divine Dilemna

2011-07-09T21:55:00.001+05:30

5th March, 2011.

God came into my dreams.
Wish what you want, he said
You can even come to heaven
Be wherever you want
I will just draw a line
Which you may not cross

Call of the heavenly marvels
And the life this side,
What could I do but
Dance on this divine line

वादळ

2011-06-25T16:45:00.000+05:30

हा ओला खडक
अथांग सागर
आणि थोडासा मी.
एव्हढंच काय ते देवाचं

बाकी उरला नुरला मी
ह्या उसळत्या लाटा
घोंघावणारा वारा

सभोवतालचं वादळ
त्यात उडणारी नाव
वारा भरलं शीड
वादळ पिणारा मी.
सारं काही माझंच

सारं सारं माझं
त्यातला देवही माझा,
मलाच नसतं बनवलं
तर काय बनवलं त्यानं

जलन

2011-05-24T17:24:00.001+05:30

ऐसी तेज धूप में
इतना कोहरा कौनसा है
निखरते ऑंखोंके सामने
धूँधलापन ये कैसा है

शायद कोई जलन है
जो ना जलती है
ना ही बुझती है
धुँवा बिखरती है

जल जाती तो अच्छा होता
जलकर राँख होती थी
बात खत्म होती थी
नजर खुल जाती थी

ना जलती अच्छाही होता
ऐसी जलती धूप में
कुछ तो ना जलता
कुछ तो ना जलता

Publication of Book on Music - Gaayikaa Aani Gaayaki

2011-04-27T15:38:00.002+05:30

Open Invitation for publication function of the marathi book written by Dr Shubhada Kulkarni.
Title: Gaayikaa An Gaayaki (Thumari Aani Khyaal)
Date and Time: 6:30pm on Monday 2nd May, 2011
Venue: Patrakar Bhavan, Navi Peth, Pune - 411 030
Book will be Published at the hands of renowned singer Pandit Vijay Sardeshmukh
Chief Guest: noted poet Sudheer Moghe
Main Speaker: Dr. Rekha Inamdar-Sane
Welcome speaker: tabla meastro Bharat Kamat

The book takes scholarly review of women singers from early 20th century, particulalry for Thumari and Khyaal singer. The book not only analyses musical aspects of their singing, but also notes individual contributions with reference to personal as well as socio-political situations of the times. Book will be a great read for anybody with interest in music and as also for students of music, of gender issues and of social sciences

तत्‌ त्वम्‌ असि

2011-04-10T11:22:00.003+05:30

वाटमारू वाल्या कोळ्याचा वाल्मिकी रुषी‌‌ कसा झाला ही गोष्ट वारंवार ऐकली. पण मला मात्र दरवेळी वाल्याऐवजी त्याच्या कुटुंबियांचच आश्चर्य वाटायचं. तो आणत असलेल्या संपत्तिवर ताव मारायला सगळे होते पण ती संपत्ती मिळवण्याच्या मार्गाची जबाबदारी घ्यायची वेळ आल्यावर मात्र सगळ्यांनी हात झटकले.

तसंच मला परवा अण्णा हजारेंच्या उपोषणाच्या निमित्ताने लोकांच्या प्रतिक्रीया बघताना वाटलं. बेकायदा बांधकामं, बेशिस्त वाहतूक, अनियमीत करभरणा अशा गोष्टी आपण सतत बिंधास्त करत असतो, यांसाठी सरकारी अधिकारी, राजकीय नेते यांची मदत आपणहून मागत असतो. नियम पाळण्यापेक्षा पळवाटा शोधत आपण फायदे पदरात पाडून घेत असतो. त्यासाठी अधिकारी, नेते यांची मनधरणी करत असतो, त्यांना लाच देत असतो. यात आपण स्वत: काहीच चुकत नसतो. चुकतात ते फक्त ’ते’!

’राजा तशी प्रजा’ असं म्हणतात, पण लोकशाहीत ’प्रजा तशी राजा’ हे ही तितकंच खरं आहे. कायद्याला, नियमांना घट्ट पकडून वागायची आपली इच्छा जोवर प्रबळ होत नाही तोवर आपल्याला स्वच्छ नेते मिळणं कसं शक्यय? आपपल्या देशातून भ्रष्टाचार निपटून निघणं कसं शक्यय?

आपल्या देशाचा विस्तार बघता प्रत्येक खासदाराचा मतदारसंघ सरासरी ६००० स्क्वे. किमी होतो आणि त्यात २२ लाख नागरीक असतात. प्रत्येक खासदाराने आपल्या मतदारसंघाची, मतदारांची कामे करणे तर अपेक्षित असतेच तिथपासून ते देशाचे धोरणात्मक निर्णय घेणेही त्याचेच काम असते. म्हणजे खासदार हा अत्यंत उच्च कुवतिचा असणार आणि तरिही इतक्या प्रचंड गोष्टी मदतीशिवाय होणे केवळ अशक्य! मदत म्हटली की त्यासाठी खर्चही आलाच. आणि या सगळ्यासाठी खासदाराला पगार किती मिळतो तर महिना १२०००, खर्चासाठी महिना २४००० फ़क्त. यावर वीज आणि फोन बरंचसं मोफत.
यातून वाचलेल्या पैशातून त्याने आधी जिंकलेल्या निवडणूकी खर्च बागवायचा आणि पुधच्या निवडणूकीसाठी पुंजी जमवायची. बरं निवडणूक तरी जिंकायची खात्री आहे का, तर नाहीच. अनेकवेळा लढलं तर एकदा जिंकण्याची शक्यता.त्याआधी उमेदवारी मिळण्यासाठी पक्षाच्या निवडणूका इ. इ.

कायदेशीररित्या मिळणाऱ्या पैशातून हे खर्च भागवणंच अशक्य आहे तर शिल्लक, बचत यांचा प्रश्नच येत नाही.

लाव्हा

2010-11-21T21:30:00.003+05:30

18:58

का होत नाही धरणीकंप
का स्फुटत नाही ज्वालामुखी

का येत नाही त्सुनामी
घ्याया कवेत अवनी

कुठला खदखदतोय लाव्हा
कोणता जळतोय हा सूर्य

कोण तटतटतोय पान्हा
कोणता लुचाया कान्हा

जन्माया हा धडपडे गर्भ
वांझ कळांची त्याला साथ

काही केल्या सुटेना नाळेचा फास
काही केल्या तुटेना उदराचे पाश

धरणी कधी फुटणार नाही
लाव्हा गरळ ओकणार नाही
पान्हा कधी झरणार नाही
सल कुठला तो सरणार नाही

we saw and we changed

2010-10-28T13:52:00.003+05:30

Rarely do we a scientific principle such creatively related to human experience. This one is from a letter by Marathi writer-director-producer Vishram Bedekar to his wife of many years.
He has referred to a principle in quantum physics which states that mere act of observing affects the thing or process being observed.
Then he moves on to his personal experience when he met his wife forty years earlier:
"see, when i first saw you forty years ago, you started changing, didn't you? My seeing, mere looking at you, changed you. I kept watching and you kept changing. And you, you saw me, you kept looking at me, and I too kept changing. Now I I have changed so much that nothing has left of what I was"

तो आक्रोश माझा होता

2010-10-13T15:07:00.001+05:30

सभोवतालच्या दूर डोंगरांतल्या
सन्यस्त खड्‍गांतून जो
निरव खडखडाट रवत होता
अगाध गुहांच्या तमातून
निःस्तब्ध योग्यांच्या मनातून
निःशब्ध जो ओंकारत होता
तो माझा आक्रोश होता

विजेच्या कल्लोळात घनघोर वादळात
वरून प्रपातात चहूकडून प्रवाहात
सजीव स्फुल्लिंगी अंगागात
निर्जीव पाषाणी अंतरंगात
अजगराला वेटाळून जो
मृतवत तमोगत झोपला होता
तो माझा आक्रोश होता

उदरातच भ्रूणकळी खुडली होती
पाहण्याआधीच स्वप्ने संपली होती
वेळेआधीच निर्भावी स्खलन झाले होते
पत्थरी पाझर सारे सुकले होते
अंकूर मनाचा बर्फ़ाने थिजला होता
आर्त मूक तयांचा हुंदका जो होता
तो माझा आक्रोश होता

अश्वत्थाची जखम जेव्हा भरली
त्या अनादी अनंत काळामधून
लटकत्या त्रिशंकूला स्थैर्य मिळाले
त्या अमीती निराकार पोकळीमधून
व्यासाच्या प्रतिभेला उत्प्रात लाभला
तशा निर्गुण नोर्मोही प्रपातातून
जो टाहो उत्स्फुरत होता
तो आक्रोश माझा होता

ध्वनीची प्रकाशरेषा

2010-10-12T18:32:00.001+05:30

विश्राम बेडॆकरांनी एका ठिकाणी म्हटलंय, "ध्वनीची एक सूक्ष्म, अत्यंत अचपळ, अतिशय लाजाळू, लपकती आणि भित्री प्रकाशरेषा"! एका इंद्रियाचा अनुभव इतर इंद्रियांनी घेता येणं ही तर एक प्रकारची अनुभूतीच आहे. काहींना ते जमतं. पण आमचं बघा. . . सगळा आनंदच आहे. ज्या त्या इंद्रियाचा अनुभव त्या त्या इंद्रियाने सुद्धा धड अनुभवता येत नाही.

एकदा कुमार गंधर्वांच्या मैफिलीत माझा शेजारी अचानक विव्हळून ओरडता झाला, " . . अहाहा !!!!" मी काळजीने त्याला विचारलं, "काय झालं? ठीक आहात ना". यावर त्याने माझ्याकडे ज्या नजरेने बघितलं ती शब्दात वर्णन करता येणं केवळ अशक्य आहे. त्यानंतर अनेक वर्ष जावी लागली, अनेक अनुभव-अनुभूतींमधून तावून-सुलाखून निघावं लागलं, तेव्हा कुठे कळलं की त्या माणसाचं ते ओरडणं हा हृदयविकाराचा झटका नव्हता. तो एक हृदयाच्या अगदी आतून आलेला झटका नक्कीच होता. विकार नव्हे तर साक्षात्कार होता!

ध्वनीची प्रकाशरेषा, मधुर स्पर्श हा दोन इंद्रियांचा मिलाप झाला. पण त्याच्याही पलिकडे जाऊन लाजाळू, लपकती हे भावानुभव ऐंद्रिक गोष्टींमधून घेता येण्यासाठी मनाची तरलता, लवचिकता, मोकळेपणा लागतो. हे जेव्हा जमायला लागतं तेव्हा आपण स्वतः देवच होतो एक प्रकारे. देवाने दिलेल्या इंद्रियांच्या मर्यादा नुसत्या ओलांडतच नाही तर आपण एक प्रकारे आपलं स्वतःचं अतिंद्रिय विश्व निर्माण करतो.

Cost of Cleanliness

2010-10-01T21:35:00.004+05:30

For past few there is lot of talk on the filth and anarchy at Commonwealth Games preparations in Delhi. Western countries have been particularly upset about the conditions. One of the organising officials attributed this cultural differences in perception. There was big hue and cry against this officer. But the fact that what he said is really true. Be it cultural or genetic or something else, Indians ARE unclean, undesciplined, lethargic. You go anywhere in India, you will find these characteristics abundant. Those are some of 'unity in diversity' specialities. Indians might be unique in the amount of filth they crate around themselves, in the degree of recklessness about their own lives, and so on.

In a different perspective this lethargy has benefits attached to it. Indians did not go around marauding and massacring in the name of peace, trade, conquest or politics. Indians do not terrorize countries in 'war on terror'. Indians did not erase forests for Indonesia to Africa to Brazil. Indians did not plunder natural resources, be it underground, on surface or in sky, as if those are infinite, as if they are costless, as if they have no waste.

Indians do have their own houses dirty, shabby, smoky etc. Their backyards are worse. And then there are societies who have great houses, and they have big pipelines throwing all their waste beyond their neighborhood. Its no coincidence that casting and hot forging industries in India boomed the time Europe tightened pollution laws and increased energy tariffs. Now Europe boasts of clean air and scoff at smogs in India and China. Unfortunately smogs are not like rocks, they spread.

I am not sure who is worse, the man who lives in filthy house or the man who keeps his clean and throws his filth all across continents. There must be some mid-way which can be called good.

WTF, why should I care! My economy is doing great in automatic single-use products that I manufacture and sell. But I am aware that when I point one finger at anybody, other three fingers are pointing at myself. This humility is a door towards brightness into long future ahead.

Essentials (?) for Happiness

2010-09-27T21:17:00.001+05:30

Received this in an email and found worth sharing :::::::

mnmlist: 10 essentials

I was reading a series in GQ called 10 Essentials where a designer or stylish celebrity names 10 things that are essential to them. I love the idea, but the lists seem like such tributes to luxury consumerism.
I’m the last guy that GQ would interview for this series (I have no sense of style, to start with), but it got me to thinking: what are my “10 essentials”?
And so I made a list:
1. What I wear: jeans. I love the thick texture of jeans. I wear them every day. Some people like synthetic fabrics because they’re lightweight and dry fast, but jeans are just comfortable. I only buy my jeans at Goodwill.
2. What I also wear: T-shirt. I only have a few — black, blue, and grey — but I wear them everyday until they get thin.
3. How I hydrate: water. I do drink coffee and tea, but neither compares to plain water. I drink from the tap, throughout the day.
4. What I love to eat: fruit. Fresh from the farmer’s market, or berries picked straight from the bush. Mmmm.
5. What entertains me: books. Any type. I get them used, from friends or the library.
6. My essential writing tool: a text editor. I’ll also take a pen and small notebook, especially if I’m out and about and feel like writing.
7. What I do for fun: walk. I like to go outside and just take in the city, or nature. I don’t even need shoes — barefoot walking is even more enjoyable. Even better: walk with someone I like.
8. Where I go for inspiration: nature. A nice park, a garden, a forest, the ocean, hills.
I ran out of things at this point — and the last couple aren’t exactly things. I really tried for 10 items but I can’t think of more. If I have the 8 items above, I’m very happy: jeans & t-shirt, water & fruit, a book and a notebook, a walk in nature.
I could live on just those items — of course I’d need other food for nourishment, but not much more. I don’t even need a computer — I could write in a notebook and use a computer at a library to post to my blog.
You don’t need consumerism to be very happy — in fact, I’d argue that life is better without it.

- written by Leo Babuata

तारुण्य

2010-09-17T21:41:00.001+05:30

मुलायम छातीवर दरवळ्णारा
तुझा हा हळवा मृदु स्पर्श

त्याचे आर्जव-मार्दव रोमांचसंगत
राहील ना रे असेच कायम

शुष्क सुरकुत्यांच्या खाचखळग्यांतून
अडखळत धडपडत वाट काढताना ? . .

भारूल

2010-07-29T22:06:00.006+05:30

तिन्हीसांजेची अनवट वेळ
पुढे निशेचं अधिर भविष्य

लाल निळं काळं पाणी
त्यात अलवार थरथर पाऊलं

घरट्यांमध्ये झोपेची चाहूल
स्थिरावलेला अस्थिर वारा

म्हटलं तर संध्येचा आरव
म्हटलं तर शांतता निरव

डोंगरमाथी झळाळी काळी
उमले तिथून आर्त हाळी

सादेच्या त्या पंखांवर अनवट
येतेस तू हळूच अलगद

आहेस तू अन् नाहीस तू
भारलास सारा आसमंत तू

भरून भारून भोवताल माझा
कणरंध्र माझे पुलकित झाले
:
:
:
अशाच एका कातरवेळी देवाला
पृथ्वीची कल्प्ना सुचली असेल
***********************
(संपूर्ण भारून टाकते ती भारूल)

2010-07-29T22:06:00.001+05:30

Random wandering into Feeling

2010-07-27T17:24:00.002+05:30

Thanks to guys like Roger Federer, tears are gaining in respectability. They are helping crying-weeping to come out of dungeons of sissyhood, out into manliness. A man now need not be wary of being rediculed because he cries like a girl. Man can now proudly 'cry like a man'!

A person who can cry, can laugh heartily! But whats big deal about crying and laughing. Nothing. The BIG deal is about expressing, about being able to express, about being in touch with emotions. What will a human be without emotions! ? Human being will turn into a evolved (?) mechanical being, a mere device.

I dread such a situation. I would rather be an ape than a robot.

'Nren (Naren) Nren, 1-2-3, attend board meeting for 1 hour, give conlcuding speech for 13 mins, out of office in 49 secs, turn left into car, drive home, eat for 5 mins, copulate for 3 mins, send emails to overseas vendor, sleep for 6 hrs, . . . .' - OMG - even the thought is making me feel shit scary !

Life in worth living only because I can feel. Lets come together and build an environment where 'feeling' is encouraged and enriched.

मेघ . . . एक सद्य

2010-07-26T11:58:00.003+05:30

मेघ हा एकमेव पुरुष असावा जो जन्म देतो,
तो जन्म देतो पाऊसाला

मेघ एकमेव आई असावा जो जन्म देतो अनाकार
कधी इवलूसं सशुल्याचं बाळं, तर कधी देवमाशाइअतकं अजस्त्र पिल्लू

मेघ एकमेव आई असावा जो जन्म देतो निःसंख्य
कधी एकच तर कधी अनंत
********************************

म्हटलं तर काव्य कल्पना आहे
ना काही आकार अलंकार
ना काही साचा ना ढाचा
म्हणून पद्य म्हणवत नाही

मग गद्य म्हणावं तर
ना काही विस्तार सविस्तर
ना कुठे मुक्त विहंगन
म्हणून गद्यही म्हणवत नाही

काहिही असो कसही असो
सद्यस्थितीत मनाला भावतं आहे
म्हणजे काय तर
आहे हे असं आहे
म्हणून . . . ” सद्य’

lethal railways

2010-07-20T20:43:00.003+05:30

Indian railways is the third largest employer in the world after Chinese Peoples Liberation Army and Walmart. Its wide and dense network has been important mode of travel and commuting for the huge Indian population.
I have always felt awe at the way it handles all its complex functions with only most basic of technology in extremely populated environment. Not only wonder, I have felt pride in this Indian Railways.
But things seem to be changing fast. safety is waning. there have been six major accidents in just one year. Indian Railways is fast catching with Chinese coal mining in lethality.
Most of the accidents with Indian railways are attributed to human error. In Indian situation I would rather call it human negligence. what else can we expect amidst utter disregard toward any system and discipline.
Number of actual accidents we see is much less than what it deserve to be. All credit goes to Indian compassion. People don't expect systems to work and are always watching out on other people to act out of turn.

पुकार

2010-07-18T18:18:00.002+05:30

उसने मुझे बुलाया, लेकिन मै नही गया
दुसरी बार बुलाया, लेकिन मै गया नही
तिसरी बार बुलाया, तब भी मै गया नही
बीसवी, सौवी बार बुलाया, फ़िर भी मै गया नही
वो बुलाती रही, मै न जाता रहा

बुलाते बुलाते, आस्ते आस्ते
सागर कुछ ऊड सा गया
बादल सा आसमा में समा गया

न जाते इन्कारते धीरे धीरे
बहता पानी रुक सा गया
पत्थरसा जमी में बुझ सा गया

बारा कोस

2010-05-25T22:21:00.003+05:30

दर बार कोसांवर भाषा बदलते म्हणतात. भाषा ही नदी सारखीच असते एखाद्या. इथे अशी दिसते, तिथे तशी दिसते, इथे अशी वाटते, तिथे तशी . . . .
पण आजकालच्या standardization च्या जमान्यात लोकांना ना अशा बारा कोसांची पर्वा ना इच्छा.

’अनुभव’ च्या हाराष्ट्र विशेषांकात त्यांनी या बारा कोसांना नेमकं शब्दांत पकडायच प्रयत्न केला आहे. निवडक लोकांना त्यांनी ’आमची माणसं’ हा विषय देऊन त्यांच्यात्यांच्या बोली भाषेत लिहून घेत्तलं. महाराष्ट्रातच्या पूर्वपश्चिम, उत्तरदक्षिण कोपऱ्यांतून कोकणि, वऱ्हाडी, खानदेशी, मराठवाडा, कोल्हापूर-सोलापूर, नंदुरबारचा सातपुड्याचा भाग अशा अनेक बोलीभाषेंमधलं बोलणं वाचताना जाणवतं की म्हटलं तर भाषा एकच आहे पण तिची किती सुंदर सुम्दर रूपं आहेत ही! अशा सगळ्य़ांना एकाच प्रमाणात बांधणं पूर्णपणे चुकीचं आहे. उलट असे मार्ग शोधणं आवश्यक आहे की ज्यायोगे आपल्या सर्व बोलीभाषा जिवंत बहरत्या तर राहतील आणि त्याच वेळी सर्व बोलीभाषां बोलणऱ्या लोकांना एकमेकांशी संवादही साधता येईल.

संत

2010-05-06T05:37:00.003+05:30

ह्यांना कधीकधी करुणेचे झटके येत असत. त्याची कागलच्या मुक्कामातील एक आठवण : हे एकदा सहज मुलांच्या वसतिगृहात गेले. तिथे त्यांना एक सतरा-अठरा वर्षांचा विद्यार्थी रडताना दिसला, हे त्याच्या जवळ गेले, अंगाला हात लावला, तर त्याच्या अंगात ताप होता. हे त्याला ताबडतोब घेऊन घरी आले. आता आमच्या घरात आमची दोन लहान मुलं वय तीन आणि एक. शिकायला असलेला चौदा वर्षांचा भाचा बपू, धाकटी बारा वर्षांची नणंद सोनी. म्हातारपणने भ्रमिष्ट अवस्थेत असलेले सासरे आणि भरीत भर माझी नोकरी. पण आजारी पोर घरी आले म्हणजे त्याचे खने-पिणे औषधपाणी करणे भागच होते. चार दिवसांनी पोराचा बाप खेड्यावरून आला आणि संतपुरुष म्हणून ह्यांच्या पायाला हात लावून पोराला घेऊन गेला. कुणचे कष्ट आणि कोण संत पुरुष ! असो.

- ’रास - सुमा करंदीकर’ मधून. संकलन: सरिता आवाड, मुंबई (साभार - ’मिळून साऱ्या जणी’, मे, २०१०)

"अगदी मध्यारात्री त्गेयांच्लंया घरी गेलं तरी जेऊ घातल्या शिवाय सोडत नाही’ असं एखाद्या पुरुषाचं कौतुक होत असताना, त्या मध्यरात्री झोपेतून उठून संपूर्ण स्वयंपाक नव्याने कराणऱ्या घरातल्या कर्त्या स्त्रिचा साधा उल्लेखही नाही!

एका हिंदी सिनेमात वाक्या होतं, " प्यार करना आसान है, लेकिन निभाना मुष्किल।".

Shall we rephrase the old english saying into - Behind every great saint there is a woman ! ?

सायंस्पर्श

2010-05-06T05:28:00.002+05:30

अजून संध्याकाळ रेंगाळते आहे; तिला पृथ्वीचा स्पर्श सोडवत नाही. तिचे सोनरेशमी हात पृथ्वीच्या गळ्यात अशकले आहेत. तिच्या स्पर्शाने वाळूसुद्धा शहारली आहे. आज माड मोरपिसे आहेत . . . आता अंधार नाही. फ़क्त त्यांचा परर्परांना होणारा स्पर्श तवढाच शिल्लक आहे. निजलेल्या मुलाच्या अंगावरचा हात आईने हळूहळू काढून घ्यावा तशी संध्याकाळ आपला हात हळूहळू काढून घेत आहे. तिची बोटे निवलेली आहेत, अबोध स्पर्शाने भारलेली आहेत

- विंदा - ’स्पर्शाची पालवी’ मधून, संकलन: सरिता आवाड, मुंबई

-साभार ’मिळून साऱ्याजणी’ , मे, २०१०

वसंत

2010-05-06T05:21:00.000+05:30

सफ़ेद मेघ
सफ़ेद नभ
सोनेरी वर्ख

सुरेल दयाळ
सुरेख सकाळ
वासंती स्वप्न

आयकर खातं

2010-05-01T05:45:00.002+05:30

राजकारणाच्या पटावरचं
लई खास प्यादं
अवो ह्ये आमचं
आयकर खातं

खा खा खातं
बकाबका गिळतं
ततरी उपाशीच असतं
आयकर खातं

इकडून खातं
तिकडून चरतं
वरती चारतं
आयकर खातं

Killer Heart

2010-05-01T05:41:00.002+05:30

A man was killed
bullet through his head
from a gun of revenge
and trigger of anger

amidst gathered crowd
of horror and sympathy
the man laid dead
with bleeding head

the killer heart stood
alone with roaring penance
like that raging sun above
behind dancing black clouds

a body was killed
a heart was stilled
black shooting star
in red bright daylight

Here or There, We Are Same

2010-04-06T18:00:00.004+05:30

Flooding mines on one side
blasting mines on the other
red flag flutters in between

Capitalist communism at one place
socialist capitalism at the other
innocent folks wondering in between

million poors with trillion hopes
thousands die for thousands to soar
others lie neither here nor there

power in the name of hunger
money in the name of poor
India, China, be it America
Effecr same, colours differ

expression lagging imagination

2010-04-01T12:45:00.001+05:30

How to evolve my expression to cope with the speed and expanse of my own thoughts and imagination! ?

Multiplication by Addition of 1

2010-04-01T05:43:00.004+05:30

Location: Hyedrabad (India)and many place all over the globe.

Till last week, on the streets of Hyderabad, there were fights with one conflict - proponents and opponents of seperte state of Telangana. Come Hanuman Jayanti, a full moon day and lunatic tendencies spread out like rumours in mist. Hindus and muslims are fighting colourful battles. Saffron and green, the colours of peace and piety, have donned red, the colour for blood and hatred. There is addition one conflict. but I am wondering, as usual, about consequences of this single addition. what would anti-Telangan Hindu and anti-Telangana muslim do when they come across a anti-Telanaga hindu. First fight among themselves and jointly fight with the anti-telanaga. Or first fight among themselves anti-telngana hindu chipping in for hindu and then the two anti and pro Hindus fight against each other with the muslim chipping in for Telangana ? ! ? ! ? !

Oh My, addition of just one fight has opened a Pandora's box! hindu anti against hindu pro. muslim anti against muslim pro, hindu anti against hindu pro. Just an addition of one has multiplied the fights-number to I don't how many, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, or even more. And its raised even more comple questions in my mind. How do you love or hate a person when he is for against you at the same time. Or is it that wars and fights are similar to sports ?! Teammate in club team is your opponent when you are playing for state, or country. Play professionaly - nothing to heart. Can humans fight with such professionality, without taking it to heart?

Oh maybe. And maybe we need to be aware and wary of this profession - profession on blood and profession of blood.

Happiness

2010-03-30T22:01:00.002+05:30

Don't use ivory because it comes from killing a tusk.
dont use furr bacause it comes from a killed animal
dont use wood because it comes from killing a jungle
dont use a product because it comes from exploiting a chinese labourer
dont use oil because it will end up killing everything in fresh air
dont use plastic because dumping grounds are overflowing
.
.
.
.
Oh God, whats left to use but myself
me, my sweat and my happiness.
Use happiness because thats how it grows

Wanderings in Wonderlands

2010-03-26T10:28:00.004+05:30

These are simple random wanderings into the wonderlands of inside !

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

Some people say "Nobody is perfect". Some other people say "Everything is perfect" and "World moves from perfect to perfect". I feel the first statment is a seeking one. We define what is perfect and then look, seek such a thing in people, things around us. While the later statements have acceptance ! ! !

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

First World has made it impertinent for themselves that third world have money and start spending. What a amusing corollary, wonderful circularity !
'Poor must get rich if rich are not to get poor'
But . . . what a rich can tolerate about how much rich poor gets ?

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

How to measure success if it is not to be counted, neither by counting of notes owned nor by counting of claps of appreciation received ?

What is worth of a quantity but the quality we perceive from it or the value we attach to it ? ! ! !

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

There are many experiments I have rad about on to describe physiology behind behaviour. But I have seen hardly anything which tries to see at origin of physiology. Say, we know about co-relation between a behaviour and secretion of some harmones. But w e hardly know anything on how conscious thought, beliefs, faiths, emotions, feeling affect this secretion itself

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wanderings in Wonderlands

2010-03-26T10:28:00.000+05:30

There are simple random wanderings into the wonderlands of inside !

रास्ता

2010-03-24T12:55:00.003+05:30

एक था रास्ता
चलता हुआ सा
कुछ थे पॉंव
रुकते हुए से
इक थी मंज़िल
धूंडती हुई सी

पॉंव ही जब रुक गये तो
रास्ता ये चले किसके लिए
मंज़िल खुद धूंडने लगी तो
रास्ता ये चले किसके तले
रास्ता ही गर ना रहा तो
दिल ये बेहाल कैसे फ़ुले

Sweet Chilly

2010-03-23T15:16:00.002+05:30

Sweet chilly !
if you kiss her
you will taste sweetness,
but if you bite ...
. . . . . .
you will get hot shock
of your life.
:
:
:
:
:
Ah, woman!!!

दगडातला देव

2010-03-23T15:10:00.002+05:30

धगधगते शिवधनुष्य
जिवंत होऊन उठले
मला त्याने राम केले॥

आग ओकी रवी
खाली मगरमिठी
मध्ये उभा मी
डळमळत्या पायांनी ।

हाती आले पवित्र झाले
कसनुसे तोलून धरले
थरथरत्या रक्त ओठांनी
हृदयी बिलगून धरले ।

होता माझा दगड
आला त्यात अनाहत नाद
ताणला माझा जीव
त्यातून उमटे टणत्कार ।

परीस हो माझा तू
सोनं व्हायचंय मला
मोरपीस हो गालावर
परी व्हायचंय मला ।

दगडाचा देव होतो
झळाळतो जेव्हा
देव स्वतः पूजतो
दगडातला देव

Into Virgin Skies

2010-03-18T22:26:00.003+05:30

hand in hand
fingers entwined
arms swaying
steps aside
hearts facing
I walk with thee

I walk with thee
I walk with glee
from unbeaten path
through untouched waters
into virgin skies
I fly with thee

धुक्य़ातली वाट

2010-03-18T22:23:00.003+05:30

धुक्यात कोरलेली नवी वाट
जर कोणाला दाखवावी वाटेल
तेव्हा खात्री बाळग की
माझे डोळे हसत शेजारी असतील

धुक्यात वाट शोधताना पडून
धडपडून ढोपर फ़ुटलं तर
रडू नकोस, माझे ओठ
हळूवार फ़ुंकर घालत असतील

रडु नकोस भेकू नकोस
घेतला वसा टाकू नकोस
धुक्यालाअ भिय़ नकोस
पणतीला विझवू नकोस

स्वप्नातील गाव

2010-03-18T20:53:00.003+05:30

घनदाट काळी झाडी, तीत धुकं शुभ्रगच्च
लांब कुठे देवळाच्या घंटा, त्यांची गूढ मला हाक
धुक्यात हरवली वाट, पल्याड माझं स्वप्नातील गाव

कुठलीशी एकली देवी, तिची हडळ आहे पुजारीण
नारद करे कीर्तन, त्याची आर्त मला हाक
शोधी सार भाव, कुठे माझा स्वप्नातला गाव

धुक्याची माती रस्ते, धुक्याचीच झाडे फ़ुले
धुक्याच्या अंधारात, धुक्याचीच पणती वातं
त्यात ओतीन माझा जॊव, चेतवीन माझा गाव

दैवगंध

2010-03-07T14:20:00.003+05:30

या विश्वाच्या
एकच पृथ्वीवर
एकच भूतल माळ

सारी सपाटी
अन्‌ एकच टेकडी
तीवर एकच झाड

खाली सारा माळ
वर एक आभाळ
मध्ये एकच झाड

झाड एकमेव
त्याला एकच फ़ांदी
टोकी एकच फ़ूल

एकच पाकळी
पुढे एक केसर
त्यांचा एक सुवास

भोवती पोकळीत
भरला सुगंध
त्यात एकटा मी

दैवी सुगंध
तनमन भारून
धुंदीत एकटा मी

आत्मगंध माझा
देऊ कुणाला
गंधीत एकटा मी

मीच फ़ुलवला
मीच हुंगला
दैवगंध झालो मी

Artist, Scientist and Child

2010-03-04T05:46:00.005+05:30

Van Gogh painted in bright sun till his eye site got affected by brightness. In a fit of emotions he cut his ear. Archimedes came out running naked straight from his bath tub shouting 'Eureka'. German scientist had a dream which lead to the discovery of ringlike chemical structure of Benzene. Issac Newton had made two holes in lab door, bigger hole for mother cat and smaller one for its kitten. Albert Einstein's wife has said that whenever Einstein came up with something fundamentally new, it had invariably happened that he would be playing violin late into previous night.

Picasso had said that an artist takes his childness into adulthood. But why only artists! Anyone who has pure intensity of emotions, who has uncontrollable passion has retained his/her childness. Passion to develope, to explore, to invent, to create, passion to change, insatiable passion for new and to be new!

Pearl Millet

2010-03-01T21:45:00.005+05:30

Baajraa = Pearl Millet.

PEARL Millet! What a name!

This pearl is well adapted to agricultural production systems of drought, low soil fertility and high temperature. Its not a delicate pearl, but a rather tough and rugged Baajraa Pearl.

Baajraa is sort of word which gives you feel of ruggedness
and
Pearl of delicacy, beauty !

Ah, thats what that grain is! Ever tried any of its recipe - either the Baajraa way or the pearly way ? !

बंदिवान

2010-02-28T21:27:00.001+05:30

कृष्णविवरात सूर्य
नपुसंक तळपतोय

ओथंबला पान्हा तरी
बाळ उपाशी रडतंय

सागरात खलाशी
तहानला झुरतोय

वक्षांवरचे स्पर्शरोमांच
उभेच थिजून गेलेत

स्वपुच्छ पकडून
कुत्रा पळतोय

बंदिवान हे सारे
या नियतिचे,
मनोवृत्तीचे
बद्धकृती

God's Abode

2010-02-24T14:43:00.000+05:30

What is white but
emittance of infinite colors,
what is black but
absorption of all.

We see black as
absence of possibilities,
but its all possibilities
turned inwards

We treat black and white
as two exclusive opposites,
but God lives where,
zero and infinity meet.

Dreaded Killers At Large In India

2010-02-22T08:25:00.001+05:30

One more terrorist attack in India. 11 people died on the spot in an bomb explosion in Pune. As would be expected there were huge reactions, right from candle light peace marches to calls for going to war. People are outraged understandably. But I fail to understand what exactly they were outraged about. It could not possibly be because of the deaths. Because life is not so valued here! Just look at some data published in a newspaper, which was collated from police records. This is just an representative example.

From 1st to 15th February, 2010 in the state of Maharashtra there were 759 deaths due to unnatural deaths. Out of these 759, 11 deaths were due to the bomb explosion while 432 were in road accidents. In spite there is hardly any concern about it. People are driving without regard to rules, police do not have neither number nor will to control improper driving, administration is least concerned and political parties are concerned only to extend of arranging populist protests when administration tried to implement any rule.

Second largest killer is Suicides. There were 217 suicides in the state in the period between 1st to 15th February, 2010. There is lot of political awareness on this issue. Grants and concessions are being offered. But nobody knows how much of it reach the actual victims and affectees. No doubt there are systemic issues which push people over the brink. But there are also behavioural issues which nobody wants to talk about. Indebtedness, fear of failure, emotional turbulance do not happen overnight nor without personal and social behavioural and emotional issues. But these need a long time support, and not quick fix publicity.

भिंती

2010-02-18T13:31:00.000+05:30

भिंती असाव्यात बुरुजासारख्या
उंच रुंद दणकट भक्कम,
झरोके असावेत मोठे पुष्कळ
प्रकाशाला जाण्यायेण्यासाठी

नादप्रकाश

2010-02-10T17:24:00.004+05:30

आलाप दूरचा झंकारतो तारा
अतर्क्य पोकळीत उठतो घुमारा
जळमटे सारी खडबडून फ़ुलली
नादप्रकाशे उजळून उडाली

कैदी

2010-02-07T23:50:00.001+05:30

तुरुंगाबाहेरचे
कैदी सारे
यापेक्षा कैद
बरी म्हणावे

मर्ढेकरांची कविता

2010-02-07T03:34:00.001+05:30

किती पायी लागूं तुझ्या
किती आठवू गा तूंते;
किती शब्द बनवूं गा
अब्द अब्द मनी येते

बा. सी. मर्ढेकर

All The Colours In Blue

2010-01-31T09:52:00.002+05:30

Oh, my lovely dear
will you help me
see
all the colours in blue?

Oh, my lovely dear
can you help
me
see
all the colours in blue?

Oh, my lovely dear
can I ever
see
all the colours in blue?

My lovely dear
can I ever
see
all the colours in you?

Why Me

2010-01-30T19:19:00.002+05:30

From million silent wanderings
into aloneness
when God threw me
into loving arms
I did not ask Him
"Why me?"

When a curtain of rain
opened suddenly
peacock danced his lovedance
only for my rain-wet soul
I did not ask Him
"Why me?"

Today like trillions trillions
bodies before me
I lye ailing and waiting for eventual
arm of time clock to come out and touch me
I ask Him wailing
"Why me?"

When He parted me into this world
I did not ask, "Why me?"
When He is welcoming me back
I do ask, "Why me?"
Such is love
Such is Maayaa

झॊका

2010-01-19T21:38:00.001+05:30

पिसाच्या दोरीने
वारा देई झोका
झोक्याच्या वाऱ्याने
पतंग झाला माझा

माया आणि मोहिनी
झोका गेला आला
आसक्तिच्या वक्षावरून
पदर असा पडला

xxx Envy

2010-01-12T11:10:00.001+05:30

"If a woman says she never had penis envy then probably she had never travelled in a bus for 12 hours with desperate need to pee", wrote a woman in an newspaper article. I can imagine her ordeal. Getting down from a bus on such a occasions I have thanked God for not making me a woman in India. Forget about 12 hours, I have the luxury of not waiting even for minutes.

I was travelling in a bus while reading this article. Reading it made me uncomfortable. I once again asked driver to stop the bus. Relieved, I returned to my seat, feeling comfortable. I started thinking. And the first thing my mind stumbled upon was irony. A gender, with its anatomy and type of dressing, can actually relieve with no exposure waits for hours to find a toilet, howmuch unclean or stinking. While the gender, with its anatomy and type of clothing he wears, goes about doing anywhere and howsoever he wants to.

So the problem obviously not in the lower part of body but somewhere in upper parts, in hearts and minds. Problem is not in the location of organs that developed in evolution, but the problem is in the way the 'evolved' human is perceiving those organs and those locations. Its not only genitals but whole perception of genders.

Lets look at the other side of this coin talk of pride instead of envy. Feeling envious for years and years hasn’t helped much, so why not try feeling proud! Its not enough that a woman here or a woman there feeling proud. Many many women need to feel pride in themselves, they need to come together help each to overcome anxiety and feel good with their own selves. Pride is not something that should be begged for but it’s a thing to be felt and proclaimed. They need to stand up and demand. Demand be it dignity, be it product or whatever. In today's world overflowing with technology and products and gadgets, women have not demanded a single product that would enable them to respond to nature's call in time and with privacy and dignity their present mind set-up requires. Not a single woman designer has found it worthwhile to design such a product, speaks for itself. It explains why envy and not pride.

Talking so much about what women feel and what they should feel, I should also be talking of what men feel. Maybe I will write about 'breast envy' or 'motherhood envy' and may also about 'breast pride' and 'motherhood pride'

Amen

'Hitchhiker's Game', 'Guide' and Games People Live

2010-01-03T09:26:00.000+05:30

There is a wonderful story by Czech writer Milan Kundera in which a couple is driving. Journey is long and monotonous. To make it a little interesting, the girls thinks of a game. She would act as a hitchhiker and ask for a lift. And then they would continue like they are two strangers meeting for the first time this way. And the game starts. Both of them don't realize when they have stopped playing a game and the game has started playing with them. For reader it’s a journey through diverse, and often conflicting, human emotions. A drama of real life, temporarily called 'game'.

There was a very famous Hindi movie titled 'Guide'. In this the hero is jailed for a crime. After completing his jail term he is out free and wandering here and there without purpose. He wanders into a famine struck area. The village he walks into is facing total water scarcity and is looking into calamity. His attire, his demeanor make the village take him as some kind of Godman. They had given up all hope from earthly things and were feeling that only divine miracle could save them. He tries to convince them that he is no Godman, on the contrary he is a freed convict. But desperate villagers did not want to let go off their only ray of hope. Looking at their desperation, their absolute haplessness, he relents to act up as Godman. He had not realized that it would be a path of no return. From then on he was a mere pawn in the game that the fate was playing with him.

Keep away these dramatic examples. Unknowingly we give birth to so much of drama. Many a times it starts with noble intention, many times intentions are selfish or mean. Whatever be the intentions, as we start getting more and more engrossed, it becomes more and more difficult to differentiate whats in the game and whats out of it, what is life and what is just a game, who is playing and who is played. Master does not realise when he became slave of his mastery. That’s why Kahlil Gibran has warned freedom seekers to 'be free even from the thought of freedom', lest the thought itself will bind you. Unknowingly you may get enslaved by your obsession of freedom.

Lovely was the game I played
Enchanting was the game I played
Enthralling was the game I played
Enslaving was the game I played
Slave of my own self

wisdom?... Courage? . .whatever. It worked!

2009-12-25T06:00:00.005+05:30

These are some of the instances I have heard about, how people have acted in the smog of hatred and suspicion.

First one is of a high-school-aged boy. Those were the days of hindu-muslim riots in India. There were talks all around all the time on this issue, what should be done and what should not be done and all everything. One evening this boy returns home after his evening game of cricket and suddenly says to his mother, "These muslims, all should be sent to Pakistan!". Mother just nods, buying time to probe into him. Then she says,"Okk, if you wish so. Lets start from the ones we know well. May the first one be table maestro Zakir Hussain". The boy was shocked by the name, but quickly recollects himself and says,"No no no. Let him stay back". Mother asks,"Ok, then shall we send Bismillah Khan and stop him from playing his sanai here." Boy says,"No no, he plays wonderfully. Let him stay back". Mother continues,"Then shall we send Sharukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Katarina Kaif?". The boy errupts, "Are you mad Mom? Why should we send these people. I even have katerina's posters on my wall". This wasn't a mother who would give up easily. She persists,"So you want to send ALL the muslims that you select. Ok! Lets look for some more. How about Azaruddin or Zahir Khan". "No No No". yells the boy running out of the room. He decides it is safer to study than talk to Mom on this topic.

Again, it was time of hindu-muslim riots in Mumbai. Red hatred was overflowing all over the city. Weapon weilding mobs were moving around hunting for their prey. Many many citizens hated the hatred, but were either scared or whatever to protest. But there were folks who did muster courage and staked their lives to save many lives. These people not only saved lives right then but also doused the flames of hatred and saved many lives in future. One such person I have heard about is a famous indian cricket opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar. A saffron mob was moving around his locality hunting for prey. Sunil could not take it sitting idle. He is always known to be man of utmost courage on cricket field. Everybody knew what a player he was! But that day he showed what a mettle his character had. He walked out of the house and stood in front of the mob spreading has hands wide and preventing them to move further. The mob shouted at him to move away. He quietly told them to hold down their weapons and quietly return home. They refused and angrily started moving towards him. He was poised and stood fast there, "You will have to kill me first before moving on to anybody." He just kept on looking straight into the eyes of hatred, his wife standing next to him in horror. As had always happened in cricket field, his courage overpowered his opponents. Leader of the mob, turned his eyes down and followers turned their weapons downs. The leader gave a angry look to Sunil Gavaskar and sullenly turned back and started walking home with drooping shoulders. It is rumoured, it is said that this incidence happened. Sunil Gavaskar himself has never uttered a word about it! I wouldnt have known about it if I had not heard it. Now that I have heard it, I am writting it down so that people, who may not get to hear of it, would get to know of it.

Copenhegan

2009-12-17T18:22:00.001+05:30

I have put ear plugs in my ears and so am immune to all the hoopla and loudspeaking at Copehegan Environmental Conference. I don’t expect anything other than complete cacophony when so many beurocrats and politicians gather together. (Huge amount of energy is wasted in keeping all of them warm in the freezing Danish winter. Isnt this ironical and representative of the way things are going! Couldn’t they have met at an environment friendly venue in a enviroment friendly way?) All of them are hassling and haggling over amounts of emission cuts without initiating any action at home, as if emission cuts are automatically fall from heaven. So I do not expect anything happening on ground whatever they agree or agree to disagree. Nothing substantive can happen from the current economic scenario which is fundamentally rooted in two notions of 'consume' and 'more'. Both these notions are diametrically opposite to emission cuts.

For too long we have let corporates tell us where our happiness lies in. Looking at the western societies we have come to realize that, beyond a certain level, material comforts do not lead to increase in happiness, rather the opposite happens. We end up loosing any meaning to our living. So if we have a fundamental relook at our lives and lifestyles then we may feel like living differently and maybe that would be immensely environfriendly way of living.
• Instead of buying, Do more (= consume less, enjoy more)
• Participate in the things in our lives (=buy less)
• Experience the joy of putting things to a newer use (=throw away less and recycle more)
• Live with nature (=have seasonal habits, use local stuff than getting things across seven seas, commute less)
• Spend more time with ourselves and with our family and friends (=enjoy the work you are doing, live close to work or find work closer to home, have time in hand to 'do' things)

WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE? HAVE YOU TRIED THIS OUT? WANT TO TRY OUT?

जुन्या सवयी

2009-12-17T18:21:00.000+05:30

गवत उपटून टाक्लं तरी
झाडं छाटून टाकली तरी,
तंतू दटून राहतातच
बिया लपून राहतातच,
पाण्य़ाची वाट पहात
संधीची वाट पहात,

अलगद रुजतात
सभोवार मुरतात
पुनःश्च फ़ोफ़ावतात,
म्हणून तर अनुभवी माळी म्हणतात
सतत मशागत करत रहावं लागतं
नाहीतर
बागेचा पुन्हा माळ व्हायला
वेळ नाही लागत

Wagging Love

2009-12-14T09:15:00.000+05:30

Some babies are born with silver spoon in their mouth, some are born with golden spoon. I was born with doors of my house open. Love came in from all doors and windows. Even before I was born, at the first signs of my arrival love had started filling our house and our hearts. We welcomed it with open arms and wide smiles. So much of love started arriving that we had to break open the walls and make news widows. Wide big windows, from floor to roof. Our family was blessed with all that warmth and love. We kept on welcoming it.

We kept on welcoming it till one evening love followed me in the form of tiny woolly ball with wagging tail. We were all snoochy-moochy to receive this ball with a wagging tail and seducing squeaks. As time went on, my mother started realizing side-effects of love. With incessant slaps of wagging tail, woolly ball jumping through her legs during household chores, and cute squeaks asking for attention all through the night, she started feeling like love is sort of started overflowing for her. She had more than enough of love. She tried to keep that woolly ball out but it bounced back in. All efforts to get rid of this live ended in vain. So she did the next best thing she could do, that was to ensure no more love could come in. She closed all doors and windows and sealed them with latches and locks. Now nothing could come in. And nothing could go out either!

Woolly ball was naturally called Wuly. With no way to go out Wuly showered all her love on me. I used to be wet with love all the time. This wetness percolated inside to my heart and too became full of woolly love and I was always smiling, cheery, lovey. From Wuly I learnt to wag, I learnt to move my ears. When I entered a room I would know beforehand who were inside and who had left, merely by their smells. By their smells I would know who is happy or who is angry. I became so adept in these expressions that my family would lovingly call me Wulo. In school my antiques were looked at with some fascination, some fun and some ridicule. Some boys were called girlie or sissy, while I was called doggy. I did not mind it, rather I was enjoying all of it. It went on well till I went to high school, where I took fancy of girl. Soon she was called as girlfriend and I was called her dogfriend. Then I realized that things are going a bit too far. It was all alright about me but I would not want my girlfriend to be ridiculed, though she herself did not mind it. But now I was grown up and I have to take care of my girlfriend. I need to be a man.

It was very difficult for me. I needed to close doors and windows of myself. My feeling could no more flow out freely as and how they wanted. I had become man and feelings would have to walk out of me only in a manly way. That was the first jolt to my young and lively heart. Destiny had enabled me to learn all the nature's wonderful ways of expressing and receiving feelings, but now I would need to sacrifice all those in order to be a man! Ooooff!

In the early stages of evolution as man started reaping benefits of developed mind, its focus shifted more and more towards mind. In the process all other facets and abilities got neglected. Today we have reached such a stage that we have hardly anything to fear from the external world. The biggest threats to mankind are from its own kinds, from its own selves. So many of conflicts, so many fights arise out of misunderstandings that if man had been able to communicated better his life in turn would become a lot better. A man would not have to doubt about his girl-friend or a woman about her boyfriend. She would not need to ask him, "Do you love me?". She would know herself by his smell, his sound, his so many bodily actions. When a person is trying to feign his emotions, others would immediately know what he is really feeling. People would not need to go around uttering "I love you, dear" so many times as to make those three lovely words a cliché. Our expressions, our smell, our sounds, our touch, our actions, anything and everything would clearly speak out our love, our anger, our sulkiness.

We have reached a state where most of our basic needs are getting satisfied with minimal of efforts and time, and we have left with lots of time to do nothing. This is pushing us to contemplating, to look deeper into ourselves, to seek to find out 'why's of our actions. And what we are seeing is surprising many. Most of our seemingly rational, logical actions arise from emotional, completely irrational roots. Rationality is seeing to be inadequate to satisfy our emotional needs. And we are seeing the changes. The old time heroes with stony faces and inhuman actions maybe bygones. Today's heroes are more explicit in their expressions. We are seeing many of hard-nut sportsment openly giving out their intense emotions. We see them shout aloud, see them kiss ground, see them laugh or cry, cry both in pain of loss and in pleasure of winning. Just yesterday a young Chief Minister of an Indian state said publicly, "If I react with a bit of emotion, good. For too long, politics has been dehumanized in this country". Well said, Chief Minsiter. My whole hearted applause to you. I too am looking forward to the days when I can muster enough courage to raise my ears and to wag my tail openly and to the days when my friends too can gather courage to respond to me with wagging their tails.

Power of Places

2009-12-10T12:34:00.001+05:30

I have been to different places for my morning workout of walking and jogging. I have been to bylanes of Dahanukar Colony, to Kothrud Hill, to Deccan Gymkhana jogging track, to other grounds, to Prabhat Road bylanes, and to Law College Hill from Kanchan Lane. (For those who are not from the western part of Pune, these names may sound unfamiliar. But they can of course google to see the places. If they are not satisfied with simple googling they can also google MSN or Yahoo!)

We Indians have this special knack of converting proper nouns into common nouns, or even into verbs. For us Xerox is not a company which makes photocopying machines. For us Xerox is everything and that. Xerox machine can be a Canon photocopying machine, to xerox is to photocopy. A yellow board with XEROX written in black paint outside a shop means a shop vendor who is offering many facilities in addition to photocopying. We have converted Cadbury chocolate into Cadbury = chocolate. So we have Amul's cadbury, Nestle's cadbury and so on. So . . . . We google Google, we google MSN, and we google many other things.

Oh, I must return to my hill, the Law College Hill, if I have to continue writing. This hill casts a sort of magical spell on me, that once I am in its shadow my mind starts acting creatively. While my feet are wandering through bushes and trees of the hill, my heart and my mind are wandering all over the world and beyond. There on that divine hill my mind often leaves this earthly world and wanders into the worlds beyond. Its wanderings and wonderings were so blessed by the hill that they not only travelled to different worlds but created newer worlds. The worlds I had never experienced in my life before, were lighting up inside me. And slowly that life started sneaking out through the thick dark wall that I had created myself. And then what happened I could not believe myself, and maybe you may not believe it either. But its true as I have experienced it. Nothing can be truer than experience. In this light of new worlds I started seeing This world differently.

Inside my house there is one such place. Its my bathroom. This place to casts it magic over my creativity. But this is a different spell than the one by my hill. This one leads me into oration, to music, and to things I don’t even utter outside of this place. In the outside world I am shit scared of public speaking. But here, I have given longest and strongest speeches with all the accompanying bodily expressions. Here, when I am describing flying I don’t only describe with words, I do actually FLY. Aah, flying inside bathroom! ! ! But yes I do, I really do fly inside my bathroom. Its such a fun. Once a friend told me that fear of public speaking is the most common of all fears. I believed him right away, without even an iota of doubt. When I enter my bathroom, there is no fear, no apprehension. A huge crowd is eagerly waiting for me to speak and I too am all eager to start. Once I start there is all smiles and laughs and claps and shouts. I am enjoying everything that’s going on inside and outside. I am in state of bliss. Be it speaking or singing, I am simply unstoppable, unbeatable. I transgress the boundaries of this world and be in a different world. Its MY world. I am the actor and I am the observer.

Women have this charm of creating such divine places near to themselves. Be they mothers or be lovers, once they take you close, you start dissolving. No more there is any body nor clothes. Your heart is in direct contact, heart to heart, heart to divinity, you to God.

Life After Death

2009-11-12T18:34:00.000+05:30

teek--taak---teek--taak-- . . . . Pendulum goes on. Which precedes what . . . pendulum goes on.
Hen--egg--hen--egg-- . . . .cycle goes on. Which is original, which is product. . . Cycle goes on.
death--birth--death--birth-- … life goes on. Which is later, which is first. . . Life goes round.

WAIT ! ! ! Life does NOT go round like this. I KNOW, I EXPERIENCE that life does NOT go round like this. There is birth and there is death, and that is the end. I can see things travelling from birth to death. But I have not ever seen anything from death to birth. I have not seen, I have not felt, I have not experienced.

Some people say that only thing certain is death. Anything that is born must die. Some scientists say that the only certainty is vibrations, everything else is uncertainty. Vibrations, periodics, cycles go on and on. Anything that goes up comes down, up-and-down, expansion-and-compression, life-and-death! It goes on and on

If anything that is born dies, then what happens to that which dies. We are not getting buried under dead rubble. So everything that dies must be getting born again. Anything that dies is born and anything that is born dies again. Life goes on, and death goes on. What is it that dies and what is it that is born from it. Is it same or are those different? We feel that when something is born that thing goes ahead and dies. If the one that’s born and the one that dies are one and the same, wouldn’t it be same for the one that dies. The one that dies should be the same as the one that gets born. But we don't experience this. We experience that life changes, life forms change, things change when they die. Experiences of life before death and the one after death are fundamentally different. But don’t experience anything before its born. So the experiences of death before birth and after birth are different.

China And India

2009-11-07T21:41:00.002+05:30

Economically, militarily, politically China is growing much faster than India. Its become a fashion in India to point at China and say, "What progress!"
Before I go further let me honestly state that I have a strong bias against China. I feel the political system, social hierarchy strongly exploitative. I can not call a revolution a 'social revolution' when it is rises and survives on the lives of multitude of common citizens, however noble the goal may be. I fail to call it a 'developed' or 'progressed' nation where battle tanks are rolled over young men lying on the road, protesting silently. I thank God that I dont have to feel proud of such a country as 'My Nation'. I surely wouldn't want even my enemy to have to lead a horrendous life of a chinese miner. I am sure I dont even want to be the cruel owner of such mines.
I can not count the number of time I have felt grateful to God for sending Mahatma Gandhi to my country at the time. Had he not carved and guided the philosophy and ethics of Independent India, I dont know what path we would have walked.
It surprises me no end that people and the countries preaching morality and claiming moral superiority are so silent towards the state of humanity in China. The same people are vociferous about the plight of muslim women, but dont have even a drop of tear or a bit of voice about the state of miners and industrial workers in China. Maybe they are afraid that if they speak up it may cause the wages in China to go up. That would mean rise in prices of chinese goods. If prices go up people may buy less and if people buy less then what would happen to 'economy'?
LONG LIVE ECONOMY ! ! !
Somebody noted that its probably the first time that Nobel prize for Economics has been given to a non-quanitative work. The critic went on to say that the time has come for economics to learn from its closed realtives - psychology and sociology.
I COULDN'T AGRESS LESS ! ! !

Overcapacity

2009-11-07T16:47:00.004+05:30

As a student I would finish my studies in short time and would keep on wondering what to do for the rest of the period, how to fill the time. Later I realised that I wasn't alone. Many, rather most, people frequently feel this problem of how to fill time. Animals spend lot of their time in sleeping, searching for food, digesting food, and be wary of own safety and on lookout for threats. Remaining small time they can spend idleing, but always alert. Man has evolved much beyond that. He need to work small part of his time to make sure of his basic needs, not only in the present but for the rest of his life. He has evolved in such a way that he no longer needs to feel physically insecure, need not constantly spend his time and energy in being alert. He can afford to sleep like a log and still wake up to see light next morning.

This huge amount of idleness brings in emptiness. Earlier times religion and religious rituals etc took up quite amount of time. Even after that a lot of time remained empty. This emptiness, this hollowness, this feeling petty, worthless was countered by quest for external power. Power, control over things, animals and even fellow humans. In quest of power and control men went in fights and wars. Women spent their times in caring for families, looking better and attracting men-of-power.

In modern world today this basic human psychology is manifested differently. Religious power have weakened and corporates have taken over the reins. Men feel this power in using, consuming wildly and in wild things. This is power of money. A roaring car, designed by somebody and manufactured by somebody else, but the owner feels the pride by having spending the money to own it. This perception of power, of control, of esteem, of goodness only through monetary terms has spread so deeply into our psychology that we can not even imagine a state of well-being devoid of money. (Actually the word wealth has its roots in the word well-being. See how what it means today!)
Many of the problems individuals and societies face today may be resolved we can find ways to deal our own overcapacity.
One of the ways may be to shift our focus from doing to being. Instead of constantly looking for things to do, if we can find enjoyment or peace in whatever wherever we are then probably we can see more meaning inside, rather than futilely searching it outside

Straight Line

2009-10-30T14:16:00.002+05:30

Line is the only straight line possible.

Is is a wonder of human mind to imagine something that does not and can not exist in reality.

How does it sound when we realize that line, such a basic concept in mathematics (geometry), is only an approximation of reality!

To imagine, to approximate, to abstractize, to hypothesize are ways with which we make sense of reality. In a way we crate a reality, albeit in our minds. This way we emulate God Himself.

No surprise then that ancient Hindu meditators have said things like
" I am He" ,
" You are nothing but He" !!!

Deeper and Wider

2009-10-26T05:55:00.003+05:30

When I go
wider and wider
wider and wider
I can't observe
I cease to be me
I start being

When I go
deeper and deeper
deeper and deeper
I can't observe
I cease to be
I dissolve

A Miracle called Indian Elections

2009-10-17T15:23:00.001+05:30

In a country where rules are there only to be referred to, at the most! , it is a miracle how a systimatically the huge exercise of elections is carried out. Here are some facts and figures relating to the recent elections conducted in Maharashtra, one of the Indian states:

Area of India : 3,287,363 sq. km
Population of India : more than 1,000,000,000
Literacy in India : 65.4%

Now about Maharashtra :-
Area : 307, 690 sq. km
Population : 96,752,247
Number of voters : 75,811,245
Number of constituencies : 288
Total number of candidates in fray : 3559
acndidates with criminal background : 276
women candidates in fray : 211
Number of Polling stations: 84,136
Number of electronica polling machines used : 125,000
Number of staff on polling duty : 478,000
Number of security personnel for polling security : 475,000
Government expenditure on this election : Rs. 20,000,000 ( more than $400,000)

Each voter has to identify himself/herself with a photo ID. Inside each polling a place is kept for representative of all candidates to oversee actual election process. Voting is secret voting on pressing a button on electronic voting machine. For the aid of illiterate voters candidates name is accompanied by election symbol.

Whole of electioneering machinery is governed by Election Commission, completely independent of government or any political party.

Puppy

2009-10-02T06:21:00.000+05:30

In the wee hours of early morning a sweet cute puppy was born on a street. Next morning an equally sweet and cute young girl woke up to the cuty moans of the puppy below her window. She ran outside and at the site of the sweet ball she was so excited she immediately took it to her bosoms. She felt she knew that it was born for her, only for her. She looked up to thank God. And behold . ... . At the very moment there were sounds of bells, all sorts of bells. Jingle bells, church bells, temple bells, alarm bells. And there was God up there , smiling down on her. "Good morning", said the God. She was stunned, "Oh My God. Its YOU!", she cried. "Yes, my child. Its me, IT IS ME. I have come to tell you something very nice, something very serious. I am happy that you are taking the puppy. You will experience heaven with it, I assure you. But that heaven will be short lived. I am telling you because this puppy is my child and I don’t want to see you unhappy when it will come running to me very soon. I want you to learn happiness from it and share it and spread it". "Oh no. You are so cruel, God ! If you already knew all this, then why have you sent it to me? Why do you want me to suffer a loss of such a lovely dear one?", asked the girls with tears flowing from her eyes. God kept quiet for a while, waiting for her to get over her sudden emotions. Then he said, still smiling, "My sweet dear, I don’t want you to suffer. Rather I want you know and share what sheer, pure happiness is. If you can see, if you learn that sheer pure happiness, you will have all the answers within you." God paused a while, and continued, "But let me first tell you a small story about this puppy"

"There was a sage living on this planet. A divine soul leading a earthly life. He lived for many many years. So many years that no man has ever lived. He lead a sacred life. He did tapashcharyaa for many years. As years went by he gained in knowledge and wisdom. Seemed like he had won over nature, had won over God. His life and death had come under his own commands. He would decide when to leave. The time finally came. He felt he has learnt all that could be learnt, he had done all that could be and should be done. His purpose was completed and it was time to pass beyond this world. He was ready to achieve to achieve mokhsaa. He prepared to bid adieu. He passed on his knowledge and wisdom all that could be passed on. He left his life behind and was on his way to the ultimate. While merging with the One, he thought of looking back to see if he has missed something that he should have done or if he has left something which he should have taken with him. And Lord behold . . . . . He did see something that he had missed out on. Missed something very important that left him much less than complete. Now he would not go towards the One, moksha was rightfully for him. He stopped in his path wondering. He had left his old sage body behind and he could not go back there. But he HAD to go back and do that which he felt he had missed out on and complete his completeness. "

"He stopped midway, hanging between life and eternity. He started meditating, a bodiless soul meditating, bringing all his knowledge and wisdom together. Slowly a light emerged from nowhere. And from that light the answer came forward. He had no choice. He had to go back into life and live out whatever he had missed out on. Light stayed on but kept changing, like flowing water. It was changing every moment but still He had shared what he learnt, what he gained, what he achieved. He had shared fruits of his knowledge and wisdom. He had spread happiness and bliss. He had touched many a hearts to smile and laugh. But he had not laughed himself. He had helped many a children play , but he had not been a child himself. He had helped dissolve hatred into love, but he had not loved himself. He did not love and he was not loved. This knowledge spread like a smile into the soul. He realized that until he loves and is loved, until he smiles inside like blinking stars he is not complete with his completeness. Until he can love solely because he can not but love, until he can smile because he can not be without smile he can not be One. And this he has do in a life form."

"So he has chose this lifeform of a puppy. The fastest and purest way to love and be loved. He is a sage and will learn very very fast. But don’t worry. For his own purpose he will never make you unhappy. He will share the power of love with you. Be assured that then on you will never feel short of love, to give and to receive. It is for this reason he ahs chosen to be a puppy and nothing else."

With these words God smiled and started descending down. He kept coming down and down, and came near to her and went into the puppy in her arms. She looked down, the puppy was looking at her with its puppy-special eyes and there was a sweet wet something licking her cheek. The girl held the puppy closer, her eyes moist and her heart full.

Silence

2009-08-29T23:08:00.000+05:30

silence speaks
words speak silence
empty words, hollow words
useless, worthless words
words aplenty, in multitude
a dense crowd, crowded crowd
without soul or a heart

I cherish this silence
i relish this culture
culture of being silent
speaking in silence

देवदेऊळ - God and his abodes - temples

2009-08-23T22:45:00.003+05:30

Narendra - Marathi Prose - 090823 - DevDeuL

ठसे

2009-08-19T10:27:00.000+05:30

रेतीवरती उठवत ठसे
मस्तित मी चालत असे
राहतील ठसे जसेच्या तसे
मागच्यांना दिसतील असे

पुढे मी मागे ठसे
जितकी धाव तितका फसे
नाही मी फ़क्त ठसे
मागच्यांना दिसतिल असे

हळूच लाट अलगद येते
येऊन ती निघून जाते
कोण मी कुठले ठसे
मागच्यांना काहीच नसे

श्रद्धा-अंधश्रद्धा आणि भारत-पाक

2009-08-06T05:34:00.003+05:30

भारत आणि पाकिस्तान जुळी भावंडं. एकाच उदरातून एकाच वेळई जन्मलेली. एकाच मुशित घडलेली. एकसारखी दिसणारी, एकसारखी वागणारी, एकसारखा विचार करणारी, एकसारखॆ भाव असणारी. त्यांच्यात फ़रक करण कठीण असतं, त्याम्चा त्यांनाही. अगदी जमिनीवर सीमा काधण्यासारख्या साध्या गोष्टीतदेखील त्यांना धड फ़रक करता आलेला नाही. दोन्ही देशांमधली अर्धी सीमाच ते नीट आखू शकले आहेत.

ही दोन्मोही भावंड मोठी होता होता त्यांच्या दिशेत एका अंशाच्या एका शतांशाचा फ़रक पडला आणि पुढे जाऊन त्यांचे मार्ग
कितितरी वेगळे दिसायला लागले.

श्रद्धा आणि अंधश्राद्धा या जुळ्य़ा बहिणींबाबत हे तंतोतंत लागू होतं. मुलींमधल्या भारत पाकिस्तान. इतकं साम्य की एकीच्या ऐवजी दुसरीशी कधी बोलायला लागलो कळतं नाही. बोलता बोलता या पायावरून त्या पायावर (स्वतःच्याच) जोर दिला तरी लगेच एकीऐवजी दुसरीशी बोलण सुरू होतं इतक्या त्या जवळ जवळ असतात.

अंधश्रद्धेमधले दुर्गूण, दुर्भाव, दुर्हेतू निवडून काढून टाकून तिचं शिद्धीकरण करण्याचे प्रेयत्न शतकानुशतकं चालू आहेत पण त्याला यश आलेलं नाही. थोडी अनुकंपा, थोडी सहृदयता, थोडं प्रेम, थोडी शाश्वती मात्र खूप काही करून जातं असा मात्र अनुभव आहे.

मर्ढेकरांची कविता

2009-08-04T14:54:00.004+05:30

शिशिरागम

शिशिरर्तुच्या पुनरागमे,
एकेक पान गळावया
का लागता मज येतसे
न कळे उगाच रडावया.
पानात जी निजली इथे
इवलीं सुकोमल पाखरे,
जातील सांग अता कुठे?
निष्पर्ण झाडिंत कांपरे!

अब्द अब्द

किती पायी लागूं तुझ्या
किती आठवूं गा तूंते;
किती शब्द बनवूं गा
अब्द अब्द मनी येते.
.
.
कधी लागेल गा नख
तुझें माझिया गळ्याला,
आणि सामर्थ्याचा स्वर
माझिया गा व्यंजनाला !

Less don't count

2009-07-29T23:46:00.000+05:30

These're days of numbers
More the merrier,
Less don’t count
My days are numbered

Number of heads
Number of notes,
More the merrier
Less don’t count

This is democracy
Majority rules,
More the merrier
Less don’t count

More the decibles
Faster it is heard
Louder the merrier
Silence doesn’t count

I don’t shout
I am only one
One is equal to zero
New math abound

I am not heard
I am not counted
Myness is neglected
In this numbers' game

I do sow
And I so see
I be the beauty
That is me

नभ आभाळून आलं

2009-07-14T10:19:00.002+05:30

नभ गाभाळून आलं
आली चिंचेला गोडवी
त्याच्या एकेका थेंबामधी
येत्या वरषाची थोरवी

नभ गाभाळून आलं
निळं पोट करडं झालं
फ़ुगल्या पोटामंधी
विजेचं तेज प्यालं

नभं आभाळून आलं
नभं गाभाळून आलं
पोटुश्या नभुळीला
होईल खळाळ मुलगी

ठाव

2009-06-29T23:41:00.001+05:30

एक अनाकल हुरहूर
डोळी टपटपलेले पाणी
अंधुक अबोल हाक
समोर आठ्य़ांचे उत्तर.
मिळाली नाही तिला
दिवसाची सोबत

आरक्त डोळे, उन्मत्त शरीर
वक्षावर विसावलेली बोटं
त्यांना गारबधीर बर्फ़स्पर्श
फ़िरवलेली कूस.
मिळाला नाही त्याला
रात्रीचा संगत

मिटलेले चार डोळे
भळभळ उघडी हृदयं
एकमेक गेले लांब
उरली अश्वत्थाची सोबत
बाहेर नीरव शांतता
आत तडफ़ड तगमग कल्लोळ

पहाट झाली
चंद्रराज उगवले
प्रेमराज्याची हवाल
पहायला निघाले
हातात शुभ्रशीतल कंदील
सोबत एकतारी नारद

थकली गात्रे
चेतवू लागले
शमली आग
पेटवू लागले
मिटले डोळे
हसवू लागले

लांब दूर इथे
एकतारी सूरावट
अश्वत्थाची सळसळ
पापण्यांआड उघडे डोळे
धुमसती बर्फ़ाळ आग
फ़ुरफ़ुरणारी ज्योत

नारदाला राहवलं नाही
काडीऐवजी टाकला हिरवा कोंब
आशेने इथे उसळेल डोंब
निशाधिशाला पाहवलं नाही
मिटल्या डॊळ्यांनी शीतल नजर
प्रेमाचा पुन्हा होईल कहर

दूता देवालाही न कळे
अंतरीची ठाव
बाईच्या हो पान्ह्याला
कशी दूधाचीच आच
पोटुशीला होई पोट जड
वांझोटीला त्याचीच आस

गोडुली

2009-06-29T20:01:00.000+05:30

इटुकली पिटुकली
पटकन्‌ टपकली

एवढीशी चिमुकली
केवढीशी धिटुकली

धाव धाव धावली
तरी नाही दमली

धपकन पडली
तरी नाही रडली

सानुली गोडुली
सायीची बाहुली

स्वप्न

2009-06-05T12:31:00.000+05:30

आहे स्वप्न माझे,
नि्र्झर व्हायचे,
दाखवत स्पष्ट तळ,
खळखळ वहायचे

माफ़ी

2009-06-04T06:23:00.000+05:30

मी:
मागे एकदा तुला म्हणालो होतो
"मला माफ़ कर"
तू मान फ़िरवून निघून गेलीस
एक हळवा पापा घॆऊन
माफ़ी मिळाली की नाही ते
मला कळलंच नाही

तू:
मागे एकदा तुला म्हणाले होते
"मला माफ़ कर"
तू फ़ाडकन थोबाडीत मारलीस
आवेगाने मिठीत घेतलस
माझॆच अश्रू घोट घोट पीत
मी समर्पित झाले

Alone. Lonely?

2009-05-28T10:31:00.001+05:30

when you are alone
but dont want to be lonely
its you and you and you
that keep company
showing a lantern
to walk to sky
and light a star here
and a moon there
a moon that lights
a spark within
to light your heart
and then
whats alone
and whats company

मुकुल, . . . . . . माझा सलाम

2009-05-19T22:22:00.000+05:30

पं. मुकुल शिवपुत्र बेपत्ता झाले आणि नंतर एका रल्वे फ़लाटावर हलाखीच्या अवस्थेत आढळून आले. या बातम्या वाचून अतिशय दुःख झाले. एका अद्वितीय कलाकाराची काय ही अवस्था ! विमनस्क अवस्थेत, विपन्न स्थितीत त्याला वावरावे लागावे. का बरं ? किती भयानक, किती दारुण ! पण काय करणार, कोण किती पुरे पडणार ?!

डोळ्यातनं ओघळलेले थेंब पुसून, मनातल्या हळहळीवर फ़ुंकर घालून मी माझ्या आखीवरेखीव समृद्ध आयुष्याकडे पुन्हा वळलो. आधीच्या घड्या सरळ करत नव्या घड्या घालायला लागलो. पण माझ्या मनावर मीच घतलेली ती फ़ुंकर विरून गेली नाही. माझ्याही नकळत तिने वावटळिचे रौद्र स्वरूप धारण केले. माझ्या आखलेल्या सरळ रेषा उधळून टाकत, नीटस इमारती उध्वस्त करत ती इतस्ततः बेभान सुटली. चोपडून बसवलेले केस तिने पूर्ण विस्कटून टाकले. गालावरचं तीट डोळ्यांवर गेलं. माझं सौंदर्य खुलवायला डोळ्यांभोवती न थांबता ते अंजन डोळ्यांत जाऊन झोंबायला लागलं. पेटाऱ्यात पार खाली दाबून ठेवलेल्या गोष्टी फ़ुर्रर्र करत वर आल्या.

समोर आलं ते जोडपं. हे जग आपल्या प्रेमाच्या योग्यतेचं नाही म्हणून हातात हात घालून कड्यावरून उडी मारणारं. मनातल्या वावटळीने त्यांना अलगद उचलून पुन्हा माझ्यासमोर आणलं. त्यांच्याशेजारी उभा राहिला. व्हॅन गॉग. मैत्रिणीने मागितला म्हणून तिला आपला कान कापून भॆट देणारा, उन्हातले तळपते रंग तसेच्या तसे कागदावर उमटावेत म्हणून तब्येतीची पर्वा न करता उन्हातान्हात चित्रे काढत डोक्यावर परिणाम होऊ देणारा. त्यांच्या मागे दूर धूसर एव्हरेस्टच्या खांद्याला खांदा लावून उभा होता कर्ण. याचकाचे खरे रूप ओळखूनही, त्याचा खरा हेतू जाणूनही आपली कवचकुंडलं दान करणारा, स्वतःच्या प्रतिज्ञेला स्मरून, आपाल्या स्वभावाला मान देऊन जीव धोक्यात टाकणारा. मनातले सारे राग, सारे अपमान गिळून टाकून कुंतीला ’तुझी पाच मुलं राहतील’ असे वचन देणारा. हा कर्णच जर नसता तर महाभारत किती अळणी झालं असतं नाही ! कदाचित मग व्यास महाभारत लिहायच्या फ़ंदातही पडले नसते.

मला भावतो तो कर्णाचा दानशूरपणा नाही तर त्याची स्वतःशी कमिटमेंट, त्याची पॅशन. इंद्राला कवचकुंडलं काढून देताना, कुंतीला वचन देताना त्याला त्याचे परिणाम पूर्ण माहित होते. तरीही तो डळमळला नाही, मागे सरला नाही. त्यानंतरही शेपूट घालून रणांगणातून पळून गेला नाही. आपल्या वृत्तिशी, आपल्या भावनांशी तो एकनिष्ठ राहिला. कशाचिही पर्वा न करता, अगदी जिवाचीही!

काय फ़रक आहे कर्ण आणि मुकुल मध्ये ?! कर्णाला दुर्योधनाने उचलून धरलं, व्यासांनी अजरामर केलं. मुकुल तर सगळ्या व्यासांपासून दूर पळतोय. आप्ल्या ऐहिक जगातली सगळीच्या सगळी बंधनं त्याने झिडकारली आहेत. पूर्ण जाणिवेने. त्याची किंमत मोजायची त्याची तयारी आहे. तो भीक मागतो ती फ़क्त फ़ुटकळ पैशाची. धनवानांचे रजगायक होण्याची निमंत्रणम त्याने नाकारली आहेत. त्यला भीक हवी आहे ती फ़क्त घासभर अन्नासाठी आणि घोटभर नशेसाठी. इतकं स्वतःच्या धुंदीत जगू शकणऱ्याला अजून वेगळी नशा का लागत असेल हे मात्र मला न उमजलेलं कोडं आहे.

नाही, यापुढे मी मुकुलच्या स्थितीची कीव करणार नाही. एक संगितप्रेमी म्हणून मला नक्कीच वाईट वाटतंय की त्याचं दैवी संगीत ऐकण्याच भाग्य आपल्या नशिबातनं दूर होतंय. पण एक माणूस म्हणून मुकुलला माझा त्रिवार सलाम. त्याच्या बेभान, बेफ़ाम, बेपर्वा वृत्तीची कणभर जरी लागण मला झाली माझं जीवन उजळून निघेल असं मला वाटतं.

आवशीची

2009-05-12T14:37:00.005+05:30

पुनवेचं कोण कौतुक
तिच्या झिरझिर तारुण्याचं
झालच तर तारुण्यसुलभ
आसक्त चौदवीचं

पण चांदोबाळाला जन्म देऊनही
आवसेची मात्र अवदसा केलेली
तिचं तोंड काळं करून
वेशीबाहेर फ़ेकलेली

अशा आवशीची तू लेक
पुढेपुढे न करणारी
असूनही न दिसणारी
दिसूनही न दिसणारी

आपलं हासू मैत्रिणींना देऊन
फ़डफ़ड पापण्या रिझवणारी
माझ्या तप्त सूर्याशेजारून
स्निग्धहास्य पाझरणारी

Music and Mind, and Architecture

2009-04-28T12:30:00.001+05:30

Its not often that we will find Indian classical music program being conducted open air. Indian classical music is less about percussions, beats, speed, volume and more about finety and purety of tunes and their interplay. Sound resonating from surrounding structures play an very important role in creating the whole effect. Artists would bring their instruments pre-tuned but that is only approximate tuning. Final, fine, perfect tuning is done on the spot just before singer starts singing. Many artists take emmense efforts to ensure all instruments are properly tuned, resonating with each other and with singer's onw voice. This is reflection, resonance, feedback is very important to create wholesome, harmonious effect of music.

Isn't it same with our human mind. Left by ourselves, in isolation we tend to feel disconnected, lost, confused, disinterested .... We are constantly checking for reflection, response, resonance from surrounding human structures. Sometimes we even choose a particular structure for a particular feedback.

For our mental harmony it is important that we choose and cultivate proper resonating humans structures around us. It is important that we fine tune our ability to listen and understand and respond to resonance.

For architects of human mind its a continual challange, while building a human structure, that they take immaculate care also to design surrounding human structure.

All this together makes our emotional environment, ecology, harmony or whatever word you choose to relate to such fascinating interplay.

- Naren

Imagine A Woman .... or A Man .... or A Human

2009-04-27T11:10:00.001+05:30

This poem was shared on FB by a friend. She had tagged her woman friends. After reading this I felt, as a man, that it applies to me too. Some details may not apply but essence sure does. I reread it replacing 'woman' by 'man' and then again by 'human'. Hope you all enjoy this lovely poem.

- Naren
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Imagine a Woman by Patricia Lynn Reilly

Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past's influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

मनचुंबक

2009-04-25T05:35:00.002+05:30

दोन ध्रुव, त्यांची विरुद्ध तोंडं
एकाच शरीरात त्यांचा ३६चा आकडा
भिन्न शरीरांत अनादी आकर्षण
एका शरीरात मात्र अनंत प्रतिकर्षण
नियतीच्या मृत्यूनंतरच संपणारं

लोहपुरुष थोडा मऊ झाला
स्वभावाला मुरड घातली
मनाची सुंदर बांगडी केली
विरुद्ध ध्रुव समोर आणले
अनोखी गळाभेट आपसूक झाली

आकर्षण प्रतिकर्षण
नाण्याच्या दोन बाजू
जराशी नम्रता लवचिकता
नव्हत्याचे होते झाले
सुंदर कडे हातात आले.

- नरेन

P.S.: १) प्रतिकर्षण शब्दा्बद्द्ल खात्री नाही. I have used it as 'repulsion'. attraction x repulsion २) शब्द विस्कळीत आहेत पण मनात विचार आले ते मांडले आहे

माझी लोकशाही, तिचं इलेक्शन

2009-04-24T09:34:00.001+05:30

महान लोकशाही झोपलीय
तिच्या बंद डोळ्यातल्य़ा
भिरभिरत्या बुबुळांमधल्या
स्वप्नांच्या गर्दीतल्या
माणसांच्या गर्दीमधला
एक माणूस मीच आहे
सगळ्यांच्या मागून
लपून, डोकावून
नाकर्त बघतोय
एखादं स्वप्न वाट्याला
येतय का माझ्या हळूच

तिच्या निद्रीस्त हृदयाचं
एक सुप्त स्पंदन
माझ्या नावचं होतं.
तिच्या जड झालेल्या
हातापायांची न झालेली
गर्भार हालचाल
माझीही होती.
तिची झोप
माझ्या पत्थ्यावर पडली हो्ती.

तिच्या झोपेमध्ये लपून
डोक्याव पांघरूण घेऊन
तिच्याकडे बोट दाखवतोय
मी.

हृदयेन अपराजितः

2009-04-23T11:15:00.006+05:30

सुखं वा यदि दुःखं
प्रियं वा यदि अप्रियं
प्राप्तं प्राप्तं उपासिते
हृदयेन अपरजितः

- कुठेतरी वाचलेलं मनाला भावलेलं सुभाषित

फ़लाचि इच्छा न धरता कर्म करत रहा, मन सदोदीत प्रेसन्न ठेवा इत्यादी वाक्प्रचार, सल्ले आपण अगदी गीतेपासून चावत, ऐकत, सांगत असतो. पण इथे काहीतरी वेगळं भावलं. चिमण्यांच्या चिवचिवाटात दयाळाची एक शीळ अलगद येऊन हृदयाला भिडावी तसं झालं. पहिल्या दोन ओळी वाचताना वाटलं आला नेहमीसारखा एक सल्ला. मग तिसरी ऒळ आली, हळूच सुचवून गेली. काही तरी वेगळं आहे हे. नुसतं मान्य करण्याचं म्हणत नाहीये .... उपासिते !!!!!! जे येईल ते घ्या, आपलंसं करा, त्याची उपासना करा, त्याला आदर, प्रेम द्या. वाहव्वा !! आणि सगळ्यावर कळस म्हणजे शेवटची ओळ. सर्व बॅटसमनमध्ये सचिन वेगळा ठरतो ते उगाच नाही, तसंच या शेवटच्या ओळीच< आहे. हे सर्व तर कराच, पण कसं करा, हे करताना स्वतःचं काय करा.... ’हृदयेन अपरजितः’. यावर अजून पुढे काय बोलायची गरज आहे !!!!!!!!

Yog .... not Yogaa

2009-04-16T13:58:00.002+05:30

For once I read an article where yog was granted its due pronunciation. Misbelief about yog is not restricted to its pronunciation, but engulfs its basic philosophy. Yog is taken equal to yogasana and that is equaled to physical postures for workouts or some form of aerobic exercise.

Yog word originates from Sankrut word 'yuj' which means 'to unite'. It is an experience, a methodology which helps a person to achieve oneness with with the universe. It propagates importance of being in unison. It may be seen as science which deals with harmony of body, breath, mind, soul, and ultimately, the universe.

Its bodily part or aasanaas (yogaasanaas) are important. But it should be understood that these aasanaas are not gymnastic, acrobatic or flexibility. The bodily postures need to be harmonised with breathing, concentration, meditation to evolve and harmonise and evolve our deeper self.

काय सांगायचंय मला .....

2009-04-15T09:08:00.008+05:30

काहीतरी म्हणायचंय मला
काहीतरी सांगायचंय....

अतीव वेदना की अत्युच्च आनंद
बेभान वासना की अथांग समाधान
माहीत नाही नक्की
काय सांगायचंय मला
पण एव्हढं मात्र कळतंय
काहीतरी म्हणायचंय मला
काहीतरी सांगायचंय....

बेधुंद दग्ध कामाक्षीचा
अस्फ़ुट हळवा हंकार
प्रसूत वेदनेतून प्रसवतो
आशेचा रडता अंकूर
प्रत्ये्क जन्मासह जन्मते
मृ्त्यूची अनिवार्य घटिका
मरणामधून उमलते
नियतीची आवर्तनलतिका

जन्मलेल्याचा मृत्यू नक्की
मेलेल्याला जन्म निश्चित
जन्माआधी काय अ‌‌न‍‌
मरणानंतर काय
उघडझाप, आकुंचन प्रसरण
अनादी अनंत अविरत आवर्तन
अर्थ अनर्थ कशाला अर्थ
काहीही म्हटलं तरी
काय त्याला अर्थ
तरी एव्हढं मात्र नक्की
काहीतरी म्हणायचंय मला
काहीतरी सांगायचंय

आज जे कोमेजलंय
उद्या हिरवं उमलेल ते
आज जे बहरतंय
उद्या मान टकेल ते
काही नाही स्थिर, ना काही स्पष्ट
अद्भूतातून असा निघतो अर्थ
स्पंदनं आवर्तनं अविरत चालू
किती त्यांना पाहू आणि किती जाणू
जेव्हढं केव्हढं उमजलंय
त्याने सारं मन भारलंय
ते व्यक्त करायचंय मला
तुमच्यापर्यंत पोहोचवायचंय
माहित नाही जमलं किती
जे मला म्हणायचंय
जे मला सांगायचंय

.... तू माझा सांगाती .....

2009-04-14T22:05:00.003+05:30

जेथे जातो तेथे
तू माझा सांगाती

भक्ताने परमेश्वराला, विठ्ठलाला हे म्हटले आहे. प्रत्येक जागेमध्ये, प्रत्येक गोष्टीमध्ये, प्रत्येक मा्णसामध्ये भक्ताला भगवंत दिसतोय. माझीही काहीशी तशीच अवस्था झालीय. पण काहीशीच. थोडा फ़रक आहे. म्हट्लं तर थोडा, म्हटलं तर मात्र अगदी मूलभूत. मला प्रत्येक देवात माणूस दिसतो. असा एकही देव मला सापडला नाही की ज्याच्या पायाला माती लागलेली नाहीय, की ज्याचा पाय कुठे कधी घसरलेलाच नाहीये, की ज्याच्य़ा देवचंद्रावर कुठे डाग पडला नाहीये.

एखाद्या महर्षीला वाकून नमस्कार करावा तर त्यांचं लक्ष पडणाऱ्या पदराकडे, अस्वस्थ मनाला आधार देण्यासाठी एका साधूकडे जावे तर तो स्वतःच इनसिक्यूअर्ड होऊन गर्दीच्या मागे लागलेला, विद्याध्यासाने गुरुसमोर बसावं तर त्यांची दृष्टी माझ्या खिशाकडे खिळलेली, मनःशांती शोधत स्पिरीच्युअल मास्टरकडे जावं तर तोच मानसोपचार तज्ञाकडून उपचार घेतोय. आदर्श म्हणून कोणाला समोर ठेवावे तर त्याची कृत्ये न कळली तरच बरे असे वाटावे. जंगजंग पछाडले पण संपूर्ण देव मला कुठे भेटलाच नाही.

माझे छोटे अनुभव व्यासांनी वैश्विक पाहिले होते. महाभा्रतभर त्यांनी देवत्वातले माणूसपण ्मांडले आहे. काही हरकत नाही, त्यांच्या समुद्रातला एक थेंब मी अनुभवतोय.

हे माणसा ....
जेथे जातो तेथे
तू माझा सांगाती.

कधी नव्हे ते हिंदू संस्कृतीचा माझा काही संबंध आहे असे वाटले. नाहीतर हिंदू संस्कृती म्हणून जे काही पहावे लागते ....

Oppressed Men

2009-04-06T10:02:00.003+05:30

American man Mansfield Fraizer says about what happened after he heard the news of his beloved wife in a car accident, "I don’t remember much after that. I had the mental breakdown I so needed and deserved." (More about him can be found onhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-04/confessions-of-a-man-who-almost-went-postal/3/)

I HAD THE MENTAL BREAKDOWN THAT I SO NEEDED AND DESERVED -- what a statement! What courage a MAN would need to feel, accept and express this way.

And look at all those women complaining about oppression and all. You are lucky ladies, you can put blame on something/someone outside yourself, other than you. You would never need to realize how it feels to be frozen inside an iceberg, that is yourself. May God bless you.

Thank you Mr. Mansfield Fraizer

Faith, love and hope

2009-04-01T22:05:00.005+05:30

A young girl met with a severe road accident. The accident was so bad that nobody expected her to survive. But she did, just enough. Just enough for doctors to make a try. Lots of tubes, lots of scopes and meters covered her. Days went by. She was on the border line, her balance all tilted towards other side. But all these devices, all these tubes, all these injections had barely managed to hold her on. Doctors had almost lost any hope, her parents too were loosing hope very fast. It was extremely painful to watch that lifeless body breathing though the ventilator, eating through those tubes and fighting through those frequent piercing injections.

The accident had occurred just at a major turning point in her life. She was engaged and was to get married in a few days. She and her fiance had made all the plans to last details. Only the auspicious ceremonies were remaining and they would enter into a new life. A life full of love, full of hope just waiting to unite. Both of them were floating in dreams of a lovely future they were to going live together.

And now, all of a sudden, all that love, all those dreams were threatened to get crushed under a stroke of destiny. The young boy seemed a man of grit, man of faith, man full of love. Everyday after his working hours he would come to the hospital and sit by her side. Touching her, looking into her closed eyes, talking to her, conversing with her. He would be there late into the night. Every night it was difficult for him to make himself retire. He would say good-bye with a gentle sqeeze of her hand, with a light kiss and a soft bye-bye and walk away calmly.

Days passed by in this routine. Her medical condition did not improve. Doctors had declared her beyond recovery. Parents had lost all hope. It was a matter of single decision. All the gadgets, devices, pricks and tubes would step aside. She would quietly float into the other side. This young man had different ideas. All through the ordeal he was calm and quiet and assured. He refused to accept the 'expert' advise, he accept to listen to the destiny. He said that I am talking to her and she has told me she is going to come back to me. Right now she is feeling confused and can not find her way back. But we are talking and she will come.

There is a Kannad poem by poet Puttappaa. Its free tranlation goes something like this:
hope hope hope ,
my soul
till you yourself become God

शोध मनाचा

2009-03-31T09:30:00.003+05:30

विश्वाचा आदि आणि अंत यांची पूर्ण समज येऊच शकत नाही म्हणतात. आपण अगदी जवळ जवळ जाऊ शकतो, आता पोचलोच असं वाटू लागतं पण तिथे प्रत्यक्ष पोचत मात्र कधीच नाही. आदिअंताची पूर्ण ओळख, संपूर्ण समज अशक्य.कशापसून झाली जगाची उ्त्पत्ती आणि का झाली, आता झालीच आहे तर किती काळ चालणार हे, कधी संपणार, कशात संपणार, का संपणार कोणालाच सांगता येत नाही. मोठेमोठे शास्त्रज्ञ झाले, अनेक तत्ववेत्ते झाले, साधूसंत झाले पण सगळ्यांना हात टेकावे लागले. अशा अगम्य पराकोटीच्या दोन टोकांमध्ये अजून एक गोष्ट आहे की जिची पुर्ण ओळख अशक्य. आपली, आपल्या जवळची अशी ही गोष्ट आहे. ती आहे आपलं मन. जन्मापासून मृत्यपर्यंत आपण त्याच्या अगम्या क्रीडांनी रंजत असतो. कधी दुःख, कधी आनंद, कधी अहंभाव तर कधी अपमान. आयुष्यभर आपण आपल्या स्वतःबद्दल काहीतरी छातीठॊकपणे सांगत असतो, पण प्रत्यक्ष वेळ येते तेव्हा मात्र.....

त्यामुळे आपल्याच मनाचा आपणच शोध घेण्यात एक प्रकारचे रहस्यभेद असते, मनोरंजन असते, आनंद असतो तर कधी अमूळ दुःखही असते. जे समजते त्याने खूप खोल काहीतरी उमटते आणि जे समजत नाही त्याने अनंत शक्यता समोर येतात.

नरसमता

2009-03-25T18:37:00.002+05:30

चारदोन लाथा खाऊन
शरीराचं फ़ार काही बिघडत नाही
आसवं पूर्ण आटवून टाकून
मनाचं काय होतं
कल्पना आहे का तुम्हाला

ताकदवान असणं
सुखावह असतंच असं नाही
ताकदीचंच मोठ्ठ ओझ असतं
वेताळासारखं सतत मानगुटीवर
मरेपर्यंत तिथेच

रडतोस काय मुलीसारखा
लाजतोस काय बाईसारखा
घाबरतोस काय शेळपट
मान कशी ताठ पाहिजे
डोळ्यांत सारखी जरब पाहिजे

कोणासम कोणी व्हावं
तुम्हीच पहा
मैदानातला दगड बरा की
कैदेतली स्वच्छंदी बरी
तुम्हीच ठरवा

नार बनाओ जी रसिया को . . . . .

2009-03-19T06:03:00.003+05:30

ही एक पारंपारिक बंदिश कुमार गंधर्वांनी गायलेली आहे. शब्दांइतकीच तरलता आहे त्यांच्या गाण्यात. आजच्या पुरुषांशी बरोबरी करण्याच्या युगात गोपी कृष्णाला स्त्रीरुप धारण कराय्ला निघाल्या आहेत. त्याला अगदी लेंगा-चोळी घालून, कुंकू लावून. निर्विवाद पुरुषी वर्चस्वाच्या भारतीय लोककथांमध्ये, लोककलांमध्ये असे झळकमोती अचानक सापडून जातात.

८ मार्चच्या स्त्रीदिनी कुठल्यातरी एफ़ एम चॅनलवर जाहिरातबाजी चालू होती की मुलींनो मुलांना दाखवून द्या की तुम्हीही फ़ॉर्म्युला वन रेसमध्ये इंटरेस्ट घेऊ शकता इ. इ. छानच की बरोबरी करत करत सगळ्या मुली मुलांसारख्य़ाच वागायला लागल्या तर एकांगी जग कसं वाटेल ?!

या बंदिशीसारखं अजून एक पुस्तक सापडलं, राजस्थानी लोककथांचं. मला वाटतं विनीता सावंतांनी त्याचा मराठी अनुवाद केला आहे. ’द्वंद्व’ त्याच नाव. मी काही बोलत नाही त्यावर, प्रत्यक्ष वाचावंच

Poetic Dialogue

2009-03-17T09:32:00.003+05:30

A freind wrote a poem on FB:

"you say i write
from the heart…

if only you saw
how hard it’s been hit
by that dart!

alas, i fail to learn
dodging –
that wonderful art
and end up simply
writing!"

I said to him:
"oh my
i threw a rose
to kiss your heart
and its one thorn
pierced in
see how now
blood is gushing out

i receive it with solemnity
for I see
that all bleeding
is not bad
specially when
its getting donated

seeing this I hope
next time I throw
a dart
you will not dodge"

अंतू बर्वा आणि प्रभात रस्ता

2009-03-15T14:05:00.002+05:30

सकाळी प्रभात रस्त्यावरून जाताना अचानक लक्षात आल की त्या नेहमिच्या हिरव्या कोपऱ्यावर एक बंगला आहे. आज तिथली हिरवाई पूर्ण छाटूण टाकली होती. सुनसान ओकंओकं दिसत होत, एका कलेवरासारखं. खरतर आता तो बंगला उरलाच नव्हता. तिथे होतं ते त्या जुन्या बंगल्याच नुसतं कलेवर. थोड्याच वेळात मणसं जमतील, तिरडी बांधतील आणी ओंकारश्वरावर घेऊन जातील. तिथे उरेल फ़क्त एक आठवण, थोडा वेळ उदासी. माझ्यासारखे येणारे जाणारेही थोडेसे हळ्हळतील, क्वचित डोळ्यांना रुमालही लावतील.

आणि मला आठवला पुलंचा अंतू बर्वा. बेंबट्याला सांगणारा सोडून गेलेल्या सवंगड्यांच्या गोष्टी, त्यातून वाटणारी हुरहूर. भरभरून जगलॊ, मनसोक्त प्रे्म दिलं-घेतलं, अंगाखांद्यावर लोभस तान्ही खेळवली. आता परतीचा रस्ता दिसायला लागलाय, तोसुद्धा चालायला पायांत ताकद उरेल की नाही सांगवत नाही. अशी संपृक्त समृद्ध फ़ळं झाडावरून पडून गेल्यावर काय वाटत असेल त्या झाडाला! काय वाटत असेल आजूबाजूच्या फ़ांद्यांना, पानाफ़ळांना. त्यावर राहणाऱ्या, जेवणाऱ्या पक्ष्यांना.

एक घर, एक वास्तू म्हणजेही अशीच व्यक्तीच की. किती आआठवणी. तिच्या स्वतःच्या, मुलाबाळांच्या, नातवंडपणतवंडांच्या, शेजारपाजारच्या, अख्ख्या प्रभात रस्त्याच्या, एका मावळत चाललेल्या संस्कृतीच्या!

असो. आलेलं कधीतरी जाणारच. त्याचं ना दुःख, ना आनंद. पण जाणारा जाताना आपण त्याच काही ठेवून घेतोय का, घेतलं तर काय़ ठेवून घेतोय. निदान आठवणी तरी - लोणच्या-मुरंब्या सारख्या मुरलेल्या. ....