बादल (Clouds)

गुमनाम बिन पहचान फिरते रहते हैं ये
कैसे अनदेखे अनसुने से घिर आते हैं ये
उबाले समंदर के नहीं बनते है ये
बिन मौसम तो कम ही दिखतें हैं ये

मुरीदों की सौ सौ गुहार सुन
कभी चंद बूँदें तो कभी बौछार बरसा जातें हैं ये
ये बादल कभी सफ़ेद नर्म रुई से
तो कभी काले धुऐं की तरह छा जातें हैं
जाने कितनी उमीदों का बोझ ले कर चलते हैं ये

अब के सावन उम्मीद लिए एक बादल मेरा भी होगा
 सूरज की रोशन गर्मी को मध्धम करने का बल मुझ में भी होगा

कभी तेज़ चलने तो कभी रुख पलटने का दौर मेरा भी होगा
जम के बरसेंगे बादल जो अब तक नहीं थे गरजे
आसमान पे छाने का मज़ा कुछ और ही होगा

वक़्त के अम्बर  पे एक हमसफ़र मेरा भी होगा
अब के सावन उम्मीद लिए एक बादल मेरा भी होगा

Unforgettable

Have you ever felt guilty for having forgotten something? Something that in normal course would never ever would have escaped you.

Perhaps forgotten is not the apt word, perhaps not even the right word but in a strange sort of a way it is the word that you'll use to chide yourself.

 
It is an uncanny feeling when you know that there is something brimming underneath the surface but its not front and centre as far as your conscious mind is concerned. All day, you try figuring it out but you can't.

And then, like a bolt from the blue it hits you; bad. The realisation is like a ton of bricks crashing down on you.

Question is what is your reality?

The fact that you knew something was coming, you thought about it, yet when it actually came you were not even conscious to it.

So does that mean that our conscious mind builds these memorials and in a foolish sort of a way holds on to feelings of pain and angst whilst our sub-conscious mind takes a more practical approach and treats these occassions more matter of factly?

I reckon there is merit to the argument that if time is the best healer of wounds and if, with passage of time you reach a stage where the only memories that remain are the happy ones, then, not remembering an occassion in effect is a part of the healing since the reason you primarily wanted to remember the occassion was an unhappy one.


There is no point building memorials, they never are happy places. Sometimes its just good to forget. Its our minds way of telling us that we have indeed moved on.

All that is required is perhaps a rememberance and it comes in that fleeting moment of quiet acknowledgement. The real deal is mustering up courage to embrace reality.

So here's to our sub-conscious mind doing its bit for keeping our "Happiness Quotient" up. 

Fact of the matter, there are somethings you don't need to remember, invariably they are also the things you cannot forget.

To end, in good old fashion a few lines from a song made popular by Nat King Cole

Unforgettable, that's what you are
Unforgettable though near or far
Like a song of love that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me
Never before has someone been more
......Unforgettable in every way
And forever more, that's how you'll stay

Everything at Once

What do the words Vision, Mission, Objective, Goal mean to you?

Well, for most of us from the corporate world this would be the mumbo jumbo that leaders speak of and the wordsmiths of the corporate world spend hours, weeks or even months trying to craft to perfection.

During our professional journeys all of us have been subjected to these terms a zillion times. Nevertheless, the words fail to leave a mark on us as individuals. The question that is begging to be asked is why do most(yes I am risking the generalisation) of us not have a thought through, well crafted mission statement for our lives personal or professional.

Let's start from the beginning.

Our first conscious decision making is all based on a set of instructions that we would have assimilated right from the time we are born. If one be critical, these are typically instructions on WHAT NOT TO DO rather than WHAT TO DO. All of them well intentioned but imagine being at the receiving end of a constant barrage of "Don't touch that" or "Don't go there" or "Don't eat that".

This is the phase in life that I'd term Early Consciousness.

And thus we build our decision making capabilities.

(See that wiggly yellow line .....the curve depicts our learning and while we are on explanations; the red curve shows the potential of the decision to impact our life to follow).

Moving on, the scenario improves a bit during the scholastic years wherein the instructions revolve around the "do this" or the more mild mannered "you should not". Perhaps some understanding of consequences gets ingrained during this phase. A step forward in enabling the decision making abilities. One is encouraged to make choices and take decisions however, the reward/consequence is immediate in nature. "Get 95% in boards and you can choose Sciences" or "Join XXX tutorials and you can make it to a good engineering/medicine college" or "Make this CGPA and you can ensure a good placement".

This phase is what I'd term Carrot & Stick.

All this while our ability to make informed decisions is improving with all the... ahem! education. Mind you nobody has yet said or discussed anything about those words that I mentioned right up front. But basis all the inputs and the time that lies ahead of you this would be the best time (A) to sit back and plan forward. Truth is no such thing happens.

Next comes the phase that I call Sunshine & Hay. The acid test for all that we have learnt.

Sadly, this is also where the dumbing down phase where the horses with blinkers learn to focus on Targets which I daresay are not very long term. This is the phase one is really slogging to appease. Those of us that happen to be in organisations where HR means more than recruitment and payroll get our first glimpses of goals and performance assessments. Discussions are held where the chain of command kicks in and from top down the "what the hell are we trying to do" pitch is amplified into the vision, mission, strategy, plan highfalutin. This is around the time (B) where we still have enough time to figure out the what and where part of our life. However, we are too busy blowing up the new found riches.

Mondays roll into Mondays while slowly (for most) but surely (sadly not for most) you are making your way up some corporates ladder. The mighty HR meanwhile, basis all the reviews and discussions over the years puts you on a development and skill renewal path winding its way through several workshops, trainings and online courses all decided by some mystical algorithm.

One fine day, you land up in a "leadership" workshop and at the back of your mind you are thinking "I have arrived".  And then...reality hits you. A gentle prod at first...you look up and see there isn't enough space on top; you look around and say "Hmmm these guys are vying for the same thing". Then, reality really shakes you up. You look back and say to yourself "Where did all the years go?"

You are almost 40 and at point (C). In a position to lead without a strong idea as to why or how you got where you got to or for that matter, whether this is the place you wanted at all to get to.

So now, at a point in life where both the yellow and red worms are getting limp; you have got to remember all that you've learnt, comprehend it, figure whether you have come to the right place, regardless think of a way forward, plan your approach and implement it. Everything at once!!

Problem is, the only phase that you have ahead of you is Reflection.

Life in a Cliché

 

I love to catch the morning sun in my eye
Always believed theres a cloud with the silver lining somewhere in the sky
I long to catch the winter morning breeze
When it rains I relish the sight of the washed green leaves

Yes there's a rainbow somewhere with a pot of gold
For every ending there's a story still untold
I know that good things come to those who wait
That there will come a day when all the work is finished or when it is not too late

I still feel the bitter truth is better than a lie
That belief is in saying why not rather than why
Wisdom is not in holding on but letting go
When the tide is against you its better lying low

In my life I have not loved wisely but loved deep
Never made promises I could not keep
Always tried to disguise my despair as patience
Looked forward to the journeys and not the destinations

Chosen life (Well...considering the alternative !)
Thank you Lord for all the mercies
Whenever I look back at my life
I would love to have LIVED it just like the cliche!

Rang (रंग)

इस रंग बदलती दुनिया से

हमने भी थोड़ा सीख लिया

कुछ दुनिया से  हमने रंग लिया

और खुद को थोडा बदल लिया

कभी किस्मत ने हमको गिरा दिया

तो कभी वक़्त ने हमें सता दिया

सब सोचें हमको क्या मिला

हम सोचें कितना जान लिया

जाने पहचाने चेहरों को

भीतर से पढना सीख लिया

सच और झूठ के फेरों में

काले को कोरा कहना सीख लिया

कुछ खुद को थोडा बदल लिया

कुछ दुनिया को हमने रंग दिया

इस रंग बदलती दुनिया से

हमने भी थोड़ा सीख लिया

Yaadein

कुछ  यादें  एक  खलिश  सी  होती  हैं 

बरसों  दिल  में  सुलघ्ती  रहतीं   हैं

दबती  छुपती  तो  हैं  मगर  दहकती  रहतीं  हैं

बीतते  सालों  का  मरहम  पा  के  भी  दर्द  देती  हैं 

गुज़रा  वक़्त  सब  कुछ  भुला  नहीं  देता 

मन  में  बसा  चेहरा  धुन्दला  नहीं  देता

तेरी  मुस्कान  दिल   में  अभी  भी  गूंजती  हैं

ये पलकें  आज  भी  तुम  को  ढूँढती  हैं

तुम्हे  याद  कर  यह  आँखें  दो  बूँद  और  रो  देती  है

नहीं  लिखा  था  शायद  साथ   तुम्हारा 

होगी किसी  खुदा  की मर्ज़ी  पर  हमें  नहीं  है  गवारा 

गलती  तो  खुदा  से  भी  होती है

यादें  आ  आ  कर  बस  येही  सदा  देती  हैं