याद हैं तुम्हें

जब हम नए इश्क़ की डोर थामे

छोटे शहर के बड़े मकानों की छतों पर उडा करते थे

मैं तुम्हारी सुफ़ेद कमीज़ पर नीली स्याही के बादल बनाती थी

और तुम

मेरी मासूम हंसी को अपनी नज़मों में उतारा करते थे

आज भी हम उड़ने की कोशिश करते हैं

बड़े शहर के टू बीएचके फ्लैट की

चार गज की बालकनी से

इश्क़ वही है आज भी

बस दुनियादारी,रीत-रीवाज

और सोसाइटी के स्टेटस की धूल की जम गयी है अब

तुम्हारी सुफ़ेद कमीज़ के वो नीले बादल

लोकल के सफ़र में काले मटमैले हो गये हैं

और मेरी हंसी भी तुम्हारी नज़मों की तरह ख़ामोश हो गयी है

-- निधि --

Fragrances of Life

People keep memories of their old days. Memories make you cherish those moments which made you happy or sad. I keep the fragrances of those moments in my heart. Surprised!!!! You may ask how moments can have fragrances. I will tell you how. When we live a moment, we are either happy or sad. We have a particular state of mind at any moment. We tend to associate our state of mind with a particular fragrance. When I was 6 years old, I did not want to go to school. I was crying and giving all kind of excuses just to not attend the school. But my mother sent me to the school with a lunch box with gobhi paranthas in it. I was very sad whole day. In lunch time when I opened my lunch box, a smile spread across my face after seeing those paranthas. Since then whenever I think about my first day at new school, that beautiful aroma fills my nose even today. It is twenty years since that day now but that aroma is still fresh.

Other fragrance that I cherish is of morning dew. In winters, mornings in north-india are foggy. Everything is covered under a thick sheet fog and dew. That dew has a very beautiful smell. When I joined the college, I had to leave my home early in the morning.  When I was in first year of my college and winter came it brought the usual foggy mornings with it. When I stepped out of my home on the first foggy morning of the season the visibility was almost zero. All I could see was the silhouette of a guy who was also walking towards the bus stop. I started following him and it soon became a routine for almost two months. The entire route from my home to the bus stop used to be very deserted in those mornings and I used to feel very insecure but the sight of that guy walking in-front of me used to make me feel secure. We did not talk to each other on any of those mornings but still there was some connection. Later on we started talking and today he is my husband. Whenever I remember our first meeting my nose gets filled with the moist smell of the dew and everything becomes so fresh.

Of all the fragrances the closest to my heart is the fragrance of a special jaggery tea that my grandmother used to make. I still remember, I had given the final exam of ninth standard and my parents decided to spend the summer vacation at my grandmother’s place in Dehradun. I was very upset on the missed opportunity of enjoying the summer vacation with my friends. I didn’t speak to my parents during the entire journey. I was so upset that I didn’t even talk to my grandmother when we reached her place. I went to the guest bedroom and slept while crying. I woke-up in the evening and suddenly a very beautiful smell filled the entire room. My grandmother entered with a cup of tea with some homemade snacks. She fed me those sumptuous snacks with her own hands and that jaggery tea of hers so tasteful that I took another cup. Till today I have not find such fine tea.  I can still recall her wrinkled face and gnarled hands. She was caressing me and feeding me and I felt love and care flowing through those wrinkles. Since then I have spend my vacations in many parts of the world but that summer vacation is still one of the best that I had.

So friends, I will suggest you to collect as many fragrances with you as possible. Memories may fade away but the fragrances of those moments will always be fresh in your mind. And whenever you would encounter any such fragrance it would take you to those memorable days of your life. I believe that the life is a collection of fragrances, and one should enjoy them till they last.

Through old glasses

Shouting Ma Ma, Arundhati entered the room.  “What happened” her mother asked.

“Ma I got a new pair of glasses for you” she replied.

“I already have one.” mother replied.

Arundhati took her mother’s hand in her hand and said, "I know ma but I got an extra pair for you. You misplace your glasses every other hour and then it takes hours for you and me to find them. Now you have two, so you can use one whenever the other is misplaced."

Mother replied, "Arundhati you remember when you were in 7th standard. Your teacher asked for your old books. You, I and your baba, we all searched every nook and corner of our home for those books. Though we could not find your books , we found your baba’s old hat which was missing for one year. Your baba treated you with your favorite ice-cream. You were so happy that day and we were happy to see your smiling face. These are the memories I still cherish. But sadly these memories are all that I have now. You used to have time for me, for your baba. I know you are very busy and do not have time to talk to us so I ask you to help me because that is the time when we share some words between us. You are so involved with your career and ambitions now that you don’t have time for us anymore. We have forgotten how you used look while smiling. So, I deliberately misplace my glasses again and again. This way for fifteen-twenty minutes, we again get to see our little daughter in you. This way we get to spend some time with our daughter. You remember we spent three full days looking for your missing books. But now, you do not have five minutes to look for my glasses, so you brought one more and have taken away those moments from us with this extra pair. In the same way as when you could not spend time with us, you brought TV. You remember when we had only one TV in our home and only one channel was broadcasted. We all used to watch TV together. We were happy not because we watched TV but because we all watched it together. Now you got us the extra TV in my room but you could not bring the happiness of watching it with family. You have alternatives for everything but do you have the alternative for the happiness that we used to get when we all searched for the missing glasses. Your alternatives are quick but they can’t bring that happiness which we used to have when we all spent time together.”
                    Arundhati was surprised by her mother's revelations. It’s true that she has a little time for her ma and baba. She is so busy with her career and ambitions that she did not realize her parents’ agony. She is the only child of her Parents. She felt as the words coming out of her mother's mouth hitting her like a hammer. She took her mother's hand in her hands and replied, "Ma it is true that I have been very busy and took you and baba for granted. You and baba had taken lots of pain to make me an IAS officer. I still remember the day when granny cried and mourned on my fifth birthday because she wanted a grandson not me. I know ma, mama scolded you for spending so much money on my studies. Despite all the odds you and baba stood by me against a male dominated society. You and baba always encouraged me to step ahead in my career. It is because of your parenting, that I have reached this high. Now is the time to prove that whatever you did was not wrong. A girl can do all that what a boy can do. I want to show the same male dominated society that I am no less than a son for you and baba."

Arundhati’s mother eyes were shining with proud. Tears roll down on her cheeks. She took Arundhati in her arms and said, "I am proud of you my daughter. Your baba and I never regretted of not having a son. We are happy for your achievements but we are happier because we instilled right values in you. You have made the best utilization of those values. You are the biggest Prize of our life. You do not have to prove to anybody that you are as good as a boy. We love you for what you are." 

Now it was Arundhati’s turn. Her throat was choked with emotions. Then she replied, “I almost forgot that it is important to chase one’s dream but it is even more important to not neglect one’s responsibility towards parents. When I was a kid you and baba always inspired me to work hard. I got my ambitions from you. As I grew up my ambitions also grew. I was always chasing my dreams and in this chase I forgot about my personal life. Ma, I now have realized that there is no alternative for happiness that you get from your family. I promise I will never try to find the alternative for that happiness.”

Memories in a Wooden Box

Memories are like things, they have a tendency to get stale. I know you won’t believe it but its true .Trust me, It happens. It has happened to me. It happens to everybody. It happened to you also, but may be you never noticed. Memories in your mind, when stay for a long time get stale. You must be wondering how one’s memories can get stale. Let me tell you how it happens. You know that memories fade away but before they fad, they get stale. I’ll give you a proof. Today, a carpenter came to my home. While he was working I was not able to concentrate in my work because his work tools were making noise. So I decided to clean my wardrobe. I started with accessories section as it was a complete mess for a long time. I, a hard core procrastinator, was a bit hard on myself and thus decided to do the most daunting of the task at hand immediately. I picked the wooden box, which is full of ear rings. It is a beautifully carved wooden box, which I bought from Saharanpur when I was in seventh grade. Though I did not have any jewellery at that time but still, I bought that box with fifty rupees that my massi gave me during my stay in Saharanpur in summer vacations. I loved the box and kept it with me till today. I opened the box.  There were a number of ear rings in all the colors and in all the varieties such as ethnic and western. I am very fond of ear rings but the box was so cluttered and there were so many of them. Therefore I decided to throw away some of the old unused ear rings.  I selected the red hangings which I bought in merely 10 rupees from a lady who sold those kinds of earrings on manji (an iron bed) in small market nearby our house. It was a difficult choice. It felt as if the ear ring was crying with pain and saying “why do you want to throw me away I have been with you for a long time. How can you forget when you first time put me in your ears and proudly walked around your college. How can you forget that Rahul, your first crush talked to you that day for the first time and said- tum in ear rings me bahut achhi lag rahi ho and you blushed. Later on you were embarrassed and thought why you blushed. You flaunted me among your girlfriends. Smile did not leave your face the whole day. In night you had a beautiful dream that you are dating Rahul and still wearing me.” The ear ring again pleaded “Please don not throw me away. Remember I made the day for you and many more days following that day. I was a proud possession of yours and today you want to get rid of me, why tell me why” ear rings sobbed. I answered “Dear ear ring you are old. Your metal has lost its shine. You do not look as good as you looked when I wore you first time. You are of no use today. I have to throw you as I had to throw away the memory of Rahul. Rahul, who was my first crush at the age of seventeen. Rahul about whom I thought that he is my first love. I had to remove his memories from my mind as they were not letting me concentrate on my present. His memories were staling in my mind. I removed the stale memories of Rahul from my mind. If I would not have done that I would not have moved on and found my soul mate. So dear ear ring if I do not throw you away I won’t be able to get a new one. I am sorry but dear ear ring I can not keep you in my beautifully carved wooden box.”

You love your old memories. They made you smile in the past but in present they are of no use. If you won’t get rid of your old memories, they will stale in your mind and stale your mind as well. It is necessary to get rid of these stale memories to make space for new ones.