Daastaan... Adhoori si

 Chand nikla nahi tha shayad us raat

Par sitaaron ki chamak saath chal rahi thi

Kya hum ja sakte hain wahaan dobara?

Woh baat sun-ne ko jab dhadkan machal rahi thi?

Chaand keh kar pukara tha tumne mujhe

Tab halki si muskaan mein sharm sama gayi thi

“Pagal” kehkar matha thapthapaya tha mera

Kyun? Kya main woh ehsaas tum mein jaga gayi thi?

Amavas ko dhang se na samajh paaoon

So tumne chand se muqabla kar diya mera

Khush thi ki roshni ban gayi hoon tumhari

Par yeh bhi yaad ki chaand samete hai andhera

Poori qaaynaat par noor chhalkata, phir chhupata

Woh ek raaz, ek aas, ek aarzu, ek gumshuda chehra

Tum padh nahi paaye mere khamosh andhere

Ab dushmani kar baitha hai zindagi se savera

Thake kandhe par sar, haath mein tumhara haath

Main chali ja rahi thi machalti chahat ko dabaye

Sard raat thi, laal shawl ke neeche dil thithur raha tha

Par yaad is kambakht ko tab bhi tumhari saanson ki garmaahat aaye

Tumne hi kaha tha, thandi hawa pyaar ko bhadkaati hai

“Paas raho, ab chhoti si doori bhi sataaye”

Tabse kitni sardiyaan, ya kahoon sadiyaan beet gayi hain

Thandak phir badan ko choom ke gayi, par tum toh na aaye

Saal bhar mein se bas sardiyaan yaad reh jaati hain ab

Aksar tumhari baaton ki chaadar ke peechhe chhup jaati hoon

Na bebas hoon, na badgumaan, na pyaar kam hua hai mera

Main toh mushkil yaadon ki bhi dhun bana, usse gungunaati hoon

Dua ki chaukhat pe baithe dekha hoga tumne mujhe

Andar jhaank ke, main waapas bhaag aati hoon

Sochti hoon ki pyaar maang, tumhe chheen kar le aaoongi

Par wahaan tumhara aks dekh, tumhari khushi ke liye lalchaati hoon

Meri baatein, meri kahaaniyaan yaad hain tumhe?

Sunte-sunte tum aksar thak jaate the

Kabhi hans padte, toh kabhi tok dete, kabhi na samajhte

Baaton ke matlab musalsal, sirf lafz badal jaate the

Suno, azeem lafzon ki riyaasaton ke beech dekhna

Wahin kuchh chhote gaaon hain jinme maayne samaate the

Saath chal rahi, tum kaise meri aankhein padh paate?

Un dono mein hi toh raat ke bewatan kisse timtimaate the.

Woh raat chali nahi wahaan se, waqt mein tham si gayi  hai

Woh daastaan bhi badhi nahi aage, kaali syahi mein jam gayi hai

Waqt jo kilkaariyaan marta, gudgudee karta

Waqt, woh aansu chhupata, siskiyaan dabata

Waqt jo waqt jaisa nahi tha

Waqt, jo par lagaaye khada tha

Jise yaad kar, muskuraate ho tum abhi 

Jise bhool aaye usi raaste, usi raat kahin

Postscript

Aansu behte hain kabhi kabhi

Par muskaan honthon pe tik gayi hai

Tum mujhe apni kahaani toh poori suna gaye

Humaari daastaan magar adhoori reh gayi hai

I could not have found a better artist than Afremov, yet again, to express in pictures what I have attempted to in words. When I recited the above poem in front of my classmates at college, one of them said in a tone of surprise, "Saumya, you are really romantic at heart!", and I was left scratching my head, wondering, how did she miss that! Another friend who heard it said that to have written all this, I MUST have felt an intense amount of love. I prevaricated, but smiled to myself. In my reckoning 'intense amount of love' is a euphemism of sorts. Adding figments of fiction to life is fun, but it also sometimes makes a spark into a conflagration. Building castles of love is not the most advisable thing to do, but hey, its a risk worth taking. I'll end the nonsense here. 

This is my first genuine attempt in Hindi. PACH made me do this. That same crazy, magical PACH.