Lure

It's funny

How we

Feel trapped

In this world

And then

Bring in

More people

To be trapped

In this world....

By procreating

Continuously....

Generation after

Generation for

Aeons and

Centuries....

Relentlessly

Such is the

Lure of this

Chimeric life.

Poetry © Aparna Chatterjee

Tired

You get tired

Of life, still you

Keep trudging.

You don't want to

Take your own life,

So you keep trudging.

© Aparna Chatterjee

Life

A life of choice

A life of freedom
A life of dignity

That's what
Every woman
Wants in every
Vicinity.

© Aparna Chatterjee

Life Story

This person's life story shows us that despite countless adversities, if a person has the will to live well, he / she can find the way to do so and is eventually able to see the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

His is a really fascinating life story, a roller-coaster ride of numerous negative events that he has to endure but despite all the traps that life throws at him, he's able to pave a way to come out of it all and make himself a beacon of inspiration.

Hope someday, some intrepid movie director or producer comes across his life story and makes an awesome movie that will inspire the world with a beautiful message of love, hope, endurance, patience and tolerance, showing the viewers how self-motivation helped by a good support system mobilizes transformation towards a better future.

The homeless drug addict who became a professor

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-55559382

Have a read when you can.

Cheers
Aparna

Futile

Life is
Futile
If you
Don't
Know
How to
Smile....

Sorrows
Will be
Plenty
But you
Should
Learn to be
Happy for a
While, even
If it means
Every once
In a while....
By letting go
Of all the
Bile and
Wile....

In the
Miles and
Miles of
Life's arduous
Journey, see
If you can
Traverse every
Single mile without
Using any guile as
A step or a stile....

Then when
You look
Back at life
When you
Are senile
Life will not
Rile you,
Nor will it
Revile you
For being
A puerile
Juvenile
Instead
Smile back
At you and
Share your
Smile....

Tasveer

Aankh Mein Khamoshi, Labon Pe Sawaal, Rukh Pe Saadgi
Kaise Kaise Rang Hain Is Tasveer Mein

Well, I thought of beginning this new year by dedicating this Blog to the renowned Pakistani poet - Ahmad Faraz

Hope you liked his lines on Tasveer (which means Chitr - Picture / Photo)

I'm gobsmacked by his Superb Shayari :-)

He's the one who wrote Ghazals like

Ranjish Hee Sahi Dil Hee Dukhane Ke Liye Aa
Aa Phir Se Mujhe Chhod Ke Jaane Ke Liye Aa

and also

Ab Ke Hum Bichhde Toh Shayad Kabhi Khwabon Mein Milen
Jis Tarah Sookhe Huwe Phool Kitaabon Mein Milen
__________________________________

He died in August 2008. It's been about 8 years this world has lost him.

Wherever he is, may his soul rest in peace, may he be blessed forever for giving us such immense poetic pleasure :-)

If he has taken rebirth, may his new life be full of blessings and happiness :-)

Here are some samples of his precious gems.

Ungliyan Aaj Bhi Is Soch Mein Gum Hai Faraz
Usney Kaisey Naye Haath Ko Thaama Hoga....

Is Kadar Keemti Toh Na Tha Mera Chaen-O-Sukoon Faraz
Loot Kar Le Gaya Woh Kisi Anmol Khazaney Ki Tarah...

Phir Itne Mayoos Kyun Ho
Uski Bewafayi Par Faraz,
Tum Khud Hi Toh Kehte The
Ke Woh Sab Se Juda Hai?!!!

Kisi Ke Ek Aansoo Par Hazaron Dil Tadapte Hain,
Kisi Ka Umr Bhar Ka Rona Yunhi Bekaar Jata Hai

Suna Hai Zindagi Imtihaan Leti Hai Faraz
Par Yahan Toh Imtihanon Ne Zindagi Leli

Hansi Ko Main Sun Ek Baar Chaunk Utha, Faraz
Yeh Mujh Mein Dukh Chhupaane Ka Kamaal Kaisey Aa Gaya?!

Duniya Mein Mat Dhoondh Naam-E-Wafa, Faraz
Dilon Se Khelte Hain Log Bana Ke Humsafar Apna

Shayari, Aawargi, Khushbu, Wafaa, Lazzat, Sharaab,
Mukhtalif Shaklon Mein Shehzaade Ko Aurat Chahiye

Ab Usey Roz Na Sochun Toh Badan Tootta Hai, Faraz
Ek Umar Ho Gayi Hai Uski Yaad Ka Nasha Karte Karte

Na Jaane Kab Se Ho Gaye Itney Shiddat Pasand Hum, Faraz
Jab Tak Zakhm Na Khayein Tasalli Nahin Hoti

Intoxicating lines that make you feel tipsy.

Who needs wine? I don't ;-)

Faraz's magical way of saying so much in so few lines....reminds me of the Shakespearean Quote:

Brevity is the soul of wit

Hum Zamane Mein Yunhi Bewafa Mashhoor Ho Gaye Faraz
Hazaaron Chaahne Waley The, Kis Kis Se Wafa Kartey !!!

Kaun Pareshan Hota Hai Tere Ghum Se, Faraz
Woh Apni Hee Kisi Baat Pe Roya Hoga....

Usey Taraash Ke Heera Bana Diya Humne Faraz
Magar Ab Yeh Sochte Hain Usey Kharidein Kaise

Tu Kisi Aur Ke Liye Hoga Samundar-E-Ishq
Hum Toh Roz Tere Saahil Se Pyase Guzar Jaate Hain

Apni Nakaami Ka Ek Yeh Bhi Sabab Hai Faraz
Cheez Jo Mangte Hain Sab Se Juda Mangte Hain

Kahin Tanha Na Kar De Tujhe Munfrid Rehne Ka Shauq, Faraz
Jab Din Dhaley Tu Kisi Se Haal-E-Dil Keh Diya Kar....

Kaat Kar Zubaan Meri Keh Raha Tha Woh Faraz
Ab Tumhe Ijaazat Hai Haal-E-Dil Sunane Ki

Ab Jis Ke Jee Mein Aaye Wohi Pa Le Raushni,
Humne Toh Dil Jala Kar Sar-E-Raah Rakh Diya

Aa Ke Ab Tasleem Karlein Tu Nahin Toh Main Sahi,
Kaun Maanega Ke Hum Mein Se Bewafa Koi Nahi...

Ab Neend Se Kaho Hum Se Sulah Kar Le Faraz,
Woh Daur Chala Gaya Hai Jis Ke Liye Hum Jaaga Karte The
___________________________________________

And here is an excellent triad of 3 great poets - Ghalib, Iqbal and Faraz

Zara Gaur Farmaiye :-)

Zaahid Sharaab Peene De Masjid Mein Baith Kar,
Ya Woh Jagah Bata Jahan Khuda Nahin...
(Mirza Ghalib)

Masjid Khuda Ka Ghar Hai, Peeney Ki Jagah Nahin,
Kaafir Ke Dil Mein Ja, Wahan Khuda Nahin...
(Allama Iqbal)

Kaafir Ke Dil Se Aaya Hoon Main Yeh Dekh Kar,
Khuda Maujood Hai Wahan, Par Usey Pata Nahin...
(Ahmad Faraz)

Happy Pondering and Happy New Year to all of you :-)

Love,
AC :)

Tasveer taken from Getty Images dot Com / Courtesy: Boloji

Mother Nature

The beauty
Of Mother
Nature is
For us
To see

But I'm
Wondering
About the
Dead and
Departed

Are they also
Able to see
And savour
Her pristine
Beauty?

(Theme could also be Introspection / Observation; thought about those people who've left the earth for their heavenly abode; are they still able to enjoy the bounties of the earth from someplace else, invisible to our naked eyes?)







She

She stands
Out as a
Cut above
The rest
As she is
The very
Best of the
Best

Here's another one:

To stand out
From the rest
You have to be
Better than the
Best

(Theme could be Perception / Appreciation / Motivation / Inspiration and Success)







Subtle

Those
Subtle
Feelings
That
Man
Gives me...
Makes me
Think that
He fancies
Me :-)







Never

Never
Take
Life
For
Granted

What
Will you
Do if
Life
Starts
Taking you
For granted?


The above poems are © Aparna Chatterjee 2015

Image © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

You can read more poems here

Interesting

Some
People
Find life
Interesting

Some
People
Make life
Interesting

And some
People....
Look at life
And ask:

What's so
Interesting?!




(Theme could be Attitude / Perception)









Nowadays

Nowadays
I don't go
To see
His photo
As everywhere
Before my eyes
Floats his photo







Good

He said:

You don't
Need a
PhD
To write
Good
Poetry

You just
Have to
Feel me
To write
Good poetry

:-)

My

My bedroom
Is the cosiest
Place on earth

The sun
Comes in
And it feels
Like heaven
On earth :-)







Twin

He seems
To me my
Twin soul
As we strive
Towards the
Same goal
:-)








One

He loves me
In one piece

What if I
Fall into
Pieces?!

Maybe,
Then also
He'll love me
In every piece
:-)

(dedicated to my hubby)







Every

Every moment
Of every day...
I think of you
Yet my thoughts
Never seem to
Get enough
Of you...







One

There is
One girl
Who could
Stay with you
All day, all night
If only you could
Let her be with you
All day, all night







You

You
Write to
Those who
Read you
Not to
Those who
Don't need
You









Such

Such is his
Destiny....
That in this
Life, he would
Never know
That he
Belongs to me

And in the
Life after..?

Possibly,
It could be the
Same old story

And in the life
After next life?

Well, it all depends
On what sort of ending
You want for our
Love Story..?

Happiness or
Misery....?!

Some

Some
Stories
Don't make
It to the
News
Headlines

You need to
Read those
In between
The lines...








All His

All his
Theories
About my
Behaviour
Are going
Wrong...!

He thought
He understood
Me.

His understanding
Was so wrong...!




Choose

Time
To buy
Some
Earrings
Again

Hence
Missing
Baba
Again

He would
Carefully
Go thru
All the
Earrings
I would try
And then
Choose
For me
The ones
I would
Buy

(Theme: Choice)










Second

Tired and
Hungry
He comes
Back home
From his
Office that
Is his
Second
Home

(our men spend so much of time away from home in their office that it seems to be their second home)

Review

Some
People
Review
Your
Work
As if
They are
Putting their
Likes on Facebook

No matter
Whatever
The content
They seem to
Like it on Facebook







Unwritten

That
Unwritten
Poem of
Mine that
Will die
With me
Will revive
In your mind
When you'll
Live with me

(Theme could be Supernatural / Revival / Rebirth)


All the above Poems are © Aparna Chatterjee 2015

Images © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

You can read more poems here

I Wear

You want
To know
How close
I feel ~
Towards
You...??

Every day
You wear
Your glasses

Every day
I wear you

Just the way
You can't do
Without your
Glasses,
I can't do
Without you

'Cause
Just the way
You need
Your glasses

I need you :-)






Sometimes

Sometimes
I feel like
Writing to
You, all
Day, all
Night :-)

As if
Writing
Comes to
Me naturally
All day, all
Night :-)





If

If you
See him
Smiling
For no
Reason

Don't assume
There's no
Reason

The reason
Could be
Love :-)





Mother - Daughter

Daughter is posing
Mother is clicking,
In this age of Selfie
It's all about 'Me' ;-)

(written after seeing my neighbours taking selfies)





Some People

Some people
Are way too
Busy to give you
Time

But when
They are
Free
They want
All your time

Doesn't matter
To them - that
If and when
You need them
They don't have time






That

That
Last
Line
Of his
Poem
Stayed
With me
For a long
Time...

As if
Somebody
Had brought
Back to me
A long-lost
Memory...
After a
Long time






She

She
May be
Feeling
Lonely
Out there

So she's
Sharing
Her blog
Everywhere

(Theme: Filler)

School

Beginning
School
And
Ending
School

The school
Remains the
Same

The influx
And outflux
Goes on

Just like
We do
On
Earth

(in this poem, the earth is perceived as a school which we join when we are born and leave when we die and so the steady flow of births and deaths represents the influx and outflux)






He's

He's died
Peacefully
In his sleep.
At least,
Now he'll
Not be
Plagued
By the
Aches
And
Pains
Of his
Diurnal
Ablutions
That didn't
Let him sleep

(dedicated to aged, disabled or chronically ill people for whom life is so much of a burden that even doing their everyday little chores seems to be so painful. Death releases them from their diurnal struggle)






Pack

Pack a
Punch
In your
Poems
So that
People
Who
Read you
Consider
You to be
The Mary
Kom of
Prolific
Poetry

(addressed to all women poets)


All the above Poems are © Aparna Chatterjee 2015

School image © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

You can read more poems here

Life

Thru the
Window
Of the
Gym
I see
An old
Woman
Walking

Some years
Down the line
There'll be a
Young woman
In the Gym
Seeing me
Walking...

Theme: Cycle

(This poem came to me today while cycling in the Gym)







There Were...

There were
Three cars
In the house

Must be
People
There too

But when
You ring
The bell
To talk to
Them, nobody
Opens the door
To you

(wrote this poem after seeing someone standing outside our neighbour's door for quite some time and then walking away as nobody answered the doorbell, though I knew there were at least 3 people inside the house as they all have their own cars which they drive out when they leave home; this could be the growing urban trend across many cities around the globe)







Every Day

Every day
I pray to
Get thru
The day
For I don't know
What will come
My way...
Whether it will
Make my day
Or lead me
Astray...






Morning

Morning
Cuppa
And
Cigarette
In hand

Health
And
Death
Go
Hand
In hand

(wrote this after seeing one of my neighbours standing in his balcony, inhaling the fresh morning air, sipping his hot tea and smoking his daily cigar)






You

You
Let them
Handle

You
Let them
Go

You
Let them
See

You
Let them
Know

For they
Also
Need
Their
Space
To grow

(addressed to parents with regard to children)






Living

Living
With
The
Living
And
The
Dead

You
Feel
As if
Life
Goes
From
Green
To red.


The first word 'Living' means 'to live'
The living and the dead implies those who are alive and those who have died but are still alive in our memories.
In this poem, life is perceived as a set of traffic lights wherein the human traffic of this earth begins with green (which is birth) and stops with red (which is death)






Fight

You can
Fight
With
Yourself

You can
Fight
With me

You
Can
Even
Fight
With
The
Whole
World

In your
War of
Words
And Might
You can
Win or
Lose,
Possibly

But
No use
Fighting
Your
Destiny

Whatever
Is destined,
It's bound to be...

(Theme: Destiny)






Having

Having
Treated
Us with
His
Literary
Fest

His opus
Being one of
The best

He's finally
Got a place
To rest.

Amen!

(dedicated to Dr. C.S. Shah who's one of my favourite Boloji writers)






Dreams

The dreams
You dread
Having are of your
Parents dying...
And your wet eyes
That never stop
Crying...


(Theme: Nightmare)

Now that my parents have grown old, I often keep having these sordid dreams that I would never want to have; the fear of losing my parents is very oppressive.


All the above Poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Gone

They've all
Gone
To the
Cremation
Ground
To see
What
Happens
When
Life
Runs
Aground

(wrote this today after calling home and finding that Baba wasn't at home as he had gone with his neighbours to cremate one of his neighbours)

© Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Tamasha

Woh Bulayen Toh Kya Tamasha Ho
Hum Na Jayen Toh Kya Tamasha Ho

You can read the rest of this poem here

http://www.urdupoetry.com/siddiqui12.html

Superb Poetry of a Poet who died in Penury at the young age of 46.

He was born in 1928 in Ambala and died in 1974 at Lahore.

He was Muhammad Akhtar more popularly known to us as Sagar Siddiqui or simply Sagar

You can read more about him here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saghar_Siddiqui

Here's another wonderful article on him

Saghar Siddiqui: A man, his demons and his dog

http://www.dawn.com/news/1110922

What touched me about this article is how it ended showing us how this great poet's life ended.

Here it is and I quote:

A fan of his once wrote how (in 1966) while he was driving down Lahore’s Circuit Road, the radio in his car began to play a ghazal written by Saghar.

As the fan was quietly revelling in the power of Saghar’s words, his eyes caught a fleeting glimpse of a thin man with unkempt long hair and in tattered clothes walking aimlessly on the side of the road. It was Saghar.

As the world abandoned this genius, Saghar abandoned the world.

For years he could be seen walking and sleeping on the streets of Lahore, living on the food given to him by those who took him to be a beggar or a fakir.

Amazingly, he continued to write powerful poetry in spite of the fact that he could hardly utter a single coherent sentence anymore.

At times he would write brilliant poems, read them out loudly with a vacant look in his eyes, then tear the papers he’d scribbled these poems on, make a heap and set the heap on fire.

Over the years he befriended a stray dog with whom he shared whatever food that was handed to him by the shopkeepers. The dog would follow him and sleep beside him on any street corner Saghar would choose to sleep on.

After 15 years of morphine addiction, depression and living on the streets, in early 1974 Saghar was found dead in one such street corner of Lahore. Exposed to the cold winter of the city, he passed away in his sleep. He was just 46.

The dog that was with him for more than six years never left the spot where Saghar died. Finally, one year after Saghar’s death, the dog too died — almost exactly at the same spot where Saghar did.

That's my sharing for now.

Love...
Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life. -  Khalil Gibran

Sightseeing

Seeing
History
I slowly
Realise
That I'm
Also
Becoming
Part of
History





Best

You are
Your
Best
Friend

Nobody
Else
Can be
Your
Best
Friend

As you
Know
Yourself
Best -
From
All of the
Rest :-)

(The 1st Sunday of August is celebrated as Friendship Day, and so I wish all my Blog readers a Happy Friendship Day :)





Life

My son
Was once
Photographed
By me

Now
He's
Grown up
And indulges
In Photography
_________

Theme: Cycle

(based on the maxim - history repeats itself...)

Poem written after observing my 14 year old son clicking snaps in our garden





Working

Come
Rain
Or shine
They keep
Working
All the time

Who?

The builders
Building
Houses of
Yours and
Mine
________

Theme: Labour

(thinking of the daily wage earners in India who keep slogging to build palatial homes, shopping malls and complexes; working day and night, moving from one construction site to another, making those unfinished structures their temporary homes till their completion, and then moving on to build new houses and high-rise buildings. In a way, they are nomads, living a nomadic life, shifting from one building site to another, with no permanent home.)

© Aparna Chatterjee 2014

The sightseeing photo was taken by Rupashri Chatterjee

It Seems

It seems
You didn't
Like the way
He read the
News for us

That's why
You took him
Away from us

(addressed to God, this poem is dedicated to all the news bulletins given to us by George Alagiah who's now battling Bowel Cancer. He's one of my favourite news readers on BBC. My best wishes are always with him for a full and speedy recovery.)





Seeing

Seeing
The
Bleak
Ending
That
Life has
Who
Would
Want to
Make
Every day
A new
Beginning?

(my thoughts on seeing Shashi Kapoor's wheelchair photo at age 76)

The above poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Napoleon Hill

The famous American
Writer, Napoleon Hill
Once said:
What the mind of man
Can conceive and believe,
It can achieve.

So can I achieve
A win over you,
Or have I already
Won over you? :)




Some People

Some people
If you talk to them
Once, you don't
Feel like talking
To them again

And some people
If you talk to them
Once, you feel like
Talking to them
Again and again
Time and again
Forever again...




Daily

Not a day
Goes by
When I
Don't say
To her that
I love her...

'Cause
I feel so
Blessed
To have
A daughter
Like her

(People may find it funny and may even laugh at me but the bonding that I share with my daughter makes me feel so much Love for her that for the past many years, almost every morning and every evening begins and ends with the words love you from me to her - she's lost count of the number of times I've said this to her and even I have ;-)




Kulbir Ji

Kulbir Ji,
You write
So well
As if
Your
Words
Flow out
Of a holy
Well :-)
To cast
On us a
Magical
Spell :-)

(Theme: Appreciation, dedicated to our dear old Kulbir Ji, many a composition of his has made it to my Ed's Choice collection of Boloji Poetry as he writes too good)




Peerless

Seeing him
I don't know
Whether to
Smile or cry

Oh God,
Why did you
Make him die?

You should have
Made him Amar
The Immortal One
For he's the
Inimitable One.

None of those
Singers can
Replace him
Not a single one

He'll always remain
The Peerless One...

(dedicated to my Beloved Kishore; wrote this poem while seeing one of his songs, sung and enacted by him)




Gossip

It's so
Easy
To write
So much
About the
Dead -
'Cause
About them
Whatever
Is being said,
They'll not
Come to
Refute it
'Cause
They are
Dead.

(Theme could be Rumour / Slander)




Wrong or Right?

There was a
Time, whatever
You did -
You always thought
You were right :-)
And now here
Comes a time,
When you think
What you did,
Was it wrong
Or right? ;-)

(Theme: Hindsight)




Today

Today
Someone
Called up

His voice
Was so
Like yours

All the
Memories
Flooded in

I became
Again yours

(Theme: Nostalgia)




Talk

The widow
And the
Widower
Talk to
Each other
Hoping that
One day
They would be
Together

(Theme: Hope)




Life

As the
Years
Go by
You realise
That you've
Been delving
Deep into
Yourself
Than into
Others

Your
Journey
Of life
Finally
Becomes
More about
Yourself
Than about
Others

(Theme: Realization)




The Internet

The internet
Has got
So much
To teach
That I find
One life
Too short
To learn
As there
Is still so
Much...
Out of
Reach

(Theme: Learning, dedicated to all those numerous websites that have a wealth of knowledge to share with us, and the more we absorb from them, the more they exceed us)




In Love

In Love
You can
Never
Plan
Ahead

Why?

'Cause
By the
Time
You've
Planned
Ahead
Your
Heart
Has
Already
Raced
Ahead
And
Foiled
All your
Plans ;)




Easy

Monologues
Are easy
Dialogues
Are hazy

Your self
Will always
Agree with
Whatever
You say

Others
May not
Agree
To what all
You say

Talk to yourself
And see if you can find
Any clarity in what I say
;-)




Walk

With his
Hand
On her
Shoulder
He goes
For a walk

Seeing
Them
Together
I go for a
Mind-Walk

Seeking a
Poem to
Write on them

Till they
Come back
From their
Weekly walk

(Theme: Walking, written after seeing a young couple who live near our house)




So Late

If you
Marry
So late
And have
Children
So late

When
You'll
Go to
Pick up
Your
Children
From
School,
Instead
Of a
Parent
You'll
Look
Like
A
Grandparent
;-)

(Theme: Parenting, written on seeing the increasing trend of men and women having children so late that many of the parents who come to pick up their children from schools, look like grandparents)




Garage Man

He spends
Most of his
Time in his
Garage,
Looking
After his
Cars,
Bike,
Scooter
And cycle.

His wife and
Son longingly
Look at him,
Waiting to see
When he'll be free
From this dragging
Routine of his
Vehicular cycle

(Theme: Observation, written after observing one of my neighbours who spends more time with his vehicles than with his family)



Suddenly

Suddenly
The Sun
Goes down,
Suddenly
I start
Feeling cold
Reminding
Myself that
Youth -
Eventually
Leaves us
And we all
Grow old...




Did We?

Did we
Leave behind
Our lust
While
Copulating?

Did we
Leave behind
Our love
While copulating?

Did we
Leave behind
Our pain
While
Copulating?

Did we
Leave behind
Our pleasure
While
Copulating?

If the answer is No,
Then how can we
Expect our progeny
To be devoid of
Love, lust, pain
And pleasure..?
Because he is
What we had ventured to be,
An amalgam of all the feelings
That led us to the processes of
Impregnating and procreating...

(Theme: Continuity)

All Poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Photo of Napoleon Hill sourced from Wikimedia