यूँ ही

बड़ी ही अजीब पहेली है ये जिंदगानी
कभी मीठा सपना, कभी कड़वा सच
और मानो तो एक अनजानी कहानी
कभी मानो तो है सब का साथ
कभी लगे जैसे अकेले ही है सारी राह बितानी
कुछ इच्छाओं, कुछ अपेक्षाओं को पूरा करने की
कोशिश में, अंधे होने की पड़ जाए कीमत चुकानी
दौड़ते दौड़ते पा ली गर मंज़िल जो कभी
राहों की कद्र ना करने की जो है वो आदत पुरानी
कुछ छूट जायेंगे राहों में, साथ हाथ थामे चले थे जो
अब ना मिलेंगे कभी, सोचो तो होगी हैरानी
कब हाथ छूटा पता ना चला
अब उन्हें ढूंढना हो गयी एक बड़ी परेशानी

पर सच मानो तो भूल जाना ये सब
क्योंकि खुश हैं वो जिन्हें बातें याद नहीं पुरानी
जिन्होनें हर गुज़रे विषय से मोह तोड़ लिया है

जिन्हें आती है हर बीती याद जड़ से मिटानी

Dark is this night

Since Google is deleting Buzz forever, I could not have let this joint effort go away. To follow, a few more of the amazing work we did on Google Buzz. 

[sid]
Dark is the night filled with dread
Dark is the road upon which I tread...

[saket]
My feet sway wildly, so dizzy is my head
The hounds stare hungrily; desiring to be fed
The blood from my wound makes a trail
And dark that was the road now turns red...

[samir]
The danger to me is not what I dread
It's the girl in my arms who'd have died instead
Her arduous breathing must not fail
'tis not in vain that i will have bled...

[sid]
Upon my shoulder she rests her head
I can hardly discern her anguished breaths
She whispers weakly, "Oh! Why this happened?"
"Why were our lives torn into shreds?"

[saket]
Her eyes start closing, a sudden fear grows within me
I shout in her ears, she does not even blink
I look around for help but not even a soul do I see
My mind starts racing, to save her is all that I can think

[samir]
Were it not for her, I would not be
It's only through her that my past does link
The howl of the hounds breaks my reverie
Now the beasts are chasing us to the cliff's brink

[sid]
I feel her slipping away
She whose life I held most dear
I pull her and gaze into her face
Her eyes are tearful and without fear

As I kiss her she kisses me back
With whatever strength's left of her
I whisper, “ It's better to leave them all
Then let go of each other.”

[subhra]
Heaving n' sighing,carrying her in my arms..I drag myself to the cliff's end
The sapphire silver skies shine at the deep dark abyss...
So is a choice born out of it staring back at me,needy,meagre n' simple though cruel n' a gamble
Peace has sheltered itself in fear
And of what is left,a li'l life , a few seconds worth of love so dear
Vouched with the lines,"till death do us apart." but death shall not be a chosen fate
Stripping of every piece of cloth on me n' her,stained in blood n' strongly smelling of rust..
I lay them on the edge.
the cold wave of autumn night cuts through my naked self.
I wrap my arms around her,and wit last ounce of living strength..
Reach for the cover of the bushes nearby..
The feral senses have come into play
n' so has my life tied in the threads of time.
Fear of death in love is fiercely powerful,but so is the lust to live....another second,every minute,carnal n' brutal in its last intensity

[saket]
I look at her, so beautiful, nothing but pure innocence
And I think -- Will she ever love me again?
I look at myself, a beast is what I see
I know I am no worse than those chasing us
How could I even do this to her?
Why was I not able to reciprocate the love and trust she had?
I sit down, finding a shelter amongst the trees.
The darkness is not a fiend, but in disguise, acting like a friend
I start crying for I know this is the end.
I lost her the day I had betrayed her.
Even if she forgives me some day, I won't be able to forget her
And one thing that for sure is true
I can't go on living bearing this burden forever

I kiss her hand and say goodbye for one final time
Someone's gonna love you just like you deserve to be loved........

[saket]
As I pull myself away, she holds my hand
She won't let go off me, but i know i have to go
i wish i could hold on to that hand forever
now that my feelings are true, i wish i could say all that to her
but the guilt prevents me from doing so before i tell her my truth
and that is the biggest punishment for my sins
i can't tell her that lest she never trusts anyone ever again

she calls out my name, i try to ignore
she pleads in her weak voice not to leave her alone
oh! i wish to die than hear her say that..
it's difficult for me to withhold anything from her
i hold her in my arms and tell her everything.
of the betrayal, of me not being what she always believed to be,
and the love which now is as true as was the deception
and then i stay silent, waiting for the judgement to be delivered
the wind rustles through the leaves and i can hear them whisper
Liar, cheat--- they call me and slap me hard
she opens her eyes and looks into mine, her lips open wide into a smile
"i know it all, sweetie and i have long forgiven you for that",she said
tears run down my eyes, she raises her hand and wipes them
"i love you and i don't regret that,
i don't need anyone or anything now that i have you by my side
you're my present and i worry not about the past
only if you promise to love me till death do us part"

[sid]
The beasts roar, the sticks rattle
But soon it'll all be over
Rolling and heaving I feel her breaths
There's nothing left to fear
The moon casts a pale shadow
And the wind rustles in my hair
I cling onto her as she draws me near
The ground beneath seems tender and loving and inviting
Her eyes are luminous and bright and sparkling
I kiss her eyes as we fall through the skies;
And she whispers in my ear:
The end is here and there's nothing left to fear
The end is here and there's nothing left to fear

Numb

Tears didn't come out
They froze in my coldness
Cries were not heard
They were muted as I choked, I felt suffocated
Blackness grew around me
As the darkness started to embrace me
But I felt no pain
Cause finally numbness had found me


S.R.

Honour in Killing?

(1)
It's a proud day for me, the smile on my face shows it
Today I stand amidst these unknown angry people
Knowing that I am like those few
Who also had to face the wrath in their lives
For standing for what they believed in
Just like me, they were hated, punished and killed
But history tells us that these were the ones who brought changes
Who were crowned martyrs, saints and patriots
Some day they will realise why I did that
And why I had to do it
That day, they will acknowledge me as a hero
But even if that day comes not, it won't matter
I'll know I didn't die in vain
I died for my principles, I martyred for our "honour."

(2)
Face cut, bruise marks on the body, black eyed and handcuffed
He looked as though there can't be a hell worse than that
And yet his half opened eyes were gleaming from satisfaction
The smile on his lips conveyed the happiness he felt from his action
The mere thought of which disgusted me
Seeing him so, turned that into anger
Till that day he was a loving brother
That day he turned a hated killer
He proved that the strongest hatred
Had roots lying in the strongest love
How could he do so and even more, justify it?
Why was there no remorse for an act, so gruesome?

They had to die, I killed them to protect our honour --- he said
And in this way, a dangerous path for others he laid
One that shall be tread upon by so many others who are blind and misguided
Please stop them, punish them --

For the honour of those; in the name of honour who are dead.



Part 1 is loosely based on excerpts from newspapers and built up on that. Not all of it can be verified.
Part 2 is my Point of View and a little imagination.
Pic courtesy : Mohit Bhutra

S.R.

A Tribute

He had warned but my ambitions blinded me and I did not care
I did not take it lightly though for me this idea was there
Could anything happen to me, when in that crowd of foes
You, my friend, by my side, stood there.

I always thought that you believed in me
I was convinced by my own thoughts that you would support me
And if you would be there, helping me with everything
I could have made anything work, even when conditions would toughest be

I would not call this betrayal, it will demean you
I still love you because I know this wasn't personal for you
And I know that you still love me, even after all of this
I promise I'll come back to you; the end, though it may seem, is not this

The blood empties out of my veins, 'tis the coming true of my worst fears
My life is not just what I lose, I have lost my dear brother
Tell them not to mourn for me, tell them not to shed tears
Alas! "Et tu, Brute? Then die Caesar"

I have always loved the play Julius Caesar, as a student and even now, when I have grown up. This is my tribute to it. I thought that if Julius Caesar had a few more seconds to live, what would he have said to Brutus. This is what I could think of.  
Warning: This may not be accurate considering historic facts but is rather solely an admirer( of the book and its larger than life characters)'s point of view.
(pic: Morte di Giulio Cesare, 1798 by Vincenzo Camuccini, courtesy Wikimedia Commons)