Blur against the horizon...

Baitha dekh raha tha manzil ki taraf,
thoda dhundhlapan tha nazar mein,
dar tha man mein, so baitha tha van mein,
tabhi, suni aawaaz kisi ki,
kaha usne, utho aur badho!
kam-se-kam koshish to karo,
socha chalta hun, chalne mein kya?
chalta raha meelon, anjaane raaston per,
tabhi achaanak thaher gaye kadam,
kuch ajab-sa dekh kar!
dekha kuch bhatke, bhuule,
logon ko baithe hue-
suukh chuke ujde pedon per,
pucha kaaran unse-
unmein se ek bola,
thode utsaah mein bharker,
hum baithe hain ped per-
kyunki manzil dikhti saaf yahan per,
chod diya chalna sun kar,
baith gaya main bhi thak-kar,
dekha abhi bhi tha dhundhlapan nazar mein....

Himanshu

___________________________________________

बैठा देख रहा था मंज़िल की तरफ़ ,
थोड़ा धुंधलापन था नज़र में ,
डर था मन में, सो बैठा था वन में।
तभी, सुनी आवाज़ किसी की,
कहा उसने, उठो और बढो !
कम-से-कम कोशिश तो करो।
सोचा चलता हूँ, चलने में क्या?
चलता रहा मीलों अनजाने रास्तों पर,
तभी अचानक ठहर गए कदम-
कुछ अजब-सा देख कर !
देखा कुछ भटके, भूले,
लोगों को बैठे हुए-
सूख चुके उजडे पेड़ों पर,
पूछा कारण उनसे-
उनमें से एक बोला,
थोड़े उत्साह में भरकर,
हम बैठे हैं पेड़ पर-
क्यूंकि मंज़िल दिखती साफ़ यहाँ पर,
छोड़ दिया चलना सुन कर,
बैठ गया मैं भी थक-कर,
देखा अभी भी था धुंधलापन नज़र में....

हिमांशु

Prajñā

Today i encountered with a very beautiful word "Prajñā "[pruhj-nyah, -nuh], is a sanskrit word which means "pure and unqualified knowledge".

Generally speaking, mindfulness in the path of the Mahayana tradition is regarded as wisdom, as transcendental knowledge, which is known as prajna in Sanskrit. This prajna of mindfulness is divided into a three-stage process of development in the path of Buddhism. We have the prajna of listening, the prajna of contemplating, and the prajna of meditation. This three-stage process develops the three prajnas, and the development of these three prajnas is very crucial on our path. For that reason Gampopa, the great lineage holder and master of the Kagyu lineage, said in his instructions that if we combine these three prajnas together, if we accumulate these three prajnas without missing any one, then we have a complete path. Then we are on the path. Not just on the path, but we are genuinely on the path, at that point. Gampopa said that when one adopts these three prajnas, when one reveals or uncovers these three prajnas altogether, then one develops the genuine understanding, experience and realization of the path of the dharma. He said that if one is missing, any one of these three, then one is not honestly on the path. One's path is not complete, and one's realization is not full and perfect. Therefore, the development of these three prajnas is very much emphasized in the path of Buddhism in general, and specifically in the path of Mahayana Buddhism.

http://www.nalandabodhi.org/prajna.html

"kona".. A corner!

Pasand hai mujhe deewaar ka wo kona,
ghanton baith sakta hun mai wahan,
dekh sakta hun us chipki hui dhuul ki parat ko,
kai dino se jami hai jahan,
ab chah kar bhi khurach nahi sakta usko,
lagta jaise bachpan ka saathi ho apna;
sukuun deta hai usko dekhna,
bhuulta hun ranj-o-gham duniyan jahan,
seekh deta wo mujhko judne ki,
khud tut-ta har-pal wo kona,
makdi ko bhi bhaata wahi kona,
kyunki aasaan hai jaal wahan bun-na,
vistrit hone do kshetra apna,
vistaar do apni soch ko,
gira do har diwaar ko,
kehta diwaaron se ghiraa kona,
udo khule gagan mein,
pankh pasaar apna,
utaar phenko har bhaar-bojh ko,
khud chat ke tale daba kona,
samjho rachna srushti ki,
kholo trinetra apna,
badho triaayaam ke aage,
samjhaata mujhe triaayaami kona.....

Himanshu
(13-Jun-2007)
__________________________________________________

पसंद है मुझे दीवार का वो कोना,
घंटों बैठ सकता हूँ मैं वहां,
देख सकता हूँ उस चिपकी हुई धूल की परत को,
कई दिनों से जमी है जहाँ,
अब चाह कर भी खुरच नही सकता उसको ,
लगता जैसे बचपन का साथी हो अपना ||
सुकून देता है उसको देखना ,
भूलता हूँ रंज-ओ-ग़म दुनिया-जहाँ,
सीख देता वो मुझको जुड़ने की,
ख़ुद टूटता हरपल वो कोना ||
मकडी को भी भाता वही कोना,
क्यूंकि आसान है जाल वहां बुनना,
विस्तृत होने दो क्षेत्र अपना,
विस्तार दो अपनी सोच को,
गिरा दो हर दिवार को ,
कहता दीवारों से घिरा कोना ||
उड़ो खुले गगन में ,
पंख पसार अपना ,
उतार फेंको हर भार-बोझ को ,
ख़ुद छत्त के तले दबा कोना ||
समझो रचना सृष्टि की,
खोलो त्रिनेत्र अपना,
बढो त्रिआयाम के आगे,
समझाता मुझे त्रिआयामी कोना.....
हिमांशु
(१३-जून-२००७)

"Sheher-A-Gham"..A sorrow city!!

Suna zindagi chalti hai sath-sath wahan,
haan, suna tha bas kabhi nahi tha dekha,
socha, arrey! aaj to dekh hi lunga,
safar ho raha tha khatm,
aur shuruaat ho rahi thi khwahishon aur naye armaano ki;

Dekha der se dhalta hai suraj yahan,
arrey! dhara ka ant jo tha wahan,
tha abhi harapan aur,
the abhi baadal ke kuch tukde pahadon per,
ki tabhi sunaayi padi dhad-dhadahat, ghad-ghadahat,
aur dikhi bheed ki had-badahat,
thoda utsaahit thoda sambhla hua,
haathon se pakadkar rakha pair jo tha dag-magaya hua;

Kshudha thi jagi per sudh kahan thi,
ho liya jhund ke sang,
baaher aaya to dekha,
logon ki uunchi-uunchi laalsaayen aur icchayen,
jinmein ghut-ti thi kitno ki abhilashayein,
tabhi aankho ne kuch aur dekhna chaha;
per pachtayin dekhkar,
woh tang badbu-daar ghuti, dabi kuchli zindagiyaan,
dukhon ke pahaad se bhi uunchi diwaaren,
banawati hansi ke thahake gunjate the jinmein,
aur dekha armaano ke suraj ko paani mein dubte hue,
jo der se dhalta hai is shaher mein , meri samajh se...

Himanshu
(Written during my Mumbai visit in Jun-2002)
______________________________________________________________

सुना ज़िन्दगी चलती है साथ-साथ वहां,
हाँ सुना था बस कभी नही था देखा,
सोचा अरे! आज तो देख ही लूँगा,
सफर हो रहा था ख़त्म,
और शुरुआत हो रही थी ख्वाहिशों और नए अरमानों की;
देखा देर से ढलता है सूरज यहाँ,
अरे! धारा का अंत जो था वहां,
था अभी हरापन और,
थे अभी बादल के कुछ टुकड़े पहाडों पर,
की तभी सुनाई पड़ी धड-धडाहत, घड-घडाहत,
और दिखी भीड़ की हड़-बड़ाहट,
थोड़ा उत्साहित थोड़ा संभला हुआ,
हाथों से पकड़कर रखा पैर जो था डग-मगाया हुआ;
क्षुधा थी जगी पर सुध कहाँ थी,
हो लिया झुंड के संग,
बाहर आया तो देखा,
लोगों की ऊँची-ऊँची लालसाएं और इच्छाएं,
जिनमें घुटती थी कितनों की अभिलाषाएं,
तभी आंखों ने कुछ और देखना चाहा,
पर पछताई देखकर,
वोह तंग बदबूदार घुटी, दबी कुचली जिंदगियां,
दुखों के पहाड़ से भी ऊँची दीवारें,
बनावटी हँसी के ठहाके गूंजते थे जिनमें,
और देखा अरमानों के सूरज को पानी में डूबते हुए,
जो देर से ढलता है इस शहर में ,मेरी समझ से....

हिमांशु
(लिखा दौरान मेरी मुंबई दौरे के जून-२००२)

Hussain Sagar Lake

It was a Saturday evening. I was at home..as usual doing nothing. Thought of going out somewhere nearby in city. The first place came in my mind was Hussain sagar lake. If you are in Hyderabad, it is the best place to visit. So I just took my sony cybershot came to lake and started capturing the beauty.

The lake is in the middle of HydSec (Hyderabad & Secunderabad) twin cities. It is surrounded by Tank bund and necklace roads.

The Hussain Sagar was built on a tributary of the Musi river by Hussain Shah Wahi during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah in 1562. It is a sprawling artificial lake that holds water perenially.

On the banks of the placid waters of the Hussain Sagar a water front or bund was constructed to arrest the flow of water on the other side. The "Tank Bund", as it is called, has become a busy motorable road for both light and heavy vehicles. The Bund is adorned on one side with 33 statues of the great luminaries of Andhra Pradesh. They seem to be a silent witness to the changing colors of the city.

A major attraction at the Hussain Sagar is the 16 meter high, 350 tones monolithic Buddha statue on the Rock of Gibraltar. Made of white granite, it is finely sculptured and stands majestically amidst the shimmering waters of the lake.

Buzz Me!!

Hi,

You can BUZZ!! me here--

Email : himanshu.m@hotmail.com or

4himanshumishra@gmail.com or

Location: Hyderabad, India.

6th December "Black Day"

I wanted to post the continuation of Thirst on the very next day but thought of putting it on hold for some other day. Actually I was looking for an appropriate day which will suite the topic of the post…and fortunately I didn’t have to wait for long, the day has come! Yes I am talking about today “6th December 2008”. Why is it so special? It is special because it all started on the same date 16 years before. It was “6th December 1992” when I was an 8 yrs old kid and wasn’t much aware of words like “Hindutva”, “Karseva”, ”Rath Yatra” and “Mandir Nirmaan” etc-etc. But on being a resident of Faizabad, I used to hear these words very often those days. Theses issues were the hot topics of discussion among the people, because the then opposition party BJP was organizing a “Rath Yatra(Rally)” across the country and now they were arriving to Ayodhya. The rally was led by BJP senior leader L K Advani along with VHP and Shiv Sena leaders and thousands of “Karsevaks (activists)”. That day the whole city was colored in saffron and the roads were flooded with the banners of BJP and other supporting parties. For me as a child, the day was as usual as other days so was planning to go out and play but my mom didn’t allow me to do so, I think she was afraid of something. Lots of people from my locality were going to attend that rally and everyone was wearing headband or a kind of ribbon and shawl on which “Jai Sri Ram” was written. I wasn’t aware of what is going on but could feel something which was making this day and the behavior of people bit different from other usual days in the city.
The rally was going to be held just beside the babri masjid. Around 1.5 lakhs people gathered at the rally place. On the same day The Muslim organizations like Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Bombay Muslim Action Committee also carried on propaganda opposing the construction of a temple at Ayodhya.

According to L K Advani the main intension behind conducting this “Rath Yatra” was to unite all the hindus across the nation and to build “Ram Mandir” in Ayodhya. But no one knew when everything went out of control and made this day as a black day in the history of India. Yes you have heard right I call it “black day” and I don’t mind it calling it so.

According to one eyewitness there, From 9 a.m. in the morning, the religious programs like Bhajans and Kirtans (religious chants) began. At about 10:30 am, the leaders of RSS, Bajarang Dal and BJP began addressing the Karsevaks from the dais. The speeches were instigating and inflammatory. Advani and Joshi gave fiery speeches telling how the Babri Masjid is a blemish on Hindu culture. Vinay Katiyar and Sadhwi Ritambara went one step further and started giving instigating slogans like “Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do” (give on more blow and demolish Babri Masjid). The atmosphere was getting charged as the time for the Karseva (literally meaning: offering service with physical labour) was coming close. (Ninety per cent of the persons assembled there did not know what exactly Karseva meant). The speeches were made so as to charge those for some eruptive action.At 12 noon, some Karsevaks climbed atop the babri Masjid dome. There was a wave of extreme joy amongst the Karsevaks. They felt as if they were living in historical times and had conquered some fort. Before anyone realized what was happening, the Masjid was being attacked and there were outbursts of joy. From the dais, Mr. Advani told the Karsevaks to keep quiet once or twice, but in this appeal for peace, there was no suggestion to the Karsevaks to climb down. And in this peace appeals, there was no hint indicating that whatever was happening was condemnable. Joshi, Advani left the dais in next few moments, but Katiyar, Ritambara, Uma Bharati continued giving instigating slogans. What happened next is known to the world.

Some have celebrated it as a victory of Hindutva but in reality it came out as the horrifying, shameful defeat of almost 10,000 years of old culture which is all about tolerance, resilience and peace-loving. It took so many years for the great people like Mahatma Buddha, Vivekanand, Swami Paramhans, Nanak dev, Gandhi, Gaffar khan and many more others to build the calm and peaceful relationship among all the religions in India but in a moment these few selfish people have destroyed everything and given a bloody and insecure atmosphere to people of India.

In the response of this unfortunate event the flood of riots, killing innocent people, destroying the faith and relationships have come up in the form of terrorism. This has affected billion people of the nation. India is being blowing and ripped apart each and every moment in the name of black day. For the year of 2008 India is the second most affected nation by the terrorism and faced most number of terrorist activity in the world.

Recently the Mumbai attack happened that left around 200 people dead. And today’s headline is a Hijack alert for 3 airports of India. These days whenever you switch on the TV you will find it to be flooded with the number of news channels and all are having the same breaking news flashing related to some terror attacks. Everybody is living in fear today.

In my views, today whatever is happening in India related to terrorism is somewhere, somehow connected to that incident which took place exactly on the same day 16 years back.

[reference(http://www.sacw.net/new/rajwade092003.html)]