I shall be stating the obvious when I say that I and Dr. Kanta (my wife), have been forced to remain at home ever since the pandemic COVID-19 took control of lives of the whole world. This has caused drastic changes not only in our physical lifestyles but also in our thinking, psyche and general mental attitude. Touchwood, we have been distinctly fortunate till date to have escaped any kind of affliction in both the physical body and the mental body. I can ascribe this majorly to two things.
- Regular interaction with family and friends.
- Physical labour and Yoga
Our children Vrinda and Kumar have been regularly interacting with us through ‘Facetime video calls’ to inquire about our health and to keep our spirits boosted. Occasionally, Praveen (my brother at Jalandhar) and Sunita (my sister at Ambala) also call to inquire about our well being and keep us up-dated about theirs and that of the various relatives who are located nearer to them geographically. Some friends also frequently ping us to exchange news, ‘Take Care’ messages and good wishes.
Because the domestic helps, who earlier took care of daily chores including sweeping & mopping and washing of dishes & utensils, have been asked to stay away, we have been going through the daily grind by ourselves. Kanta has continued to do the cooking as before. I have been obliged to help in the other routines. Of these sweeping and mopping are particularly to my account. This self-imposed (involuntary) labour gives us the much recommended physical exercise. We have also taken to Yoga, ‘Pranayam’ in particular and we feel that it is doing us good.
In spite of the above mentioned routines, I get plenty of time to spare, which I while away by watching all sorts of programs on TV including new and old movies and web series streamed on OTT. Kanta is very selective on what she watches and her screen time usage is minimal. She is more hooked to Whatsapp.
Earlier, before the COVID-19 outbreak, I would occasionally get a flash inspiring me to write. Firstly, it was poetry that I would be nudged to compose. A word, a phrase, a sentence or a 'misra' (one of the two lines constituting an urdu couplet) or part of it, would suddenly pop up in the mind, which would subsequently metamorphose into an idea. This idea would then be hammered and chiseled to shape and carve it into a poem or a blog post. Though some of my poems were accepted and published on poetry sites on the web, I did not venture to publish them as an anthology in the form of a book.
Later, I took to blogging. The blogs written by me have also been advertently marked for restricted circulation and readership limited to family and some friends.
Now during this pandemic-induced self-imposed home quarantine, like earlier days, I got a flash which urged me to create something like a poem. In fact, I have managed to fabricate five compositions. I am very consciously aware that these compositions range from vulgar (not obscene) assemblage of words not necessarily complying with a rule book of poetry, to cogent and sublime amalgamation of words and expression of thoughts. It is not without a thought that I have chosen to title this post as 'Induced Intellectual Meandering ---.'
The current inducement came from two sources.
😉The first was COVID-19 itself, which, as hinted in the foregoing, created unusual and funny situations, which can and did serve as a substrate for (wry) humour.
Savour this:
One day, I had just finished mopping and was washing my hands when the phone rang. By the time I wiped my hands and picked up the phone, the call had terminated. I got reminded of the following wonderful composition of Inderjit Singh Tusi, poet laureate of Punjab
मेरे मौला मेरी माफ़ करना ख़ता
फूल पूजा के तुमको चढ़ा न सका
हाथ बंदों की खि़दमत में मसरूफ़ थे
हाथ उठ न सके बंदगी के लिए
आज सुबह सुबह किसी का फ़ोन आया
मैं चाह कर भी अटेंड नहीं कर पाया
क्योंकि मैं तो था बस अधर में लटका
एक हाथ में था झाड़ू , दूसरे में था फटका
पहले से मन खिन्न था, दिमाग़ भी था सटका
गिरा चुका था दूध की थैली, पानी का मटका
पत्नी ने पहले तो डाँटा, फिर दिया बड़ा झटका
बर्तन घिसना कपडे धोना भी मेरे सिर पटका
मेरी अक़्ल पूरी तरह से जैसे फिस हो गई
इसीलिए वोह फ़ोन काल मुझसे मिस हो गई
The realization that I am mostly in front of the TV produced the following limerick
कोरोना से कम मुझसे ज़्यादा परेशान है मेरी बीवी
वोह दिन भर करती है काम और मैं देखता हूँ टीवी
मैं ला धरता हूँ एप्पल जब वोह लाने कहती है कीवी
वोह करती है फलाहार मैं उड़ाता हूँ तेल-वेल घी-वी
डांट कर कहती है, हो तो बुद्धू बनते हो बुद्धिजीवी
👉The second source of inducement is Jatinder Veer Yakhmi.
Jatinder Yakhmi is a dear friend who makes it a point to regularly keep in touch with me through various modes of communication including chats, texting and voice calls. Apart from being an internationally acclaimed scientist, who has a large number of scientific publications to his credit, he is a prolific author whose writings, both in prose and verse, cover a variety of themes. His poems, in easy to understand Urdu / Hindustani, are thought provoking, soothing and inspirational. I feel privileged to be one of a select audience who gets to hear a ‘Fresh-from-the-Oven’ poem from the horse’s mouth. For a long time, he has been humouring me by asserting that he recognizes a creative streak in me. He has been frequently goading me to write. But I was not able to add anything worthwhile to my limited repertoire.
A few days ago, Yakhmi texted me and inquired about my physical health with the following line
क्यों भाई सरीर ताँ तकड़ैय?
The reply from me came spontaneously as if by reflex action in the following octet addressed to him ( fondly addressed variously as यख्मी भा, जतिंदर भा, भा जी or often simply भा)
भा जी !!!
उम्र दे लिहाज़ नाल सरीर तां तगड़ा ऐ
पर दिल ते दिमाग च बाहला झगडा ऐ
दिल आखदै खा पी जो खाणा पीणा ऐ
दिमाग कहंदै परहेज़ कर जे होर जीणा ऐ
किस दी मन्नां समझ च नहीं आ रिहा
मेरा शशोपंज है वधदा ई जा रिहा
तुसीं ही मैनु कुझ समझा दिओ
किसे तरहां एह झगड़ा मुका दिओ
The original query and my response thereof were in Punjabi. As an after thought, I have translated both these things into Hindi as given below
Query : क्यों भाई सरीर तो तगड़ा है ?
Response:
भा जी !!!
उम्र के लिहाज़ से शरीर तो अब भी तगड़ा है
पर दिल और दिमाग के बीच पड़ा झगड़ा है
दिल का कहना है खा पी जो भी खाना पीना है
दिमाग कहता है परहेज़ कर अगर और जीना है
किसकी मानूँ मेरी समझ में कुछ नहीं आ रहा
मेरा शशोपंज* है कि बस है बढ़ता ही जा रहा
आप ही समझ कर मुझे भी कुछ समझा दो
कुछ भी करके बस यह झगड़ा निपटा दो
*शशोपंज: Indecision
As mentioned above, Yakhmi Bha is prolific and has composed a number of poems during the lock-down, which fact triggered me and this time I came out with the following three compositions in quick succession.
😧अजब अज़िय्यतपसंद है दिल मेरा
अजब अज़िय्यतपसंद1 है दिल मेरा, मेरा रंज इसको मज़ा देता है
आतिश ए ग़म2 जलाये रखता है, उस पे शोलों को हवा देता है
हर घड़ी मुज़्तरिब3 ही रहता है, इस को आसूदगी4 से रब्त5 नहीं
मैं अगर हँसता मुस्कुराता हूँ यह तभी मुझको रुला देता है
कुरेद कर यह मेरे माज़ी को, हरे सब ज़ख्म किए रखता है
जिन हवादिस6 को मैं भुलाता हूँ , याद उनकी दिला देता है
इस मुख़ालिफ़7 ने जां के दुश्मन ने, जीना दुश्वार है किया मेरा
जब मैं मरने की बात करता हूँ, उमर लम्बी हो दुआ देता है
पहले दोनों में खूब बनती थी, एक यह ही था तरफ़दार मिरा
जाने कब क्या खता हुई मुझसे, अब यह जिसकी सज़ा देता है
3. मुज़्तरिब—Agitated , disturbed
4. आसूदगी: satisfaction, contentment, comfort, peace
5. रब्त: connection, relation 6. हवादिस: Accidents
😔 ज़िन्दगी मौत की अमानत है
ज़िन्दगी मौत की अमानत1 है,
इसकी अच्छे से देख भाल करो
लाज़मी है आरियत2 का लौटाना,
इस हक़ीक़त का नित ख़याल करो
मिली है जो भी उसे क़ुबूल करो,
वस्फ़3 पे बस न कुछ सवाल करो
चार दिन उम्र इसकी मुद्दत4 है,
जिओ रूहको निहाल5 करो
लुत्फ़ हस्ती का लो ज़रूर मगर,
इसकी इस्मत6 का न ज़वाल7 करो
ज़र्ब8 न आये शिकन9 न दाग पड़े,
संभल संभल कर इस्तेमाल करो
लोग यम के जब भी आ जाएँ,
प्यार से उनका इस्तिक़बाल10 करो
वक़्त-ए-रुख्सत11सभी का शुक्र12 करो,
और हरगिज़ न कुछ मलाल13करो
Glossary:
1. अमानत: a thing committed to the trust or care of a person
2. आरियत: A borrowed thing which is to be returned as such
3. वस्फ़: quality
4. मुद्दत: duration
, time limit
5. निहाल: happy,
pleasurable
6. इस्मत: honour,
integrity, chastity
7. ज़वाल: decline,
fall, deterioration
8. ज़र्ब: blow,
bruise, injury
9. शिकन: fold,
wrinkle, crease
10. इस्तिक़बाल: reception, welcoming a visitor
11. वक़्त-ए-रुख्सत: time of separation, the moment
of departure,
12. शुक्र: Thanks
13. मलाल: Regret
😂ख़ुशी के साथ जगता गो ग़मों के साथ सोता हूँ
बहुत से ख्वाब तकता हूँ मैं उनमें खूब रोता हूँ
हैं पश्चाताप के आंसू कि बन आते हैं गंगा जल
लगा डुबकी इन अश्कों में मैं सारे पाप धोता हूँ
न मांगी और न पाई है कभी इमदाद औरों से
ग़म-ए-हस्ती का सारा बोझ अपने आप ढोता हूँ
अकेलेपन के जंगल में कभी तनहा नहीं होता
न हो जब दूसरा कोई मैं अपने साथ होता हूँ
*गो कि: though
🙆Epilogue:
I am fully aware that the purists may scoff at some or all of my compositions citing metrical, syntactical or even lexical inaccuracies and discrepancies. I am also aware that writing in general and writing poetry in particular is not every body’s cup of tea. Any which way, I would express what I am urged to say.
So be it.
