ghazal: "photography was invented"

Photography   was invented   so I could see you
white temple walls   were cemented   so I could see you

life guards jealously   possibility's calculation
catastrophe   was prevented   so I could see you

the varnish of our conversation   thickened with time
the river's ink   flowed undaunted   so I could see you

who requires a million words?   where is one true line?
the mind became   single-pointed   so I could see you

in pondering you   one sifts through   myriad notions
the ocean's trove   was recounted   so I could see you

the universe proved episodic   likewise our Earth
some brilliant   batter bunted   so I could see you

growing weary of games   sleep's curtain again descends
awakening   light ascended   so I could see you

one thought to paint miles of canvas   and astonish?
two feet unrolled   O road dented   so I could see you

is sophisticated utterance   time's pleasantry?
the chai-wallah   tersely grunted   so I could see you

should Raphael petition your darshan   might his prayer
be suddenly   simply granted   so I could see you?

ghazal (lullaby): "green or blue?"

Who are you   O Meher Baba?
green or blue   O Meher Baba?

false or true   O Meher Baba?
old or new   O Meher Baba?

life is passing   day after day
morning dew   O Meher Baba

what I seek   within this great weave
how construe   O Meher Baba?

oftentimes   I'm losing the thread
passing through   O Meher Baba

tracks of birds   no eye can detect
where they flew   O Meher Baba

evening settles   upon the land
night's review   O Meher Baba

midnight   steeped in ink like a tea
poets brew   O Meher Baba

are my efforts   truly sincere?
what's your view   O Meher Baba?

Raphael   is singing your name
loving you   O Meher Baba


(February 25, 2009)

ghazal: "each paradox"

The page desires the word   don't deny it
the branch requires the bird   don't deny it

our perception of the world   creates the world
what's true   is truly inferred   don't deny it

dim inference   is the narrative we read
the dream's shard   albeit blurred   don't deny it

one third of life spent sleeping   one third working
confusion befills the third   don't deny it

your destiny?   viewing   her perfect visage
when such a secret is heard   don't deny it

every hope   holds one hope   in its heart
when soul's conviction is spurred   don't deny it

we stand on the brink of meanings   that stymie
when something deep has occurred   don't deny it

the undertaker knows   what is his business
the hero must be interred   don't deny it

did poetry expire   last century?
largesse belongs to the nerd   don't deny it

each paradox   a fragment   from one mirror
the glue's ordeal is absurd   don't deny it

your bank account has dwindled   but not perished
when mystery is transferred   don't deny it

the smile   of the belovèd   spells gladness
blithe letters   dance in the word   don't deny it

sometimes ghee   sometimes milk   sometimes buttermilk
for alms   she offers you curd?   don't deny it

when unwinding golden thread   you discover
some debts   were darkly incurred   don't deny it

whatever you favored   that became my creed
but bafflement you preferred   don't deny it

isolation is a fiction   that afflicts
the sheep   belongs in the herd   don't deny it

with each transient transaction computed
time's bottom line rests assured   don't deny it

the balance   of the cosmos   astonishes
its theme proceeds undeterred   don't deny it

the context of each note   thick with nuance
to love   the text has referred   don't deny it

one circles the mountain endlessly   until
of crude impertinence cured   don't deny it

feet lodge complaint unreasonably   perchance
the trek was often chauffeured   don't deny it

the tale looms long?   thank God the night's yet young
a hard travail we've endured   don't deny it

limpid happiness   glimmers   with the dawn-light
to dark   though heart be inured   don't deny it

while roses slumber   the pool   shatters the moon
a vernal breeze has bestirred   don't deny it

when Raphael strings baubles   of poetry
a stealthy pearl is conferred   don't deny it

painting studio glimpse

At New Market (Bhopal) -- with new mobilephne camera

[at Gasco -- where I bought the phone]





















[at Hakim Hotel -- a New Market eatery]