Undone

We seldom read the wisdom, we share
Because all it takes is a click.
And we hardly remember a word, we read
Because all it takes is a flick.

Anonymous might be for the future, 
What Socrates is to us.
Nothing is good for deliberation, 
Everything is worth a fuss.

History has time and again witnessed,
Many being undone by a few.
But this time, we are getting more undone,
By everything that we do.

Nature, undone by filters..
Thinkers, undone by trolls..
Language, undone by auto-correct..
Decision-making, undone by polls..

Long prose, undone by short attention spans..
Knowledge, undone by information..
Emotions, undone by vacuous Likes..
Creators, undone by creations..

My Paramour

I can see you..
And I know that you see me too..
But you act oblivious of the fact,
That I've got my eyes on you..

For long I've held a notion,
That maybe I'm not good enough..
You obviously have many lovers..
Much well endowed and like lions on their turf..

But I also know this,
That you are no mistress of just the rich..
You may pleasure the haves with all you've got..
But you also humour the have nots, as if they have a shot..

Some day I'm going to give in to temptation..
And make you all mine to keep..
Some day, Mumbai, I shall claim you..
Even if it's a price too steep..


Inspired from Namdeo Dhasal's poem "Mumbai, Mumbai, My Dear Slut" (quoted in Gyan Prakash's Mumbai Fables).

Haal Chaal Theek Thaak Hai

The inimitable Gulzar sahab wrote this sarcastic ode to the state of affairs in the India of 1971; for his directorial debut, Mere Apne. 43 years on, the words in this song still ring true. While randomly searching for its lyrics, I realised that most of the websites and blogs had done a sloppy job of transcribing the song and had left out one whole stanza in almost every version. So I did it all over again based on the song video from YouTube. Here it is.

Haal chaal theek hai...
Sab kuch theek thak hai..
BA kiya hai, MA kiya..
Lagta hai woh bhi aevaen kiya..
Kaam nahin hai warna yahaan,
Aapki dua se sab theek thaak hai..

Aabo hawa desh ki bahot saaf hai..
Kayada hai, kanoon hai, insaaf hai..
Allah miyan jaane koi jiye ya mare..
Aadmi ko khoon-voon sab maaf hai..
Aur kya kahun?
Chhoti moti chori..
Rishwat khori..
Deti hai apna guzara yahaan..
aapke dua se baaki theek thaak hai
Haal chaal theek hai...
Sab kuch theek thak hai..

Baazaron ke bhaav..
Baazaron ke bhaav, mere tau se bade..
Makanon pe pagdiwale sasur khade..
Budhdhi bhookh marti nahin, zinda hai abhi..
Koi in buzurgon se kaise ladein?
Aur kya kahun?
Roz koi meeting..
Roz koi bhaashan..
Bhaashan pe ration nahin hai yahaan..
Aapke dua se baaki sab theek thaak hai..
Haal chaal theek hai...
Sab kuch theek thak hai.. VERY GOOD!!

Gol mol roti ka pahiya chala..
Gol mol roti ka pahiya chala..
Peeche peeche chaandi ka rupaiya chala..
Roti ko bechari ko cheel le gayi..
Chaandi leke muh kala kauva chala..
Aur kya kahun?
Maut ka tamasha..
Chala hai be-tahasha..
Jeene ki fursat nahin hai yahaan..
Aapke dua se baaki sab theek thaak hai.. VERY GOOD!!
Haal chaal theek hai...
Sab kuch theek thak hai..

BA kiya hai, MA kiya..
Lagta hai woh bhi aevaen kiya..
Kaam nahin hai warna yahaan,
Aapki dua se sab theek thaak hai..


Credits:
Lyrics: Gulzar |  Music: Salil Chowdhury | Singers: Mukesh & Kishore Kumar