It is never the same

"aapki ki yaad aati rahi raat bhar...chashme nam muskurati rahi raat bhar..
Raat bhar dard ki shama jalti rahi...gham ki lau thartharati rahi raat bhar"

right now this song is playing in the background..and a thought struck me...its never the same again..
each year,each person, each moment...takes away a part of you..and you are never the same..



They say...time is the best healer..but time also cant make up for the "you" lost...Its just never ever the same

when the time is there..when the person is there..you dont seem to value it..you are angry about something..sick of somehting..and just want all of it to end...

But oblivious of your angry self..the softer part in you is scared...scared that what you feel now, will never be felt again..what you wish now..will be dreaded some other time...


People have thier ways of dealing with pain and hurt..some dont want to think about it, some want to lose themselves in something so as not to worry...and some, like me, dwell over it..shred it apart..take it inside your heart, churn it, till it becomes a part of you..

Then it doesnt hurt that much...

Wish there was a magical wand..which could just undo everything..everything would have been the same...

I would smile at the world with the same exuberance of a 16 year old..love as I loved with every part of me...cry without being ashamed of it...

And then everything would be the same..the scars healed and heart rejuvenated
If only!

To Gulzar...with love

Gulzar is one lyricist whose lyrics have always enchanted me...right from my childohood

This one from "Kitaab"..."master jee ki aa gayi chitthi..chitthi mein se nikali billi"..loved hearing this song as a kid..fascinated by play of words...which dint have much meaning though..maybe thats why it was so much fun to memorize it


And as I grew..my idea of romance and love were so so besotted by his words..

"hamne dekhi hai in aankhon ki mehakti khushboo"...the idea of eyes having a fragrance was so intriguing..its as if the deeper senses within me were given apt words by him

and then "shaamen bujhane aati hain raaten...raaten bujhane tum aa gaye ho"...fills the heart with such a sweet feeling...inexplicable..wish I were him to be able to name this sweet feeling


Some of my other favorites:
"pahle se likha kuch bhi nahin..roj naya kuch likhti hai tu..jo bhi likha hai dil se kiya hai..yeh lamha filhaal jee lene de" - for someone like me, who lives in moments..and dies in them too..this is so apt!

"baadlon se kaat kaat ke..kagazon mein naam jodna..yeh mujhe kya ho gaya"--i wish someone sung this for me...

"khamosh sa afsana...paani pe likha hota..na tumne kaha hota...na humen suna hota" - for that unsaid unspoken love..a gay abandon in the words

"kya bhala hai kya bura..ho sake to jala dil jala" - another one from libaas..dont know why but feels very close to my heart

"sili hawa choo gayi...tumse mili jo jindagi, humne abhi boyi nahin" - romance accentuated by Lata's haunting voice..always created a pic in front of me...took me to sea side..beautiful breeze..hair blown away in carelessness...and lonely moon looking down at me

"bechara dil kya kare..saawan jale bhado jale" - as a kid I used to sing this song a lot..dint understand the meaning though..just the word "bechara" sounded fun so liked the song..but now I love the song for its simplicity..child like innocence...and depth

"Aapki aankhon mein kuch mehke hue se raaj hain" - As a teenager, I would stand in front of the mirror and imagine that my eyes were as myterious as the song's description

"Aajkal paon jameen par nahin padte mere..bolo dekha hai kabhi tumne mujhe udate hue" - This song always makes one feel the euphoria of new found love..when one is floating in air..gliding past days and nights in a sweet intoxication...at least I used to :)

I never seem to do justice to his works..there are way too many songs which have been with me all these years...maybe when I again feel motivated enough..would take some more of his songs


Thank you Gulzaar..for defining love and and pain...
giving us less mortals something to be happy about..even in sadness
for making my adolescence full of dreams..
And also corrupting it :) (Cos till date I look for someone who would say
"tum pukaar lo...tumhara intezaar hai")


You remind me of a time lost..an old world charm...retained in your white kurta..and that lilting voice of yours...which takes me far away...to my world


PS- my sis lived in a house bang opposite to yours in pali hills....and me and my mom would hang at our window to stare at you whenever you came in your balcony..we could see you in your kurta..working on something..and I would always wonder whats going on in your mind right now..are you thinking of someone..or writing a letter to a beloved :)