The Gentle Voice (एक कोमल वाणी)

Download this episode (3 min)   

As the clock struck midnight,
I realized
that I had been staring through
the dim night-light
with dry…blank eyes.

It was then:
that the laceration
of the lost publication
came back
to cognition.

Download this episode (69 min)   

मैने यह कव्वाली बहुत बार सुनी पर जब कभी भी अपने मित्रों के साथ इस उम्दा शायरी को बाँटना चाहा, उर्दू ज़ुबान की सीमित जानकारी आड़े आ गयी। मैं खुद भी उर्दू का जानकार नहीं हूँ। पर इतना ज़रूर समझता हूँ कि दुनिया कि सुनहरी शायरी में से बहुत सारी, उर्दु ज़ुबान में है। इस लिये ‘कोमल वाणी’ के इस प्रसंग में मेरी कोशिश है कि मैं खैलवी साहब कि इस कव्वाली का अपेक्षाक्रित आसान शब्दों में तरजुमा प्रस्तुत करूँ, न सिर्फ़ अपने लिये बल्कि अपने उन सब मित्रों के लिये जो, उर्दु की सीमित जानकारी की वजह से इतनी गहरी और खूबसूरत शायरी से महरूम हैं। क्यों कि मैं खुद उर्दू नहीं जानता, इस लिये ज़ाहिर है कि कहीं कहीं चूक हो जाये। इस के लिये मैं उर्दू ज़ुबान के जानकारों से माफ़ी चाहता हूँ और विनती करता हूँ कि मेरा भूल-सुधार करें। वैसे जहन्नुम का मतलब hell और बहिश्त का मतलब
paradise होता है। बोलते समय उलटा बोल दिया है। सो, माफ़ कीजियेगा।

प्रसंग के अंत में, नुसरत फ़तेह अली खान साहब की आवाज़ में यही कव्वाली आप की नज़्र करूँगा। लगभग 30 मिनट की कव्वाली है। सब काम-काज निपटा कर, रात के सन्नाटे में मेरे तरजुमे की मदद से, आराम से बैठ कर, कव्वाली का लुत्फ़ लीजियेगा। याद रखियेगा, जल्दबाज़ी में powerful poetry भी कोसी-कोसी, lukewarm ही लगेगी। तसल्ली से सुनिये और मज़ा उठाइये। अगर चाहें तो कव्वाली सुनते समय, उसका सरल explanation आप मेरे web-blog पर देख सकते हैं। For that, point your browser to: http://retroposts.blogspot.com/2007/04/blog-post.html

Download this episode (15 min)   

I once wrote a poem and called it "The Inside-Out Version". Why I called it so? Well, I had this jersey, which I liked very much. It was so beautiful. The shades and colours and the patterns were so elegant and were arranged so aesthetically. I was really fond of it. One day, I saw it turned inside-out in the laundry room. The edges were so rough. The texture looked so cross-grained, choppy and knotty. There were various wool-threads jutting out from here and there. It was a picture of total disharmony....total disarray.

Download this episode (6 min)   

My grandfather had translated Theodore Tilton's poem "Even This Shall Pass Away" in Urdu. I had heard him recite for me when I was 17. Though he is no more but his words that I heard in my teens, have stayed back in my mind.

I do not know why, but his translation did not include the following paragraph of the poem:




Woman, fairest ever seen
Was the bride he crowned as queen,
Pillowed on the marriage-bed
Whispering to his soul, he said
"Though no monarch ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh is only clay!
Even this shall pass away.

I have tried to translate this paragraph too as per my limited knowledge of the beautiful Urdu language. I believe you will find it acceptable.

Download this episode (28 min)   

मेरी माँ के कथा-संकलन "अहस्ताक्षरित संधि-पत्र" में से एक कहानी। यह कहानी गरीब-अमीर, ऊँच-नीच जैसे मापदण्डों पर भारतीय समाज के विभाजन को दर्शाती है।

Download this episode (4 min)   

As I purged my computer of old files, it asked if I wished to put some of them in archive. As I was reviewing the files, I came upon a long-lost photograph of mine and this poem was born.

Download this episode (11 min)   

The Song Ends

Download this episode (7 min)   

The Song: Verses 5 and 6

Download this episode (8 min)   

The Song: Verses 3 and 4

Download this episode (10 min)   

The Song: Verse 1

Mahamudra is beyond all words and symbols,
But for you, Naropa, earnest and loyal, must this be said:

The void needs no reliance; Mahamudra rests on naught.

Without making an effort, but remaining loose and natural,
One can break the yoke thus gaining liberation.

The Song: Verse 2

If one sees naught when staring into space;
If with the mind one then observes the mind,
One destroys distinctions and reaches Buddhahood.

The clouds that wander through the sky have no roots, no home;
Nor do the distinctive thoughts floating through the mind.
Once the Self-mind is seen, Discrimination stops.

In space, shapes and colors form,
But neither by black nor white is space tinged.
From the Self-mind all things emerge;
The Mind by virtues and by vices is not stained.

Download this episode (11 min)   

This is a vocal recital of Amit Jayaram's article, "Easy is Right", which was weblished on "Life-Positive" in May 1997.

The article comments on The Song of Mahamudra, which was gifted by an ancient Tantra Master Tilopa to his disciple Naropa.

The write-up is Amit Jayaram's. The voice is mine. The understanding is alike.

Download this episode (9 min)   

Sorrow and misery: They have one important contributing factor, and that is division. Joy needs unity. Prosperity needs cohesivenss. To be one is the nature of the divine. Fragmentation can only breed evil...and it has done so, maybe since the time before human memory can go back. Let us rehabilitate the world. Let us be One big community called Earthlings.

Download this episode (1 min)   

This is one of my earliest poems. Just as I find it difficult now, at that time too (in 1985), I had difficulty in choosing an appropriate title. The title, "Fragrant Oneness" was given by my first literary guide and mentor.

Download this episode (2 min)   

A few years ago we saw the advent of internet and it became possible to send one's love electronically too!!! This poem was written in early 2000 in response to a letter of infatuation. It seemes that someone had liked an uploaded photo of mine. The letter was anonymous. So, I never got to know whose words I read and who read this response to them.

The 'Spoon Guitar' is the courtesy of www.youtube.com

Download this episode (6 min)   

Let us trust God and offer our Gratitude to Him. Let us not belittle Him by praying for just a wish to be Granted.

The episode image is that of the far-away Helix Nebula, believed to be the 'Eye of God'. Obviously, it was taken by the Hubble Telescope. The song in the episode is from "The Lion King"

Download this episode (1 min)   

It is really strange
that a sacrifice
which someone has made
for you
can make you feel
enslaved and subdued
because,
you become the debtor
of your benefactor
forever.......

Download this episode (13 min)   

I have been angry and irritated and have misbehaved at times but unlike any other person, who will stick to my angry words and react immediately (or slowly) with a grimace or harsh words or withdrawal, her love has continued to flow. It does not depend on what I do. My behaviour is my problem, my responsibility. Her love is her own personal matter, untouched and unaffected by what I am. It stays unwavering. It is amazing.