Distractions

My passing thoughts stray your way
If life permits then I may
Cry these tears another day
And wish the smile is here to stay

Even if the smile were to be fickle
Let not a single tear drop trickle
Run down my cheek in a hurry
These wounds I can easily carry

Ride the storm strong and unflinching
Pass these days with eyes blinking
No scrutinizing no over-thinking
No fear of this ship sinking

Life grants me certain distractions
All of them through my own actions
So I can be preoccupied
Take the rough patch in my stride

Haunting Melodies

I’m no stranger to A.R. Rahman’s music but recently when a friend introduced me to the album “Connections,” I was completely bowled over. He is one composer who knows how to push the envelope and this album is pure melody. There is a particularly haunting number called “Mann chandre nu” in this album. Amazingly sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Shraddha Pundit and even without lengthy lyrics Rahman has managed to compose a seven and a half-minute song. I’m not sure who has actually written the lyrics but they are beautiful and have so much pain in them that they haunt you forever. I probably listened to the song nonstop for hours, forgetting sleep, forgetting everything. Such is the excellence of the music created by the maestro and due credit to the lyricist. Whoever composed the following must surely have known love and heartbreak.

Mann chandre nu raas naa aave,
Mann chandre nu raas naa aave,
Naa aave darwaas.
Jigar daa saudaa kyon kar baithaa?
Mukhdi jaandi aas.

Je lut jaandaa te lut jaandaa,
Dil hauke khaa ke chup jaandaa.
Je lut jaandaa te lut jaandaa,
Dil hauke khaa ke chup jaandaa.

Beparvaa daa ki kehna, hai
Naa aave darwaas,
Jigar daa saudaa kyon kar baithaa?
Mukhdi jaandi aas!

Dard sataundaa, Bedardaan nu,
Bedardaa daa ki jaandaa?
Dard sataundaa, Bedardan nu,
Bedardaa daa ki jaandaa?
Bedardaa daa ki jaandaa?

Mann chandre nu raas naa aave,
Naa aave darwaas.

Seeker

It seemed only yesterday that my life was rich and full
Until I felt the tug of this uncontrollable cosmic pull
How could the tables so suddenly and drastically have turned?
For I wouldn’t be finding ways to unlearn what I’ve learned

What kind of fairness lies in these sequence of events?
To me its an unjust affair, my happiness it prevents
That I should find the thing I have missed on such a wrong turn
Then fate should snatch it away from me and make me feel the burn

Life can be mysterious, they say, I don’t know all its ways
All I know is that I have been on this quest for far too many days
A seeker roaming the sands of time with an unquenchable thirst
It’s a journey not a contest, I don’t want to finish first

I do need answers to the questions burning in my soul
For they would make this life worthwhile, they would make me whole
Mirages have tricked me along the way luring me with a lovely feast
Ready to scavenge, I am like a bird of prey or like an untamed beast

They make me falter from my true course and make me fall behind
I have wizened to their deceptions now and can identify their kind
Their lure is not so strong anymore their illusions no longer hold
My mind is clear, my heart is pure, and my soul is molten gold

It took me a while to reach this point and feel this way in my heart
Appreciate the obstacles in my way, now I know they had to play their part
Seasons change, we can’t only have sunshine, we have to weather the rain
For I wouldn’t be this happy now if I hadn’t faced the pain