Monday, August 31, 2020

Play on

 







With a song or a story
I sense a moment of
catharsis, all my worries
are either shelved or they
commingle with the notes;
I imagine my hands playing,
my feet dancing, my eyes
reading, relishing the words;
as though they are my own
experiences living, traveling
in the trajectory of themes.

The world of words has a
magical spell, it can combine
seen, unseen worlds with a
miraculous ease. The story
in the stories, in the songs,
tells the tales of my failures
and successes, my pitfalls
and glories; it breaks all
barriers, resistances,
inhibitions, in minutes.

We are perpetually in
love with the music in the
texts we watch, listen
or read; it's more real than
the world in flesh and blood.

Stories are never enough.
They are here to play their part 
on the stage. We are but stories,
moving on and on. Carefully
crafted words, written or sung
on the pages at times reflect
the ghosts, the skeletons we felt,
yet, never left; at other times,
they mobilize our own dreams.

Getting tired of stories is
like getting tired of our
own breaths, our sad and
sweet songs. So, times! 
'If music be the food of love,
play on'
and let us live. 

Sunday, August 30, 2020

স্বগোতক্তি

















চুপ! 
কথা বলো না। 
একটু ভেবে দেখো, 
আমরা কেউই ঠিক
কথা বলতে শিখিনি, 
তাই কথা দিয়ে শুধু
বিষ বেরোচ্ছে; হয়
নিজের সম্পর্কে, নয়ত
অন্যের ব্যাপারে, নয়ত
বা পরিস্থিতি নিয়ে। এই
হলাহলে আমারা দূর্বল, 
নিষ্প্রাণ হয়ে পড়ছি প্রতি
পলে। এই মিথ্যার জালে
নিজেকে জড়িয়ে রেখো না। 

শুধু শুনে, দেখে, আর ঘ্রাণে 
গ্রহণ করো প্রকৃতিকে; শেখো
প্রতিনিয়ত জীবনের জয়গান। 
পাখির ডাক, ভোরের আলো, 
ফুলের গন্ধ, এই নেশায় মেতে
শিশির ভেজা পায়ে হাটতে
হাটতে শুদ্ধ শান্ত হোক
তোমার অমূল্য মনপ্রাণ। 

এই অভ্যাস করতে করতে
ধ্বংস হবে যত মনের হাহাকার। 
রাগ, দ্বেষ, অসুরবৎ অহংকার
এই কষ্টের হবে প্রকৃত সংহার, 
দেহ অন্তরে বাইরে হবে শুদ্ধ
শিবময় হবে তোমার চিত্ত,
তোমার চারিদিক আলোকিত হয়ে 
থাকবে ফুলে, ফলে সুসজ্জিত, 
নৃত্যরত হৃদয় করবে নিত্য
হাসাহাসি ভালোবাসাবাসি 
কারণে অকারণে; শ্রমে, বিশ্রামে 
বাইরে, কিম্বা ঘরের কোনো 
এক কোনে, কথা হবে অমৃত সম
যে শুনবে সেই হবে উপকৃত,
গদগদ, আহ্লাদিত, রোগমুক্ত
তখন কথা বোলো, 
ওহে পরমবন্ধু আমার। 

The fall-out

 










The page was too heavy
to carry the tongue up in the sky,
like it did before; slowly, it turned
brown, revisited, almost burnt,
relished, relegated into unrecognizable
pieces that posed, disguised,
camouflaged as different thoughts,
dogmas, beliefs; as different works.

Strange that these contemplations,
agonies, angsts, ecstasies, that
originated from the doubt-proof source,
from the charming abstraction,
did not have a word of piousness
in them; they weren’t even speaking
of any selfless leaders, healers who
mesmerized the dais with their followers.
These reflections were talking of politics,
businesses, sciences, and other visible,
foolproof, down-to-earth concrete things.

Yet, they were fragmented, like 
the original leaf that fell from
the endearing branch of a tree to
write about humanity, now ripped
into bits, the leaf scorched with
too much light and time, beyond
perspicuity. Now, it is dark; the letters
that sounded sweet and sublime, have
lost their innocence, their simplicity.

People still read, chant, recite the lines,
but innocuous feelings that were
affectionately embedded in words like
hello, dear cannot be paged. Now, they
screech, seem like forbidden fruits;
dangerous, poisonous; their warmth,
their friendliness has left; nevertheless,
they hover around the same words that
had, for long, lost their spell. How it
happened, perhaps stories can tell. The
page wanders on the ground, but it is
perpetually dwelling in hell.

Friday, August 28, 2020

Men and women of word

 









The ship was battling the wind.
All of a sudden, men and women
inside, were aware of what was 
happening, but if it was true or false,
they were still in doubt, they sat 
around and argued for long hours;
all this while the floating people 
were unable to sense any movement,
they were, therefore, not convinced about 
the debacle, they thought the ship was 
indestructible; so, they were asking 
questions that weren’t quite about 
the benefit of the vehicle.

Yet, the queries were genuine and honest, 
though, they might not have been so relevant.
They were asking about the purpose 
of the journey, thought-provoking queries
on how the ship was made, about the creator,
the operator, the destructor, the benefactor; 
they came up with many ideas, theories,
and beliefs, each one guarded their own 
as though thoughts were like their golden garden, 
they had to protect them with arms and weapons
they fought, they swore, they invented wars,
all this while, the ship was their only star
twinkling in the space, like a speck of dust;
they also argued if god was an invention 
or if it was a discovery, if the journey of religions 
ended in, or began from the ocean of spirituality,
if the ocean, a destination, a liberation of 
many rivers also needed to go somewhere,
and be liberated, if there was another ship 
in some other space also sailing like them? 

During all this entertainment, the ship had 
weakened, the rats are slowly deserting 
the place, many holes, some detected, 
were then letting salty waters in the deck.

But wise men and women were still
debating on who to assign as the worthiest
captain of the swinging haven,
and wondered why god wasn’t coming 
to save them from the calamity; they
wanted to know if god merited a capital G,
even at that point in time, they were 
seen battling with themselves, 
ignoring the turmoil the ship was 
going through, they were still 
asking questions with alacrity,
well-meaning and intelligent,
for which there wasn’t one
single, simple answer, hence
they were drowned in duality.

The ship failed to sail anymore.
Wise men and women thought 
they arrived at a conclusion; 
some opined that god was just 
another word, while some others
said, God wasn’t just another word.

Monday, August 24, 2020

মা আসছেন

 


মা আসছেন।
পৃথিবীকে করোনাসুর মুক্ত করতে,
আবার আমরা দেখবো খোলা
আকাশ, আমাদের কারারুদ্ধ শ্বাস 
প্রশ্বাস পুনরায় পাবে ত্রাণ, 
পাবে পবিত্র বাতাস। 

তোমরা শুধু ভক্তি, বিশ্বাস
নিয়ে তৈরী থেকো, পারবে তো?
তাহলেই হবে জয়, নিশ্চয়। 

মা আসছেন।
মহামারী নাশ করতে
আসছেন মহামায়া। 
চোখ, কান বন্ধ করে
অনুভব কর তাঁর পদধ্বনি, 
চতুর্দিক আলো করে আসছেন
করুণাময়ী, ত্রিনয়নী। 

তোমরা তৈরী থেকো নিয়ে শুধু
সরল বিশ্বাস আর ভক্তি, 
পরিত্যাগ কর, সকল
গরল ন্যায়, তর্ক, যুক্তি। 

আনন্দ স্রোতে ভাসাতে
আসছেন পরমেশ্বরী
পৃথিবীর দুঃখ মোচন করতে
আসছেন অনুপমা গৌরী, 
তিনি উমা, আমাদের মা। 
তোমরা আনন্দাশ্রূ দিয়ে
বরণ করো তাঁকে
বিশ্বাস আর ভক্তি দিয়ে
সাজিয়ে দিও মাকে। 

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Let there be light 😅



East can say this with pride,
The Sun shines first on their side, 
That makes the poor West
Backdated up-to-date!



My dear sis-in-law wished me a good morning from New York when it was evening here in India. That's how the lines woke up! 

Friday, August 21, 2020

It's you


Morning dew
Falls in my eyes, 
Another sunrise
Will be seen
In the horizon, 
A pack of lies
Will begin to
Consume the day, 
Alluring ways, 
Mad rush, chasing time, 
Ignoring the rising star
For a meaningless reason, 
Will invariably lead
The world and its cousin
To the pre-written prison. 

In the interim, 
Let me hum
With the birds, 
Without words. 

I wonder how sadness
Can be so beautiful, 
It brings us closer
To the truth.

I realise that the dew 
Is not just a mere drop, 
It's your presence, it's you. 

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Response

 

In your presence,
All mundane fears,
Inane thoughts, turn
Into insane happiness. 

In your light,
Darkness disappears,
Heaviness of the heart
Heals, feels weightless.

In your company, there's
A sense of ceaseless cheer,
Work gets done at ease, like
Magic, everything falls in place.

Your soft, melodious words
Sooth my enriching ears,
In you, I find my universe
Full of charming grace. 

You, I will never ever leave,
Your love I hold so dear;
In you, I'll confide and believe,
Respond to your vibrant silence.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

No strings attached


I had my strings clotted
In my playing instrument,
A stubborn knot
Jutting deafening sounds;
The beautiful tune
Lost its ground,
Unrecognisable voice,
A screeching noise. 

I sat alone, under
A comforting tree
Maybe
Like Gogo or Didi,
I pulled out the strings
Gently, one by one
I couldn't believe to see
The lost battle, won. 

I got back the rhythm
The fascinating melody
I sang, I danced
In insane ecstasy
'This is it! The real me!'
I heard me say, I played
Myself, wandered away;
Surprised to see
I got back my friends,
My relatives, my loving family
I got back everything
So dear to me! 

Now, no strings attached
My instrument can play
A mesmerising song
That I lost for long;
In an unknown space,
Under a comforting tree
My strings were free,
I found my way.

Rest in peace

I want to live in peace
That is my greatest rest;
I sleep with open doors,
Open mind, in a cosy space
With open windows. 

My calm can't be stolen
By burglars or thieves,
In this life, I will see
Myself out of petty conflicts,
My light of love, of happiness
My supreme success;
My golden garden reconstructed
A bed of fragrant roses
Chirping birds, softest breeze
Kindest words, infinite bliss! 

Nothing hidden,
My story, rewritten
Happily ever after
Living in peace.

Moment of truth


When I have nothing 

To do, I go to 

Sleep, 

When I get something 

To do, I 

Sleep, 

When I go to work

Or do the chores, I 

Sleep, 

I am sleeping all the time... 

I walk in my 

Sleep, 

I dream in my 

Sleep. 


I will never wake up, I will

Sleep for as long as I live. 


Perhaps, perhaps when

It'll be time to leave for good, 

Will I wake up for a moment of truth. 

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Bright sunny days










There's always this sunrise,
Irrespective of time and space;
With a pair of alert ears and eyes
It's never ever too late
To wake up from the cosy bed,
Walk your ways with steady steps
And live up to your bright sunny days. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

আজও বেঁচে আছি

 


আরে, কোথায় আছিস!

যারা ১৯৯০ এ হয়েছে

তাদের বয়সই এখন তিরিশ! 

আমরা ম্যাপের বাইরে চলে গেছি

সব, নেই ঠিকানা, নেই কোনও হদিস

তবুও কিশলয় মন, এখনও উনিশ-বিশ, 

প্রাণে, ধমনীতে, গুনগুন করে অহর্নিশ

শুধু বলে আজও আছি, আজও বেঁচে আছি।


©সুপ্রতীক সেন

Monday, August 10, 2020

মোহের হোম যোগ্য

 

মন জুড়ে হোম যোগ্য করছি, 

মোহ ত্যাগ করব, শপথ নিয়েছি। 

অহংকার, লোভ, ঈর্ষা, ভালবাসা, 

অনর্থ, অবিদ্যা, সঞ্চয়ের নেশা

এসব যে মিথ্যা মোহ জানতাম তা

দুঃখও যে মোহ, জানা ছিল না। 

সব কিছু অচিরেই হোলো ওম স্বাহা

নাছোড়বান্দা দুঃখ্য দেখি যেতে চায়না, 

এমন সময় কানে এল খঞ্জনির ধ্বনি

খোল বাজে, অনর্গল হরিবল শুনি,

দুঃখ কষ্ট যত ছিল সবই যে পালালো

হরিনামে মোহ হোম সম্পূর্ণ হলো।


© সুপ্রতীক সেন

অভয় আশ্বাস

 


হয় বিশ্বাস, নয়তো ভয়

কার হবে পরাজয়? 

অবিদ্যারে দিলাম বিসর্জন

হলো ভয় খানখান, 

বিশ্বাস দিল দর্শন

হালকা করে মনপ্রাণ।


©সুপ্রতীক সেন

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Birth and death

My childhood days are dead. 

But the child resides

In my heart, in my head. 

***

Birth and death, playing 

A hide and seek game;

Both, invariably chasing

Each other, much the same.


©Supratik Sen

Friday, August 7, 2020

Nothing happens


I fall and rise 

again and again, 

lies sprinkle from your 

fainted mouths, 

fountain of words;

nothing happens, 

movement so rigid, 

determined, deceptive -

white chrysanthemums. 


When I touch, I sense

a flowing tremor;

they pretend to possess

the brightness of flowers, 

the comfort of dancing waters. 


I breathe in to catch

upon the fragrance, 

I bathe under it to drench

in the comforting drops,

I suffocate, I dry, 

nothing happens. 


I'm waiting here for years, 

light falls in vain

on false images, 

nothing happens, 

melodious letters remain;

I find myself in unsung, 

unnoticed, unseen tears.