এ ভাবেও বাঁচা যায়

জীবন কে বুড়ো আঙ্গুল দেখিয়ে
সে বেঁচেছিল।
হৃদয়ে ছিল এক সুপ্ত আগ্নেয়গিরি
নিঃশ্বাসে ছিল কালবৈশাখী।
তবু যখন সে ভালবেসেছে
সে বয়েছে পাহাড়ি ঝর্না মতো
ছন্দময়, নির্ভীক ছিল তার প্রেম।
যে পেয়েছে, সে জেনেছে তার অনুভূতি।

তবু অস্থির ছিল সে
নিজেকে কোন তীরেই বেঁধে রাখতে পারেনি;
ভাঁটার টানে সে ভেসে গেছে সমুদ্রের পানে।
বাঁধতে চেয়েছে অনেকে
বাঁধা সে পড়েনি;
নিজেকে চেনার তাগিদে সে সব তুচ্ছ করে
অনন্তে মিশেছে। অস্পষ্ট হয়েছে।
চিতা কাঠ তাকে গ্রহণ করেনি
নিজেকে সে পুড়িয়েছে নিজেরই আগুনে।

একলা মেঘ

মানুষ কখনও দ্বীপ হতে পারে না

তবু কখন না চাইতেও তাকে দ্বীপ হতে হয়।

যে ভাবে অনেক মানুষের মাঝে থেকেও মানুষকে একা হতে হয়।

এক টুকরো বৃষ্টিহীন মেঘের মতন তাকেও ভাসতে হয়

কোন এক অজানা পথে।

যে পথ কোনদিন ভিজিয়ে ছিল সে, শ্রাবণের দিনে

আজ সে পথ তার কাছে কোন দাবি রাখে না, আশা রাখে না।

তবু বিশ্বাস

এ শরীরে আবার বারি বিন্দু সঞ্চিত হবে

আবার কোন শ্রাবণের বিকেলে,

নিঃশেষিত হবে সে জল -

জল, যে জল ছিল, তাই তোমরা ছিলে

জল, যে জল নেই, তাই একা এই পথ

জল, যে জল আবার জন্ম নেবে বলে স্বপ্ন দেখা। 

তারাদের কবিতা

আজকে আঘাত, দূরে সারিয়ে রাখো
আজকে শুধু অবজ্ঞা আর অবহেলা।
ঘুরে ঘুরে শুধু তোমার কাছে আসা
তোমায় একটু কাছে পাওয়ার আশা।

প্রতিরাতে শব্দ খুঁজে বেড়াই
ঘুম আসেনা গভীর হল রাত,
ভোরের আগে ছন্দ পেতে হবে
মিলবে তবে তোমার সাক্ষাৎ।
এ ভাবেই বুঝি জন্ম নেয় তারা
প্রচণ্ড বাস্পের তাপে আর চাপে,
তবু মেলেনি ঠাই তোমার আকাশে আজও
তুমি দেখেছ তারার খসে যাওয়া।

আশা যাওয়া

শব্দরা শুধু মোর পানে ধায়

কথা তবু দাঁড়ায় না,

ছন্দ খালি ফিরে ফিরে চায়

গান তবুও সুরে বাজে না

ঢেউ এর পর ঢেউ আসে আর যায়

সাগর তবু বুকে টানে না।

তুলি আর রঙ হাতে নিয়ে আজ

আঁকবো ছবি পরে থাক কাজ।

আঁকবো জীবন, আঁকবো মরণ

একই ক্যানভাসে তারা রাখবে চরণ,

এক যদি হয় সত্য সুন্দর

আর একজন শুধু কঠিন সত্য।

Monsoon (7)

Its been long now.
Last time when it was monsoon
You were lying on grass near esplanade
And then rain hits you.
Your green salwar get mixed with ashes of cloud.
But as it rains, you get washed
And you were left green again.
Do you still love rain?

Its been long now.
I was returning from college
When your wind whispered me,
"Wherever you go, you will remain for me".
Then there was a thunder, and you leave.
And your tears wet the path behind.
Do you still cry for me?

Its been long now.
I was on the terrace of my house
When leaving behind sun you came,
Angry, disturbed, broken.
I can still remember that evening.
When you left, it was dark
Only few fireflies can be seen.
Perhaps they were last hope that remained.
Do you still get angry with me?

Monsoon (6)

I mix some rain with the ink at this afternoon
And then start to write story of another monsoon.

Today let it be rain, sunlight be on otherday
Cloudy sky, lonely now, stand at my bay.

Table is flooded, words are smudged, I'm marooned
I find monsoon living inside another monsoon.

As I move I see faces, washed in a row
Someone shouted on my terrace, there is a rainbow.

This rain can travel, space and time, such a spray
Suddenly I hear, teacher say, 'Today is rainy day".

Monsoon (5)

It's been long
I have lost my affection for rain.
The shirt that was left outside
I find rain has touched it last night.
I'm not a poet but a common man
Who walks on footpath everyday
Helplessly stand on footboard of crowded bus
Bargain vegetables at the evening market.
During Monsoon I feel like sail boat.
My room gets filled with monsoon clouds
I find streams trickling from everywhere.
How much I try still clock runs ahead of me
How much I try still my son miss his sleep
How much I try still vegetables are less on plate.
But still I sleep with hope -
As long as the windows remain open
As long as that guava tree remains green
As long as smell of hot kichri comes from kitchen
A different monsoon is waiting for me.

Monsoon (4)

It was raining like anything
Mother took me home
And for the first time
I have my own family, a roof, a root.

It was raining like anything
Our room was flooded
And we tried our best to drive the water
I lost my shadow, my sister.

It was raining like anything
I first find you at bus stand
And my throat was dry, I felt cold
Then it was flood, my boat was driven to unknown.

Now again it is raining like anything
Again you will find me changed
I will be washed, drowned, lost
But will come afresh, new, unknown.

Monsoon (3)

It's now dark
And pouring at its best;
Washed away faces
Washed away places
Washed away minds
On the road.
Drops of tar, falling from sky
Drops of yellow, blocking thy eye
I'm just, feeding the rain
I'm just, bleeding the rain.
Touch my heart
It's dry.
Touch my mind
It's not bright.
Walking on road
Soaking the rain
Searching my monsoon
Lost in my lane.

Monsoon (2)

While you walk along the alley
Stars kiss your head,
Below flow the streams of joy
You are alone, draped in red.

You are wet, you are in hurry
As confused rain sings for you,
Clouds gossip among them
Who is this lady wet in the blue?

As rain soaks the cafe of Paris
Give a sip in your lathe,
I remain fade, lost in ages
I'm cold, soaked in my bed.

And on your way back to home
Stars are scattered hither and thither,
All that remains after the wash
It's just a watermark nothing more.

Monsoon (1)

Rain greets me through my window
Wets me on my bed,
Today I feel no warmth of sunshine
But splash of cold on my head.

Night before was suffocating
I could hardly breathe air,
Salt on my eye, salt on my body
It was salt everywhere.

But morning has turned to be sweet
Cold breeze soothes my air,
Taking an umbrella I come down
To find you in your last letter.

I used to name every rainy day
Since each was different from another,
Now they all look the same
Somehow colors are stolen from water.

Trance

Everything seems to be blur
Memories get smudged on timeline
I'm in trance!

I feel like standing underneath
the star that witnessed my promise.
But time is running slow at this hour
Of life; 
I'm late my friend! I'm late!

Dreams are now clinging in drowsy eyes
Am I alive? Are you real?
Everything seems to be blurr
Or, is it just tears in my mind!

Birthday

Today is my birthday
Ripe, old and wise;
by one more year now on.
One more candle on the cake
One more time blowing it out at one go.
Today is just any other day
When life get shared and celebrated
with peers. I smile and shrug
as wishes come from every nook and corner.
But looking at mirror when left alone
I find my image taking discourse -
Twenty years have already passed,
And another twenty will pass like this.
Are you happy! Are you satisfied!
Never know in next twenty you'll last or not!
So set for the sail, get the wind
create moments as many as could be
Since only in moments you will live!

Silent

Silent
Tired I'm
As nothing left to fight for.

Silent
Can't express 
As I don't feel anymore.

Silent
Stopped complaining
Will adapt with the changes.

Silent
Learned how to console
Will never expect anything.

Silent
Trying to forget
As loving you was a mistake.

One Sided

I'll not ask to listen
All that I say everyday
But don't ask me to shut
As thoughts torment, try to express.

I’ll not ask to look
All that I scribble on notebook
But don’t refuse to lend a pen
When ink dries, but mind still wet.

I'll not ask to care
When I feel bad and sit on my chair
But allow me to lend thy hands
When you need help and none is there.

I’ll not ask to walk beside
Since our paths are far apart
Still somehow if we come across
A warm smile is just required.

Finding you

Just like this
Everyday, every time, in everything,
I find a new you within you.

The poem that you suddenly recite
The rule that you follow to break rules
The eyes that shine like phosphorus
The smoke that surrounds you in the dark
The smell that still lingers in your room
The laugh that rises above all voice
The fire that burns your heart everyday
The cold that makes you silent in between

You are a distant star, far far from my world.
And as I compare,
I end up finding a new me in my life.

Confess

Do I need to confess?

Whatever I sing 
It is just the tune you left incomplete
Whatever I write
It is just the words shared between you and me
Whatever I draw
It is just the blunt imitation of your grace.

Do I need to confess?

Didn't you notice my voice 
Quiver in your presence
Didn't you look at my eyes
That dilates once you stare at them
Didn't you notice my body
That get conscious when you are around.

Still you want me to confess?

Let me tell you
Every little gesture
arching eyebrows
sideways smile
your obsession, your oddity
All are mine
As they are yours.

I'm just a clone of you
Is it not sufficient?

Words spoken in silence

Today I will not ask you to love
Till date I have shouted for it
Love me or leave me!
But now I find the war has ended
Just leave me now, leave me!
I will never ask you to care
Will never expect you to hold thy hand
All that I have desired is meaningless now
I feel I don't deserve anything more.
Let me go to a far away land
Where life and death is same for me
I shall be fine, so fear not
This monochrome life suits me now!

Fire

Fire is burning me
All day, all night!
But will never turn me to ashes
It's only pain that continues.

Fear not, this fire belongs to me.
Your fire is in your kitchen stove;
Hot chicken soup ready to relish
My soup has turned cold long ago.

Something ends like this

Everything was fine.
Each day while we came across,
we shook our hand and said
"How are you?"
And then find our way,
giving a nice smile to each other.
Then one day it happened -
Now we come across
but hands don't meet again,
the eyes don't meet again,
neither the smile get exchanged,
and we leave each other.
Or, at least try to!

My little friend

He is soft. Little. A stress buster ball.
Wherever I go, he follows me.
Whatever lies he smells it
Then look at me as if he knows everything.
He entangles my leg, sleeps in my lap
I share with him whatever good I have.
At night he comes close where I sleep
Perhaps search his mother within me.
Sometimes I think its better to take him back
Life is hard now, can he bear that
Suddenly I feel silence everywhere,
Sitting on a couch, no one there.
He is my little pet, a gust of cold wind
Though I shiver, still life needs him.

Wish

Little blue bird, you tweet on the skylight,
I find freedom in your large black eye.
You sing like the rain,
That soothes thy pain;
And dance like the wind,
That waves thy mind.
You love the star, so rise above the cloud;
But never ask if I'm allowed,
To sing and dream and dance with you -
And fly over the maze field soaked with dew.
Leaving all the regret beneath this earth!

The day you left

Never thought to say "Good-bye"
While words remained unspoken and you
leave me. Life can't be steered on false
And I want to come clean at last.
But I always thought good about you;
though truth is always bitter-
If you find your way,
and want to enjoy your drink of your own;
there is no harm, there is no hard feelings
at all. Eyes were dry, perhaps you have seen.
But heart was weeping silently!
I have tried my best but failed;
so left you with your choice dear!
The day you left, I remained silent;
just to move with dignity, nothing else.

অচেনা

রাতের অন্ধকারে সর্পিল সিঁড়ি ভেঙ্গে
প্রতিদিন ধীরে ধীরে উপরে উঠে আসি;
মৃদু করাঘাতে জানান দিই আমার উপস্থিতি-
জানি, রাতের তারাদের সাথে তুমি এখনও জেগে আছো।
কিন্তু কিসের তরে?
রাতে নিয়মে আরও পাঁচজনের মতো
তুমিও তো স্বপ্নের দেশে নিজেকে মুক্তি দিতে পারতে?

সারাদিন আমি ব্যাস্ত থাকি আমার জাগতে,
আমার কাজ, তার প্রস্তুতি।
আমার স্বপ্ন, তার সার্থকতা।
এ সবই আমাকে বন্দি করে রাখে।
কিন্তু কখন তোমার মতন করে তোমাকে ভাবিনি।
কখন বুঝিনি আমিই তোমার জগত
তোমার আশা আকাঙ্খার চাবিকাঠি
তোমার কাজ, তোমার প্রস্তুতি, তোমার স্বপ্ন
সব আমাকে লক্ষ করে।

মাঝে মাঝে যখন আমার জন্য তুমি অস্থির হও
বুঝিনি এই শূন্য মানুষে তুমি কি পাও।
শুধু চিৎকার করে বলেছি আমাকে নির্বাসন দাও।
এই আকুলতা কিসের, আমি আজও বুঝিনি।
তাই যখন তোমার কথা লিখতে বসি
শুধু লিখি তোমাকে আমি চিনিনি।
স্বাতি নক্ষত্র এর মতন তুমিও কোন দূরের জিনিষ
অথচ কত সহজে তুমি আমায়ে চিনে নিলে।
ধীরে ধীরে সর্পিল সিঁড়ি ভেঙ্গে আমি উপরে উঠে এসেছি
ভালবেসে আজও তারে ডেকে নিলে কাছে।

স্বপ্ন পূরণ

তোমাকে আজ উপেক্ষা করি

কঠিন এক পরীক্ষার তরে,

হেঁটেছি কোন কুয়াশার পথে,

এ যুদ্ধ শুধুই কি ক্ষতি?

দাঁড়িয়ে আছি দ্বীপের চরে

ইশান কোণে স্থির ভ্রূকুটি

তবু আমার দীর্ঘ ছায়া

হাঁটবে জেনো তোমার পাশে।

তোমার স্বপ্ন পূরণ করার

সাধ যে আমার অনেক দিনের

তোমায়ে ঘিরে চার দেওয়াল

ভাঙ্গবো আমি তোমায়ে দিয়ে।

I think of you

Woman

In your eyes
I surrender.
Before all that makes me cruel everyday.

In your eyes
I'm enough.
Find lost peace and harmony that heart desires.

In these eyes
I see hope.
That a shipwrecked sailor find in a distant isle.

In these eyes
I find a mirror.
Who help me to understand who I'm!

The Other Way

Sometimes it is hard to accept
Why one plus one is always two,
And not zero if I want.

Why blue cannot be the hue of leaves
Sky cannot be green at night,
Like they are in my dreams.

Why love cannot be hated,
And hate cannot be loved.
Why death cannot be hailed,
And living cannot be denounced!

Dilemma

I never know where I shall go
Sometimes left, sometimes right
Sometimes I stand in between
With hands full or hands empty.

I never know how I shall live
Sometimes its hard, sometimes light
Sometimes it seems I am living dead
As its only breath, no thoughts at all.

Don't know whether to go up or down
But I roam in the middle;
Trying to find what life is
Giving something or keeping something.

I am worried dear friend -
What will happen after I go?
What will remain under this sky?
That will remind you about me each day.

Cappuccino

Just you and me,
Sitting on this table.
Tired eyes soaked with dew
As I sit with you.

With such smell and color
Awaken me from dream, dear!
Give me new thoughts in plenty
Sip, sip till you are empty.

She is beautiful

She is beautiful, so I sit beside her.
With this hope that
Someday, someway her large eyes
May fall upon me.
Her black eyes,
My home of silent prayer.

It is few moments though
But thousand years for me
Don't wake me up O dear
Let me drink forever.
She is beautiful, so I sit beside her.

I find myself at the end of path
Deep gorge waits for me
Should I jump?
Confused I quickly climb down the stairs.
She is beautiful, so I sit beside her.

Beauty is pride, indifferent
Still ants come near the fire
To die - for what reason?
Will it give peace?
I need to know, so I sit beside her.

She is so beautiful, so I sit beside her.

Happy Bengali New Year

Today is the day perhaps the only day when the lazy, stubborn, copycat bong think that they are Bengali. Perhaps in this proclamation also they find some reason for celebration;reason to wear new clothes, eat bengali food whatever dishes they can still remember. Of Course various restaurant with special offers help them to remember that Sukto(mixed curry in which bitter gourd is used) was must for bong once upon a time in this hot summer. So very frankly today is an alibi for foody bong to taste bengali dishes who otherwise keep himself contended with Thai, Chinese, Mughlai throughout the year. Today some bengali businessman(You need a microscope to search them. Bengali businessman, these two words really don't go together. Bit of Oxymoron) do puja in their shop and start their new account year. But perhaps that remain suppressed by the food menu that will be prepared for his esteemed customers. Since he is aware that last year debt can only be cleared if the Food is good. Oh Bengali....Mar e Daloge. Throughout the year who love to wear western formal, today after much effort will manage to wear Kurta and Dhoti. Any idea how many Bong really know how to wear Dhoti? Perhaps negligible. Now a days even in their D Day (read marriage) they manage to keep their respect with the help of dhoti with elastic band! Still we are bong. We are gentlemen and are man of word. We cannot accept change, so we even don't change our city too. Hah...The day will not be far when all bong of bong land(Kolkata) will be deported and rest of ong-bong-chong will proclaim themselves as bong. Bong will celebrate their New Year with Whatsapp posts and will keep their legacy of food and culture only in this cyber world. Obsolete moron! Still today is the New Year for Bong. Long live Bong. Live with your Adda, Coffee House, long lost legacy, stupid ideology and blunt politics. I am proud to be a Bong. My bong land, I will love you for long!!!

Limerick

There is a young lad called Kapoor Mukul
Perhaps you have listen his howl
Silent, Outburst or vibrating mode
Reason or not he never brood
Hasmukh of our team Kapoor Mukul.

========================================================================
Behold the Captain silent with his puff
Why he is afraid of his better half?
With brave heart he faced lot of Sev one
Still he find himself trembling before his woman
Free in mind still tied in handcuff.

========================================================================
With long Aareee, Sharmaji sit tight in chair
And start depicting his elegy;
Sad still hilarious, but we show sympathy.
Innocent eye doesn't bring any tear
Chubby little Sharmaji turn pink only in ear.

========================================================================

Escape

Don't stare O dear I'm bleeding! These eyes are spears Still attracting. This night is for dreaming O blue moon, take me somewhere But your eyes are following It seems my end is near. Not sure why the heart is paining, Today, why it is raining; The day is beginning I am dying!

Successor

Young lad, I want to give you

A lonely terrace,

Sudden flush of one afternoon

That took the slipper kept on the courtyard.

The backyard of ancestral home

Wiped out, but I still roam there.

Time is cruel, time passes by

Days gone will never come by.

But some remnants are

Still with me;

I want to give all to thee.

Hey young lad, I want to give you

Whatever good I have;

Love of a girl, smell of a crayon sun

Color of monsoon pavements of one lazy evening.

All these old clothes

No longer suits me.

Take them if you like

Else throw them.

I want to give you whatever I have of your age.

Auction

Yesterday night I finally decided to auction.
With arms wide open
Under the moonlight, I welcomed
Everyone who were there
staying awake, like me.
Who have renounced their sleep,
So that other can sleep,
Cuddling their beloved ones.

Yesterday was a windy night.
I have asked for the winds,
To come from Sahara.
I have asked all the dead stars
To put their soft hands on me.
Everyone who were once there,
Walked with me, talked with me
I have asked their shadows to appear.

With bunch of pages in hand
I have asked each of them
Whatever I have written till date
Hopes, desires, dreams
All that I have lived
Nurtured, cherished
Are there in these pieces of paper.
Evaluate them and if they are useful
Take them away -
In return, give me sleep
Endless sleep!