Shamas Faqir

SHUNYAH.......translating Shamas Faqir
beyond the nothingness
was my nest
the fire of love burnt it down
a swinging cradle with chimes was hung
in the filled
hearing the jingling i stepped in
***
within the totality i enjoyed the stroll in the garden
i was shown the flower in full bloom
the unknown in a moment called out to me
began to profess his love
***
the guide told me a while ago
world is a crow wedding party
joined me with the wind
and showed me the special and routine
***
saw mountains and hills on fire
spotted water in a stream
the green turf hid the snare,the net
i was enmeshed my friend
***
the crow went with the news to the owl
the happy one has been trapped
if you see him you will know
the road to there is slippery
***
hearing this the owl bowed his head down
he lost his own being
crow came with this to the razhoonz
how much ruckus did he raise
***
trapped i was in a daze
in reality was i wise
ignoring real went for apparent
material has to destroy
***
i was the king over the heights
fate plunged me down
black surma put in to my eyes
the enemy turned upon me
***
i had a look from my height
and lost the one pearl i had
the friend burnt my pearl string to ash
i shook the fire"s hand
***
the wine seller gave me a word
simpleton you be not ,you are the boss
kin and the stranger both be same
expend millions of thousands
***
reaching that place i saw seven springs
the spring beyond had the purest of water
sandalwood forest had idrees
grafting undertaken by ilyaas
***
i sifted the ocean
the pearl string i brought up to the bank
there the khazir said to me
you will be blinded ,stop
***
shamas faqir,happening and bearing
one only knows who suffers
new and old both are valued
the shroud be of silk
***

THERE LAY THE CITY

There Lay The City
Ms. Pixy was in a rage. How could they do such a thing? She had sought an audience with the chief. After all the state had enshrined the principle of rights of species and their protection and conservation in the constitution of the state. Then how could a local chieftain order the mauling and hunting that was held in the name of sport?
She met the chief in his official quarters. The chief was very attentive to the points raised by the activist. He assured her that he would order an enquiry and take all steps necessary to safeguard, protect and preserve the endangered species. He was convinced on the need to make concerted efforts to increase general awareness towards these issues. Ms. Pixy was very happy to enlist the support of the chief in her work. She on her part gave a detailed power point presentation, highlighting the programs, she had launched in recent times to ensure the safety of the threatened species.
The chief however jocularly referred to some over enthusiastic academics who were going about spreading falsehoods regarding the past and claiming that the species in question had ever been ruling the city and that we, the best among the species, the canines lived in service to these wretched humans. The chief conveyed his total disapproval of such theories which would if allowed to go unchecked create confusion in the population and lead to instability. The chief advised Ms. Pixy to keep her work miles away from these so-called wise ones.
The facts enumerated by the chief in support of his assertions were based on truth and not falsehood.
The chief referred to the life in the city and compared it with the situation in the fringe where entire population consisted of these wild humans. With a broad smile on his face and a wink in his eye he told Ms. Pixy to launch some kind of an awareness campaign in those areas about cleanliness, civic sense and social etiquettes. “Look at those areas, and see those clogged drains, see the filth and dirt on the streets, the cesspools of dirt’ ‘the chief started on his favorite subject. ‘Tell me, Ms. Pixy, how can we stop these humans from creating so much of filth around themslves? The chief wanted to get some response to his queries. Sensing that the chief was in a mood to prolong the meeting, Ms. Pixy cleared her throat and looking tenderly towards the chief said’ ‘what I believe is that these animals need our compassion and understanding, they are very vulnerable. They are not as strong as we are, they aren’t even as intelligent as we are, therefore they create all the mess around their lives, chief.’
The meeting ended after a long discussion. Ms. Pixy straightaway drove to the last corner of the city. This area was marked by congestion, noise, overflowing drains, quarrels and brawls, shrieking children, wailing women and shouting men. There was a total chaos on the streets, in total contrast to the main city, the city administered by Ms. Pixy’s kind.
The city was neat and clean. It did not have any garbage dumps; it did not have potholes on roads. It did not have dark alleys and blind streets. It was not in a mess, whereas the portion of the city under their occupation represented a hell. Seeing Ms. Pixy in their locality the entire folk collected around her. She seemed to be quite popular in the area. Everybody wanted to talk to her and bring to her notice his or her grievance, the issues of subsidy on water, on power, on ration, and above all income generating jobs for every person in the family. Ms. Pixy listened to them with patience and assured them that she will take up all these issues with the chief.
The notables among the populace were eager to profess their loyalty and faith to the party in power in the city and place all their trust in the most capable and honest leadership. They were quick to announce that they were all very nice and law abiding citizens and were always against those who challenged the leadership in the city. The elders wanted the Government to come up with an economic package and increase subsidy.
Ms. Pixy assured them of sympathetic consideration of all issues brought to her notice. The congregation garlanded Ms. Pixy and took her round the locality in a huge procession. They raised slogans in support of the chief who ruled their city. The city, that belonged to them not in very distant past.

A Dream

Yes it was a dream,or perhaps a dream within a dream.I woke up with a cold sweat.Dawn was breaking and first golden rays of sun were knocking at the window panes of my room.I could hear the chirping of birds nestled in the huge jamaun tree behind my house.The bells had begun to tinkle in the temple and the dvd had started playing the bhajan tuned to a popular film song of my childhood.Now back to my dream.I was in a huge sprawling complex ,it was a prison.No, I was not serving a prison sentence.Perhaps the jailor was some kind of a friend of mine.I gather ,he had made it possible for me to visit the prison on a special occasion.The special occasion was hanging of a prisoner.All elaborately timed protocol was being unfurled.I was showed the person who was being hanged.I wanted to talk to him but this was not possible ,i understood,though no one told me that.He was a well built man with broad shoulders and a big head.He wore a blank expression on his handsome face.There was no smile on his mustached lip.He was standing up with his arms hanging by his side.He had a crop of jet black hair which appeared freshly oiled.The scene shifted and my dream took me to a window, perhaps on the second or third floor.I stood there looking out in to the huge expanse of ground with many trees in the background.The foreground was a burial ground ,with many granite tablets popping up above the surrounding ground.I could even read some inscriptions on these stones.There in the midst of this burial ground were men with hunched backs and shovels in hands digging a grave.
I watched the digging.Shovel by shovel they were removing the loosened earth and making a heap on a side.The hole was becoming wider and deeper with each sweep of the shovel.Then my eyes saw a heap of bones wrapped in dry bark getting exposed as the digging progressed.The digger lifted the bundle wrapped in the bark and put it to a side.He resumed his digging un perturbed.
I understood .
The old was to give way to the fresh occupent.

YA MUHAMMAD saw....

aap ke dar per nahin aayen to jayenge kahan
ya Muhammad aap jaisa koi payenge kahan
zulm ki aandhi chali hai char janib se hazoor
yeh guzarti hai jo hum pe woh sunayenge kahan
ashk aankhon main ubalte jarahe hain raat din
aap ke dar per na pohnche hum bahayenge kahan
zakhm kitne jane seene main lage hain ya nabi
aap dekhenge nahi to hum dikhayenge kahan
aap ke han aayen kaise sharm aati hai hamen
aib itne hain jo hum main woh chhupayenge kahan

YA MUHAMMAD saw

aap ke dar per nahin aayen to jayenge kahan
ya Muhammad aap jaisa koi payenge kahan
zulm ki aandhi chali hai char janib se hazoor
yeh guzarti hai jo hum pe woh sunayenge kahan
ashk aankhon main ubalte jarahe hain raat din
aap ke dar per na pohnche hum bahayenge kahan
zakhm kitne jane seene main lage hain ya nabi
aap dekhenge nahi to hum dikhayenge kahan
aap ke han aayen kaise sharm aati hai hamen
aib itne hain jo hum main woh chhupayenge kahan