Friday, July 31, 2015

Eye of Tranquility


your eyes
beauteous
brimming with life and living
compel me to stare in fascination
even as they force me
to continue to live

even as the brimming and surging ocean
calms
to watch you

------------------
Bhashwati wrote:

The tranquil eye

soothes with its gaze
caresses with its touch
moves with its expression
transforms with its beauty
_____________________________________________

The eye of tranquillity ...

does it greatly differ from the eye of a storm? 

One claims to be calm, the other seems to be calm

perhaps only a storm can know the difference.
_________________________________________________________

Extremely compelling image both for the colours and the composition.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Journey's End


Baadal se aansu
Aansu se baarish
Baarish ki nadiya
Nadiya se dariya
Dariya se saagar
Saagar se bharkar hai jaam

Hai
Jaam men kitni doob gayi
Mere jivan ki har shaam


I drink
till the clouds swell
and pour out as tears

so much
that rain
becomes rivers

rivers form oceans

alas
even the seas
cannot quench my thirst 

which yearns for more
and fills every night of my life

-----------------------------
Hemantha Kumar Pamarthy wrote:

...Khaali jaam liye baithe ho,
Un aankhon ki baat karo
Raat bahut hai, pyaas bahut hai
Barsaaton ki baat karo,
Khaali jaam liye baithe ho

Jo pikar mast huye hain
Unke jikr se kya haasil, Unke jikr se kya haasil
Jin tak jaam nahi pahuncha hai
Un pyaason ki baat karo
Raat bahut hai, pyaas bahut hai
Barsaaton ki baat karo,
Khaali jaam liye baithe ho

Chup rehane se kat naa sakegi
Sadiyon lambi raat yahaan
Jin yaadon se dil roshan hai,
Unn yaadon ki baat karo
Raat bahut hai, pyaas bahut hai
Barsaaton ki baat karo,
Khaali jaam liye baithe ho

Phir palakon par jugnu chamake,
Aankhon mein ghata si lehraayi
Thandi hawa kaa jikrr karo,
Kuchh bhigi ruton ki baat karo
Raat bahut hai, pyaas bahut hai
Barsaato ki baat karo,
Khaali jaam liye baithe ho
Unn aankhon ki baat karo,
Khaali jaam liye baithe ho ...

---Omar Khayyam Rubayee---

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Forest in Water...



...or is it Water in Forest




Actually, on Earth as we know it, and call it (with various names in as many languages and dialects), water came first.


As far as, in all honesty, up to now, we have known, water is absent elsewhere in the Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, cluster of galaxies, or any physical body, as far as our vision, aided by our unquenchable curiosity, can take us into what we call the universe: the infinite space within which we exist, at least as of this moment, alone.

We have stretched our intellect and transported it with scientific equipment, vehicles, as far as we can reach; and we are progressively reaching and observing farther and farther. Yet we have still to find any sign of water and therefore, by extension, life, which as far as we know and evidence goes, began in water on our planet Earth.


It is not only possible but an imperative, that the unceasing deforestation which humankind has to progressively bring about to accommodate himself and his growing clan and necessities without which he cannot or, in all his vanity, will not do, unlike all other forms of living creatures, be halted. At the same time, it 
cannot be stopped or even slowed, making it hypothetically the cause of our perishing, at least in the form in which we exist or are familiar with.  Possibly, in the ensuing catastrophe, all life will become extinct.

Who knows? Perhaps we may escape or even save ourselves by moving on to other habitable life-supporting objects in space.


Maybe a Noah's Ark? A real, and not a mythological, one?

Monday, July 27, 2015

Wind-blown



the leaf landed
where I sat contemplating
the meaning of life

as I took the picture
suddenly I felt
that its fall

detached from its tether
deadened
aimlessly blown by the breeze

told me a lot

-----------------------
Bhashwati wrote:

Thoughts on
A leaf no more ...

From a shimmering spot of colour 
where light and breeze marry
to a rusted relic of itself,.. 
the leaf's life is all too brief 
as it lies defeated by death.

Just as, shadows of former selves, 
frayed at the edges and weary at the core
discarding all quests for the meaning of life,  
withering away we await,  

the triumph of death

Monday, July 13, 2015

Hatchling



the hatchling claws its way
out of the birth cave
looking for the sun

soon its scaly wings
will unfurl

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Betrayal

(circa 1974)
Duniya mein dhoka aam baat hai
Ab Suraj ko hi dekh lo
Aata hai Kiran ke saath 
Rahta hai Roshni ke saath
Aur aaj Varsha bhadak gayi
To chhip gaya kahin jaake 
Megha ke saath

In this world, betrayal is common;
Take the example of the Sun:
He comes with Kiran* (Rays),
He stays with Roshni* (Light),
And today Varsha* (Rain) has increased,
So, clinging to her, he is hiding somewhere
with Megha* (Cloud).
----------
*These are all women's pretty names in Hindi.

-------------------------
Charu wrote:

While text did not arrive here, it is quite apropos. Not unlike males of our species, eh! Beautiful picture.
-------------------------
Bhashwati wrote:

i dont know whether i should say anything or not because my interpretation is now entirely coloured by the title.

i thumb all your black and white images 
This one has taken on a new meaning because of the title.
There is light and its reflection is brighter BUT it is the dark that dominates the composition. and the dark in my mind has translated into deceit and a cover up for deceit. The original source of light is feeble... the heart hoping against hope that the betrayal is not real.
The reflected light shines brighter because its a mirage and its purpose is to delude the mind. 

All this is connected to the title as i said already.

Actually the composition is an exquisite fragile balance of light dark, dense and transparent, still and flowing.

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Catching the Night Forming Dew


eaves-dropping with eyes

tired
sleepless eyes
piercing the darkness
snooping on
the dews forming
before the first light
of the day

to be trodden upon
to be wiped out

to form again
on another night
perhaps
if its time
has not run out
if time has not
just run out
on everything
away into
oblivion

-----------------------------
Bhashwati commented:

The thought came from the last lines:  

if time has not
just run out
on everything
away into
oblivion
time running out and away into oblivion.

a dew drop is probably among the most ephemeral of nature's phenomena. For sensitive humans its fragile beauty has long embodied the impermanence of life. However one thinks of that impermanence only in comparison to other apparently permanent things when in fact there is no difference at all.   

What else is life but to be wiped out, to form again, and for the cycle to continue until and unto oblivion...the elusive and illusory web of green and mist in the image is translated perfectly in the accompanying text.

Come Sit Down Beside Me...



A poem and cartoon by Michael Leunig:

Come sit down beside me, I said to myself.
And although it doesn’t make sense,
I held my own hand as a small sign of trust
And together I sat on the fence.