Author: Rohit Malekar

What You Seek Is Seeking You

~ Rohit Malekar ~ Leave a comment

Much like the wind
that powers the sails
for the soul lost at sea
seeking a refuge
until the shores
yet to be discovered
are no longer in wait,
the desires deep down,
known and unknown,
seek a destiny
in an entangled world
of cause and effects
until a sigh rests
in the arms that await.

Text from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.5

अथो खल्वाहुः काममय एवायं पुरुष इति स यथाकामो भवति तत्क्रतुर्भवति यत्क्रतुर्भवति तत्कर्म कुरुते यत्कर्म कुरुते तदभिसम्पद्यते

And here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap.

About Me

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My Inspiration

“…ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world.”
— Stephen Hawking, “A Brief History of Time”

Philosophers and scientists alike have longed for an explanation for human existence. And often in their exploration, they find themselves at the edge of the existing knowledge. They are unable to articulate a theory or an observation, until they hit a new breakthrough, identify a new concept and the cycle goes on.

Our personal lives are no different and to expect ourselves to process every aspect of our emotions is a tall order. Ironically, whenever I have encountered an emotion that was novel or difficult or confounding to express in day-to-day language, that’s when I have been most effective in writing a poem about it.

My Favorites

Poetry is subjective and touches everyone differently based on their prior experiences in life. My inspirations come from three completely different eras and geographies of the world.

Metaphysical Poetry

My love in poetry started with the metaphysical poets of the 17th century England. As an engineer, I was naturally inclined to these group of poets that simultaneously appealed to the heart and brain of the reader. The poets skillfully use conceit to introduce striking ideas on love, life, and existence with help of highly figurative language. I almost always discover a previously hidden idea every time I re-read poems in this collection.

Pawadas

Closer to home, I admire the Pawadas or historic ballads that were handed down by memory from one generation to another by the wandering bards called Gondhali in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is one of the most irregular of all rhythmic forms in Marathi literature, filled with rude versification and frequent omission of words essential to the meter of the verse. But when sung in the right context, they speak volumes of the bravery and sacrifice that went in to establish independent self-rule.

Shayari

Lastly, I am fond of the Urdu poetry in the form of Shayari that expresses deep feelings using the rich vocabulary that comes with the language. While the partition of India into two states in 1947 split apart the major contributors of Urdu poetry, this form continues to flourish in both countries even today. The Urdu language itself is a beautiful concoction of Hindustani, Persian, Arabic, and Turkic words. While it takes some effort to understand the vocabulary, the resulting poetry makes it more than worth the study.

Gratitude

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The flame is born to shine,
But can only shape to a rhyme,
When a breeze chooses to chime.

The earth is bound to hold,
But whether that is grain or gold,
Plots the potter when it is mold.

The flying fragrance of the flower,
Follows the hand that plucks forever,
Destined to where it’s smell shall shower.

So, to those who rid you of platitude,
For your fame, fortune, and fortitude,
For them, spare a thought of gratitude.

Gratitude is called kataññutā in Pali. The word consists of two parts: kata, which means that which has been done, especially to oneself; and annuta means knowing or recognizing. So katannuta means knowing and recognizing what has been done to one for one’s benefit.

You and Me

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You and me
We fight so hard
Every word
Like a flying shard

You and me
And days of yonder
How far we’ve come
Do you remember?

You and me
Why do the eyes weep?
In our arms
When we now seep

You and me
In a gaze deep
The hugs last long
We fail to sleep

You and me
A future we wrote
But somewhere along
We forgot to dote

You and me
What rocked our boat?
Love slowly sinks
Hope falters to float

शिवाई

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जन्म झाला शिवनेरी ।
रयत ऋणी जीजाई ।।
शप्पथ स्वराज्याची ।
रायरेश्वरी शिवलिंग साक्षी ।।

भेदरली आदिलशाही ।
पाहून रक्तरंजित भवानी ।।
धडकी मुगल दरबारी ।
तो नतमस्तक रामदासी ।।

उभा अखंड सह्याद्री ।
घेऊन दरी राई ।।
संगे समुद्र अरबी ।
शिवगुण गायी ।।

मग काय करू शाहिरी ।
कोड्यात हा गोंधळी ।।
खंत एकच तुळजाई ।
नशिबा नव्हती शिवाई ।।

Shivaji, who was born to Jijabai at the fort of Shivneri, renounced the inherited comforts and swore to establish self-rule for the people of the land. He shook the tyrannical powers of the Adilshah of Bijapur and the Mughal empire in Delhi fighting many violent battles while humbly accepting the teachings of Sant Ramdas. When today the hills of Sahyadri and the waves of the Arabian sea sing his praises, neither can I better them nor can I shed my envy for unlike them, my life could not witness the acts of his valor.

The format of this verse is called Pawada. Over the centuries, it was the song of the wandering poets in Maharashtra called Gondhali. In a prescient observation, Harry Acworth wrote the following in his book, “Ballads of the Marathas”, published in 1894, “…the advantages of civilization will no doubt, before many years are over, be too much for these products of a time when the steam-engine and the high school were not.”

लम्हे

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कमबख़्त  वक़्त के फरिश्ते
बेईमानी पे उतर आते हैं
पलक झपकते ही
कुछ साल गुज़र जाते हैं
कुछ रिश्तों के रंग
कुछ अपने खो जाते हैं

कमबख़्त वक़्त के फरिश्ते
बेईमानी पे उतर आते हैं
पलक झपकते ही
कुछ साल याद आते हैं
कुछ मौजुदगिया तो दरकार हैं
कुछ लम्हे कह जाते हैं

कहानी

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ये तो खेल हैं बस सियासतगरों का
नहीं जोधा या पद्मावती की कहानी
जो दिखा रहे हैं सीना तान के दिलेरी
उनकी तो आदत हैं तख़्त की दलाली

चलो मान भी लो हैं सारे इलज़ाम सही
जिनपे हैं ऊँगली उठी वह हैं मुजरिम भी
मगर धमका के एक नारी को रखी लाज हमारी
क्या ये गर्व से कहेगी हमारी रानी?

India has had a complex history with multiple versions of the same events. Any intentional efforts to malign respected figures who sacrificed in the making of our nation should be discouraged – I support that. But no one has to live in the fear of their life if ever there is such an act in question. #Padmavati

हर हर महादेव

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शत्रूची लूट
पंढरीची तूट
सोसले मुकट
हर हर महादेव

प्रजा बेजार
मुठीत तलवार
एकच ललकार
हर हर महादेव

शिवबाशी मेळ
मावळ्याचं बळ
स्वराज्याचा खेळ
हर हर महादेव

काफिरास संदेश
सोड प्रदेश
भवानीचा आदेश
हर हर महादेव

मातीची शप्पथ
उजळणार मुलुख
भगव्या रंगानं
हर हर महादेव

ओतून रक्तास
सजवू सह्याद्रीस
घडवू इतिहास
हर हर महादेव

History only remembers it’s leaders and heroes who led with a grand vision, but not the many without a name or face who gave their blood and sweat to make that vision a reality. With the war cry of हर हर महादेव (Har Har Mahadev), the mavala army of Shivaji captured over 300 forts across the rugged western ghats laying the foundation for swaraj or self rule.

PS: The religious references are only an attempt to recreate the times that existed 350 years ago. Today, such sentiments are anachronistic – as much as possible, religion and governance should stay as apart from each other.

कदाचित…

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तीनही लोकांचा राजा
आईविना होतो भिकारी
होऊन सारे वजा
उरल्या फक्त आठवणी

भूक, ठेच, वेदना
झेलताना मुखात “आई”
आता साद घालाया
शब्द जिभेवर नाही

गरजा, अडचणी, दुःख
घेणारी तू ओंजळीत
राहून सदा हसतमुख
मग आज का निजलीस?

प्रत्येक श्वासात बंधला
तू दिलेला प्राण
कुठे फेडू हे ऋण?
माझे मन मौन

कुठल्यातरी पूर्वीच्या जन्माचं
पुण्य असेल कदाचित
लाभलं तुझं छत्र
जन्मलो तुझ्या कुशीत

कुठल्यातरी पूर्वीच्या जन्माचं
पापच असेल कदाचित
मुकलो तुझ्या देहास
चिताही तुझी शीत

The Green Light on the Dock

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I wonder from where
Could I gather such fare
To take me from this rock
Over the bay to that dock
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

“Shall I embrace the waves?”
My yearning heart craves
Or a breeze shall I become
To fly to the only one
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

Memories have not faded
A little, in years jaded
But for courage I strive
A little, for me to arrive
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

I throw the alms I own
And the fame I have sown
For a sight with your eyes
So I can cease my sighs
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

This poem is inspired by the character of Gatsby from the 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald titled “The Great Gatsby”. The green light is an electric lamp at the end of Daisy and Tom Buchanan’s boat dock.  Because the Buchanans’ mansion is direct across the bay from Gatsby’s mansion, Gatsby can always see the green light. In the first part of the novel, the green light represents a symbol of hope for Gatsby. He stares at it obsessively while dreaming to recover the lost love of Daisy.