Haze

Morning's first breeze

Whispers as if

Beware winter is slowly

Setting in..!

Drab cold winter evening

Sans all the needed warmth..

Searches within its own breath

The solace of life, 

And the purpose of love !

Chill in the air

Smoke as I yawn

Wrapped in a blanket
My heart sleeps in yours..

While soul yearns for a walk

In the dew filled lawn...!

As I pour my dawn coffee

Or sit alone with my 

Evening book

I fail to blink my blank eyes

As I do not know

At what I gaze

Or, for what I look ...!

Mist envelops the earth's crust

Fog hazes my path..

All as if to help me lose my way

So that I stop my eternal search..!

The fog, the fading light..

The biting cold wind..

All conspires against me

So that, you I may not find..!

~Manjuri~

Once Again

आँख की मोती

देखो कैसे संभाला हैं मैंने 

ईन मोतीयों जैसे 

आंसूँओं को 

ना पलके झपकाई मैंने 

ना गिरने दी 

तुम्हारे दिए ईन 

अनमोल तोफो को !

सागर की सीने में दफ़्न 

जैसे रहता हैं खज़ाना कोई 

वैसे ही मेरे रूह मैं छिपा 

तुम्हारा ही धुंदला सा 

परछाई कोई !

रेत की तरहा फिसलती जाये 

मुट्ठी में समाई सांसे मेरी 

अब इससे मैं कैसे संभालू 

चल दी जो वो साथ तेरी  !

सफर बोहोत लम्बी  नहीं 

न ही बड़ी लम्बी रस्ते हैं 

तुम्हारे आत्मा से 

मेरी आत्मा की दुरी 

बस एक हाथ का हैं

दो कदम तुम चलना 

चार चलूंगी मैं भी 

आँख से मोती टपकने से पहले 

गले मिलेंगे हम भी !

~मंजरी ~

Woods

How I long to walk 

On this path, with you

Wearing the anklets

Of fallen and dried leaves... 

Inhaling the scent of wild flowers... 

Breathing deep,  

Pampering my senses...

I wait for birds to sing.. 

I wait for the butterflies to sit...

I wait for you to..

Suddenly cover my eyes..

And ask "Who Am I" ?

I touch your fingers, smile

Say.. "You I know"..

Then together we wander

Along the forbidden path

How does it matter..

How long this evening shall last..

For I know.. I shall live

An eternity in an hour..

As I silently wait

Wait for all that is beautiful...

Are you listening ? 

Do not call me back...

If you find me lost... 

For I shall not return

If woods keep me.. 

Even if you beckon

I shalt not return.. !

~Manjuri~

ইচ্ছে

নানান কথায় তোমায় সাজাতে লোভ হয় 

রোজ একটি করে কবিতা লেখার ইচ্ছে হয় 

অন্তরের জমাট ধরা নানা রং 

তোমার উষ্ণতায় গলিয়ে নিয়ে 

ছবি আঁকতে ইচ্ছে হয় 

আমার, বেঁচে থাকতে ইচ্ছে হয় !

কোনো এক চঞ্চল প্রজাপতির ডানায় চেপে 

উড়ে বেড়াতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

আমার ভালো লাগাগুলোকে গুছিয়ে রেখে 

তোমায় উপহার দিতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

আকাশের গায়ে আল্পনা এঁকে 

তোমার হাথ ধরে তা দেখবার ইচ্ছে হয়..

মেঘের ওপর দিয়ে আলতো করে 

দৌড়োতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

তুমি আমায় খুঁজে বের করবে 

সেই ভেবে হারাতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

ভালবাসার অতলে ডুবতে ইচ্ছে হয় 

আবার তোমায় নতুন করে 

পাইতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

আধো রাতে ঘুম ভাঙলে 

তোমায় দেখতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

আমার সব ইচ্ছেগুলোকে আঁকড়ে ধরে 

অমর হতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

ইচ্ছেখুশি মতো, ইচ্ছেগুলোর মালা গেঁথে 

তোমায় পরাতে ইচ্ছে হয়...

আমার রোজ একবার  করে 

বেঁচে থাকতে ইচ্ছে হয় !

~মঞ্জরী~

In The Hills

Wide open vistas of Azure blue
Horizon beyond the eye's reach
Clouds move as they please

Wind begets the freedom

To blow as it wish...

Far away blue hills

Oblivious that it exists

Unaware of its careless beauty

As if lost in the tunes

That the brooklet hums

Pines and eucalyptus 

Some oak and jacaranda

All stand in row

As if to create an aisle

For us to stroll

Hand in hand

With many promises to keep

Timeless, eternal leap

From this life to that

Living together, 

Trying to forget

That breathes are trapped

In an hourglass

Waiting for the time to advent

And turn in again

As we continue

With yet another

Beautiful episode of life..

In the hills... come lets go to the hills...

~Manjuri~

Note On Immortality

I am the heart in your rib-cage

I a dream in your eyes

I am your untold legend

I your fading smile..

I am the air you breathe

I the shadow you cast

I am the touch you feel

And I all, that ends and last !

I am the path beneath your feet

Am your sky of flight

Am the kite that you soar high

And your weakness and might..

Am the one you come to,

Am the one, you escape from

Am the one you want to keep

And am the one you let go... !

Am still but a part of you..

A dream a illusion fine

But you, oh how truly

Has been a me..

And all that is mine.. !

I cannot take a step

In my dreams or in real..

My world has shrunk in you

Now in my every search

I find you !

Words shall come

Words shall go

Poems shall get stale and wither

But I shall remain beyond my words

And find my after life shelter..

That I have carved my home

Within your bosom warm..

Wither, wilt, death and end

Today, matters none !

Immortality has been labeled an illusion

I care not any more

To live in thoughts and love of thee

I have crossed all ocean...

I did reach the shore !

~Manjuri~

Introspection

In you, I wait for myself

In you, I search myself

All that I have lost and found

Always was trapped in yourself !

They say, way of faith is hard

I say, be like me, and feel

How faith shows way

And love breaks the seal !

I have not learnt the tricks

To hide and conceal my heart

One day, when I master the art

You, will surely find me apart!

~Manjuri~

Inebriated

One sip then another

And again yet another

Sip after sip, as I take

And throw myself

Out of my senses

I find myself in you..

Deep within the night's pulse

When all gets submerged

From there I appear

Mirroring in your

Awakened heart ...

Tight grip of life's fist

I move not, nor do I try..

Slowly I sink and melt

In you... In your eye...!

I do not know.. how time moves

Nor do I find myself..

At the dead of night

When I search for me

I find me in your soul..

Sleeping secured and tight !

I make no noise..

Tiptoe I walk...

As it might wake us both...

But from illusion to real

The day arrives...

All vanishes..

Along all... I and you...

Nothing remains... nothing was

We are but two shadows

Of our own souls

Sometimes alive, sometimes dead

Yet... there.. in partial and whole..

Ask not what I say in silence

Decipher not my words

Know that... I am still alive

Because, even today, I love !

तुम हो , मैं हु और हमारी आसमान हो

चलो छोड़ दे यह दुनिया 

किसीको भी नहीं बतलाएं 

हम चुपचाप चले जाये 

वहा, जहा धरती ख़त्म होती हो 

और स्वर्ग  जहा से होती हो शुरू !

किसी नील पहाड़ी की चोटी पर 

छोटी सी एक घर हो 

जहा तक आँख फैले 

बस फूलों की बहार हो 

तुम हो , मैं हु 

और हमारी आसमान हो !

आँगन में एक झूला हो 

उसमें झूले सपने हमारे 

बरसात हो जब भी 

छत्री , बस एक ही हो 

सर्दी हो… बर्फ हो 

जमी हुई ख्वाइशें हो 

तुम हो , मैं हु 

और हमारी आसमान हो !

निचे उतरु , तो जंगल मिले 

पाइन की ख़ुश्बू हो 

मेरी अरमानों  को सीने में लिए 

पंख फैलाती बदल हो 

तुम हो , मैं हु 

और हमारी आसमान हो !

देर तक रातों को 

तारो की  महफ़िल हो 

चाँद खिले , खिरकी पर 

जहा तुम खड़े हो 

तुम हो , मैं हु 

और हमारी आसमान हो !

~मंजरी ~ 

Four Liners !

So fragile is this wall
Between body and soul
That you touch one
Other gets console !



I am but a necklace of pearl
You my string of binding
If you are broken
I lose all my finding !



I live on the world's end
You, where the world begin
I shall walk distance half
You other half, perhaps to meet again !



I shall wait in my pace own
You shall take your time
Eternal be our waits of love
Removing our soul's grime !



Tell me not the memories died
Fake me not with your silence
Deep within the your heart's core
Find me, smiling in vigilance !

~Manjuri~

In Picture

Idle

Come lets be idle today

Do no work

Follow no routine

Take the car out

Drive aimlessly

Onto the open roads

As if we have paid the tax

Only to relax

On our route-less drive

Just to get lost..

In each other !

Come let us be idle today

Sit somewhere

At the world's end

No, not holding hand

But only gazing

Reminding each other

Yes, we do matter

Still to us both

And drowned in silence

Let our words die

Remain though, only you and I !

Come let us be idle today

In the heart of this noon

Search for the moon

Laugh, at our folly own

Live, long enough to feel

The drowsy noon's pulse

In our veins, and smile

For no reason.. you and me

Together, yet lonely

Search each other

As if we are lost !

Come lets be idle today

As the evening deepens

And our senses restored

A little in music

More in our wine

Life, urges to remain 

Stars wishes to shine

We, inhale each other

Night settles in our pulses

As we become, from two to one

And, then we sleep, in each other's soul

Forever!

~Manjuri~

My Eyes

When you went away, 

That evening

Disappeared into 

The thick mist

Leaving my bare eyes, 

A bit moist..

My eyes, even today 

Are wide open

As if searching you, 

Before their lids shut..

What am I to say , 

How to console them ?

My poor eyes... 

Bereft of you..

Almost frozen !

They dream no more, 

Day or night..

They glance no more 

Towards the starry sky

Oh my eyes... 

Poor eyes... 

They are gone

Before me... 

They have gone stray ... 

They have lost themselves

Before I have lost I !

~Manjuri~

Words That Are Lost

Some words of mine

Are lost somewhere

Under the pile 

Of sand..

Waiting for a tide's advent !

Some words of mine

Are graved in ice

On the mountain top

Waiting patiently 

For an avalanche !

Some words of mine

Got buried on ocean's heart

Deep, deep within the blue

Waiting for a tsunami

And perhaps for you !

~Manjuri~

On Chennai Floods

Cold hands of miserable death

Strikes on bubbling life..

If breathing be so temporary

Why we bent on strife ?

Lifeless bodies water soaked

Dismal evening rolls by

Why does death get its share..

While life ends before time, why ?

Why has nature fumed in fury 

Why water kills, if it is life ?

Why does a mother's boy

Never return from endless drive ?

Why my city's face be written with

 Melancholy, somber and pangs of pain

Why did I ever get to see misery

Which I can never forget again .. !

Life is so precious a gift

Though sometimes ends unwrapped

He who read this cheerless poem

Know I had felt for each one, distressed !

~Manjuri~

In Love We

Not very far off, nor close by

That I  find you each day

See you with my heart's eye ! 

Beyond the peripheries of

Distance and time, you shall

Remain, always truly mine !

Dark grows the night, 

Dim gets the soul's light

Yet I find you shining, bright !

Thousands of miles across the globe

Far from my eyes's reach

I know you are there, you still exist ! 

Search for yourself, if you are lost

Hunt for yourself in me

Know that you cannot exist, apart from me !

Return to your sweet abode

Doors still wide open

Die once for love's sake, let love happen !

As a wave fall on another wave

And marches together towards the shore

Let me be you, or else allow me to be no more ! 

Life shall be, life goes on

Who cares for what it has in store 

Let it flourish us with  many breaths, 

And allow  us  to love more ! 

Let moon be out goblet tonight

Let us drink all the wine

Promise for once, even if untrue

Whisper to each other

"You are mine".

Tomorrow is far off

It has to pass  all the night  to see

Come let us hold each other

And halt the night, and in love, just be,we !

• ~Manjuri~

Souvenir

My wine does not intoxicate me anymore

It does not flow in my vein..

I have forgotten to leave my senses

I have forgotten to be in love, again !

My late night madness have calmed down,

I have found my generated self

I still blush recollecting

How insane I had made myself !

I thought the world was mine

I assumed my love in drunken state..

Now to realize the truth, and be me..

In senses out, is a complete bliss !

Curse me no more, for my madness..

Hold me no more in your heart..

I am happily moving away..

Gleefully I am seeking path apart !  

No more remains the vows of love..

No more does my heart longs thee..

What a joy it is, realizing ... 

Within you, the place of me !

Love shall not cease, 

Nor my heart stop to beat..

Its only that now I shall be me..

Outside you, and grow complete !

My longings shall find vent...

Someday far away, beyond the night sky..

I shall come to meet thee, in a gown black..

And in you, shall I submerge all that is me and I ..

My words shall freeze then..

Frozen shall be I ..

A while shall I live in you..

And then bid you my final goodbye !

Moist not your eyes my love..

Let no pain linger within...

I was yours.. and shall be..

But never to meet again !

If one-day  you shun your ego..

And solely remember me with love..

You shall know, I had loved..

With all that I had and have !

Time shall flow by, age shall haunt..

Some years down the lane..

I shall then be remembered by you 

But, never shall you find be again !

Love, shall rest in peace..

It shall sleep within me..

In it I shall preserve you...

In me, you shall always be !

~Manjuri~

Own Light

Beneath the heap of unspoken words

My love flourishes, in silence ..

When did I ever say, I need you

When did I want to love you,

In your presence?

Thoughts piles on thoughts 

I get lost in my own stream

When at the dead of night

I hear my own solitude scream!

Touch that I once felt, Now,

Wrapped in fabric, with utmost care ..

I wear in all the dark nights ..

To get the desired glare!

I knew not I could smile in joy,

Nor cherish all the impudence of love ..

But once I loved apart from me

I loved all the unloved from my soul's trove!

I seek no more pleasure of love

Nor do I wish a glance of my beloved ..

I today, am an anorak lover ..

Loving, without person, purpose or longing!

I love, because I know not any other thing ..

I love because I got to live ..

I love thee .. not for thee's sake ..

I love because I got to be me!

Long walk along the desolate garden

Agony that begets delight ..

Moist eyes .. glitters in smile ..

I have grown up .. in love .. 

I have found my own light !

~ Manjuri ~

An Evening By The Window

Softly the evening arrives

By my window..

My eyes smudged in

Coffee vapour

My heart smudged in you..!

Light that fades outside

Now, shines within me

Something that melts within

Flows in ecstasy ..

Long forgotten, nearly waned

Some reminiscences 

Urges to built a new home..

In that broken premises !

Wonder, ponder, sitting idle

Thoughts flow like stream

Again an evening passes by..

Touching me, as if in dream !

~  Manjuri ~