बूढ़े पहाड़ों पर ...

थोड़ा सा बादल, थोड़ा सा पानी और इक कहानी...

नींद ...

अलसायी  सी रात 
और अलसाया मैं...

छत पर छिटकी
चुटकी भर चाँदनी...
दूर कहीं बजती
विविध भारती 
रात-रानी की खुशबू 
और छायागीत- 
"पत्ता-पत्ता बूटा-बूटा 
हाल हमारा जाने है..."

सिरहाने बैठे थपकियाँ करते 
जागे हुए से ख्वाब सारे...
चाँद भी थककर 
जो लेने लगा ऊबासियाँ 
सो जाऊं मैं की 
अब नींद को भी नींद आती है ...




- कुन्दन 

GANGS OF वासेपुर...

कुछ फिल्मे दिन बना देती हैं।  सुबह-सुबह 70 किमी की दूरी तय कर एक दोस्त के साथ रोहतक गया था गैंग्स ऑफ़ वासेपुर देखने। पान सिंह तोमर देखने के बाद से बस इसी फिल्म का इंतजार कर रहा था। 

और फिर भरपेट पिज्ज़ा खा कर शुरुआत हुई वासेपुर के कहानी की ...

ये फिल्म कई मायनों में अलग है। बॉलीवुड का सिनेमा अब चम्बल और बिहडों  से होता हुआ बिहार के कोयला खदानों तक पहुँच चूका है। धनबाद के वासेपुर जैसे गाँव तक...ऐसी कई कहानियाँ हैं जो किसी अनुराग कश्यप या तिग्मांशु धुलिया के इंतजार में थी।

 गैंग्स ऑफ़ वासेपुर एक आंचलिक फिल्म है। रेणु के मैला आँचल  की तरह...एक अंचल विशेष  की कहानी। कहीं कुछ साबित करने की कोशिश नहीं की गई है। एक अंचल की पृष्ठभूमि में ही समाज की बदलती हुई तस्वीर दिखाई गई है। यहाँ नेहरु के tryst with destiny के  लिए भी उतनी ही जगह है तो कुरैशियों को साथ मिलाकर चलने वाली मुसलामानों की राजनीति  भी। अमिताभ का दौर भी है...और जंजीर में पुलिस बने अमिताभ दीवार में गुंडे क्यों बने, ये भी rationalized है। समय के साथ करवट लेते समाज की कहानी 1941 से 1990 के काल में कह दी गई है। घर में आया नगमा का फ्रिज consumerism का  प्रतीक है तो टीवी पर चलता हुआ सास बहु का सीरियल  बदलते हुए  दौर को दिखता है। 

पियूष मिश्रा के पहले ही डाइलोग ने ओमकारा की याद दिला दी.... " बेवकूफ और चूतिये में धागे भर का फरक होता है ..." 

चार साल सिंदरी में रहते हुए साइकल पर होती कोयले की लीगल चोरी तो रोज देखता था। वासेपुर कभी गया नहीं था लेकिन धनबाद के पुराना बाज़ार और वासेपुर में ज्यादा फर्क नहीं दिखा। वासेपुर के लोग जाने पहचाने से दिखे...कोयले से सनी मिटटी और दामोदर नदी...धनबाद स्टेशन पर झरिया,गिरिडीह,बोकारो कहता हुआ शाहिद खान। हाँ ...अब बैलगाड़ी और टमटम की जगह टेकड़ ने ले ली है।

मनोज वाजपेयी के दबंगई और गुंडई वाले कई फिल्मे देख चूका हूँ... सत्या, शूल और लंका जैसी फ़िल्में ...लेकिन इस फिल्म में  कुछ ऐसे रंग दिखे जो पहले कभी नहीं देखे थे। एक मक्कार इंसान का किरदार ..नगमा और दुर्गा के बीच का मनोज वाजपेयी। कुँए पर दुर्गा की ताल से ताल मिलाकर कपड़ा धोने वाला सीन हो या घर की सफाई करती हुई नगमा से बतियाता हुआ सरदार खान , विधायक को कूट कर जेल जाता हुआ या लुंगी उठा कर बम फेंकता हुआ सरदार खान...मनोज वाजपेयी बेहतरीन हैं। सरदार खान मनोज वाजपेयी को छोड़ कर कोई और नहीं हो सकता था। अनुराग कश्यप ने बहुत कोशिश की है कहानी को किरदारों से ऊपर रखने की लेकिन सरदार खान आगे निकल गया है।  गैंग्स ऑफ़ वासेपुर-I  सरदार खान की फिल्म है।

तिग्मांशु धुलिया को पहली बार अभिनय करते हुए देख रहा था। हासिल और पान सिंह तोमर जैसी फ़िल्में classics  हो चुकी हैं। रामधीर सिंह काफी संयत और संवेदनशील किरदार है। कहीं भी कोशिश करते हुए नहीं दिखे...एकदम natural  और spontaneous ...कई और actor हैं, जिन्हें हम हम छोटे छोटे 10-15 सेकंडो वाले रोल में देखते आयें हैं, इस फिल्म ने उन्हें पूरा space दिया है। चाहे फैज़ल के रोल में नवाज़ुद्दीन सिद्दीकी हों या फिर सुल्तान सब ने पूरे से थोड़ा ज्यादा किया है। सलाम-ए -इश्क वाले गाने में यशपाल शर्मा ने छाप छोड़ दिया है ...ये वही यशपाल शर्मा है जिसने गंगाजल में सुंदर यादव का रोल किया था। हजारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी के "A friend in need is a friend indeed" वाले यशपाल शर्मा...

फिल्म का संगीत एकदम देशी है। वुमैनिया गाँव में शादी के गीत गाती औरतों की याद दिलाती है। मुजफ्फरपुर के दीपक और गया के सुजीत के नाम एल्बम के कवर पर हैं...जो इन्होने शायद कभी सोचा भी नहीं होगा। पियूष मिश्रा का "इक बगल में चाँद होगा ..." यथार्थवादी सिनेमा का एक छायावादी गीत है।

ये फिल्म दर्शकों को भी चैलेंज करती है। detailing इतनी है शायद एक बार देखना कम पड़े पूरी तरह से absorb करने के लिए।फिल्म पूरी तरह से realistic है। सुल्तान के लिए अलग चीनी मिटटी के बर्तन में खाना देना हो या फिर हेरोइन का लिपस्टिक लगा कर सिनेमा हॉल में जाना...ट्रेन में बैठा वो अमिताभ का डुप्लिकेट...हेरोइन  का permission  के साथ हाथ छुना   ...और ऐसे अनेकों सीन हैं ...सबकुछ पूरे से थोड़ा ज्यादा ...

ये पूरी तरह से बिहार की फिल्म है। भोजपुरी में कहे तो एकदम खांटी ... Linkin Park और Iron Maiden सुनने वाले Dudes और Bros को ये फिल्म शायद समझ में ना आये पर वे लोग जिनका गाँव से सरोकार है और जिन्होंने आज भी अपने देशीपन को बचा कर रखा है उनको ये फिल्म जरूर छुएगी । 


अंतिम सीन में गोली लगने के बाद गाड़ी से निकलता सरदार खान और background में बजता मनोज तिवारी का गाया "जिय हो बिहार के लाला ..." रोहतक के multiplex में बैठे एक बिहारी के रोएं खड़े कर जाता है।


अनुराग कश्यप ने कह कर लिया है।




--कुंदन 


(फिल्म की review दूसरी बार लिख रहा हूँ  और क्या coincidence है पहली वाली भी अनुराग कश्यप की ही फिल्म थी ...गुलाल )

Blackout via Ghalib...

It is 7:30 PM and there is complete blackout since last 2 hours. The storm has completely devastaed the system. Sitting in a power plant control room when there is complete blackout is a strange experience. When the machines are idle and it is drizzling outside...It is not a scene that you will ever get a chance to witness. Some random thoughts are coming in my mind. I am thinking about the fukushima disaster, when the man made megastructures are made to feel fragile by the forces of nature.

I have always liked this kind of blackout. I remember my Infosys training days (where you are compelled by the trainers to feel like a dude and considering my case, a complete desi inside,It was very difficult to survive)... When the instructor asked me in one of the HR classes about what I like to do most in my free time and I replied with a complete genuine feeling  that "Madam, I love to do nothing". May be she never expected this kind of reply or she didn't understand what I wanted to tell her...but it was a sheer pleasure watching her confused expressions...

I like to be in a stage of complete blackout. When there is nothing to do and  you are aware of nothing.You are just witnessing the pleasure of nothingness. Ahhh!!! What an experience... !!!

I remember that during my college days when the electricity used to went off suddenly how much I enjoyed realising that I have nothing to do. It was not about enjoying that there is no work that you have to do. It was about getting some unexpected moments accidentally to live in void. May be this is called Dhyaan or meditation. When you are aware of nothing and you discover the bliss of everything...

Chacha Ghalib has already said...

ना कुछ था तो खुदा था, ना कुछ होता तो खुदा होता ,
डूबोया मुझको मेरे होने ने, ना होता मैं तो क्या होता...

P.S.   Sorry, If you have wasted your time reading this rubbish post...As this is about nothing and written at the time when you have nothing to do  :-)

The agony of confinement

The news pervaded in the whole family and charged them with mirth. The lanky boy who was grown in stature was eulogized as a hero. His vacillating mind was imbued with numerous thoughts and planning. The news that he managed to get admission in a widely renowned senior secondary school had enraptured him.


All the reprimands had turned into blessings, slaps into fondle and condemnment into praise for the reason of his departure to the hostel. Everyone gave him little gifts and pocket money which enhanced his elation. It jarred upon him the instructions given by everyone and the long family chats.


He was delirious to fly away.Then came the morning when he in the pursuit of happiness bade adieu to his family and climbed on the bullock cart in a hurry accompanied by his father and his elder brother. The cart stopped at an obsolete building .He hastened his steps inside being completely entrenched in the strands of complacency.


His father examined the whole building, made the necessary arrangements, carried out all the procedures and then started to depart. Then suddenly the boy intuited that something went wrong. This was not what he had expected. He stood there incoherent; realizing in what imbroglio he was left behind.


He ran and held his father’s hand and pleaded him to take him with them. His father tried to appease him and averred to take him if he wished after a week or so. They went and he stood their stubborn; beholding them until they were out of sight.


Tears dropped uncontrollably from those innocent eyes. He was greatly perturbed with the diabolic thoughts that he is crammed into that disheveled captive.


During the visit his father had made acquaintance with a worker in the boarding school. He was a man with a jovial smile. He held the boy to come with him but he remained persistent lost in the melancholy strain.


When he entered the hostel at the orifice he met a boy who carried his bags and guided him to his room. There was a long corridor surrounded with room or better cells to be very precise on both side and the cacophony of boys.


He went to his room and faced the boys who were staring him with elevated brows. His morose face had broken the flow of their felicity. He occupied a vacant bed and glanced out of the window being aware of the reason of silence. Then a crackling sound broke the silence. He instantly poked inside his pocket to find the biscuit wrapper. He recalled that he had shared it with his elder brother during the journey. He gazed it for a long time with his lips gravely pursed. The mere thought of it had engendered dejection within his heart which broke out as a whine. The wrapper was preserved as the most precious treasure of the world.


The worker who was circumspect of the ominous situation experienced by the tyro took the boy with him and with a sympathetic fondle offered him the food.The tears had stopped but the pain had evolved by the passage of time.


He felt suffocation in that airy room. The idea to elope stroked him but it was moribund as the destination was beyond the reach of those tiny feet. His mind was always preoccupied with nostalgic proclivity which could be endured no more.


He used to linger outside during the night and sit near a brook spontaneously. The evocative thoughts of what will be going on at home made him emotionally charged. This was the only mode of recreation and escape from that damp place. It may sound incredulous that he was now intrepid enough to take those audacious steps. Maybe that timid heart had transformed into an unwavering one. This was probably the first change.


The intrinsic value of home was well understood by that perceptive mind.To reach back home was his only desire which had become indispensable now. Not a single class was attended by him as he had made his mind to go back home with his luggage packed ,his eyes eagerly waiting for the arrival of his father and his mind convinced to fly back home. That week spent like a millennium.

The advent of his father had exhilarated him. He listed the jeremiads to him with his voice sentimental as never before. His father mollified him and gave him the assurance that he will surely take him back at the festival. The dogged response could not change the decision of his father. He felt repulsed but still imbued with hope. After the departure of his father that fragile figure as per his lexicon went stealthily to the brook with his eyes brimming with tears. He cursed himself for fights with his brother, the tricks that he played with his sisters, the mischief he did and how he pestered his granny. He found himself in a state of oblivion; in a remorseful spirit he went inside the so called prison.


One realizes the importance of something only when he loses it. That’s human nature. We run behind things which are difficult to achieve and in the interim forgets what we have.


His absence always caused impediment in the classroom for the reason that he had never attended any. The teacher asked a student to call him. The boy came running to the terrace with some chocolates and requested him to come with. In the response he shook his head with defiance.


The dawn broke by the sparkle of sun. The most awaiting morning of his life and he was perturbed by the hindrance of the clouds. His father had arrived with a bullock cart which appeared as a chariot to him. He with his packed luggage was waiting with rain exuberance. He jumped over the cart with the greatest vigor.


The raining drops seemed to rejoice with the welcome song. He breathed the air of life from which he was deprived for the past three weeks. The intense winds and the terrific weather put a stop in the voyage. They got off and hid under a rickety and their legs pressed against the bog.


The return to home was an ecstasy. The home now appeared to him as a sumptuous place. His watery eyes were craving to see his brother, his sisters, his mother and everyone. The each and every moment that he spent with them that week he was penitent for not realizing the tremendous value of every element of his life. The eyes of his granny got wet when she noticed her frolicsome child transformed into a decorous one. Another remarkable change...


The bliss he experienced was not earthly but it didn't lasted too long. His bags were packed again. It was the greatest shock which thrilled him internally. He was nearly demented and made each and every possible attempt to convince his father but he didn’t rise to the bait and remained adamant. He thought that his son will learn to cope with the situation. He was sent back to the hostel.


This incident had deranged him.One day, He secretively walked outside the hostel and came across that rickety. The impressions of the feet were still there. By the mere touch of it he felt the presence of his father around. The old memories made him stroked him as an intense pain deep inside him. The oscillations in his life had made him completely confused. Then a injured spider caught his sight. He lifted him and kept him in his pocket. The mischievous heart had turned susceptible. The most remarkable change...


The next week his elder brother along with a neighbor came to visit him with a Tiffin with them. He begged impecuniously to them to take him away with them. They remained unanswerable. Then his brother made a deceptive promise to take him. When he came outside with his luggage the remains of the wheels were the only thing in sight.


He remained there morbid; alone with his mental torture. He moved inside enervated; gulping in the extreme despondency caused by the intrigue. He opened the Tiffin in low spirit and found lavish sweets embellished with love which was made exclusively for him but that was also preserved like other gifts.


The droning voice of the stooping teacher was echoing in the classroom. But as always his eyes were focused outside the window; engrossed in his plaintive thoughts. The flow was broken by the sound of horn of cycle. He experienced exultation blooming inside him as he had recognized that familiar sound.


The footsteps made them heard in the passage, He ran from the classroom with muzzle velocity to meet him. His father descended his eyes to him and said, “Let’s go from here”. Those words had raised his conviviality to the seventh sky. He then climbed on his flying soccer with immense zest and looked back at the boarding school in blues. He felt as if he was confined in it from time immemorial.


This incident had rejuvenated that the little boy.In the midst of night an appalling nightmare provoked him. He upraised and was propitiated by the presence of his brother sleeping beside. He went away. His hands lifted the spider from the clandestine place. The imprints had not worn out yet. He emancipated the only souvenir with deliberate glee...




---Preeti Singh (My little niece)
Based on my one month stay in Navodaya Vidyalaya when I was a 9 yr old child...

एक बार फिर...

यादों के पुराने एल्बम में 

इक तस्वीर लगी है

वक़्त की धूल से

धुंधली पड़ती हुई...

रंग जो कभी मैंने चढ़ाये थे

अब फ़िके पड़ गए हैं ...

सोचता हूँ

वक़्त की डोर थामें 

पीछे लौट जाऊं 

जब 'वो' तस्वीर ना थी

और सारे रंग गिले थे...


कोशिश है आज
कि एक बार फिर-
वो तस्वीर बनाऊं
और कुछ रंग
जो छुट गए थे

उन्हें फिर से सजाऊं...

सोचता हूँ
पुराने एल्बम में
तुम्हारी एक और तस्वीर लगाऊं...

Happy New Year...

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep...

2012…It is really a new year for me… both literally and figuratively.

After a tiring day…in the night when you have taken a deep sleep without any dreams and the very next dawn that follows…when the new rays of hope revitalises you and fills your inner pot…when you know that a new path is awaiting you to be traversed…

When I look back, I find that the last two and half year was almost same for me. 24.05.2009...the day I left BIT Sindri and today's date...a lot have been changed. Someone has said that life is all about exploration...the last two and half year was full of exploration. I found the things that I never expected and thought.  I remember that during my college days one of my friend asked me about what I want to do in my life and I replied with humor that "I don't know what I want to do but I know what I don't want to do..." . Interestingly, during the past years this thing beautifully applied to me. I exercised all the options life has given to me and moved on....choosing and eliminating...I have just flown with the stream..if I was not able to change the stream then at least I adjusted my sails.

The transformation of a college student passionately learning to play piano and disliking Sarkari Naukari (a self-created image) and who followed a path via 

Infosys-->IIT Delhi(M.Tech Mac. Des.)-->BARC-->BHEL-->NTPC  is an interesting thing that happened to him. Each bends of the path that he has followed has its own story and needs pages to be expressed in words.

May this year be a happy new year...