Blue is my corner

Blue is my corner,
Gray are my thoughts,
While, a red rose blooms somewhere,
This love quietly rots.

On the green green grass,
The rain falls softly,
While, my black hopeless heart
Aches on, as unceasingly.

On golden sundrops,
Floats white fluffy hopes,
While, buried in the dark blue corner,
My eyes still foolishly gropes.

Come red, come green and white,
Come golden, come everything bright
Take over, down and through,
My dark dark soul and mind,
Battered for so long, black and blue.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

A dreamless song

I have come to know
Once
Sailing high on ocean waves
You had touched the blue horizon

I have come to know
Once
Down the sand and salt shores
You had walked a long long way

I have never been drenched
I have never fluttered in the sky
My eyes have never gazed on seagulls
Soaring high
With wings spread wide

When you leave again
For a dip in the sea
Take me along
Tell me you will
Take me far
You would, won't you?

I have come to know
You, you and you
Got together
The other day
A few unsolved puzzles
Some unsaid words
Got resolved
Having raised
Their stubborn heads

I don't know
Why I live a life
In the fast fast lanes
Just for one, just myself
Lonely
Without love
Peace eludes
Where do I search for it
Tell me where to

I have come to know
You still have a dream
Your pen still spews tales
Your song is unrestrained
You still stop to think
Who dies, who lives
Your love still blossoms
In a rose

So I have come to beg
My hands outstretched
My eyes thirsty
Carrying a faithless heart
In the deep dark hollowness
Of my sleep
I try
But cannot dream

My empty eyes
My sleepless nights
Long for one.
Tell me you will
Give me a dream
You would, won't you?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Log bhool jate hai,
Aisehi,
Ekdin achanak.

Mein kaun si duniya ki hun?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

A question

People forget,
Just like that,
One fine day.

Which species
Do I belong to?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Don't change,
Not so much,
That when you call me,
My name sounds
Like that of a stranger's.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Zindagi badi tezee se to ja rahi thi,
Bas ek madmast shaam,
Bhul se dohraye gaye kuch purani baatein,
Kadam phir ladkhadane kyoun lage?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Itna bhi to na badlo,
Ki tumhare zubaan se nikla hua mera naam,
Kuch ajnabee sa lagne lage.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Ek badi lambi din thi woh,
Tumhare intezaar me,
Kuch chhote chhote din bhi,
Tumhare aas paas,
Khush raatein,
Andhere din,
Har lamha tumhare liye,
Meri adhi zindagi,
Mein,
Puri ki puri.
Aaj,
Dafna ke aayee hun.

Bhor ki is laali se,
Aaj ek kore din ki shuruwad hai,
Aao,
Naam likho,
Koi aayoge?

Bas aaj ke liye.
Kaun jaane,
Kaal, phir,
Kiske naam hogi.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The visitor

Moon,
Visit me sometimes,
On nights that I can't sleep,
I'll tell you stories,
Of his,
You would listen,
Won't you?

And on certain nights,
When sleep defeats me,
Go visit him,
Tell him,
He is in my dreams.
Won't you?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The cigarette

Green is the smile,
Blue is the soul,
Deep within this happy being,
Once, a cigarette had burnt a hole.

I have saved the butt,

From the ashes of my soul,

As every other poison fell short,

In filling up the hole.

I live, partly, choking, mostly,

As blue smoke clouds my soul,

Black breath feigns the greenest smile,

To cover up the stinky hole.

© 2009 Rituparna Das

1.
While ironing that shirt today,
I saved one tiny crease near the pocket,
From last winter.

2.
I saved a dream today from my afternoon nap,
For you,
For another lifetime.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Moving on

One never ending day,
Awaiting you,
A few short ones,
Spent in your arms,
Happy nights,
Dark days,
Each hour to your name,
Half my life, whole of me.
I put it away,
Put it under lock and key.

On this scarlet dawn,
I open a blank white day,
Come,
It's yours,
Write your name,
Whoever may.

Just for today,
Who knows,
Tomorrow,
Will go whose way?.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

A request

We are together,
Close,
Hand in hand,
Always.

My smell on you,
Your scent on me,
A happy unison,
Never ending.
They envy.

Move a little love,
A little away,
I want to take in
Your fragrance,
Just yours,
Just this once.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Forgotten

The sky cried for me today,
While I stared,
Dry eyed,
Pretending not to care.
Not now anymore.

You are watching the rains,
Like me, right now,
I can sense it somehow.

We had spent an afternoon this way,
Long time back.
I am here,
Not with you,
Not now anymore.

Do you cry sometimes?
Alas.
Why do I even ask.
You don't pretend,
Not like me,
You don't care.
I can sense it somehow.
Not now anymore.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The passage

The teardrops ran free from my eyes,
Carrying a message for you,
I cried one, each single day,
To create a spring out of so few.

That spring cascaded down one day,
Riding on rapids white,
Reaching a frail rivulet,
Far away from my clouded sight.

This rivulet carried with all its strength,
In its thin ailing body,
The weight of my teardrops,
That had turned its water muddy.

The brave muddy rivulet,
Came to rest by a mighty river,
It gently unloaded my teardrops in it,
And collapsed with a shiver.

The pious river, wide and deep,
Embraced the teardrops to its core,
They rested from their travel long,
While the river filled them, with wisdom's lore.

The river bade goodbye,
At the delta of the blue bay,
The teardrops eagerly took the plunge,
Rehearsing the lines they'd have to say.

You sat on the shore, carefree, not knowing,
The teardrops by the waves were thrust,
Completing a journey so arduous,
Spent, they lay at your feet atlast.

You picked up a handful of salty mush,
The sand settled, the words slipping away,
The teardrops got lost forever,
In the heart of the abysmal blue bay.

You didn't come, not ever,
You never got to know,
I still cry a silent pain, but with tears no more,
I've let my eyes dry up, with no place to go.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The light

I stood tiptoed,
Stretching out my hand,
I reached for the moon,
Only, if I had a magic wand!

I was stuck at the crossroads,
Of my drab, deserted life,
I was in love with the moon,
When black emptiness was rife.

I begged for a moondrop,
I was barren and parched,
With a straight face the moon stared back,
Desperately, it's eyes I searched.

I longed and pined so,
Without respite, night after night,
I gave up, I lit a candle instead,
But there was never enough light.

The heartless moon left me for a cloud,
That lightless night, a lost traveller came my way,
I sheltered his fears with my own emptiness,
He decided to stay.

Now we both share our teardrops,
No longer for the moon I cry,
We just have two candles between us,
But strangely, the dimness satisfy.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Threesome

The moon

I have walked across the moonbeams,
I have talked to the moon,
I have traced it's rugged face,
I have stood and cried at it's lune.

It's been my only friend,
Since times once upon,
On all my dark starless nights,
It has gently shone.

The others

They have left me waiting,
Each and every one of them,
For a chance to strike a score,
As if life's a little game.

I have failed them all,
I have drove them away,
They have cried for me,
Some still pray.

The lunatic

I am a lunatic, I don't care,
I am happy with my moon,
I'll dance my askew moves forever,
Keeping to it's tune.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The magic bead

A little corner in my dreams,
Dark and full of fears unknown,
Cut off from any rays of hope,
It cries and frets all alone.

Black, blue, and grey shadows
In and out they slither, and lurk,
Tired and broke, and about to give up,
It found one day a pearl in the dark.

This little gem in all its splendour,
Luminous and pure it shone so bright,
A speck of dust that grew so lovely,
The corner kept it clutched so tight.

This tiny bead of hope and joy,
Grew and flourished in this ruin,
The corner sighed, a smile escaped,
What if one day, it becomes a full moon?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Kaleidoscope

Red, green, yellow...
A few more colours too,
Smeared on my face,
To my hands even,
Lending their brilliance,
Why is then my soul,
So blue?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Zindagi itni to asaan ho ki,
Karwee dawa samajh ke pi sakun...
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The rainbow

The azure blue sky,
Lost its colour,
Stroke by stroke,
Cloud by cloud,
The sky and I,
Helplessly calm,
Let the joy die,
Colourless and black,
Hopeless and sad,
Both of us broke down.
Finally.

Finally,
The darkness lost,
The colours emerged,
Victorious and proud,
We smiled,
The sky and I,
We welcomed home,
The seven knights,
Riding high, on golden rays,
From someplace else,
Beyond sun's abode.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Light and shadow

I have seen your shadow,
A thousand times,
At the edge of my sleep,
Night after night,
Dream after dream,
Beyond my touch,
Above my reach.

You emerged to light,
One day,
Like the sun does,
From behind the clouds,
You called my name,
Again and again,
But I couldn't respond.

The light is gone
I grope in the dark,
Now it's me,
Who calls you back,
But you have left,
Hurt and injured,
While I writhe in pain,
Misunderstood.

Sleep

Go sleep,
While I sit beside you,
In vigil,
Wiping away
Every little frown,
From your tired brows.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Don't go...

Don't leave,
Not now,
Not until I beg you to stay.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Dev D

Just finished watching Dev D....oh wow....loved, absolutely loved every bit of it.....so sleek, so stylish, so real...Abhay Deol....very cool guy....The two girls...absolutely fresh and original.

Anurag Kashyap...Jai ho man!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Karan Johar...that brigade of movie makers...so damn passe!

Lovestruck

The two pigeons,
On my windowsill,
Sat coochie cooing,
Forever,
As I busied myself,
Tearing up old letters,
And photographs,
Of yours.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The rose

The once dewy rose bud,
That you had given me,
A year or two back,
Left to dry,
Pressed between the pages,
Of that book of poetry,
I found it today,
It has bloomed.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Mockery

The uncorked wine bottle,
Mocked me with it's fullness,
It was pregnant with sweet poison,
Even if for a little while,
My barren eyes, whereas,
Couldn't even boast of a single teardrop.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The end

I was quite happy,
Until I met you this evening,
The hopelessness of the hope,
Of seeing you one day,
That is even lost, tell me,
What do I live for now?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Lost and found

I lost my pen today,
Having written your name,
A thousand and one times with it,
Worn and tired,
It must have escaped,
Instead, to find you in person.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Sighting

When do I see you again?
Sometime in infinity?
Or tonight,
In my dreams?
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The totem

I have saved a teardrop,
As a totem of a love,
That was once there,
In your eyes.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The rains

The rains came early
This year,
On a sweltering afternoon,
Unprecedented,
At the oddest of times,
When I was cleaning
My wardrobe,
And found,
A blue and grey,
Striped shirt,
Yours,
Left behind
At springtime,
Last year.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The night

A certain night,
From long lost times,
Visits me,
On every other night,
And spreads a silver glow,
Borrowed by my eyes,
From it's brilliant halo.

The sun comes up,
Everyday,
Wrapped in gold and ruby rays,
But strangely, again,
The darkness rises,
From somewhere unknown.
Blackens this poor old soul.

So I wait and wait,
Day after day,
For the hours to pass,
And the sun to rest,
The night time brings,
Such liquid dreams,
Oh I wish, they'd last.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The name

Yesterday,
I dug up an old
Diary,
And found
Your name,
Within it's frayed,
Yellow pages,
Written with a long lost,
Beloved pen,
A nervous eagerness
To utter it,
Just once,
Again,
Made me slur a bit,
And it slipped off my lips.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Forgive me Gulzar saab.

Kal ek purani kitab mein,
Purane ek kalam se likha,
Tumhara naam mila tha,
Jaisehi mere zuban,
Use ekbar dohrane ki zurrat ki,
Halke se,
Woh kahin sarak gira.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

(the thought has been expressed, my hindi is pathetic, anybody who can suggest better words...please do)

Death

A tree trunk,
Chopped roundly,
At the middle,
Cruelly left unfinished,
Stands tall,
Waiting to fall,
But when?
Death does come,
Predictably,
Yet, ever, sudden.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

An attempt at Gulzarian poetry:)

Ek bhuli bisri raat,
Mere har raat mein shamil rehke,
Ujala bikherti hai,
Shubhe hotehi,
Jaane kahanse,
Phirse, andhera chhaa jata hai.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Carelessly yours

A twinkle from your eyes,
A dimple from your smile,
A firefly from your touch,
A pearl from your words,
I saved them all,
From time unknown,
To be locked up safe,
Someplace untold,
Then I let time slip by,
Not stopping to rest,
When I finally peeked in,
Everything had perished.

Now I cry,
Now I fret,
Now I search,
Now I beg,
The eyes look away,
The smile is gone,
You don't hold my hand,
And the words fall short.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

In memory of my old computer

(Which I got rid off, today, in exchange of a black, swanky, slim, widescreened monitor and the entire set in black).

Goodbye my friend.

You have taken my pounding,
Silently,
For eight long years.
You've been loyal to me on nights,
That I was vaguely disloyal myself.
Almost until on the verge of crashing down,
You've carried the load of my memories.
You've been the window,
That opened my otherwise closed life.
You've given me everything you had.
So thank you from my heart.

But I am selfish you know,
Like everyone else,
I've found someone who's better looking,
And I can hardly pretend.

Life goes on, you see,
You'd move on too,
And forgive me for this treachery,
Like always,
I've full faith in you.

Thought of the day

All day long,
I concentrated hard,
Not to let my mind wander,
To thoughts of yours.

At the end of the day,
When I tried summarizing
My thoughts,
All that came to my mind,
Was of yours.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

The soulmate

A grey feather
Flew in from nowhere,
Settling cozily on my shoulder,
Spent,
As though,
It's search has ended,
For a soulmate,
Atlast,
Having found me,
Equally plain,
Lonely,
And out of place.
© 2009 Rituparna Das

Stars

One, two, three...
Four hundred two...
In this futile attempt
At counting the stars,
I lost count,
Of a myriad of ailments,
That hold my mind
In constant hostage,
For a few good hours.
© 2009 Rituparna Das