Bye bye 2010

Dear 2010,

Like any other year, it is time for you to end. I am all set to welcome 2011 – I have high hopes from the New Year. But I wanted to take some time out…to thank you, for being such a special year. Now I am not judging you, as having been good or bad. I am just saying that you have turned out to be special for me as a person, in more ways than one, and I am thankful for it.

There are various reasons why I feel that way. I will try and write them down as they randomly come to my mind. To begin with, you will always remain the year in which I gathered the courage to start my blog. This was a significant development in my life. Then, you will always be the year in which I learnt driving – something I had wanted to do for a long, long time now. You will remain the year in which I discovered the traveller in me, and made a record number of trips. The year in which I shed some very old, very heavy baggage – and it was not an easy thing to do. The year in which I reconnected with some old friends and redefined my friendships with them. The year in which I made some new, awesome friends. The year in which I got my first promotion. The year in which I began to see the true colours of the corporate world. The year in which I learnt to let go at times. The year in which I learnt millions of things about relationships…thanks to numerous discussions with a few friends. Boy, you surely have been an interesting year!

In some ways, I don’t want you to end. But in some other ways, I do. Situations like this fill my heart with an inexplicable emotion. It is a strange mix of sorrow and joy. I am sad that you will be gone, but I am so excited to enter 2011. The memories I built in you will make my heart to ache at times. But I can’t wait to build new memories in 2011. I will be sad to part from friends when I move to a different city in 2011. But my heart soars when I think of friends I am going to be with in that city. Well, I can go on and on about the contrasts of life, but the fact is, as time passes, we need to move on. So, my friend, it is time for you also to move on, your part is done.

Thank you 2010, once again. There is another week of you lying ahead of me, and I am going for another trip – to make the most of this time. Years will come and go, but you will always remain uniquely important in my life. Goodbye.

Shikva

गैरों के छलने पर शिकवा करते हो,
उससे पूछो जो अपनों से छला गया है.

गैरों का क्या है, उनसे तुमको क्या लेना,
आज साथ हैं कल ठुकरा कर चल देंगे,
उन्हें नहीं कुछ पड़ी तुम्हारे आंसू की,
ये मत सोचो साथ सदा, हर पल देंगे.
पर ये सब तो ज़ाहिर है, सदमा कैसा?
उसकी सोचो जिसका अपना चला गया है.

वो बेचारा तो सपनों में खोया होगा,
नींद भरी रातों में थक कर सोया होगा,
इक पल को भी उसने ये ना सोचा होगा,
उसका हमदम ही उसको यूँ धोखा देगा.
सोचो उस पर आख़िर कैसी गुज़री होगी,
दोस्त बनाकर काटा जिसका गला गया है.

उसने सोचा होगा बिछड़ा यार मिला है,
बरसों बाद किसी का सच्चा प्यार मिला है,
उसे क्या पता पल भर की ये खुशियाँ हैं,
सच में तो उसको झूठा संसार मिला है.
कहाँ आरज़ू थी ज़ख्मों को मरहम की,
कहाँ ज़ख्म पर नमक और कुछ मला गया है.

गैरों के छलने पर शिकवा करते हो,
उससे पूछो जो अपनों से छला गया है.