Flash Back - English _ Gully danda

 Gully danda

Gully danda

Was my favorite game

And my classmate 

Ramgopal

Goal like football's mouth

Nose like a fritter

Stature short

But the master of this game,

Looked like a monkey

But He crafted

On paper

Beautiful pictures

Played this game many times

In the Ramleela ground 

Of old Delhi

In those times

It was the game of the poor

But I

Wasn't that poor

Could play other games too

But found great joy

In playing gully danda

I don't remember

What I won against it

Always, always troubled

By that victory.

Flash Back - English - Ram babu The Chaat Vendor

 Ram babu The Chaat Vendor

Ram Babu, the street food vendor

Famous in the Sitaram market

There was something magical

In his chaat and his name

Crowds lingered all the time

Often a group of girls,

The spicy water of his Golgappa

Had a sharp tang

Before his chaat

Everything seemed bland

I too would sometimes indulge

His chaat and golgappe

And when I didn't eat

Just passing by

From his shop

For some reason

Would make my mouth water.

Flash Back - English - Grandpa

 Grandpa

In both hands,

Bags filled with greens,

Carrying them

Walking miles

Never once hesitating

My wise grandfather,

Never stolen through hard work,

Many household chores,

Like drying wheat after washing,

Weaving blankets with skill,

Crafting chosen beds,

Working on Sanskrit-English

Dictionary on a round table

Teaching a student Sanskrit

At home

Welcoming guests,

Performing Vedic evening rituals daily,

Reciting Sanskrit verses 

In the morning,

Conducting Vedic havans on festivals,

As a priest, arranging ceremonies

Of joining many couples,

At night,

Often scratching his back and soles

With a comb, contentedly,

Yet, repeating Sanskrit lessons

Unmindfully,

Perhaps that's why

Couldn't grasp Sanskrit,

Today, contemplating in solitude,

How challenging it is

To be a grandfather.

Flash Back - English -CARROT KANJI

 CARROT KANJI

CARROT DELIGHT

In winters, my grandma made

Carrot delight, a secret aid

In a glass container displayed

Transparent magic it portrayed

The crimson hue of this delight

Charmed the heart, pure and bright

On the rooftop, basking in cold light

Sipping carrot joy felt just right

Life's had many drinks in its flight

But the taste of that carrot's might

Still lingers on my tongue tonight.

Flash Back - English - Wings of a Kite

 Wings of a Kite

Every day, I went to school

And 

he never went to school,

Just stayed

All day at home

But he was a master

In tying the corners of a kite

And on paper

Creating images

I was fascinated

By his pictures

And

To tie the

Corners of a kite,

I had to do it

His precision

And without tying the corners,

It was impossible to fly a kite

Because the correct proportion of corners

Must be bound

For any kite

To soar in the right sky.

Flash Back - English - Melody of Stairs

 Melody of Stairs

Today

As I climb a step

My heart skips a beat

There was a time when

In my humble abode

52 stairs

I would ascend 

In less than 52 seconds.

And

In descending those stairs

Spent even less time

In life

So many stairs

I climbed and descended

Yet, on those 52 stairs

Climbing and descending

The rhythmic melody 

Of my tiny footsteps 

Was as melodious 

And 

Rhythmic 

As never heard before.

Flash Back English - "Horse Carriage"

 "Horse Carriage"

From home to school

A journey of horse carriage

It used to be

An intriguing tale it was

One day, for too long,

I played at school

Missed the carriage

For hours, I stood disheartened 

By the roadside

Wishing for a lift

Asked a cyclist uncle for a ride

He seated me with care

On the bicycle's front bar

Ensured my safety and dropped me off 

At Turkman Gate

From there, I walked back home

That day, my grandmother 

Scolded me

For arriving late without a word

I didn't reveal the bicycle adventure

Instead, I told her  

Tonga came late

due to a sick horse

The next day, I fell ill,

Caught a fever 

From the horse's tale