Main Student No. 420

I wrote this one when I was in First Professional M.B.,B.S.

मैं Student No. 420
RNT की सलाखों से बाहर देखता हूँ,
दिन, हफ्ते, महीनों को Semester में बदलते देखता हूँ|
इसके Cafe से मुझे किसी सस्ते ढाबे की खुशबू आती है,
इसकी Building मुझे Central Jail नज़र आती है|

वो कहते हैं यह College है,
फिर क्यूँ यह मुझे School से बदतर लगता है?
वो कहते हैं मैं इसका Student हूँ,
फिर क्यूँ यह मुझे अपना नहीं लगता है?


मैं Junior No. 420
RNT के गलियारों से गुज़रता हूँ,
यारों की धीमी साँसों, तेज़ धडकनों को सुनता हूँ|
Canteen की खुशबू उनमें तफरी की चाह जगाती है,
पर Quantum की याद इच्छा को ठंडा कर जाती है|

वो कहते हैं की यह दस्तूर है,
फिर क्यूँ यह मुझे अत्याचार लगता है?
वो याद दिलाते हैं की यह तो कुछ भी नहीं,
तो यह मुझे उनका प्यार लगता है|


मैं Roll No. 49
L.T. की ओर रुख करता हूँ,
बड़े विश्वास से Class में कदम रखता हूँ,
Class के माहौल से Semester के Result की बू आती है,
और साथ ही डर के मारे बदन में कंपकंपी छूट जाती है|

वो कहते हैं की मैं Pass हुआ हूँ,
फिर क्यूँ मुझे Fail से बदतर लगता है?
इसीलिए यारों, यार अगर ढकनी हो तो,
खुद Pass होना भी नहीं भाता है|

A Fairy Tale (my piece for a website on RR's win in 2008)

“Once upon a time a war was called between eight kingdoms. All the kingdoms had to build their armies with very less time at hand, an army that could stand the test put up by others with their strength and the test of time with their endurance.
One of the kingdoms which lay in a desert had all the odds against it and was counted out by all means and by all people. They were searching for a General when a senior man with golden hair volunteered. Everybody doubted him, not his abilities but because he had not entered the battle field for a long time.
The people of the kingdom silently prayed for the success of this brave man. He went about preparing his army for the battles ahead and tried to find out the special abilities of his men.
When they first went into the battlefield, they were badly wounded but the General still had faith in his men. He told them that, to conquer the opposition they first needed to conquer their own minds and have the belief that they could do it. He assigned roles to all his men. Some were told to attack while others were told to defend and still others were told to keep changing what they did and befool the army on the other side.
The men responded to their General’s call and one could clearly see the difference in the way they carried out themselves. They started winning battles. They were wounded sometimes in between but the General told them to introspect and mend their mistakes and move on.
The battles went on and after some time two armies were left. One key man in the army of the Desert Kingdom was badly wounded. He still wanted to take the battle field but the General told him to rest because they had a lot ahead of them in the future. The General told his men that they must be calm and just do what they had been doing till now and the result will be in their favor.
The men fought bravely. A trusted man of the General went on fighting and wounding several on the opposite side just when his men seemed down. He fought bravely and brought confidence back amongst his people. But just when the other army was again getting an upper hand, the General himself went ahead and gave a telling blow. Now the armies were at the same level and just before sunset one of the enduring brave soldiers gave another blow and the desert kingdom emerged victorious. The people went on celebrating throughout the night. They couldn’t stop praising and thanking their army for the glory they had brought to the kingdom. They now have adopted the General as the son of their kingdom.”
This was indeed a fairy tale ending and as the General Shane Keith Warne said, “The script couldn’t have been written any better”. Team Rajasthan Royals emerged victorious in the battle for the inaugural Indian Premier League beating Chennai Super Kings in a cliffhanger final. Smith’s absence due to a torn hamstring was a setback but Yusuf Pathan hit a half century and got some crucial wickets for the team. In fact both of these efforts came when the chips were down for the Royals. Things again seemed to be getting tough for Rajasthan but just then Shane Warne hit a four and then with one required of the last ball Sohail Tanveer kept his cool and hit the ball in the gap.
A good amount of credit is due to the team owners Emerging Media who had faith in what they were doing and without a shadow of doubt in their minds gave the reigns into the hands of Shane Warne.