कैसे बदली पहचान!

पंजाबी हूँ मैंने बस इतना ही कह दिया

उसने ये सुनते ही मुँह मेरी तरफ़ किया

जैसे अजूबा हूँ मैं जो उसने देख लिया

हैरान चेहरे से उसने बोलना शुरू किया।

जोशीले अंदाज में जाने क्या बोल पड़ा

मुझे छोड़ो शायद उसको भी न था पता

वाह भाजी वाह आपके तो बल्ले बल्ले

पटियाला पैग ते चिकन कुकड़ू कु बोलें

तंदूरी रोटी देसी घी टपकाते भटूरे छोले

सरूर में क्या चलते हो खाते हिचकोले।

मैं उसके सवालों से पहले सकपकाया

फिर सँभलकर मैंने उसे जवाब सुनाया।

चिकन शराब से न कोई रिश्ता बनाया

उनसे दूर मैं तो बंदा शाकाहारी हूँ भाया।

वो मेरी बात सुनकर पहले तो हँस पड़ा

फिर खिल्ली उड़ाते लहजे में बोल उठा।

सुल्फा लिया या किया कोई और नशा

पंजाबी तो बेहोशी में ही है ऐसा कहता

जो इन सबसे परहेज़ की बात है करता

वो पंजाबी तो कभी हो ही नहीं सकता।

हैरत हुई मुझे सुनके उसके ये अल्फ़ाज़

कैसे मान लूँ बात सुल्फा चिकन शराब

बना दिये सब पंजाबी की नई शिनाख्त!

पंजाबी तो था क़ुर्बानी का दूसरा नाम

दरियादिली दिलेरी रहे उसकी पहचान

A STORY OF A DOG, A MONKEY AND A HUMAN!

How we can expect peace to last, when there is no sense of gratitude?

How can there be any sense of gratitude when there is no feeling of thankfulness?

How can there be feeling of thankfulness when feeling of contentment is absent?

How can there be any contentment when all around there only lust and greed prevail?

How can there be no lust and greed, when there are always intentions to snatch what belongs to others?

How can there be no intentions to snatch when there is no feeling that one has no right on what belongs to others?

Where I lived there was a street dog. I usually daily used to give the dog some spare bread, food or biscuits. The dog used to wait for me and seeing me, he used to come running towards me, wagging his tail, expecting that I would offer him something to eat. If some days, I didn’t carry anything for him, still he used come to me, and would keep walking behind me with expectations, or would make some actions like jumping or trying to wrap around my legs, to seek my attention and to remind me, if by chance I would have forgotten to offer him something that I might be carrying for him. But on not being given anything, he never barked at me in anger, never showed any aggression and never tried to attack me for my failure to offer him any food.

I realised that the dog always had expections, but my inability or failure to offer him anything, did never become a reason for him to change his behaviour towards me. I could feel he realised that it was neither his right nor it was obligatory on my part to offer him something to eat daily and I owed him nothing. He had a sense of gratitude and that’s why he always looked content and thankful too, whenever he got some food. To me too, it used to give immense satisfaction and happiness, the day I could give him something to eat. Neither I was afraid or suspicious of him, nor he was afraid or suspicious of me. There was a mutual trust and that’s why there was a mutual feeling of love, peace and acceptance for each other between us.

Then I shifted to another locality, where there was a monkey menace. One day I offered a banana to a monkey, he snatched the other one too that I was holding in my hand. Next day the same monkey was roaming on the roof top of my house, waiting for me to give him more bananas. Seeing me empty handed he tried to attack me in anger, as if, it was my duty and I owed it him to offer the bananas. He screamed at me as if I have done a blunder by not bringing some bananas for him. He showed no remorse for attacking me.

Not only that, one day, when I was on my way to my home, carrying some fruits in a polythene cover, walking carefree and unsuspecting, then all of a sudden, near the entrance of my house, that monkey suddenly came from behind and snatched the polythene bag from my hand and before I could react, he ran away with the packet.

He was never thankful for what I gave, so there was no question of him showing any gratitude!

Thenceforth, I made it a point to never offer anything to the monkey and I always moved out of the house with a stick, in fear and always suspecting the possibility of monkey’s attack.

There was always distrust and all through there was a suspicion. So because of mistrust, suspicion and lack of gratitude, the peace always alluded!

How much we may claim that both humans and monkeys are only primates, and humans are not descended from monkeys or any other primate living today, but human behaviour is almost akin to their primate cousins,(if not ancestors, as earlier theories claimed), THE MONKEYS, and certainly far away from the dogs. That’s why owing to lack of faith, mistrust, suspicion , there is a deficit of mutual acceptance, GRATITUDE and PEACE, a point to ponder!!

Today, 21-September-2022, on

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE!

and

WORLD GRATITUDE DAY!

प्रकाशोत्सव पर्व है आज!

प्रकाशोत्सव है आज हम नमन करें

श्री गुरू गोबिन्द सिंह जी प्रकट हुए।

उनकी अनंत कृपा सभी पर बनी रहे

शब्द हैं अपर्याप्त कैसे गुणगान करें।

ज़िन्दगी उनकी थी पूर्ण संघर्ष भरी

अनगिनत रही उनकी क़ुर्बानियाँ भी।

वो ज़ुल्मी के अहम के आगे न झुके

निर्बल के स्वर को उन्होंने दी रवानी।

संत ज़रूरत आयी तो सिपाही बने

सवा लाख से एक लड़ाने की ठानी।

एक गोविंद ने गीता का ज्ञान देकर

संघर्ष और युद्ध की राह सही मानी।

वहीं गुरू जी ने भी रणभेरी फूँककर

जुल्म मिटाने शस्त्र उठाने की ठानी।

गुरू गोबिन्द सिंह ने दुर्बल को उठा

खालसा पंथ बनाकर सिंह सजाया।

गुरू मान्यो ग्रंथ यही हुकुम सुनाया

गद्दी पर बिठा पथ-प्रदर्शक बताया।

©deepjams4-some wandering thoughts