Hearth

सौंफ की पतली डंठलों पर ओस की बूंदों में और आसमां की आँखों पर चमकते फ़्लैश में कुहासे की तस्वीर जो खिंचती है , कैमरे की खींची हुई तस्वीर से कहीं बेहतर है . दो साल बाद , सबा , जब यह तस्वीर रंकेश को दिखाएगी , सर्द सुबहों को उठने की आदत न होने से मचल उठेगा वह एक क्षण के लिए ही , फिर नींद प्यारी होने की वजह से कोहरे के लिए अपना प्रेम रातों में ही ज़ाहिर करना शाइस्ता समझेगा . लेकिन दो साल बाद , ठंड उसे सिर्फ बेचैनी ही दे पाएगी , प्रेम या प्रेम की गर्माहट में उत्पन्न हुई आकांक्षाएं भी जिससे उबार लाने में विफल हो जाएं . तत्काल अज्ञानता के बुलबुले में प्रागैतिहासिक ख़ुशी से लबरेज़ आसमां घंटे का चौथाई हिस्सा एक तस्वीर के नाम कर देती है . सौंफ की हर डंठल पर ओस की बूँदें , न कम न ज्यादा ; गुरुत्वाकर्षण की मुरीद सब एक सी कि पारदर्शी मोतियों की एक लड़ी सौंफ की हर सब्ज़ छड़ी से गिरे तो मिटटी के फर्श पर केवल एक ही आवाज़ हो . कुहासा तने ...

Whenever we are depressed we want someone to relate to. And what can be more relatable than a book. I find same relating and inspiring element in the novel JANE EYRE which was penned down in nineteenth century by Charlotte Bronte.                  It revolves around the life of a girl, from her childhood to marriage. While reading it I was so much engrossed in the story that I felt as if I know Jane personally. It took few days to complete and every time I picked it up, there was an excitement to know more about Jane. Her childhood was not normal. It was in fact tough. I felt pity when her cousin hits her, at the same time, I felt hatred for her savage aunt and cousins. It imparts a sense for the kind of life an orphan child leads all around the world.                  Anyway,  at that instant I wanted Jane to run aw...

Darbhanga house : from glory to ruins What makes Rome,  Rome and Paris, Paris?  “Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.” Italo Calvino famously writes in "Invisible Cities."  As someone who has spent his entire life in the city, exploring its nooks and corners, I often ask to myself and other people, what makes Patna, Patna? Surely, there ought to be many perspectives, one for each resident and one for each traveller. A CITY LIVES IN THE MEMORY                      I remember myself, sitting in one of my classrooms which could have been a room in a great museum or may be a chapter from a history book because of the old fire place in the back or the wooden doors that have stood the test of time. the windows outside the classr...