Thursday, July 1, 2010

Kaghazi Phool !


Yeh loag pathar kay dil hain jin kay
Numaish-e-rang mein hain dubay

Yeh kaghazi phool jaisay chahray mazaaq uraate hain aadmi ka
Inhay kaash koi yeh bata day maqam ooncha hai saadgi ka

Inhain bhala zakham ki khabar kiya-Teer chaltay hoyee nahi dekha
Udaas aankho mein arzoo-Kaa khol zaltay hoye nah dekha

Andhera chaya hooa hai in kay aage haseen ghaflat ki roshnee ka

Yeh gulshan mein jab gaye hain bahar hi lootne gaye hain
Jahan gaye hain yeh do dilon ka karar hi lootne gaye hain

Hai dil dukhana hi in ka shaiwa inhe na ahsas ab hai kisi ka

Mein jhoot ki jagmaati mehfil mein aaj sach boolne laga hoon
Mein ho kay majboor apne geeton mein zehr phir gholnay laga hoon

Yeh zehr phir mita day nasha gharoor mein doobi zindagi kaa

Yeh kaghazi phool jaisay chahray mazaaq uraate hain aadmi ka
Inhay kaash koi yeh bata day maqam ooncha hai saadgi ka


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There is nothing quite as painful as going to a holiday party full of five hundred people dressed in aptly stiff suits and grand clothes.

I saw them and talked with them and they responded to and in turn asked questions.

So they seemed like they were human.

They breathed...hmmm

They ate....hmmm

And I assume they had pulses...too...

But beyond their trite quips…intellectual banter and plastered smiles….

I wondered…was there anything more?

Were they really human?

It was amazing.

These "people" "Kaghazi phool" they were completely hollow.

Empty walking things that appeared to be humans...but were in fact not.

Is this what greed…lying…cheating and disloyalty did to a person?

Suck their souls and leave only a collection of self-important anecdotes in the husk of their former selves?

In one of the more interesting five-second conversations…one of the seemingly human things shook my hand and asked…"What may I ask is your name?"

"HR" I replied…forcing a smile.

"Ah HR" she replied,

"What a remarkable name!"

"hmm....thanks," I replied...thinking it was quite unremarkable.

I looked around the lawn and realized the gray-haired woman probably never encountered HR before otherwise she must have long ago moved forward.

After five or six-hundred of these short conversations…I realized my initial conclusions were correct.

But I became even more curious.

How did they do it?

Were they really this vapid….through-and-through?

Were they at one point…real humans who became the un-dead?

Or were these real humans posing as the un-dead posing as humans to blend in with the un-dead?

Soon…the mind-numbing effect of the party coupled with the numbing loud music gave way to a headache.

I was feeling pain -- this meant I was alive.

This meant I was at least human....ohh....how can I prevent myself to become "kaghazi phool"???

8 comments:

  1. awesome poem...full of emotions... great work :)

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  2. A sad but quite true depiction of a “get together” where status meets status, fashion meets fashion, persona meet persona but seldom people meet people. Khagzi Phool is very aptly put as foreword, once again reminding of unforgettable WM.

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  3. Ram...thanks for coming...

    the poem sang by our legendry singer..."Mehdi Hassan" and picturised on legenry artist "Waheed Murad"...

    Listening this song is all time amusement for me...

    Thank you much for your coming.

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  4. Dar Shaib...

    Thank you so much for coming and liking my post.

    I am honored Sir.

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  5. I always have liked tis poem, since even my childhood when i dint know what the lyrics mean.
    Now you have placed it well in your post in which you point out the basic reason of widening social gap in pakistani society.
    ===
    finally i got hold of a pc with an internet connection:D i'm really missnig all blogs :(

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  6. all of a sudden the actual scene of that film came to my mind... and what u came across in the party i do to. i just start looking inside the minds of all the ppl.a round. what that blond-dyed girl is thinking. what that aunty is ranting about. what hides behind the fake smile of the fat man etc etc ...DO IT. just think what mite be their weakness. what they r thinking. u will enjoy it ! suddenly u will even start making them feel uncomfortable wid ur intense gaze! :PPPPPP

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  7. I never heard or saw this song/movie but I rather loved the them of it.
    Nice work.

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  8. hmmm....Dear Girls...thank you so much for coming.

    ReeBz we all are missing you too...I hope to read from you soon. You can write about your trip.

    Thanks alot for coming even with such limited access of internet. I am honored.

    CATGIRL Thanks alot for coming. Yes...human beings are very intresting topic if one choose to read them...one ought to have courage too...

    I am happy that you have such courage and wish you good luck with your intresting readings...

    Thanks for your comment.

    Syeda Zehra The song is available on YouTube...if you want to listen to it...you may easily find it. I would not recommend it to you...as I strongly believe that young girls should not listen or see such sad songs or pictures...but yes...curiosity...may take you to limits.

    I am glad to have you as my reader...thank you so much.

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