Dasshera

This week it was Dasshera… it has been an exceptionally good week for me… got no less than 5 invites for dinner on different days of the week and since Tuesday night we haven’t cooked anything ourselves….
Dasshera marks the slaying of the evil Ravana by Bhagwaan Shri Ramchandra... another 20 days and on the amavasya of Kartik maas will be Deepawali - the festival of lights , when ShreeRam returned to Ayodhya along with wife n brother....

Another year (that too in succession) when i wont be with my family on this occasion...Last year it was due to project pressure that I was not able to go home during diwali... this year I am not in the country.....

I am reminded of two things:
First … these lines written below by the Late Kaifi Azmi... one of my fav poets..

Doosra Banvaas

Ram banvaas se laut ke jab ghar mein aaye
yaad jungle bahut aaya jo nagar mein aaye

Raks-e-deewangi aangan mein jo dekha hoga
6 dec ko shri raam ne socha hoga
Itne deewane kahan se mere ghar mein aaye

Jugmagaate the jahan Raam ke kadmo ke nishan
Pyar ki kahkashaan leti thi angdaayi jahan
Mod nafrat ke usi rahguzar mein aaye

Dharam kya unka hain kya jaat hain yeh jaanta kaun
Ghar na jalta to unhe raat mein pehchanta kaun
Ghar jalane ko mera, log jo mere ghar mein aaye

Shakahari hain mere dost tumhare khanjar
Tumne babar ki taraf pheke the saare pathar
Hain mere sar ke khazaar zakhm jo sar mein aaye

Paun sarjoo mein abhi raam ne dhoye bhi na tha
Ki nazar aaye wahan khoon ke gehre dhabbe
Paun dhoye bina sarjoo ke kinare se uthe
Raam yeh kehte hue apne dwaare se uthey

Raajdhani ki khiza aayi nahi raas mujhey
6 dec ko mila doosra banvaas mujhey

Secondly I remember the movie Naseem it was in mid nineties or sometime close…
It was about communal situation of India particularly Bombay during Ayodhya's Babri Masjid demolition by the Hindu fundamentalists… Kaifi Azmi played the role of an ailing grandfather who goes thru all this and breathes his last on 6th Dec… Mayuri Kango plays his school going granddaughter …

But all of a sudden why I am subjecting you to my personal rambling.. then some high quality literary stuff and then some hindu muslim riot movie …. Let me just stop writing before I stray too far.