अब न रहा वो साज़ जो सात सुर बजायेगा
टूट के निकलते हैं अल्फाज़ जुबाँ से
मीठी बातों से अब ये दिल न बहल पायेगा
पुराने किस्सों की मत करो बातें मुझसे
दर्द जो छिपा रक्खा था, फिर उभर आयेगा
मत दोहराओ चाँद के, तारों का किस्से
जख्म अभी सूखा नहीं है; छेड़ोगे तो तड़प जायेगा
इस वीराने में कौन रहता है, क्यूँ रहता है
किसे पड़ी है, कोई क्यूँ यहाँ आयेगा
–स्वाति
घर की देवढी पर बैठी मैं
कजरारे नैनों से ताकूं
सारे रस्ते सगरी बस्ती
सब सोते हैं, बस मैं जागूँ
भोर भये मैं देखूँ सूरज
शाम ढले मैं तारे बांचूँ
क्या आओगे आप सवेरे
या शाम चंदा के संग
आँचल थामे ये बाट निहारूँ
सूने आँगन धूप खिली फिर
फूल सजे बगिया में मेरी
छत पर बैठा कागा बोले
अब तो कोई आयेगा…
[intro]
[flute]
[verse]
घर की देहरी पर बैठी मैं
कजरारे नैनों से ताकूं
सारे रस्ते सगरी बस्ती
सब सोते हैं, बस मैं जागूँ
[Refrain]
सारे रस्ते सगरी बस्ती
सब सोते हैं, बस मैं जागूँ
[Bridge]
भोर भये मैं देखूँ सूरज
या शाम चंदा के संग
आँचल थामे ये बाट निहारूँ
[Refrain]
सारे रस्ते सगरी बस्ती
सब सोते हैं, बस मैं जागूँ
[Bridge]
सूने आँगन धूप खिली फिर
फूल सजे बगिया में मेरी
[Refrain]
सारे रस्ते सगरी बस्ती
सब सोते हैं, बस मैं जागूँ
[Refrain]
सारे रस्ते सगरी बस्ती
सब सोते हैं, बस मैं जागूँ
[outro]
Photo by Tarique Sani
it was a regular Monday morning chaos till the time I received a call from Mom saying that Dad has fallen down the stairs and is not responding. Thing went from crazy chaos to urgency suddenly and we rushed, 10kms away, where they live.
As we were driving, Tarique called Dr. Anup Marar, Director, Orange City Hospital and requested him to send an ambulance. The ambulance was already there when we reached my parents place.
We reached and discovered that dad had regained consciousness though he could not recall what led to his fall. He seemed fine but was still taken to the hospital where he was immediately admitted in Critical Care Unit (because he still could not recall a lot of things that led to his fall) The doctors decided to keep him under observation overnight.
While I was there, attending him, I got to see a lot of things, and i was really impressed. This was not the first time that i was dealing with a CCU team, I have had not so good experiences in the past – essentially because the place is always abuzz with activity and CCU staff is always stressed out. However, at Orange City Hospital, i realised that the team at CCU never transferred their stress to the (already stressed) relatives of patients. The entire staff of young Doctors and Nurses was full of energy, positive attitude and was extremely patient with the relatives. My dad was not critical, but i witnessed them being extremely supportive with the patients and relatives of extremely critical patients too. I observed and was also very impressed with the cleanliness and other protocols being kept.
Dad was discharged after almost 30 hours of being there, and i brought him home with relief and assurance that if there is a real emergency, this is one hospital on which I can totally depend.
One of the best thing that has happened to me has been motherhood. I so vividly remember the day Aasim was born, it seems it all happend just yesterday. As a child came to us with clever one liners and sometimes very weird questions (he still does sometimes) and some of the things that he said and did I have documented in my journal. It has been 15 years and our son has been the best any parent could hope for. May you get happiness
In 2002, when Tarique turned 36, he wrote about counting milestones of age in decades at 6, 16, 26 and 36. So I thought on his 46th birthday I should document the last four decades, his 6th, 16th, 26th and 36th year in pictures. The photos are not of great quality, but then this post is not about quality of photographs -it is about quality of life 
At 6, his naughtiest best.
At 16. After he lost his mother, he decided to study medicine.
At 26. Photo taken at Alibag beach.
On his 26th birthday I was with him, we had finalized the plans of our marriage that day. I wish I had taken his picture that day, I did not -but he did take several of mine.
At 36. The three of us.
And today, at 46, he still is that 6 year old at heart. Happy Birthday, Love.
The year was 1991, early June. We wanted to feel alive, what better way than go hang-gliding? He would pick me up at 4.30 AM and we would ride on his bike to the outskirts of the city to this adventure camp where we learnt hang-gliding. Years have passed us by but every time I think of those days, I still get goose pimples – and hang gliding was just one of the things we did.
Fly
to touch the clouds
feel the deep blue sky.
Fly
and find the world beneath
conquered.
Fly
and discover
the power of wings:
Your Wings!!
Fly
to tame the wild wind
feel the power
and be one!!
I inherited this recipe from my Mother-In-Law who had fine tuned the art of making Biryani in a pressure cooker. It took me some time but now I am getting good at making this traditional mutton dum biryani.
A perfect biryani would have the right amount of moisture and yet the rice grains are separate. There are spices, a whole variety of them, used in moderation. Fresh green chillies should be just enough to make you salivate a bit, bringing out all the flavours, textures and fragrances.
Ingredients required:
1.25 Kg Mutton
1 Kg Basmati Rice
1/4 kg very sour (khatta) curd
Onion 2 large
Ginger 1.5″
Garlic cloves 10-12
(make a paste of onion, ginger and garlic)
Mint leaves -1/2 bunch
Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
Green chillies – this is the only thing that will make the biryani hot – but it use in moderation. Just enough to enhance flavours.
(make a paste of mint leaves, coriander and green chillies)
Khada masala (whole spices):
Cumin 2 tsp
Green cardamom 5-7
Cloves -10-12
Black Pepper 20-22
Cinnamon stick – 2 1 inch sticks
Caraway seeds (Shah zeera) 1 tsp
Mace 1 tsp
Milk +salt+water
Ghee 250 gms (vansapati)
Nutmeg 1/2 nutmeg cut into two pieces
Saffron – a few strands
Garnish:
Fried onion rings
Kewra essence (extract of Pandanus flowers) – 3-4 drops
Khatti Dal
100 gms chana dal
250 gms Khatte chugge ki bhaji** (also called as Ambat chuka or ) 2 raw tomatoes (should be sour)
2-3 Green chillies
1/4 tsp ground Ginger and Garlic paste
Salt
Little oil
Dried red Chillies
Cumin seeds
Boil chana dal with Khatti bhaji, raw tomatoes green chillies, ginger garlic paste. Mash Dal after it is cooked and add water (the consistency should be thin). Give a boil to the dal with salt added to it.
Heat oil, put cumin seeds and dried red chillies and temper the dal with it
Serve with steaming dum biryani
** Substitute raw mango powder and a lot of sour tomatoes if you can not find this vegetable
वो बूंद जो
बादलों में खेलती थी
आज तपती धरा की आग़ोश में
समाने को बेचैन हो उठी
पर फिर जब नील कमल
को इठलाते देखा
तो उसी की हो चली
डूब गयी
खो गयी
सो गयी
— स्वाति
छोटी सी इक रात की ये मुख्तसर मुलाक़ात
सितारे बिखरें हैं ज़मीं पे, मेरे घर में है काइनात
रेशम के दुपट्टे से उसने यूँ लपेटे उँगलियों के तार
किसी पुराने आशिक से मानों आज है मुलाक़ात
रोज़ ही मिला करते थे जब मुफलिसी के दिन थे
अब अच्छा वक्त है दोस्तों मग़र मस्रूफ दिन-रात
बड़ी बेतकल्लुफी से रहते थे कभी वो दिल में मेरे
हाल-ए-दिल पूछते हैं अब ये कैसे हो गये हालात
अपने दामन को समेटे रखने की आदत थी जिन्हें
सारे मोहल्ले में बाँटते फिरते है आज वो ख़ैरात
— स्वाति