Once called Earth

In the words of Garvit

Can earth be Earth when all it’s trees are gone,

And sudsy waters have become unfit,

And poisoned life no longer greets the dawn

With raucous sounds that death has caused to quit?

Will trees no longer wave, with limbs unfurled,

On hapless earth, that ever in orbit roams?

Will human ego sacrifice the world

To satiate its lust for pompous homes?

Will distant space look down on orb that’s bald.

I now can hear the mother say,

“I was once called Earth.

But now , bereft of mirth, I weep. 

That treeless orb’s no longer Earth”

#EarthDay

Same view, different glasses

Found this post in a friend - Himanshu's blog.

Moods of Ghalib, Iqbal and Faraz

 ज़हिद शराब पीने दे मस्जिद में बैठ कर,
या वो जगह बता जहाँ खुदा नहीं.

Zahid sharab peene de masjid mein beth kar,
Yaa woh jagah bata jahan Khuda nahin..

- Mirza Ghalib
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मस्जिद खुदा का घर है, पीने की जगह नहीं,
काफिर के दिल में जा, वहाँ खुदा नहीं.

Masjid khuda ka ghar hai, peeney ki jagha nahin,
Kaafir ke dil mein ja, Wahan khudaa nahin..

- Allama Iqbal
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काफिर के दिल से आया हूँ मैं ये देखकर,
खुदा मौजूद है वहाँ, पर उसे पता नहीं.

Kaafir ke dil se aya hon mein yeh dekh kar,
Khuda maujood hai wahan, Par usey pata nahin..

- Ahmad Faraz
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游子吟 ——孟郊 (The Wanderer's Song)

What do I post on mother's day? Should I write how much I love my mother? I tell her that every day. I would like to quote Meng Jiao (751-814) whose beautiful piece on mother is remembered as one of the best lines written about a mother's love in the last 2000 years. Dedicating these lines to the best mother in the world: Jhansi. 

Here it goes and the translation below in English.

游子吟 ——孟郊

慈母手中线，
游子身上衣。
临行密密缝，
意恐迟迟归。
谁言寸草心，
报得三春晖！

The Wanderer's Song -- Meng Jiao

With the thread in her hand, the kind mother
Is making clothes for her son leaving home.
She sewed with stitches close to each other
For fear he might about the world long roam
Who says grass that bathes in the spring sunshine
Can repay it with hearty feelings fine!