Waste it now, lose it forever!

The man brushed his teeth while the water kept running,
Not bothered to close the tap until he finally rinsed his mouth,
He probably thought what difference does it make in a few seconds,
Not just him, it's a serious issue most of us don't even reckon.

A young lad entered the bathroom,
Turned on the shower and let a strong steady stream drench him,
With his favourite numbers playing on the mobile, he kept humming or singing,
The shower went on for half an hour or even more,
He wanted to go on and still didn't feel like stopping,
Unless his mother asked him to come out and came knocking!

How many of us forget the privilege of getting a shower daily,
When we end up wasting more water with an increased shower time,
While thousands are dying without water, remember, this is no less than a crime.

Every morning when people switched on the motors to fill their personal water tanks,
The water kept overflowing for quite a few flats,
Hearing it fall down like that - my heart sank,
No one was bothered to use a water tank alarm and save the wastage,
Who's tank overflows every day? I said loudly on purpose,
The silence of spectators makes me all the more nervous.

If you don't want water to be history,
Act now and do what you can do every single day,
Save water, save the earth, be clever
Or waste it today and lose it forever!

Tripti Bisht

Where's the dustbin?

The woman on the second floor,
Came out on her balcony,
Turned her handbag upside down,
And threw all the garbage on the ground,
Where's her dustbin? I thought, giving her a hard stare,
She went in with great ignorance almost saying I don't care!

It was a nice sunny afternoon, the town was choking with tourists,
They came as the hills were calling, but left behind something appalling,
Litter on the roads and in the lake, the mountains were sighing - for heaven's sake!
From a Scorpio stepped out the 'all-white' politician,
Threw the empty plastic bottle on the ground,
I looked at him in disbelief and muttered - What a pity, dustbin's right here, but can't be found?

A summer evening it was and folks were out for a walk,
Two young girls went to the ice-cream hawker by the roadside,
Took off the ice-cream wrapper, threw it on the road, and continued with their talk,
For them, it wasn't a big deal, or is it a big mental block?
While the hawker had a makeshift dustbin, why are most of us so thick-skinned?

It is right inside our homes or at times right in front of our eyes,
If not then why don't we just look around to find one?
What you do today you shall pass on to your kin,
Will there be a day when no one will need to ask - Where's the dustbin?

Tripti Bisht

The Lesson

She opens her small shop by 7:00 in the morning
Settles down and looks around
Picks up the cold milk pack and tears its corner
Pours the milk in the Tea pan
And heats it till it's a little warmer

Calls out names of the street dogs she feeds
Lapping it all they come wagging their tails one by one
She refills it till all her babies are done

For the ones sitting below the cars
She sits on her knees and passes the blue bowl
Talks to them in Malayalam
I tell you she is a special soul
For the language of love is felt rather than spoken
She spreads kindness even though her own heart is broken

Getting back to her shop counter
Waiting for the customers with her biscuit, bread, milk, and what not!
She is very giving - has always been I know
Not just dogs, for all the animals she does a lot

Caw! Caw! goes the crow sitting on her black tarpaulin over the roof
This time it is the small 'Aalu bhujia' pack that she sprinkles in front of the shop
The first time that I saw a crow enjoying the savoury snack
Illiterate she may be but knows what educated hearts lack

Out of the little that she earns
She spends a big part on dogs, cats, and birds
Sometimes feeding them, sometimes taking them to a Doc
Places water-filled clay pots on the roadside
Brings chicken or mutton rice for the dogs and cats as a weekly treat
"You are an unsung hero, many more like you we need" - I always repeat

I feel so 'small' in front of her
She does so much with so little
The lesson of 'illiterate kindness' that her acts teach
I just wish that one day to all the 'educated hearts' it may finally reach.

Tripti Bisht

*Image by shirley stirling from Pixabay 

The Jamun Tree

HELLO!

On the corner of the road
She sits with eyes that speak
Waiting for the passerby friends
To hold her raised hand that greets

All she wants is a smile for a smile
A hello for a hello
She is always waiting there
Not to just take what you have
But give back a feeling that's so rare

My conversations with her
Cover all things possible
From Corona and her eye allergy
To her old age and love for cottage cheese

I love the way she listens patiently
As I hold her hand in mine
She is a comforting soul
Who doesn't speak yet understands

The unsaid words are louder than
What words can often convey
Some friendships are beyond humans
I call them real humans... dogs some say

There comes my sweetheart
In her black and white fur
'Motee' they call her
A wagging tail and four legs...
The bond I always prefer.

Tripti Bisht

जीवन एक इंद्रधनुष

   

कभी मुस्कुराहटें कभी आँसू , कभी आवाज़ तो कभी खामोशी, कभी शरारतें तो कभी भोलापन, और भी न जाने कितने रँग समाये हैं - हाँ जीवन भी एक इंद्रधनुष की तरह है, बस फर्क इतना है कि इसके रँग अनगिनत हैं ।

हर इंसान का इंद्रधनुष अलग होता है, उसके रँग अलग होते हैं, उनका एहसास अलग होता है। मेरे भी जीवन में कई रँगों ने करवट ली है और आगे भी लेते रहेंगे। मेरा हर एक दिन इंद्रधनुष का एक रँग बुनता है । जहाँ बचपन में इंद्रधनुष सिर्फ आसमान में दो पहाड़ों के बीच खिंच जाता था आज वहीँ जीवन के उतार चढ़ाव रोज़ एक नया रँग लेकर आते हैं या फिर शायद एक ही रँग कई दिन तक मेरी जिंदगी को सराबोर कर देता है । जिस दिन ख़ुशी दस्तक देती है उस दिन शायद मेरी जिंदगी का आसमान चमकते रँग सा दिखता होगा और जिस दिन मायूसी छा जाती है या मन उदास हो जाता है तब शायद फीके रँग की एक लकीर खिंच जाती होगी। हम सब जिंदगी के रँगों  से अपना अपना इंद्रधनुष तो बुन ही रहे हैं पर कहीं न कहीं एहसास एक से ही होते हैं फर्क सिर्फ इतना है किसी को ज्यादा किसी को कम, किसी को आज तो किसी को कल।

कहीं खुशियाँ ज्यादा, गम कम,
कहीं रोशनियों ने तोड़ा दम,
कहीं जिंदगी जीत गयी तो कहीं मौत का मातम,
हर किसी के हिस्से में आया उसके इंद्रधनुष का वही रँग,
जो उसने खुद चुना है - न किसी से ज्यादा न कम।

मेरी एक छोटी सी कोशिश जीवन को रँगों के माध्यम से देखने की...

: तृप्ति बिष्ट