On the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, here are two short poems of Surdas on baby Krishna. Rajiv Krishna Saxena जसोदा हरि पालनैं झुलावै जसोदा हरि पालनैं झुलावै। हलरावै, दुलराइ मल्हावै, जोइ-जोइ कछु गावै॥ मेरे लाल कौं आउ निंदरिया, काहैं न आनि सुवावै। तू काहैं नहिं बेगहिं आवै, तोकौं कान्ह बुलावै॥ …

Things are sometimes done that have real bad repercussions. One then wonders – was there a real need to do such things in the first place? Rajiv Krishna Saxena जरूरत क्या थी आइना उनको दिखाने कि ज़रूरत क्या थी वो हैं बंदर  ये बताने कि ज़रूरत क्या थी? दो के …

Here is an excerpt from a poem expressing the wishes of a poor poet for his love on her birthday. Rajiv Krishna Saxena जनम दिन आज है तेरा जनम दिन, तेरी फुलबगिया में फूल एक और खिल गया है किसी माली का आज की रात तेरी उम्र के कच्चे घर …

Society is changing and restlessness is increasing. We have to somehow cope with the change. Rajiv Krishna Saxena जहाँ मैं हूँ अजब दहशत में है डूबा हुआ मंजर, जहाँ मैं हूँ धमाके गूंजने लगते हैं, रह-रहकर, जहाँ मैं हूँ कोई चीखे तो जैसे और बढ़ जाता है सन्नाटा सभी के …

Trying to suppress memories of lost love, while trying to adopt to a new pattern of life, should be very difficult. This poem describes the feeling. The internal turmoil simply would not let the sleep to take over. Rajiv Krishna Saxena जब नींद नहीं आती होगी क्या तुम भी सुधि …

After all the initial trials and tribulations of love and adjustments, a real grace emerges in mature couples who could endure. They have gone through good and bad times together and have attained a kind of resilience that sees them through and provides strength to keep marching hand-in-hand – Rajiv …

Life is a temporary phase. We come into this world and leave one day. In between, many get too pre-occupied with hording wealth and name. Indian thought has always considered this tendency madness. Detachment with material things and love for humanity has always been the saintly advice in India. Here …

Here is a lovely composition by Gulzar, written for the movie “Guddi” in 1971. A very simple and moving prayer that school children sing in that movie. Rajiv Krishna Saxena हम को मन की शक्ति देना हम को मन की शक्ति देना मन विजय करें, दूसरों की जय से पहले …

There are “friends” in our lives who keep trying to sabotage our plans in the background. Here is a poem for such “well-wishers”. Rajiv Krishna Saxena हम जीवन के महा काव्य हम जीवन के महा काव्य हैं केवल छंद प्रसंग नहीं हैं कंकड़ पत्थर की धरती है अपने तो पाँवों …

Here is a classic that we often hear. A rough translation of the famous song in English “We shall overcome” whose lyrics were in turn derived from Charles Tindleys gospel song “Ill Overcome Some Day” written more than a hundred years ago. Hindi version was penned by the well-known poet …