Forced to act on the stage of life
so humble, feeble & half-clad.
Daily swapping of dreams for a few coins,
He is shunned, lonely, starving and sad.

No rhymes, no stories
No pen or pencils,
No book, no papers
No colours or stencils.
No playground, no park
No friends to talk,
No love, no kisses
Only a lonely walk.

Compelled to sell both body & soul,
Toiling hard, he does his best,
Story of hard work, wounds and pain,
No joy, no fun and no time to rest.
The present is all gloomy & dull,
lacking colours,  excitement and vim,
Shattered hopes with no dreams,
The future is touching, dreary & dim.

With deep anguish, I weep and yell
cuss myself for his ill-fate,
Losing all hope, I wish to revolt,
I need to speed up before it is too late.

Mukesh Kataria

Meticulously dressed
in an
expensive, modish suit,
Swaggering opulence & lacerated talk,
Small-hearted, sagacious,
evil-minded and
having sinister design,
I am
pretty sure
He is
a zippy,
Zombie,
Educated and
Diplomatic URBANITE.

BETTER
to be a rustic, uneducated fool,
in whose heart always
Simplicity, naivety and magnanimity rule.

Mukesh Kataria

A destitute, half-clad barefoot, sickly, bony & starving child,
distended visible chest-ribs, sunken eyes and drenched belly.
With folded hands in deep faith,
Sitting on threshold of a temple,
in freezing December winter dark night.

For last 5 days he has eaten nothing,
He is badly waiting for miracle to happen,
His mother is in hospital,
suffering from last stage cancer.
Doc says she has only 6 days life.

Today is the last night.
I doubt any miracle to happen.
I know these seldom happen,
Science rules and besides, Doc doesn't tell a lie.
But novice child does not know science,
He has indomitable faith in some miracle to happen
which will ****** his mother's life from clutches of death.

Fateful 6th day arrives,
Doctor is sure,
elderly mother is no more.

To convince his little brain is an arduous task,
Badly shaken I have no word to say,
If miracles do happen, I know,
India needs millions of them everyday.

Thy ways are inscrutable.
Should the innocent child be smug with your name and cling on?
Or
Discard all faith, take the life as it is and just move on?

Mukesh Kataria

On a busy roundabout in buzzing Delhi,
Fake wealth smirks & luxury car creeps,
When red light stops,
Fast panting life gets a pause,
Dullness riding on killing air,
Only gloating eyes and putrid thoughts.

Nearby, my eyes halt on a poor, destitute girl,
Sure, I know, not of sweet sixteen
Few heart throb with love and care,
Though number of passers- by is umpteen.

Her ugly eyes embedded in chronic pain,
Gloom abiding on her wrinkled face.
She is ugly, bony & sickly
Tear- ***** flecking ***** cheeks.

Foul smelling with flowing nose,
******* dressed with ragged clothes,
Callous cool breeze shivering her emaciated soul,
No brotherly hand for her rescue & no divine aid to her console.

Delhi engrossed in sensuous talks of love, ***, movies and romance,
No one cares for her real plight,
Why charity and pity in independent India?
Methinks, a graceful life is her genuine right.

When she stretches her wounded hands,
Begging for a loaf of bread,
I cry & weep deep inside,
Losing hope, I feel so SAD.
I wish swapping of my destiny with hers,
Can u please tell?
Am I a bit out of senses or if I have gone totally MAD?

Mukesh Kataria

God has made me so -
I can't &  don't pretend
But, feel fair and free
Speak my heart out with brutal honesty
My emotions are strong, never do these flee.

At times I am harsh
At times I speak rough
But, I do take care
That relations don't freeze & love doesn't get rust.

My mind grows only flowers of love
Every second, I make it sure
I do crave for the souls
Who are noble and pure.

I find that virtues are scarce
& world full of loads of vice
I feel one with you
Because yours is soul that is more than nice.

Mukesh Kataria

Sorry for I couldn't spare time
When u needed it the most,
Sorry I couldn't stay with you
When you deserved it the most.

Time passed by, I couldn't hold
But, now promise I will love you
Till we become fragile and old.
This body will decay
But, my soul shall stay.
We shall tread life-path Step by step
Tire you feel, I shall stop.
Holding your hands I shall move ahead.

Sorry I couldn't lighten your path
When it was dark , when the stars were off and dogs did bark.
Sorry I couldn't hug you when u felt alone
Tears kept rolling in your eyes
But it was wrongly me who stayed cool.
Today I confess I was such a great rustic and first- water fool.
Promise I shall become your shadow
Till your life.
Because you are now a friend
And not just a wife.

Mukesh kataria

Yes, me too often indulge in romance
But not a tale of this body & brains
It is all a godly play of my heart & soul
When sadness prevails, myself is lost in dreams.

When the body is sleeping
and lust is mild
My soul awakes and fly
Searching for another of matching kind.

Dream of deep romance with flirting moon
Growing on a puff of cloud
Hugging to my chest a glistening star,
Songs of mid- night are hyptonising & loud.

Busy myself in mundane affairs
No other heart yells, I did take care
GLOOM- my childhood buddy stayed with me
Till I found one noble soul- my heavenly stair.

I don't wish touch of her fingers
Creeping to mine,
No beating ******* & cheek to cheek
All this I feel is a SIN & crime.

Teasing mouth with kisses till one speak,
May be a frantic fad for the mortals and weak,
Her soft- silken voice gives immense delight
'Sweet & kindly smile' only is
what I seek.

No staring gaze, no trembling lips
No drowsy & close- pressed head,
No sensual music,
to make me mad.
No claustrophobia of red- light lanes,
No shattered hopes, no broken window- panes.

Diamonds & gems are worthless, I loathe
Her smiling glance mesmerise and allure,
Blossomed to perfection, she is near to God,
Simple, sober, wise and pure.

Don't mind, what her sharp brain
think of me,
But, I do take care that
her noble soul finds nothing obnoxious & unvirtuous in
mortal me.

Aeonic feelings I cannot draw on canvas,
My sorrowful eyes remain unseen- Oh Dear,
What she needs is a pair of stronger glasses
than the normal ones she usually wear.

Swim around in whirlpool of human emotions,
shunned & lonely I did FEEL,
But, when found her dilemmas & loneliness deeper than mine,
Felt 'DIVINE CONNECTION' with her noble soul
And now I smile and sing with heavenly zeal.

Mukesh Kataria

I visualise seeds of pure thoughts taking roots everywhere
*** and age never does matter
Plants of noble deeds spring around
Sweeter the fruits & I feel better.

Stainless character & right aspiration does flourish,
Hearts be heavenly mansions
of peace & joy
Goals & values be high and firm,
Body of ageless steel and no soul to be frail & coy.

All of us be master gardener of our soul,
weeding out all the ******* & wrongs
Flowers & fruits grow of our right desire,
No sorrow, no pain but only gladdening songs.

Mukesh Kataria

Incessant writhing, restiveness and pain
Deep inside at the core of my heart, these do flourish & breed
Their successive & demonely endeavours
To get freedom from unbreakable clutches of delicate emotions
Do never ever succeed.

At the threshhold of my maleable heart
A silent entry of hitherto unfelt emotions
Busy in gleaning the shattered memories of my dormant past
Dovetailing them hard & giving these a golden cast.

The same old, aeonic & profound pain
Rises slowly but, it pinches again
My innocent heart gets fiercely swayed
It succumbs even when the issues are unnoticed to motley crowd and appear to be wierdly trite
Because the only language it understands best is of "intense love"
& not of any petty fight.

The journey of life was boorish & deadly boring,
My wading heart had very long to wait
But Himalayan thanks to the caring & ubiquitous god
Now my baby- smile is back
As I have got one pretty- pretty SOUL- MATE.

Mukesh kataria

Let us burn a lamp of knowledge
for those who are egoist and small,
Small neither in age nor in wage,
But potted & brittle clays those,
who are miles away from the God.

The God who is omnipresent & omniscient,
but, innocent like a nascent child,
In the divinely stretched and limitless sky,
Like an aloof but flying & singing kite.
We are most often fools,
But he is always wise,
He lives close to us
But, unseen and unrealized.

Away from the God, I mean those
who are confined to self & supercilious in this zoo.
The zoo not only of birds and animals
But which comprises all i.e.he, she, me & you.

Let us,
Share our cognizance with them also,
if not the whole then, just a little mole,
As it may facilitate them in achieving MOKSHA( salvation from physical existence)
a long cherised life- goal.

Methinks, then,
It would be the beginning of a new era,
All around people blissful & stout,
The whole world whirling in mirth,
and nothing to be worried about.

Mukesh Kataria

Eternal power within myself I find ample
Owe all this to God
So bow down to supreme power-
I do and I must
Fly always with wings of humility
Wafting through the path of
faith & trust.

My mission is ordinary soul- to make them
better and steadily mold,
The weak and frail melt in to divine fold.
I dream no barriers, no war, no bullets, no foes
No ignorance, no blockage in mind & brains
Total freedom from yoke of all self- imposed limitations
No noble soul be in exile and chains.

Truth I speak- straight & simple
No mining & minting,
No coating and wrapping.
I dream-
No seeds of abomination & apathy to grow,
No body to scream, no soul to cry
Saplings of love spring up forever,
Ocean of elixir never be dry.

No doing of things I don't want to do in life,
No veil of mistrust, no sharpening of knife,
Radiant beam of truth to seep into hearts of All,
Character- a key to holyness
to stand noble, robust and
godlike tall.

I dream -
No sorrow flecking any heart,
No tears rolling down an eye,
Every soul ascend to divinity,
No elegiac songs but, only
Dance, cheer & mirthful fly.

I dream-
Bliss forever to stay
Pain & sorrows to swiftly pass,
No hard talks, no thinking in secret
Every other face to be
our looking glass.

Mukesh Kataria

You can
Never
Win over
Me,
I'm
Never
In fight.

Mukesh Kataria

Frequent meetings and seminars-So many,
Often the days stressful & hectic,
Bunkum & lengthy talks of higher authorities,
full of diplomacy & shallow at the core,
Job sometimes seemed a burden and
such a suffocating bore.

But, now I miss those days.
for I smelt the flowers of friendship, respect and unfathomed emotions,
Divine fragrances I hold close to my heart,
Even when we all are now miles apart.

I miss----
Old ***** chairs, tables and benches
But thronged by pretty & gorgeous wenches,
Their lovely, mesmerizing, broad smiles
with piercing, alluring & hypnotising glances.
I miss--
The wits and wisdom of all
wafting through the chilly air,
friendly souls & faithful buddies,
like a joint family-all did take care.

I miss--
for what a joy it was
learning, teaching, guiding & helping,
Listening to songs, making repartees and cracking some funny & clean jokes.
Where silence weighed more than the spoken words,
We all sailed through the same boat,
When someone's absence pinched but,
welcome presence meant a lot.
Alas: this golden time is over, forever
We can never embrace again.
But, it is entrenched in my memories -so sweet and full of mirth,
Sure these will stay with my soul
till atleast my next birth.
Sometimes with smile & sometimes with tears,
My memories will take roots & grow throughout the years.

The world can beguile and relations can turn fake,
But my memories are my true buddies
for these shall stay till I am alive and awake.
Oh Lord,
Let the brightness of sun to vanish
and the moon too lose its shine,
Even you can take away my breath---I won't mind much,
But till I am alive, please let my memories ripen and my true friends be in my touch.

Mukesh Kataria