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English transliteration follows:

kacche hAthoM se likhi un aksharoM
me kahIM gum ho gayI thI,
wah khoye akshar jinhe mai
dostoM ke TahAkoM se CupAtA thA,
kabhI kisI jeb me paDxI khajAnoM me,
kabhI makhxamal kI rUmaal se DhakI khazAnoM me,
aur kabhI bAbar kI kahAniyoM me ChupAtA thA.
na jaane kahAM un akasharoM kI daastaan khxatm huI,
kab muThThi bhar khxushi aMguliyoM se phxisal gaI,
kab un ThahAkoM ke beech zindagI ChooT gaI.
tarAshe huye un phxeeke pannoM ke beech
wah Adhe adhure akashar aaj nikal paDxe,
mAno amAvas kI raat me hazaar taare chamak paDxe,
khxoI khxoI si yaadeM, khoyA khoyA sA sapnA
Aj phxir gale milkar jhoom rahA hai,
yah dekho, ye kacche hAthoM ne kyA achambhA rachA hai,
sapnoM kI parI aasamaan se utarI,
saare jahAM me aaj dIwAlI machA hai.

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This poem is dedicated to Parul Bali, an enchanting beauty found smiling at me through the webpage, and who is torturing me this past hour.

To me alone there came a thought of grief:
A timely utterance gave that thought relief
               – [Immortality Ode, Wordsworth]

Image copyright belongs to either Parul or the uploader. It does not belong to either Priyatu or Pygmalion. Fair Use solicited.

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I found myself accused of a common complaint about all poets. Incomprehension. For the benefit of those who are more comfortable with English, let me furnish as part of my aquittal, an English translation:

The woman of my dreams

I found you lost among the ruins
Of my feeble words,
Words that I would hide
From the laughter of friends,
Among a dozen useless papers in my breast.
At times among the treasures hidden is soft fine silk,
At times among the stories of a Babar from Samarkand.
Where did this tale of words end?
When did this handful of bliss slip through my fingers,
When along with the riotous laughter, I lost my life?
Among the treasured yellow memories
The feeble words in ruins staggered out,
As if a thousand Venus are sparkling on a new moon night.
Those half forgotten memories, those incomplete dreams,
I find dancing under a new moon today.
Look what spectacle have these worthless hands wrought –
As the woman of dreams comes from a heaven far away,
The world is having a ball today.

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Hi, if you are Parul and if you would like to get the Dedication message and the image erased from the site, please get in touch with me at priyatu@yahoo.com.

Aapki khwahish sar aankhon par.