I don't read you anymore.
You know why?
Because you read me
too much.

-

He pushed her.

Only the blood stains on the wall
made her feel pain not him anymore.

-

Put on a dupatta, whether you're twelve or twenty,
'Cause, to jeans and skirts, they shall pay heed.
Cover your face even when the street's empty
They say then, you're safe; but are you free?

In a whole new city; living all alone.
You earn your own money, working all night long.
Ignoring the prying eyes, when you return home late
They say you're independent; but are you safe?

Happily married; your world revolves around him.
He takes care of you, so you pander to his every whim.
Sometimes, he brings you presents,
all fancy and resplendent.
They say you're home; but are you independent?

Going against him, you support your daughter.
Now you have a black eye; she asks you "What's the matter?".
Dodging her questions; her hair, you silently comb.
You know you've been abused, so are you home?

-

Everyone at the party
praised him for gifting me
the huge diamond necklace sparkling on my skin.
Some even envied me for my good fortune.
And there I was, suffocated of the pretence
to hide his real gift,
'the deadly scars'

-

प्यार तो बहुत करता था वो
बस एक दिन शराब पी कर
गुस्से में मार डाला मुझे
प्यार तो बहुत था हम दोनों में...

(अनुशीर्षक में )

-

"We don't like her"
"Oh, why not?"
"She hit her husband."
"He raped her!"

-

She was beaten and hurt,
Ring on her finger once symbolized love,
Now her finger can't bear its weight!
All started with an argument and a slap,
Sorries and apologies she accepted back then!
Not a mistake but a warning was it,
Her ignorance incited more violence,
Just to protect their hollow marriage she maintained silence..

-

His cramped confessions
kept masquerading
the shiny yet broken ends
while her mismatched attempts
struggled at the sharp edges
of tender beginnings;
She till lives
caressing
his self inflicted wounds
on her...

-

तू मुझे जमाने के ग़म ना समझा ग़ालिब
मेरे नन्हें हाथों ने माँ को मरहम लगाए हैं।

-

A brush of cloudburst
looms the frail ebb
as the sky unfetters
a dead wildflower
over the molten flickers
past the ivory roses
into the grieving air
of the cracked lips;
Her wilting petals fall
beneath the numb clouds
just as a blue Jay
flutters to bury
the drooping floret
into the ripples of
a severed brackish river.

-