रात

Backdrop : I am a person of faint heart when it comes to supernatural horror stories. I can never ever watch ghost stories alone. And if ever I have watched such stuff with a company, all those plots and scenes turn into vivid imaginations when I am alone. Yes, i am not ashamed to say i am scared of GHOSTS!!!

This poem is an extract of such imaginations from a fall night in Tulsa where I used to stay a few years back. I was then a new mom, was blessed with a baby boy. Every night around 3 am was my schedule to wake up and feed my son. Normally, i used to feed him on a feeding chair that was placed right beside the bedroom window. The view outside my window was generally wide open and beautiful. But during those hours, my mind used to replay every possible supernatural phenomena I had read, heard or seen (verbal anecdotes, books and electronic media ofcourse).

That night, the sight from my window was very dramatic, straight out of a Hollywood / Bollywood movie. It was a full moon night with lots of scary and creepy artwork of shadows. My husband, was at the peak of his sleep, snoring as usual, unaware of things happening around him every night at this time.

It is said that, a person who is scared the most, of the supernatural things, can actually write wonderful horror stories. That night, me too, since could do nothing about my usual routine, tried to channelize my fear in form of a poemwhich goes like this :

काली अँधेरी वो रात थी,
उस रात में कुछ अजीब सी बात थी |

चारों ओर था भयानक सन्नाटा,
मेरे पति ले रहे थे खर्राटा |

हो रही थी अजीब सी सरसराहट,
जैसे हो किसी के आने की आहट |

फिर अचानक मुझे याद आयी वो पुरानी हवेली ,
जिसमें भटकती थी दुल्हन नयी नवेली |

पेड़ से आई पत्तों की आवाज़ ,
जैसे कोई चुड़ैल हो नाराज़ |

वो रात थी बड़ी तूफ़ानी,
सड़कों पर थी विरानी |

ज़ोर से आई एक चीख़,
जैसे कोई चुड़ैल माँग रही हो भीख़ |

मेरी सांसें पड़ गई ठंडी,
तभी बजी दूर कहीं मंदिर की घंटी |

एहसास हुआ, ये घर मेरा अपना था,
वो एक बुरा सपना था |

Please leave your comments/ suggestions/ feedback. Also, would be glad to hear your similar experiences. Stay tuned !!!