Thinking Aloud

दिवाली नहीं मैं धुआली हुई , उजाला है कम , मैं तो काली हुई | उजाला भी अब आतिशों की तरह है , पल भर को रोशन अँधेरा घना है , जलाओ दिए दिल में, कुछ हो उजाला ,                  मैं तो रुढियों की हूँ मारी हुई .                  दिवाली नहीं मैं धुआली हुई| वो दीपक की लौ का , हवा से लहकाना, वो अक्षत , वो चन्दन , वो फूलों का महकना , गंध बारूदी ने इन सब को पिछाड़ा ,                 मैं तो आतिशों की हूँ मारी हुई .                दिवाली नहीं मैं धुआली हुई | वो लक्ष्मी का पूजन , वो पुस्तक का पूजन , वो घर की सफाई , क़ि रहे दूर दुर्जन , उसी रात चौसर पे मदिरा चढ़ी ,                मैं तो खुद को जुए में हूँ हारी हुई   ...

Interestingly I realised that next day was Gandhi Jayanti by a strange crowd. Many ladies were standing by  the road besides their cars. Most of them were in fancy traditional attire  that seemed to be  crafted for special purposes. I got my  brain working  and soon I could identify - the ladies were in Chaniya Choli and some nearby standing guys, who were crowded on a counter , were in kafni payjama and kediyu, though pagadi was missing for the occasion. So they were coming from Garba. Now I shifted my attention to the  crowded counter.  Shortly the crowd made sense to me when I saw a a flex printing - "Buy Today, Tomorrow is Dry Day". On top of this was an epitaph  "Johnnie Walker --Keep Walking" followed by a stout man walking briskly,  apparently in a swirling  coat and a stick in his folded hands. When it comes to brisk walking, with stick in a hand, I could recall pages of my history book about 'Salt Satyagrah' that begun wh...