EMPATHY6-HOPE

 मैं हूँ तुम्हारे साथ 

बनकर तुम्हारी साँस। 

मेरे कारण कभी तुम 

ना हिम्मत हरो यों। 

बूझो तो जानूँ 

कि मैं कौन हूँ ?

जब तुम्हारे अरमान हुए चकना चूर 

तुम्हें लगा कि मंज़िल हो गयी दूर

तो मैंने तुम्हे सोचने पर किया मज़बूर 

कि हिम्मत ना हरो ऐ हज़ूर। 

सोचो कि मंज़िल नहीं है दूर 

तुम वहां पहुंचोगे ज़रूर 

बूझो तो जानूँ , कि मैं कौन हूँ ?

जब निराशा ने तुम्हे आ घेरा 

तुम्हारा नहीं रहा कोई रेन बसेरा। 

मुसीबतों ने आकर तुम्हें घेरा। 

ना रही कोई दोस्ती ना  रहा कोई आसरा।

तुम रह गए होकर मायूस 

तो मैंने कराया तुम्हें महसूस। 

तुम हो अपने ही भगवान् और श्रद्धालु। 

कर दृढ़ निश्चय और बाहें मज़बूत 

तुम अपने मकसद में कामयाब होंगे ज़रूर। 

अब तुम बूझो तो जानूँ 

कि मैं कौन हूँ ?

______________________________________________

 

When Vinay and Sangita got married, their friend Chaturbhuj gave them a beautifully gift wrapped box and a asked them to open it the day they really felt true happiness since their wedding day. Days went by and the young couple’s wish of being blessed with a baby was throttled by the doctor, who told them that they could not have a child of their own. So, they decided to adopt a baby girl and complete their family.

It was a Sunday morning and Vinay was getting ready to go to the market for weekly shopping of grocery, when he heard the door bell ring. He opened the door and found his friend Chaturbhuj at the door. He welcomed him. Meanwhile, Sangita walked into the living room with their baby girl in her arms. The young couple seemed very happy to see their old friend. They asked him to stay for lunch and introduce ed him to their baby girl. Vinay then told Chaturbhuj about adopting the child to complete the family. Chaturbhuj asked them whether they had opened his gift. Vinay and Sangita looked at each other and blurted a no in unison. Vinay tried to cover up for their rather stark response, “In fact Chatur, we had forgotten about the gift.” Chaturbhuj smiled and asked them to open and see it now. Vinay went inside the house and returned with the gift. He opened it and found a photo-biography album with a hand written note in it. He picked up the note and read it aloud:

 “Your loving thoughts have transformed into a beautiful life. This book will help you to keep invaluable images of the cherishable moments of the little loved one in your life. This will help you to make your dreams come true.

With love and regards,

Chatur”

The young couple was moved by their friend’s beautiful gift. They thanked him for it and promised to keep photographs of their daughter in it. Chatur simply smiled at their reaction to the gift and replied, “I am glad for both of you. You never know when your dreams may really come true as long as you believe in them.” After lunch, Chatur took leave of his friends and gifted them with yet another beautifully gift wrapped gift box and asked them to open it only the day both of them felt truly happy.

Days passed into weeks, weeks passed into months and months passed into years. A day arrived when what both Vinay and Sangita had thought to be impossible happened. Vinay and Sangita were blessed with a baby boy and it was the happiest day of their life. When Vinay returned home from the hospital, the first thing he did was to open the gift box Chaturbhuj had gifted them during his last visit. When he opened the box, he found a crystal vase and a digital photo frame along with a hand written note:

“Life is in hope. Hope is in love. Please do not place cut flowers in the vase, but a little indoor plant that can house and live happily in it. Now that your family is complete, you can always show the images of your happiness in the form of moving photographs in the photo frame.

With love and regards,

Chatur”

After a few days, Vinay and Sangita got the message that Chaturbhuj was on official visit to one of the warring nations in the Gulf region and had fallen prey to the bullets of the blazing guns in the war field. The couple decided to name their son after their friend, “Chaturbhuj”.