मैं साँझ लिखूँ, तुम उसे एक एहसास समझ लेना, मेरी खामोशी को भी दिल की आवाज़ समझ लेना। हर बात लफ़्ज़ों से कहना ज़रूरी तो नहीं होता, मेरी आँखों में छुपी हर बात को अंदाज़ समझ लेना।
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जो दूर रहकर भी दिल के करीब रहते हैं, उन रिश्तों को तुम एक खूबसूरत राज़ समझ लेना। कभी मौसम बदलें, कभी रास्ते बदल जाएँ, पर जो दिल में बसे रहें, उन्हें अपना आज समझ लेना।
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मैं चाँद लिखूँ, तुम उसे कोई अधूरी कहानी समझ लेना, मेरी हर दुआ में छुपी तुम्हारी निशानी समझ लेना। वक़्त की धूल से कुछ यादें धुंधली हो जाएँ अगर, दिल में बची मुस्कान को मेरी सौगात समझ लेना।
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Unspoken Feelings 🌙✨
I write of twilight, you understand it as a feeling, I write of my silence, you hear the voice of my heart. Not every emotion needs to be expressed in words, Understand the stories hidden in my eyes through their quiet expressions.
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Those who remain close to the heart even from afar, Let those bonds be cherished as a beautiful secret. Seasons may change, and paths may turn different, But those who live in the heart remain a part of our today.
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I write of the moon, you see it as an unfinished story, I write of my prayers, you find your presence hidden within them. If time ever covers some memories with dust, Hold on to the smile left behind as my precious gift. ❤️
“Which author would you love to have dinner with?”
Arre… ek? 😳
If I could choose the authors I would love to have dinner with, I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin.
This question is clearly underestimating my literary appetite.
My mind says, “Be sensible. Pick one.” My heart says, “Excuse me? Why are we choosing when we can invite everyone?” 🤭
Chetan Bhagat, Gulzar sahab, Ruskin Bond, Manav Kaul… I had barely started making a shortlist when my heart quietly cancelled the shortlist.
Because honestly, how do I choose between words that made me laugh, cry, think, remember, heal, or simply stare at the ceiling for ten minutes?
So I have a better plan.
I want a dinner with all the writers I have discovered through WordPress.
Yes, all of them.
And no, a normal dinner table won’t do.
We may need a banquet hall.
Actually… knowing writers, we may need a bigger venue. 😄
Authors I Would Love to Have Dinner With
I can already imagine the evening.
Someone will recite a shayari that will make everyone suddenly very quiet.
Someone will start singing an old Bollywood song, and within five minutes we will all be transported to another era.
Someone will tell a quirky story and have the entire table laughing.
Someone will read a soft little poem that quietly finds its way into our hearts.
Someone will tell us a story from their life, and we’ll forget that we had actually come there to eat.
Someone will take us back to another time with such vivid words that we’ll almost forget which century we’re sitting in.
Someone will speak about faith and spirituality, and for a few peaceful minutes, even our overthinking minds might decide to take a break.
And someone, I am sure, will say something so profound that I’ll spend the next three days thinking about it while doing absolutely unrelated household chores. 🤭
That’s what I love about writers.
They don’t just write stories.
They leave little pieces of themselves in our hearts.
Sometimes a sentence stays.
Sometimes a character stays.
Sometimes a poem appears in our mind at the most unexpected moment.
And sometimes, without even knowing us, a writer says something we desperately needed to hear.
And perhaps that’s why choosing the authors I would love to have dinner with feels almost impossible.
So if I ever get the chance…
I don’t want a fancy restaurant.
I don’t need a celebrity chef.
Give me a long table, good food, endless coffee, a little music, and a sky full of stars.
I want to sit under that starry canopy with the writers whose words have left a mark on my heart.
Let them talk.
Let them laugh.
Let them read.
Let them sing.
Let them tell us their stories.
I’ll probably spend most of the evening listening, smiling, and wondering how incredibly lucky I am to be sitting among so many beautiful minds.
And perhaps, somewhere between dessert and the last cup of coffee, I’ll quietly think—
“These are the people who once lived only in words on my screen… and tonight, they are sitting right here.”
So, which author would I love to have dinner with?
I refuse to choose.
My heart has already booked the whole mehfil.
Now I just need to find a banquet hall big enough.
And maybe a table with a little extra space for all the feelings. ❤️
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P.S. I haven’t named a single one of you… but yes, I had every one of you in mind while writing this. 🤭 So if you recognise yourself somewhere between the shayari, stories, songs, poems, wisdom and all those little “someone will…” moments… just smile. I’ll pretend I didn’t see you. 😉🦋❤️
May you always find a little magic between the words. ✨
My Top 10 Travel Destinations Aren’t All Marked on a Map
Not every journey begins with a boarding pass, and not every destination can be found on a map.
Some places live only in memory, yet they keep calling us back.
I want to travel to the house where I grew up—
where every wall knew my laughter, every corner hid a childhood adventure, and every evening arrived with the promise of one more game before sunset.
I want to return to my grandmother’s kitchen,
where recipes were whispered, not written, and love always arrived on a warm plate before words did.
I want to lose myself in a little bookstore,
where hours slipped quietly between the pages, and the only deadline was the last chapter.
I want to visit the monsoon afternoons of childhood,
when paper boats believed they could cross oceans, and getting drenched was never considered a mistake.
I want to find the terrace beneath a sky full of stars,
where electricity cuts felt less like an inconvenience and more like an invitation to count constellations that we never really knew the names of.
I want to walk again through the narrow lanes
where every neighbour knew my name, every festival belonged to everyone, and every door felt a little like home.
I want to sit once more beneath the old tree
that heard my secrets, celebrated my victories, and patiently watched my impossible dreams grow taller than its branches.
I want to spend one more carefree summer,
where mangoes stained our hands, icy treats coloured our tongues, and happiness cost less than a handful of coins.
I want to stand beside the sea,
not to watch the waves, but to watch myself forget the urge to check the time.
And above all,
I want to meet the version of myself 🦋 I left behind somewhere—
the one who laughed without worrying who was watching, trusted without hesitation, dreamed without calculating, and believed that tomorrow would always wait.
Perhaps the greatest destinations are not countries or cities.
They are forgotten afternoons, unfinished conversations, the fragrance of home, the warmth of familiar hands, and the pieces of ourselves we spend a lifetime trying to find again.
Because the most unforgettable journeys don’t always require a passport.
Sometimes, they simply ask us to close our eyes… and remember.🦋✨
और हम सब, एक-दूसरे की राहों में बस यूँ ही नहीं आते।
कोई मिलता है तो हमारे अंदर बंद पड़ी किसी खिड़की को खोल देता है।
कोई चला जाता है, और जाते-जाते हमें हमारी ही ताक़त से मिलवा जाता है।
कुछ लोग मुट्ठी भर वक़्त लेकर आते हैं, मगर यादों की उम्र पूरी ज़िंदगी जितनी दे जाते हैं।
कुछ लोग हर सुबह की तरह होते हैं— चुपचाप आते हैं, और बिना कुछ कहे जीने की वजह बन जाते हैं।
शायद इसलिए अब मैं किसी से मिलने को इत्तफ़ाक़ नहीं मानती।
क्योंकि किस्मत रिश्ते नहीं भेजता, वह सबक भेजता है… मरहम भेजता है… आईना भेजता है… और कभी-कभी, अपना कोई अंश भेज देता है।
इसलिए, जो ठहर गए, उनका शुक्रिया।
जो बिछड़ गए, उनका भी…
क्योंकि हर मुसाफ़िर अपनी मंज़िल से पहले, किसी और की कहानी में एक वजह बनकर ही आता है।
Every Soul Leaves Something Behind
Life is a long journey…
And perhaps none of us crosses another’s path by accident.
Some people arrive only to open a window within us that we never knew had been closed.
Some leave, yet in their leaving, they introduce us to a strength we never knew we had.
There are those who stay for only a handful of moments, yet leave behind memories that outlive years.
And then there are those who are like the morning light— they quietly become a part of our days, asking for nothing, yet giving us countless reasons to keep going.
Maybe that’s why I no longer believe that meeting someone is mere coincidence.
Because fate doesn’t just send people.
It sends lessons. It sends healing. It sends mirrors that help us see ourselves more clearly.
And every once in a while, it sends someone who quietly changes the way we see life.
So, to those who stayed… thank you.
And to those who had to leave… thank you, too.
Because every traveller becomes a part of someone else’s story before continuing on their own journey.
And perhaps, that was the reason they were meant to cross our path.
If you had to be an animal for a week, which one would you be and why?
If I Had to Be an Animal for a Week…
A butterfly 🦋
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Not because she’s beautiful.
But because she has absolutely no idea that she is.
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She doesn’t fly past flowers thinking, “Good morning, everyone. Kindly admire my wings.”
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No.
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She simply wanders from bloom to bloom, living her tiny, colorful life without checking mirrors, without counting likes, without asking, “Do these wings make me look fat?”
(Imagine if butterflies had social media. “Just hatched. No filter.” 🦋)
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The funny part?
Nobody applauds the caterpillar.
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Let’s be honest.
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If a caterpillar applied for a beauty pageant, even the leaves would politely excuse themselves.
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But then comes the quiet miracle.
The waiting.
The breaking.
The transformation.
And suddenly… the same little creature that once crawled begins to fly.
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Gold becomes pure only after enduring fire.
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A butterfly becomes beautiful only after surviving its cocoon.
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Maybe we are not so different.
Most of us never realize how much we’ve grown.
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We keep showing up.
We keep loving.
We keep healing.
We keep surviving.
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We rarely notice the strength we’ve earned or the beauty that quietly settled into our souls.
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Someone else sees it long before we do.
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So today, this little butterfly is for everyone who still thinks they are “just a caterpillar.”
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your transformation is already happening.
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You don’t have to rush it.
You don’t even have to see your own wings yet.
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Just keep becoming.
One day you’ll look back and realize…
It was never the wings that made you beautiful.
It was everything you survived before you learned to fly.
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🦋 Before the Butterfly Flew…
So perhaps the butterfly’s greatest lesson is this:
लबों पर मुस्कान सजा ली, आँखों को ख़ामोश रहने दिया, हर दर्द को लफ़्ज़ न मिले… कुछ ज़ख्मों को बस जीने दिया।
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जो बिखरा था, उसे समेटने में कई मौसम गुज़र गए, अब ख़ुद से मिलने लगे हैं… तो लोग कहते हैं, बदल गए।
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अब कोई ग़म दस्तक भी दे, तो मुस्कुराकर दर खोलते हैं, कुछ दर्द मेहमान नहीं होते… उम्रभर साथ ही चलते हैं।
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चेहरे पर जो सुकून दिखता है, वो यूँ ही नहीं आया है, बहुत कुछ ख़ामोशी से खोया है… तब जाकर ख़ुद को पाया है।
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अब आँसू कम और दुआएँ ज़्यादा निकलती हैं, शायद टूटे हुए दिल ही… सबसे ख़ूबसूरत दुआ करते हैं।
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मुस्कुराना अब आदत नहीं, रूह की तहज़ीब बन गया है, जो दर्द कभी मेरी पहचान था… आज वही मेरा नसीब नहीं, मेरा सबक़ बन गया है।
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I taught my lips to smile,So my eyes wouldn’t have to explain.Not every wound asks for a voice…Some are meant to be carried in silence.
It took a lifetime of quiet stormsTo gather the pieces of who I was.Now that I’ve found my way back to myself,The world simply calls it change.
Grief still visits from time to time,But it no longer feels like a stranger.Some sorrows never leave your heart…They simply learn to breathe more gently.
If you see peace upon my face,Know that it wasn’t gifted to me.It was stitched togetherFrom every goodbye I survived in silence.
My eyes have forgotten how to plead,My heart has remembered how to pray.Perhaps only those who have been brokenLearn to bless without asking for anything in return.
A smile is no longer an expression I wear.It is the grace I chose over bitterness.The pain that once wrote my storyNow merely turns its pages.
Because healing isn’t the absence of pain… It’s the quiet courage to carry it beautifully. 🤍
ज़रूरी था तस्वीर लेना भी, आईना तो बस आज दिखाता है, कल की हँसी, बीते लम्हे, कहाँ कोई आईना बचा पाता है।
चेहरे की रंगत बदल जाती है, मौसम अपना असर दिखाते हैं, पर तस्वीरों में कैद वो पल, सालों बाद भी मुस्कुराते हैं।
जो साथ थे, जो दूर हुए, जो बातें अधूरी रह गईं, एक तस्वीर चुपचाप मगर, सब यादें फिर से कह गईं।
आईना सच तो दिखाता है, पर सिर्फ़ इस पल का फ़साना, तस्वीरें वक़्त की किताब हैं, जिनमें छुपा है पूरा ज़माना।
इसलिए कुछ लम्हों को रोक लेना, वक़्त की रफ़्तार से पहले, क्योंकि यादें वक़्त की धूल में कहीं खो जाती हैं, मगर तस्वीरें ख़ामोश रहकर भी बहुत कुछ कह जाती हैं। ✨📸