Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah nu.......................... A beautiful poem by Amrita Pritam on Partition

Continuing with sharing my favourite Punjabi poems on this blog, today I am sharing an epic poem which gives me goose-bumps each time I hear or read it.
It is written by Award winning writer Amrita Pritam. In this poem, Amrita talks about the scene of Indo-Pak partition in 1947.


ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ, ਕਿਤੋਂ ਕਬਰਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਬੋਲ।
ਤੇ ਅੱਜ ਕਿਤਾਬੇ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦਾ, ਕੋਈ ਅਗਲਾ ਵਰਕਾ ਫੋਲ।
ਇਕ ਰੋਈ ਸੀ ਧੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ, ਤੂੰ ਲਿਖ ਲਿਖ ਮਾਰੇ ਵੈਣ।
ਅੱਜ ਲੱਖਾਂ ਧੀਆਂ ਰੋਂਦੀਆਂ, ਤੈਨੂੰ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ ਕਹਿਣ।
ਵੇ ਦਰਦਮੰਦਾਂ ਦਿਆ ਦਰਦੀਆ, ਉੱਠ ਤੱਕ ਆਪਣਾ ਪੰਜਾਬ।
ਅੱਜ ਬੇਲੇ ਲਾਸ਼ਾਂ ਵਿੱਛੀਆਂ, ਤੇ ਲਹੂ ਦੀ ਭਰੀ ਚਨਾਬ।
ਕਿਸੇ ਨੇ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਪਾਣੀਆਂ ਵਿਚ, ਦਿੱਤੀ ਜ਼ਹਿਰ ਮਿਲਾ।
ਤੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਪਾਣੀਆਂ ਧਰਤ ਨੂੰ, ਦਿੱਤਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਲਾ।
ਇਸ ਜ਼ਰਖ਼ੇਜ਼ ਜ਼ਮੀਨ ਦੇ, ਲੂੰ ਲੂੰ ਫੁੱਟਿਆ ਜ਼ਹਿਰ।
ਗਿੱਠ ਗਿੱਠ ਚੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਲਾਲੀਆਂ, ਫੁੱਟ ਫੁੱਟ ਚੜ੍ਹਿਆ ਕਹਿਰ।
ਵਿਹੁ ਵਲਿੱਸੀ ਵਾ ਫਿਰ, ਵਣ ਵਣ ਵੱਗੀ ਜਾ।
ਉਹਨੇ ਹਰ ਇਕ ਬਾਂਸ ਦੀ ਵੰਝਲੀ, ਦਿੱਤੀ ਨਾਗ ਬਣਾ।
ਪਹਿਲਾ ਡੰਗ ਮਦਾਰੀਆਂ, ਮੰਤਰ ਗਏ ਗੁਆਚ।
ਦੂਜੇ ਡੰਗ ਦੀ ਲੱਗ ਗਈ, ਜਣੇ ਖਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਲਾਗ।
ਲਾਗਾਂ ਕੀਲੇ ਲੋਕ ਮੂੰਹ, ਬਸ ਫਿਰ ਡੰਗ ਹੀ ਡੰਗ।
ਪਲੋ ਪਲੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ, ਨੀਲੇ ਪੈ ਗਏ ਅੰਗ।
ਗਲਿਓਂ ਟੁੱਟੇ ਗੀਤ ਫਿਰ, ਤ੍ਰਕਲਿਉਂ ਟੁੱਟੀ ਤੰਦ।
ਤ੍ਰਿਜੰਣੋਂ ਟੁੱਟੀਆਂ ਸਹੇਲੀਆਂ, ਚਰੱਖੜੇ ਘੂਕਰ ਬੰਦ।
ਸਣੇ ਸੇਜ ਦੇ ਬੇੜੀਆਂ, ਲੁੱਡਣ ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ ਰੋੜ।
ਸਣੇ ਡਾਲੀਆਂ ਪੀਂਘ ਅੱਜ, ਪਿੱਪਲਾਂ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਤੋੜ।
ਜਿਥੇ ਵਜਦੀ ਫੂਕ ਪਿਆਰ ਦੀ,ਉਹ ਵੰਝਲੀ ਗਈ ਗੁਆਚ।
ਰਾਂਝੇ ਦੇ ਸਭ ਵੀਰ ਅੱਜ, ਭੁੱਲ ਗਏ ਉਸਦੀ ਜਾਚ।
ਧਰਤੀ 'ਤੇ ਲਹੂ ਵੱਸਿਆ, ਕਬਰਾਂ ਪਈਆਂ ਚੋਣ।
ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਹਿਜ਼ਾਦੀਆਂ, ਅੱਜ ਵਿਚ ਮਜ਼ਾਰਾਂ ਰੋਣ।
ਅੱਜ ਸਭੇ ਕੈਦੋਂ ਬਣ ਗਏ, ਹੁਸਨ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦੇ ਚੋਰ।
ਅੱਜ ਕਿਥੋਂ ਲਿਆਈਏ ਲੱਭ ਕੇ, ਵਾਰਿਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਇਕ ਹੋਰ।
ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ, ਕਿਤੋਂ ਕਬਰਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਬੋਲ।
ਤੇ ਅੱਜ ਕਿਤਾਬੇ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦਾ, ਕੋਈ ਅਗਲਾ ਵਰਕਾ ਫੋਲ।

One of my favorite poems: Hanera jarega kiwe by Surjit Paatar

kujh kiha taaN hanera jarega kiveiN,
chup riha taaN shamadaan ki kehange.
geet di maut iss raat je ho gayee,
mera jeena mere yaar kinjh sehange.

iss adaalat ch banday birkh ho gaye,
faisle sundiyaN sundiyaN sukk gaye,
aakho ehna nu ujaRhay garhiN jaan hunn,
ih kadoN teek eithey khaRhey rehange….

yaar mere jo iss aas te mar gaye,
ke mein ohna de dukh da banaavaN ga geet,
je mein chup hi riha je mein kujh na kiha
banke roohaN sadda bhatakde rehange…

jo badeshaN ch rulday ne rozi lai,
oh jadoN des partange apnay kadi,
kujh taaN sekkange maaN de sivey di aggan,
baaki kabraN de rukh haiTh jaa behange…

ki ih insaaf haume(false pride) de put karange,
ki ih khaamosh pathar de but karange,
jo saleebaN te tangay ne lathanay nai,
raaj badlange suraj chaRhan lehange….

ih jo rangaN ch chitre ne khur jaange,
ih jo marmar ch ukre ne mit jaange,
balday hathaN ne jehRay hawa vich likhay
haraf oohi hameshaN likhey rehange….

ih vi shayad mera aapna veham hai,
koi deewa jagega meri kabar te,
je hawa ih rahi,kabraN uttay taaN ki,
sabh gharaN ch vi deeway bujhay rehange…

Surjeet Paatar

Few lines from Loona - Shiv Kumar Batalvi's Magnum Opus

Dharmi babul paap kamaaya
Lar laaya mere phul kumlaaya
Jis da Ichhran roop handhaaya
Mein Pooran di maa, Pooran de haan di

Mein us ton ik chumman vaddi
Par mein keekan maa ohdi laggi
Oh meri garbh joon na aaya
Saiye ni main dhee vargi Salvaan di

Pita je dhee da roop handhave
Ta lokan nu laaj na aawe
Je Loona Pooran nu chahve
Chritarheen kahe kyon jeebh jahaan di

Chritarheen te taan koi aakhe
Jekar Loona veche haase
Par je haan na labhan maape
Aap labhan vich ki hai gall apmaan di

Mein Pooran di maa Pooran de haan di.....

If anybody is having full version of Loona in ebook format, please mail a copy to me.

Essential Apps for your Mobile

I am sure you have a mobile phone, don't you? Well, everybody has it coz we cannot live without it anymore. How else can you tweet on the go and Foursquare would look a very stupid idea without a mobile phone. Most of us spend a lot of time pressing those tiny buttons or moving our fingers across that 'touchy' screen. So what do you do on that phone? You surely don't make calls or type texts whole day long! You either surf the internet or use some cool apps for tweeting or productivity or whatever! So here's a list of some apps which help you just do that.

1. Opera Mini

This is by far the best web browser for a mobile phone. Opera Mini 5 has speed dials, supports tabbed browsing and comes with pretty good download manager. It's available for all major mobile OS including Java, Symbian, iOS,
Alternatives: Bolt, Teashark, UCWeb.

2. Twitter

Nowadays, everybody tweets. Its more likely than not, that you use twitter too. While the Twitter mobile site is quite nice but it has some limitations and the biggest one is the inability to add a comment when you retweet somebody's tweet. Well, the Twitter clients come to our rescue. There are many of them (infact, too many!) and you may choose one according to your OS and your style. But my picks are:
Symbian and J2ME: Twibble
Blackberry: Twitter for Blackberry
iOS: TweetDeck

3. IM Client

Most of us use one IM service or the other while some use more than one. For single IM users, their respective IM sites provide them with their mobile clients. Multi-IM users have a choice between numerous IM clients. You may use any one out of Fring, Nimbuzz, Palringo, eBuddy, IM+ etc. But My fav is Fring.

4.File Explorer

To manage files efficiently on your mobile, you can use a file manager. I recommend Y-browser for Symbian and File Explorer for
J2ME phones.

5. Skype

Skype is a very good service to save on your telephone bill. Skype provides apps for Symbian, Blackberry and iPhone.

6. Maps

If you use a Nokia smartphone, you already have Ovi maps installed on your phone. Ovi Maps are the best Maps application with Free voice navigation for your GPS enabled Nokia. For others, Google Maps is quite good.

Bonus Apps:

6. Youtube mobile app:
Watch Youtube videos directly on your phone.

7. Snaptu:
Lovely app with Facebook, Twitter, Techcrunch, Engadget, Weather, Cricinfo, Sudoku, Picasa, Flickr, Blogs and much more.

8. Ebook Reader:
My choice is Mobipocket while you may pick one you like.

9. Battery Opitimizer

10. Thesaurus

FIFA World Cup: The Indian Perspective

FIFA World Cup is here and the whole world is caught in football fever. World's top 32 teams are in South Africa to play for the ultimate glory.

Here in India, we are all exited about it but one thing every Indian is gonna miss, for sure, is an Indian team in the World Cup. It is not unusual though. India has never played in the Football World Cup finals. The biggest reason cited for this has always been the lack of public and corporate support. I too thought that the public support was lacking as seen during most I-league games.

But as the world cup started, India turned into a completely different nation. It seemed as if Football was our National game. My Twitter Timeline was full of World Cup related tweets. Some tweeted how excited they were about the world cup, others tweeted about their favorite teams and yet others about why India wasn't in the World Cup. It was almost forgotten that next day India vs Zimbabwe T20 Cricket series is going to start. All were caught in a Football Frenzy. When the first match Kicked Off, I was even more surprised to see my Mom, Uncle and Auntie, who are Cricket crazy people, sitting with me and asking me about the rules of football and other questions about football. They even watched almost whole of the match, leaving at 9 PM to watch their favorite show 'Desi Girl'.

This all is nothing else but a hint that the much needed public support and passion for football in India is slowly but surely,
increasing.

What next? Well, what is needed now is the very important media support. Indian media only talks football during the world cup. No Indian news channel covers India&'s domestic football league, the I-league. I always have to look for latest I-league results and standings on some British sites. The Indian media can play a huge role by not just increasing public support but also by bringing the corporate support to the game.

If all goes well then, if not for Brazil 2014, we may be able to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. It would be even more special to watch the World Cup with India in it. Until then, lets be satisfied with what we are getting. Enjoy the World Cup!

JAMIE SIDHU