एक पूरानी कविता

है चाह बस इतनी की हर सर ऊँचा रहे, 
आग सिर्फ दिए में हो, महफूज़ हर कूँचा रहे;
रहे हिफाज़त से हर ज़िन्दगी,
घर की माँ-बेटी-बहु;
रोटी और ज्यादा सस्ती हो
और महँगा हो इन्सान का लहू.

ज़ात पूछे बिना खाना खिलाया जाए

धर्म जाने बिना साथ बैठाया जाए

रंग और जन्म का फर्क हटा दें

लायक को ही नायक बनाया जाए

ज़िन्दगी बेशकीमती सिर्फ किताबों में न रहे

ज़ालिम आकाओंकी पनाहों में न रहे

मजलूम, मजबूर न हो खूँ पीनेको सितमगरका

सुकूनो इज़्ज़त से मैं भी रहूं

रोटी और ज्यादा सस्ती हो
और हो सके उतना महँगा हो इन्सान का लहू

It was 2001 and I was in my final year of B.Sc.

I had always been inclined towards theatres and plays & there was an opportunity to perform in our college. I don't really remember whether it was a youth-festival or some other program but I do remember that I had written this play. The play was about a mental asylum that portrayed the civil society and it's complexity.

Play had various characters like politicians, police, municipal workers, doctor, teacher and other members of a civil society. However, the play revolved around a common man - the man who kept quite through all the turmoil and troubles. The man who never uttered a word of protest.

Most of the characters were mental patients whose antics generated lots of humour and chaos on stage. The play was a comedy with an attempt to convey serious message.

Poem given below was the end of the play and only dialogs from THE COMMON MAN.

I hope you like it - I do and I believe I have never been so precise in my writing ever.