Tum Akele Yeh Sab Kaise Kar Leti ho?

Tum akele yeh sab kaise kar leti ho?

- Yeh sawaal mujhe kahin logon nay poocha..

Zindagi ke saare faisley unhone akele kiye

Jaane anjaane mein maine unka saath diya

Saathi the woh mere, aur mere humdum

Unpar bharosa tha mujhe, kudh se zyada

Kabhi nahi unse ki koi shikayath

Na hui mai unse kabhi ruswa

Patni ka har woh dharm nibhaya

Na kiya koi sawal

Pyaar kay dhaage se seencha aangan mera

Har mushkilon ka kiya samna, muskurakar

Chod diya unhone achanak mera haath..bas yunhi..

Khadi reh gayi mai akele..bas yunhi..

Pehle kuch din mai sehem si gayi thi

Phir apne toote tukdon ko ek ek karke chun liya

Jin tukdon ki aage zaroorat na thi

Unhe wahin pichey chod diya

Bikhray huay jeevan ko phir se samet liya

Kitaab ke panno ko, likhkar bhar raahi thi mai

Bharey hue kitaab kay panno ko, Jab palat kar dekha, 

Tabh ehsaas hua - Pichey toh woh kab kay chod gaye the mujhe

Mai chal rahi thi shayad kisi parchayi ke saath

Parchayi jisey hum ummeedh kehthe hai

Ummeedh kay saharey kahin saal beeth gaye

Ummeedh nay, Sacchayi par parda daal diya tha

Baabul kay ghar ki chiraiya thi mai

Udna meri fithrath thi

Pinjray mai rehkar bhool gayi thi udna mai

Pinjra khultay he, maine pankh faila diya

Chidiya udna boolthi kahan hai, yeh ehsaas hua

Udaan bhar li hai maine

Ab rukhna na mumkin hai

Chidiya jis daal par baithi hai

Usse uss daal par nahi,

Balki uske pankhon par bharosa hota hai

Cheezein toh mai pehle bhi kar leti thi

Par unmein uthsah na tha

Ab jab koi saathi aur humdum na raha

Kudh ke liye kuch karne ka junoon aa basaa

Ab jaise jeevan ko mili hai nayi disha

I used to love writing poems. And after sixteen years… here I am, writing one again.

It’s in Hindi—my emotional language—but written in English,
so that friends around the world who can’t read the Hindi script but understand Hindi
can still feel every word I’ve poured into it.

This isn’t just a poem.
It’s a piece of me, rediscovering what I had tucked away for too long.
It’s about resilience, and finding strength, not in what holds us up from the outside,
but in the wings, we grow quietly, bravely, within.

Neeta Devadiga