gulab khandelwal selected poems

The world is neither good nor bad,
It is a flute,
On which
You can play any tune of your liking,
Raise any sound of your choice;
But,
The question is,
What melody you want to bring out,
Whether you want to weep or laugh
Or simply murmur something;
What notes you want to produce by your blowings,
And how you have breathed in it;
Whether your blowing has been half-hearted
or full-throated,
Entered the depths of music,
Or raised shallow notes only.
Although everybody plays on the flute
According to his own way,
Few know the correct mode;
If you have picked the right number,
And filled your breath in it
With the fullness of your heart,
The flute will produce the songs, you want,
But if you have not put your soul in it,
Every sound produced,
Will be faint and insignificant.