“Maa ke Baad Reh Gaya Sirf Khamoshi ka Ghar” / “After Mother, Only Silence Remains”:

Maa chali jaaye toh zindagi chalti rehti hai… par dil kabhi aage nahi badhta.

After a mother is gone… life continues, but the heart never finds its way home again.

-Zulfikar Inamdar

Maa ke Baad Reh Gaya Sirf Khamoshi ka Ghar:

Arz kiya hai ke…

Maa ke bina ghar mein rakhi hui koi cheez nahi milti…
Jaise har cheez ne apna raasta uske saath hi chhod diya ho…
Almari kholun toh kapde mil jaate hain,
Par unmein se woh khushboo nahi milti… jo maa ke haath se aati thi…

Kabhi jo bina pooche sab kuch mil jaata tha,
Aaj har chhoti si cheez ke liye ghar chhaan maar deta hoon…
Magar na cheez milti hai… na sukoon…
Sirf thakan milti hai… aur aankhon mein nami reh jaati hai…

Woh awaaz…
Jo har dafa kehti thi —
“Yahan rakha hai beta, dekh zara…”
Aaj woh awaaz sirf yaadon mein aati hai…
Aur main us awaaz ko pakadne ki koshish karta hoon…
Jaise koi toot ta sitara haath mein samet raha ho…

Ghar ka har kona aaj bhi waise hi hai…
Deewarein bhi wahi hain… darwaaze bhi wahi hain…
Magar phir bhi lagta hai ke sab kuch badal gaya hai…
Jaise ghar ne apni rooh kho di ho…

Rasoi mein jaata hoon toh bartan chup hain…
Chulha thanda hai…
Aur main sochta hoon…
Woh haath kahan gaye jo roti ke saath dua bhi sekte the…
Ab khaana sirf zinda rakhta hai…
Jeene ka ehsaas nahi deta…

Kabhi thak kar ghar aata tha…
Toh maa ke ek “aa gaya beta?” mein
Saari thakan utar jaati thi…
Aaj poora din beet jaata hai…
Koi poochne wala nahi hota…
Aur thakan sirf jism mein nahi… rooh mein bas jaati hai…

Aur hum…
Hum kitne nadan the na…
Sochte the sukoon paison mein hai…
Safalta mein hai… duniya ki taareef mein hai…
Magar ab samajh aaya…
Sukoon toh us waqt tha jab maa ke paas baith jaate the…
Bina kuch kahe… bina kuch maange…
Sirf uski maujoodgi hi kaafi hoti thi…

Aaj jab dard had se badh jaata hai…
Toh bas ek hi naam zubaan par aata hai — “Maa…”
Magar jawab mein sirf khamoshi milti hai…
Aur woh khamoshi itni tez hoti hai…
Ke dil ke andar tak cheer deti hai…

Raat ke andhere mein jab sab so jaate hain…
Main aksar uth kar baith jaata hoon…
Aur sochta hoon…
Kya sach mein woh chali gayi…?
Ya bas kisi kone mein chup kar mujhe dekh rahi hai…

Phir yaad aata hai…
Qabr ki mitti thandi hoti hai…
Aur us mitti ke neeche meri poori duniya so rahi hai…

Maa chali jaaye toh samajh aata hai…
Ke zindagi kitni tanha ho sakti hai…
Logon ke beech reh kar bhi insaan kitna akela ho sakta hai…

Ab ghar aata hoon toh darwaza khud hi kholta hoon…
Aur andar aake mehsoos hota hai…
Jaise main kisi aur ke ghar mein aa gaya hoon…
Apna hi ghar… ajnabi lagne lagta hai…

Aur sabse zyada dard tab hota hai…
Jab khushi ka koi pal aata hai…
Aur dil kehta hai — “Maa ko batata hoon…”
Phir yaad aata hai…
Batane ke liye ab koi maa nahi hai…

Bas yahi sach hai…
Maa ke jaane ke baad…
Insaan jeeta toh hai…
Magar poora kabhi nahi rehta…

___________________________________

English Version:

After Mother, Only Silence Remains:

A request is:….

Nothing in the house can be found anymore…
As if every object forgot its place the day she left.

The cupboard still holds the same clothes,
But her warmth… her scent… is gone forever.

Once, I never had to search for anything,
She was my answer before I even had a question.
Now I walk from room to room,
Holding emptiness in my hands… and heaviness in my chest.

Her voice…
That gentle, loving call —
“It’s right here, son…”
Now echoes only inside my memories,
And every echo breaks something inside me… quietly.

The house is still standing…
The walls haven’t moved, the doors are the same,
But the soul of this place has disappeared.

I step into the kitchen sometimes…
Everything is there — utensils, stove, food…
But the hands that mixed love into every meal… are gone.
Now food fills my stomach…
But leaves my soul starving.

There was a time…
When one simple question from her —
“Have you eaten?”
Could heal an entire day of pain.

Now days pass…
No one asks, no one notices…
And the tiredness doesn’t stay in the body anymore…
It sinks deep into the soul.

And we…
We are such foolish people…
Searching for peace in money, in people, in the noise of the world…
Not realizing…
Peace once lived quietly in her prayers…
In her presence… in her dua.

Sometimes the pain becomes unbearable…
And without thinking, my lips whisper — “Maa…”
But the silence that answers back…
Feels louder than any scream I’ve ever heard.

At night, when the world falls asleep…
I sit alone and wonder…
Is she really gone?
Or is she somewhere close… watching me break…

Then reality hits like a storm…
The cold soil of her grave holds my entire world now…

When a mother leaves…
It’s not just a person who goes away…
It’s an entire universe that collapses silently.

Now I return home…
Open the door myself…
And step into a place that once was mine…
But now feels like a stranger’s house.

And the deepest pain…
Is when something good happens…
And your first instinct is — “I should tell my mother…”
But then it hits you…
There is no one left to tell.

This is the truth…
After a mother is gone…
You don’t stop living…
But you never truly feel alive again.