I'll steer clear of words like 'love', 'adore', 'admire', 'absolutely crazy about'. I am neither a fanatic nor an authority on it. I just read poetry and occasionally run into words that could have been put together only by some occult literary magic and nothing less.
I owe 'Kadamb ka ped', 'Basanti hava' and 'Krishna ki chetawani' to the humble NCERT books. Members of my typical Hindi-speaking, CBSE-boarding, Uttar-Pradesh-hailing family, often broke into renditions of boistrously rhythmic and fiercely chaste Hindi poems. All it took was a power cut, my naniji's courtyard and post-dinner idling for someone to proclaim -
"Sinhasan hil uthey raajvanshon ney bhrikuti tani thi,
Boodhay Bharat mein aayee phir se nayi jawani thi
Gumee huee azadi ki keemat sabney pehchani thi
Door phirangi ko karney ki sab ney man mein thani thi
Chamak uthi san sattavan mein woh talwar purani thi
Bundeley Harbolon key munh hamney suni kahani thi
Khoob ladi mardani woh to Jhansi wali Rani thi..."
The ones more inclined to situational drama would quote when the occasion demanded -
"Woh khoon kaho kis matlab ka, jisme ubaal ka naam nahi,
Woh khoon kaho kis matlab ka, aa sake desh ke kaam nahi,
Woh khoon kaho kis matlab ka, jisme jeevan na ravaani hai.
Jo parvash ho kar behtaa hai, woh khoon nahi woh paani hai!"
Untill I had read his name in my Hindi text book, I thought Ramdhari Singh Dinkar was a family friend because everyone was quoting him. After a scuffle with my cousin, I chose to be the bigger person and said I had forgiven him. The 8-year old brat, who I thought was capable of only bullying and mathematics replied-
"Shama shobhti uss bhujang ko, jiske paas garal ho
Uska kya jo dant-heen vish-heen vineet saral ho..."
My Naniji is the only one whose tastes went beyond the CBSE text books, pole vaulting the immediate allure of veer ras and reached out to the elegance of-
"Vardant ki pangati kunj kali, adhara dhara pallava kholan ki
Chapala chamake ghan beech chavi, chavi motin mala amolan ki..."
From the recesses of her infinite memory, Naniji brings out poems like artifacts long forgotten. When she quotes a doha by Kabir, one would think she and Kabir are sharing an inside joke. Infact they are; for more often than not, the person at whom the quip is directed has no clue what it means. Owing to her whole hearted involvement in poetry, Naniji is forbidden from reading the likes of Sudama Charit. This is because by the time she reaches the lines "Dekhi Sudama ki deen dasha, karuna kari ke karunanidhi roye...", she too is weeping; struck either by the meaning or the alliteration in those lines!
Somewhere down the line, I became the pariah in my family; the one to digress not only from Veer Ras, but from Hindi itself. In times when trashy SMS forwards and downmarket orkut updates of the jilted lovers pass off as Urdu poetry, I was trying to quote Zafar and Zauq. Clearly, no one was impressed. In times of instant gratification and adrenaline pumped entertainment, who would sit down to decipher Ghalib? How painful it is to read something as profound as - "Qayamat hai ki hove muddai ka humsafar Ghalib, woh kaafir jo khuda ko bhi na saunpa jaaye hai mujhse" - and not have anyone to share it with?
In the face of such desperation, the only outlet then is to write. I can't write poetry myself. Prose maybe. Poetry not. It is not for the want of trying. Oh sure I tried! With results like "The lion so fierce, it's claws can pierce." Many a poets have turned in their graves when I have put pen to paper and begun to express my deep thoughts in what aspires to be the third cousin of poetry, twice removed. This is then the blogpost of an avid reader of poetry, who has no one to pass it on to and must therefore subject her blog to it.
Reminds me so much of all the lines an anecdotes I heard from you. Remember that long afternoon in AIT when you made me fall in love with Benares? And the cubicle renditions of Ghalib in Infy, where with your able translation I was able to appreciate the beautiful lines I never took the pains to understand!
ReplyDeleteKeep at it - and keep enriching my world! You bring me so much class!!
And fig the boorish facebook types! Say to them what you said on that bench in Infy high on fig and honey ice cream - FIG YOU and FIG YOU!! :D
Aur kaun sunega meri non-stop borrowed poetry. ;)
ReplyDeletegre8 work mam..these r my fav poems....
ReplyDeleteI am adding one more..
मन समर्पित, तन समर्पित
और यह जीवन समर्पित
चाहता हूँ देश की धरती तुझे कुछ और भी दूं
माँ तुम्हारा ॠण बहुत है, मैं अकिंचन
किन्तु इतना कर रहा फिर भी निवेदन
थाल में लाऊँ सजा कर भाल जब भी
कर दया स्वीकार लेना वह समर्पण
गान अर्पित, प्राण अर्पित
रक्त का कण कण समर्पित
चाहता हूँ देश की धरती तुझे कुछ और भी दूं
मांज दो तलवार, लाओ न देरी
बाँध दो कस कर क़मर पर ढाल मेरी
भाल पर मल दो चरण की धूल थोड़ी
शीश पर आशीष की छाया घनेरी
स्वप्न अर्पित, प्रश्न अर्पित
आयु का क्षण क्षण समर्पित
चाहता हूँ देश की धरती तुझे कुछ और भी दूं
तोड़ता हूँ मोह का बन्धन, क्षमा दो
गांव मेरे, द्वार, घर, आंगन क्षमा दो
आज सीधे हाथ में तलवार दे दो
और बायें हाथ में ध्वज को थमा दो
यह सुमन लो, यह चमन लो
नीड़ का त्रण त्रण समर्पित
चाहता हूँ देश की धरती तुझे कुछ और भी दूं
Soul is yours, body is yours
And my whole life is yours
Motherland, I want to give you something more
Mother my debt to you is great, I'm tiny
Even so, here's my humble request
When I bring my sacrificial head
Please do accept the modest bequest
Songs are yours, spirit is yours
Every drop of my blood is yours
Motherland, I want to give you something more
Whet the machete, don't delay
Tie the shield securely to my belt
Your blessings be my armor, and
On forehead, some dust from your feet
Dreams are yours, questions are yours
Every breath of my existence is yours
Motherland, I want to give you something more
Breaking the bonds of love, and I beg pardon
Village, home, farm of mine, I beg pardon
Today, just give me a sword in the right
And in my left give me the banner emblem
Take this flower, take this garden
Every twig of my nest is yours
Motherland, I want to give you something more
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI was searching for the whole sudama-krishna poetry and reached here.
There are few lines from a poetry that my dad once told me. He doesn't remember the name of the poetry and i too have not been able to find it anywhere, but i never forgot those lines. Thought of posting them here-
"Lupt hote hue deshprem ke upar"
Poocho siktakan se himpati tera wah rajasthan kahan-
Van-van swatantrata deep liye phirne wala balwaan kaha-
Tu pooch avadh se Ram kahan, Vrinda bolo Ghansham kahan-
Aye magadh! kaha tera ashok, wah chandragupt baldham kahan.