Another poem by Agyeya

I felt like posting something more on the poetry of Agyeya. The poem whose excerpt I am posting below can be read as the poet's affirmation of the relative and subjective nature of truth, as well as the belief that the only real personal truth is that distilled through one's own experiences and introspection. Interestingly, similar themes of trying to discover "truth" pervade many of his poems, providing a glimpse of his own view of his personal search for a unique poetic vision.

Here is the excerpt (the boldface emphasis is mine):

खोज में जब निकल ही आया
सत्य तो बहुत मिले।
.........
.........
सब सत्य रहे - कहे, अनकहे।
खोज में जब निकल ही आया
सत्य तो बहुत मिले।

पर तुम -
नभ के तुम कि गुहा-गह्वर के तुम, मोम के तुम, पत्थर के तुम -
तुम किसी देवता से नहीं निकले:
तुम मेरे साथ मेरे ही आँसू में गले, मेरे ही रक्त पर पले
अनुभव के दाह पर क्षण-क्षण उकसती
मेरी अशमित चिता पर तुम मेरे ही साथ जले।
तुम -
तुम्हे तो भस्म हो मैंने फिर अपनी भभूत में पाया।
अंग रमाया।
- तभी पाया।

खोज में जब निकल ही आया
सत्य तो बहुत मिले - एक ही पाया।

Meta-fiction in Hindi

I was musing about instances of meta-fiction in Hindi, and decided to jot down a few that might occur to me.

• A major one that comes to mind is Dharamvir Bharati's novella Suraj ka Saatva Ghoda (The Seventh Steed of the Sun). One of the most unforgettable sentences in the novella was the rather tongue-in-cheek definition of a story as a progression from nothingness through a beginning, middle, and end, to the waste-paper basket. Moreover, this work is an interesting study in the relationship between narrative, narrator, and reader. I read it a long time ago (and saw the movie based on it even earlier), and so am currently not in a position to write a detailed exposition. Will do so when I have had a chance to re-read it.
• Some of Agyeya's poems deal with themes related to the creation and interpretation of literature, e.g., Naya Kavi: Aatma-sweekar and Shabda aur Satya.

At the moment these are the instances that occur to me. Will update when I am able to think of more.

Svavalamba ki ek jhalak par...

Many a schoolkid in India has read the passage Panchavati mein Lakshaman by Maithili Sharan Gupt in a Hindi text-book. I was one of them.

It is a passage of great lyrical beauty (the phrase Charu-chandra ki chanchal kirane is one of the classic oft-quoted examples of anupraas or alliteration) describing Lakshaman's thoughts while keeping midnight vigil in Panchavati. While there are many lines in this passage that made quite an impression due to the sheer elegance of expression, there is one in particular that I have recalled time and again:

Lakshaman thinks of Sita doing gardening and tending to her plants herself:

तब पाती हैं कितना सुख, कितना आनंद, कितना संतोष,
स्वावलम्ब की एक झलक पर न्यौछावर कुबेर का कोष

Tab paati hain kitna sukh, kitna anand, kitna santosh,
Svavalamba ki ek jhalak par nyochavar Kuber ka kosh

Despite the simplicity of expression here, it captures completely the thrill and sense of satisfaction that comes of doing something oneself, even though it might have been more convenient otherwise.

I guess therein lies the mark of great poetry: in the ability to express in a succinct line or phrase a universal sentiment...

Kicking off this blog...

The inspiration for this blog comes from my observation that information about Hindi literature on the web is fairly limited. This blog is my attempt at trying to augment that in some small way.

Let me start off with a quote from Agyeya:

"यह नहीं की मैंने सत्य नहीं पाया था
यह नहीं की मुझको शब्द अचानक कभी-कभी मिलता है:
दोनो जब-तब सम्मुख आते ही रहते हैं.
प्रश्न यही रहता है:
दोनो जो अपने बीच एक दीवार बनाए रहते हैं
मैं कब, कैसे, उनके अनदेखे
उसमें सेंध लगा दूं...."

"Yaha nahin ki maine satya nahin paaya tha
Yaha nahin ki mujhko shabda achaanak kabhi-kabhi milta hai:
Dono jab-tab sammukh aate hi rahte hain.
Prashna yahi rahta hai:
Dono jo apne beech ek deevar banaye rahte hain
Main kab, kaise, unke andekhe
usmein sendh laga doon...."

I have also made some other information about Agyeya available at:

http://www.crhc.uiuc.edu/~vbhandar/personal/agyeya.html