पलायन

आँखों में कामना और
शरीर में समर्पण लिए मेरा  नवयुव -सौंदर्य
तुम्हारे सहचर्य में  सिहरता है
यह प्रेम है
नाहक है तुम्हारा खारिज़ करना
इस भाव को गंभीरता से और
एक व्यर्थ मानसिक श्रेष्ठता के दम्भ में
सिगरेट के धुएं के छल्ले  बनाने की चेष्टा।

जब जीवन में आये क्षण रोने के
छोटे बच्चे सा रो लेना
श्रद्धांजलि है जीवन को
व्यर्थ है अपने कमरे के अंधेरों में
शराब का घूँट लेते
श्रीमद्भगवद के पंख लगाकर उड़ना।

पवित्र है स्वीकारना जीवन को
इसकी पूरी गरिमा में
असहमत हो यदि, श्रेयष्कर है संघर्ष
परिस्थितियों से जो नहीं रुचते तुम्हे
जय या पराजय, गौरवपूर्ण है
एक नपुंसक चिंतन से, जिसका पाथेय
औरत से घृणा और जीवन से पलायन है।

तुम नकारते हो प्रिय?
मुबारक हो एक स्नेहालिंगन को तरसती,
यह परित्यक्ता जिंदगी;
संबंधों की समस्त संभावनाएं जिन्हें तुमने
"व्यस्त हूँ", कह ठुकरा दिया।


(२ जुलाई , १९९३)

Bhaat De Haramzada

A friend was kind enough to find this poem and translate it. In his own words, "It's not a fully literal translation . I have tried to capture the essence and without too much editing".

Presenting the iconic poem "Bhaat De Haramzada" by Rafik Azad , Bangladesh, composed in 1974
Translation: Arunangshu Paul

I am very hungry , can feel it every moment
in my stomach, along the contours of the body
an overwhelming hunger almost like a drought -
 - the way field of standing crops get burnt down
by the summer heat - it's the same with hunger ,
the body burns ; I need two mouthfuls twice daily .
Have no other demands as others
asking for so many things , everyone wants
houses , cars , money , wealth - some are greedy for fame;
I have a simple wish  , as my innards blaze,
need rice to eat - my outright necessity - be it hot or cold
fine or coarse , or of the  brown ration variety ;
it doesn't matter - I need rice on my earthen plate.
If I get two mouthfuls twice a day , I will give up all demands
no needless greed , even no lust for sex;
I don't want some one draped in clothes below her waist
whoever wants  let them have her ,
give her away whom you want to .
Listen, I don't need anything of that sort
and if , you can't fulfill my simple demand
there will be a total chaos in your state, I say.
nothing is  good or bad for the hungry,  law or order,
whatever I find before me , I will gobble up effortlessly
nothing will remain - will vanish into the hungry jaws ;
if by chance I find you in front of me
it will be a tasty treat to satiate my demonic hunger.
This all encompassing simple hunger for rice
will bring in catastrophe , invited
From creations to the creator , I will devour them all
gradually I will eat up the trees , rivers ,
villages , towns, footpath , overflowing drains
pedestrians on the roads , hip swinging women,
food minister with his waving flag atop his car,
nothing is a waste for me today
You bastard , give me some rice , or else I will eat up the map

ভাত দে হারামজাদা

- রফিক আজাদ---সংকলিত (রফিক আজাদ)


ভীষণ ক্ষুধার্ত আছিঃ উদরে, শরীরবৃত্ত ব্যেপে

অনুভূত হতে থাকে- প্রতিপলে- সর্বগ্রাসী ক্ষুধা

অনাবৃষ্টি- যেমন চৈত্রের শষ্যক্ষেত্রে- জ্বেলে দ্যায়

প্রভুত দাহন- তেমনি ক্ষুধার জ্বালা, জ্বলে দেহ

দু’বেলা দু’মুঠো পেলে মোটে নেই অন্য কোন দাবী

অনেকে অনেক কিছু চেয়ে নিচ্ছে, সকলেই চায়ঃ

বাড়ি, গাড়ি, টাকা কড়ি- কারো বা খ্যাতির লোভ আছে

আমার সামান্য দাবী পুড়ে যাচ্ছে পেটের প্রান্তর-

ভাত চাই- এই চাওয়া সরাসরি- ঠান্ডা বা গরম

সরু বা দারুণ মোটা রেশনের লাল চাল হ’লে

কোনো ক্ষতি নেই- মাটির শানকি ভর্তি ভাত চাইঃ

দু’বেলা দু’মুঠো পেলে ছেড়ে দেবো অন্য-সব দাবী;

অযৌক্তিক লোভ নেই, এমনকি নেই যৌন ক্ষুধা

চাইনিতোঃ নাভি নিম্নে পরা শাড়ি, শাড়ির মালিক;

যে চায় সে নিয়ে যাক- যাকে ইচ্ছা তাকে দিয়ে দাও

জেনে রাখোঃ আমার ওসবের কোনো প্রয়োজন নেই।

যদি না মেটাতে পারো আমার সামান্য এই দাবী

তোমার সমস্ত রাজ্যে দক্ষযজ্ঞ কাণ্ড ঘ’টে যাবে

ক্ষুধার্তের কাছে নেই ইষ্টানিষ্ট, আইন কানুন-

সম্মুখে যা কিছু পাবো খেয়ে যাবো অবলীলাক্রমেঃ

থাকবে না কিছু বাকি- চলে যাবে হা ভাতের গ্রাসে।

যদি বা দৈবাৎ সম্মুখে তোমাকে ধরো পেয়ে যাই-

রাক্ষুসে ক্ষুধার কাছে উপাদেয় উপাচার হবে।

সর্বপরিবেশগ্রাসী হ’লে সামান্য ভাতের ক্ষুধা

ভয়াবহ পরিণতি নিয়ে আসে নিমন্ত্রণ করে।

দৃশ্য থেকে দ্রষ্টা অব্দি ধারাবাহিকতা খেয়ে ফেলে

অবশেষে যথাক্রমে খাবো : গাছপালা, নদী-নালা

গ্রাম-গঞ্জ, ফুটপাত, নর্দমার জলের প্রপাত

চলাচলকারী পথচারী, নিতম্ব প্রধান নারী

উড্ডীন পতাকাসহ খাদ্যমন্ত্রী ও মন্ত্রীর গাড়ী

আমার ক্ষুধার কাছে কিছুই ফেলনা নয় আজ

ভাত দে হারামজাদা,

তা না হলে মানচিত্র খাবো।

Long Live My Dear Country!

I remember reading a Bangladeshi poem, that started like,

"मुझे भात दे हरामज़ादे, वरना मैं तुम्हारा मानचित्र खा जाऊँगा"

The magazine had cited it as evidence of evolving anarchist literature in Bangladesh.  Poet is predicting, perhaps beseeching, a mass scale social unrest, a cataclysmic revolution, that has the potential to disintegrate the nation. Use of a very common expletive can be associated with anger and contempt for the nation that can not feed its people. What's the use then? Nothing justifies its existence or continuance.

He is not talking of a big change or even a new order, something that one associates with a revolutionary change; he says the nation will be gone! It's not disillusionment with a system or a government. It's questioning the very justification of an entire nation. He is not offering any solution either. Because he has none. He reckons situation has gone beyond redemption! So, he only offers complete destruction. Does he hope something good will come out of that? We will never know. That would have been so romantic. Who does not love a constructive destruction. Nothing is more intoxicating than an idea of something great coming out of the destruction of a mediocre or poor system. But this person offers no such hope. He offers nothing. Simple, plain destruction, if you like. That makes him so dangerous. This poem is not about lack of solution; it's about absence of hope itself!

This simple, raw sentence had a stunning impact on me in that impressionable young age. There was a message, a lesson: there is no country for a hungry stomach; neither religion nor any other allegiance can compensate for basic physical needs.

A lesson well learnt, I would say.

People are scared of being alone. It makes them feel small and vulnerable and, hence, are more than willing to commit to something they think bigger than themselves. One of our original social needs. We are lost unless given something to identify with. But we do need to be fed. Not necessarily a full meal thrice a day, but something at least for God's sake.

And when I see this deluge of patriotism among the fellow countrymen, I feel so grateful to our political bosses. Final proof that they have rid us of hunger at last, restoring us back to decent human beings.

Long live India!

प्रिय यामिनी जागी / सूर्यकांत त्रिपाठी "निराला"

कवि  का लक्ष्य होता है एक वैयक्तिक अनुभव को उद्दात्त रुप देना, जिससे कविता सर्वजनीन हो सके. पाठक उसमें अपने आग्रह का आरोपण कर उसे पुनः विषिष्ठ बनाता है. यही दोनों का काव्य-धर्म है.

                           प्रथम सहचर्य के इस क्षण के ज्ञान मेँ रात भी सजग है, मानों  साक्षी हो. अभिसार के नवीन अनुभव से क्लांत, अलसायी नायिका की कमल सदृश आँखें अत्यंत समीप, उसके ही वक्ष पर विश्राम करते प्रियतम के दमकते मुख के प्रथम प्रेम मेँ अनुरक्त हो रही हैं.
खुले केश पीठ, गर्दन, बांहों और वक्ष पर बिखरे हैं और उनके मध्य प्रियतम का मुख बादलों के बीच एक अन्य सूर्य प्रतीत होता है. इस शोभा-श्री से होड़ लेती सी दामिनी एक क्षण चमक कर बुझ जाती है मानो इस ज्योतिरूप कोमलांगी के रूप की समता न होने के कारण क्षमा मांग त्वरित विदा ले ली हो.
अपना सर्वस्व प्रिय को न्योछावर कर,  त्याग के धागे में पिरोई मोती सी हमारी नायिका, जिसने अपने इस त्याग के पुण्य से अपने प्रिय को समस्त वासनाओं से मुक्त कर दिया है, उसके प्रेम को जय कर, गर्वान्वित, वक्ष के वसन को देखती-ठीक करती, मुख से बालों को हटाती, चारोँ ओर  देखती, धीमे-धीमे शयनकक्ष से जा रही है.

गीतिका / सूर्यकांत त्रिपाठी "निराला"

(प्रिय) यामिनी जागी।
अलस पंकज-दृग अरुण-मुख
तरुण-अनुरागी।

खुले केश अशेष शोभा भर रहे,
पृष्ठ-ग्रीवा-बाहु-उर पर तर रहे,
बादलों में घिर अपर दिनकर रहे,
ज्योति की तन्वी, तड़ित-
द्युति ने क्षमा माँगी।

हेर उर-पट फेर मुख के बाल,
लख चतुर्दिक चली मन्द मराल,
गेह में प्रिय-नेह की जय-माल,
वासना की मुक्ति, मुक्ता
त्याग में तागी।

Moral Values vs Law

What is the difference between a religious preacher and a Supreme Court judge? When faced with a case where wife wants to dump parents in law, both will probably say the same, 'not done'. So will I.

A religious leader will base her judgement, probably, on something like,

"A wife is expected to be with the family of the husband after the marriage".

Son's "pious obligation”  to live with his parents

Wife "Insisting her husband to live separately from his parents is a western thought alien to our culture and ethos".

In a nutshell, “It is not a common practice or desirable culture for a Hindu son in India to get separated from his parents on getting married at the instance of the wife, especially when the son is the only earning member in the family. A son, brought up and given education by his parents, has a moral and legal obligation to take care and maintain the parents, when they become old and when they have either no income or have a meagre income,”

Whereas, a Supreme Court judge will base her judgement on more rational, progressive and legal foundations, like.. well, this......

The Hindu Link

Gandhi was not racist, But he IS

The best thing about any value system is that it keeps evolving all the time; the worst is, its proponents try applying it retrospectively and to everything!
I once read on Quora that Mr Darcy perhaps was a slave trader (now, anyone who is familiar with Quora will understand it but suppose the mainstream start discussions based on this information!). Like all good answers on that platform, this answer was also well reasoned. May be correct. Perhaps Mr Darcy indeed was a slave trader. But how is this information useful today for us. Shall we stop reading Jane Austen or watching Pride & Prejudice on TV? May be a Facebook campaign!
I am told that Tom & Jerry were also racists. Now, what do we do about that?

Newspapers report a campaign in some parts of Africa against Gandhi. The campaigners (mostly academics) say that Gandhi was a racist  perhaps as late as his stay there in S Africa.  He must have said something or used certain terms that in today's world are considered offensive.

Small problem with this logic is, if we apply today's value system, almost everyone who lived prior to, say, 1950 is racist. Many are child molestors, slave traders, climate change deniers and more embarrassingly, generally everyone believed that goodness was essentially because they would be judged by the God for their deeds, whenever that judgement day arrived!

And that is what I find troublesome with modern value system; it does not allow evolution of a living person. Only a dead set of ideas can evolve.

Haare Ko Hari Naam

Youth gives us hope and effervescence; and often a false sense that all obstacles are surmountable. We generally grow out of this, but most of us do carry something from this phase, something very precious that we cant imagine losing, may be deep hidden in our hearts.

When very young, I was told that it's degeneration of cells that leads to old age and death; in old age the cells generated can't keep pace with decaying cells. What a wonderful, hope-giving knowledge! And how difficult it would be for ever improving science to slow down that process if not altogether reverse it! And then, it would be a mater of diet and lifestyle to keep one healthy and fit. Eternity! If not for me, definitely for my children and grand children.

What a great relief for someone like me who grew up with Larkin's brilliantly romantic, yet abysmally demotivating philosophy.

Aubade

Related Poem Content Details

BY PHILIP LARKIN

I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.   

Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.   

In time the curtain-edges will grow light.   

Till then I see what’s really always there:   

Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,   

Making all thought impossible but how   

And where and when I shall myself die.   

Arid interrogation: yet the dread

Of dying, and being dead,

Flashes afresh to hold and horrify.

The mind blanks at the glare. Not in remorse   

—The good not done, the love not given, time   

Torn off unused—nor wretchedly because   

An only life can take so long to climb

Clear of its wrong beginnings, and may never;   

But at the total emptiness for ever,

The sure extinction that we travel to

And shall be lost in always. Not to be here,   

Not to be anywhere,

And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true.

This is a special way of being afraid

No trick dispels. Religion used to try,

That vast moth-eaten musical brocade

Created to pretend we never die,

And specious stuff that says No rational being 

Can fear a thing it will not feel, not seeing

That this is what we fear—no sight, no sound,   

No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with,   

Nothing to love or link with,

The anaesthetic from which none come round.

And so it stays just on the edge of vision,   

A small unfocused blur, a standing chill   

That slows each impulse down to indecision.   

Most things may never happen: this one will,   

And realisation of it rages out

In furnace-fear when we are caught without   

People or drink. Courage is no good:

It means not scaring others. Being brave   

Lets no one off the grave.

Death is no different whined at than withstood.

Slowly light strengthens, and the room takes shape.   

It stands plain as a wardrobe, what we know,   

Have always known, know that we can’t escape,   

Yet can’t accept. One side will have to go.

Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ring   

In locked-up offices, and all the uncaring

Intricate rented world begins to rouse.

The sky is white as clay, with no sun.

Work has to be done.

Postmen like doctors go from house to house.

And today ToI reports some new research saying that perhaps we have hit the ceiling on human longevity. That we are not likely to live beyond 115 under best of circumstances! That we all come with expiry date label!

What a shame! Does that mean we really have no choice but pouring ourselves into that  "vast moth eaten musical brocade"! My worst fears!

Is Bihari a noun or an adjective ?

My tender Bihari sentiments are often hurt these days because of spate of jibes on Bihar/ Biharis. Off late, I have often thought if we can use this wonderful sedition law to protect the scarce Bihari pride against such attacks.
Biharipana, in all honesty, is as ancient a concept as nationalism; state is as old a system as a modern nation; our boundaries are as natural as India's. Linguistically, granted, we are slightly less fortunate and the same phenomena of poverty and intolerance to criticism that unite India, unite us also. So, we Biharis also should have our rights under this law.
And now we have Markandey Katju also to suffer.
One good thing is that mercifully God has given us a sense of humour.