Ham Panchi Unmukt Gagan Ke

A simple, sweet, beautiful poem - and again, a memoir of school days.

हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के
  - शिव मंगल सिंह सुमन 

हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के
पिंजरबद्ध न गा पाएँगे
कनक-तीलियों से टकराकर
पुलकित पंख टूट जाएँगे ।

हम बहता जल पीनेवाले
मर जाएँगे भूखे-प्यासे
कहीं भली है कटुक निबौरी
कनक-कटोरी की मैदा से ।

स्वर्ण-श्रृंखला के बंधन में
अपनी गति, उड़ान सब भूले
बस सपनों में देख रहे हैं
तरु की फुनगी पर के झूले ।

ऐसे थे अरमान कि उड़ते
नील गगन की सीमा पाने
लाल किरण-सी चोंच खोल
चुगते तारक-अनार के दाने ।

होती सीमाहीन क्षितिज से
इन पँखों की होड़ा-होड़ी
या तो क्षितिज मिलन बन जाता
या तनती साँसों की डोरी ।

नीड़ न दो, चाहे टहनी का
आश्रय छिन्न-भिन्न कर डालो
लेकिन पँख दिए हैं तो
आकुल उड़ान में विघ्न न डालो ।

Experience with condesed books

This is a set of reviews, I had been working on, before my long absence from this blog. I had written most of it, but the rest awaited completion for a long time. I couldn't do it proper justice after all this while, so I've just filled in the gaps to post it rather than losing it to anonymity forever :-)

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First of all I must confess that I didn't read the complete books here  :-) I had earlier read abridged versions of some classics, but that was way back in school; since then, I have stuck to pure, unadulterated text. Readers' Digest (RD) has published volumes which consist of condensed versions of some well known books. I had asked my brother for some reading material, so he passed on such a volume to me; and one does not look a gift horse in the mouth :-D

Prizes - Eric Segal

Although the condensed version was not all that compact ( >150 pages), I could read and enjoy it - given the size of the original, I am not sure I'd have dared to pick it. This was my first experience with the RD's condensed version, and I'll say I liked it - it has been very well edited, and one doesn't feel that there is a discontinuity in any place (unless one has happened to read the complete one before, I guess).

Prizes is about "the prize of prizes" - The Nobel. The narrative comprises of three separate tracks, loosely interlinked - it is the story of three extraordinary scientists, as they work towards their ambition, and the ultimate recognition. Love and loss, trust and betrayal, all play a role in their lives. And their professional gifts notwithstanding, they all have personal demons to counter against. It is not just about exceptional talent, it is also about the greatness as well as follies of human nature.

The narrative keeps up the interest, though I think it is not close to the real world, and does not touch as deeply as the author's "Love Story" and "Man, Woman and Child" do. The style is similar to Segals' "Acts of Faith", or "Class", and the tale of extraordinary individuals is somewhat reminiscent of Archer to me. But in spite of this slight familiarity, it is quite a compelling story, and definitely worth reading. And although I was rather daunted by the sheer size of the original, if I had read it, I am sure I would have enjoyed it immensely.


Secret Missions - Michael Gannon

The second condensed book in the RD volume was this spy story. It is set in the World War - II, when German U-boats reached the US coasts and created havoc there.

A priest, Father D'Aneglo, learns of the presence of a Nazi spy in his coastal town from a confession. He is in a dilemma, since he simply cannot ignore this fact that compromises the safety of his country, but he cannot divulge the information to anyone as a confession is confidential. At last, after talking to various authorities, he finds a way out - he seeks the permission from the person who made the confession to prevent any harm, as long as he does not have to share the confession.

He follows the spy, finally learns what he is up to, and with the help of a female aviator, and sets about to thwart his plans. It is interesting enough, though not in the class of thrillers by Alistair McLean, who has written a lot of novels about espionage and counter-espionage. But them, a priest cannot be expected to match the skills of a trained intelligence officer :-) The story ends in an extraordinary coincidence, which stretches the intelligence a bit too far, but as they say, all's well that ends well. I love happy endings :-)


Eyes of a child - Richard North Patterson

The Third condensed book in the RD volume, it is an ingenious legal thriller and a murder mystery.

The sequence of events are mainly witnessed from the perspective of Teresa Peralta (Terri), a legal assistant to a defense attorney Christopher Paget (Chris), who aspires to be a senator. Terri is fighting a bitter divorce and custody case with her husband Ricardo Arias, and in the meantime develops a romantic relationship with her boss, Chris. Terri and Chris are on a vacation in Italy when they learn that Ricardo has been murdered, possibly on the night before their departure. Chris has an obvious motive - Ricardo had accused his teenage son, Carlo, of assaulting his daughter. As Chris fights to prove his and Ricardo's innocence, evidence against him keeps getting worse. And the truth, when it finally comes out, is heart-breaking and revolting.

More Than Meets The Eye - Joan Brock

This is the true story of a young lady, dedicated to her family and work as a teacher in a blind school. Over a short span of few weeks, she loses her sight to a very rare disease; and a few years later, loses her husband, who has been her pillar of strength, to cancer. She picks up her strength and overcomes her personal tragedy, to become a motivation for others. Truly moving and inspiring.

Niraj Ga Raha Hai

Gopal Das Niraj - Poet and lyricist, and the author of some very beautiful poems. I read some of his poems in school, and came across more om the net over years. One of the reasons I love his poetry is beautiful rhyme and rhythm, intoning more often than not, a hope and rebellion.

नीरज गा रहा है
  -- गोपालदास नीरज 

अब ज़माने को खबर कर दो कि 'नीरज' गा रहा है

जो झुका है वह उठे अब सर उठाए,
जो रुका है वह चले नभ चूम आए,
जो लुटा है वह नए सपने सजाए,
जुल्म-शोषण को खुली देकर चुनौती,
प्यार अब तलवार को बहला रहा है।
अब ज़माने को खबर कर दो कि 'नीरज' गा रहा है 

हर छलकती आँख को वीणा थमा दो,
हर सिसकती साँस को कोयल बना दो,
हर लुटे सिंगार को पायल पिन्हा दो,
चाँदनी के कंठ में डाले भुजाएँ,
गीत फिर मधुमास लाने जा रहा है।
अब ज़माने को ख़बर कर दो कि 'नीरज' गा रहा है

जा कहो तम से करे वापस सितारे,
माँग लो बढ़कर धुएँ से अब अंगारे,
बिजलियों से बोल दो घूँघट उघारे,
पहन लपटों का मुकुट काली धरा पर,
सूर्य बनकर आज श्रम मुसका रहा है।
अब ज़माने को ख़बर कर दो कि 'नीरज' गा रहा है

शोषणों की हाट से लाशें हटाओ,
मरघटों को खेत की खुशबू सुँघाओ,
पतझरों में फूल के घुँघरू बजाओ,
हर कलम की नोक पर मैं देखता हूँ,
स्वर्ग का नक्शा उतरता आ रहा है।
अब ज़माने को खबर कर दो कि 'नीरज' गा रहा है

इस तरह फिर मौत की होगी न शादी,
इस तरह फिर खून बेचेगी न चाँदी,
इस तरह फिर नीड़ निगलेगी न आँधी,
शांति का झंडा लिए कर में हिमालय,
रास्ता संसार को दिखला रहा है।
अब ज़माने को खबर कर दो कि 'नीरज' गा रहा है

Tum Kalpana Karo

Another one of those "gems" - greatly loved, long lost, frantically searched, and thankfully found!

तुम कल्पना करो

  - गोपाल सिंह नेपाली

तुम कल्पना करो, नवीन कल्पना करो,
तुम कल्पना करो।

अब घिस गईं समाज की तमाम नीतियाँ,
अब घिस गईं मनुष्य की अतीत रीतियाँ,
हैं दे रही चुनौतियाँ तुम्हें कुरीतियाँ,
निज राष्ट्र के शरीर के सिंगार के लिए,
तुम कल्पना करो, नवीन कल्पना करो,
तुम कल्पना करो।

ज़ंजीर टूटती कभी न अश्रु-धार से,
दु:ख-दर्द दूर भागते नहीं दुलार से,
हटती न दासता पुकार से, गुहार से,
इस गंग-तीर बैठ आज राष्ट्र-शक्ति की,
तुम कामना करो किशोर, कामना करो,
तुम कामना करो।

जो तुम गए, स्वदेश की जवानियाँ गईं,
चित्तोर के 'प्रताप' की कहानियाँ गईं,
आज़ाद देश-रक्त की रवानियाँ गईं,
अब सूर्य-चंद्र से समृद्धि ऋद्धि-सिद्धि की,
तुम याचना करो दरिद्र, याचना करो,
तुम याचना करो।

जिसकी तरंग लोल हैं अशांत सिन्धु वह,
जो काटता घटा प्रगाढ़ वक्र इन्दु वह,
जो मापता समय सृष्टि-दृष्टि बिन्दु वह,
वह है मनुष्य जो स्वदेश की व्यथा हरे,
तुम यातना हरो मनुष्य, यातना हरो,
तुम यातना हरो।

तुम प्रार्थना किए चले, नहीं दिशा हिली,
तुम साधना किए चले, नहीं निशा हिली,
इस आर्त दीन देश की न दुर्दशा हिली,
अब अश्रु-धार छोड़ आज शीश-दान से,
तुम अर्चना करो, अमोघ अर्चना करो,
तुम अर्चना करो।

आकाश है स्वतंत्र, है स्वतंत्र मेखला,
यह श्रृंग भी स्वतंत्र ही खड़ा, बना, ढला,
है जलप्रपात काटता सदैव श्रृंखला,
आनन्द-शोक जन्म और मृत्यु के लिए,
तुम योजना करो, स्वतंत्र योजना करो,
तुम योजना करो।

The Gems of Hindi Poetry

I have always loved reading Hindi poetry; later on, my interest expanded to Urdu poetry as well. In school days, the only source for poetry was our Hindi text books, and my heart always thanks the people who designed our curriculum, for exposing me to this beauty. And I feel very sad at the state of affairs today in the CBSE curriculum - it does not appear to include much of poetic gems from our legendary poets.

Anyhow, I am happy to have found this love in my school days, and even happier to have resources on the net today to sustain it. There are a number of sites that host quite a comprehensive collection of poetry, but I would love to collect the gems I loved most at one place. Don't want to create another blog for it, because of maintenance overhead, so here it goes, into a new category.

This page is, of course, a subset of the entire poetry collection, but it will be exclusively for Hindi.

My favorites:

Chandrasen Virat
तुम कभी थे सूर्य 

Dushyant Kumar
एक आशीर्वाद 
Saaye Mein Dhoop - IV
Saaye Mein Dhoop - III
Saaye Mein Dhoop - II
Saaye Mein Dhoop - I
Saaye Mein Dhoop - Intro

Gopal Das 'Niraj'

नीरज गा रहा है 
मुझको याद किया जाएगा 

Gopal Singh 'Nepali'

तुम कल्पना करो 

Harivansh Rai 'Bachchan'
मेरा संबल
मैंने शांति नहीं जानी है!
जो बीत गई सो बात गई
वर्षा समीर

Jaishankar Prasad
प्रयाणगीत 

Maithilisharan Gupt
माँ  कह एक कहानी 

Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar'
क्यूँ यह आग बुझाओगे
परिचय
कलम, आज उनकी जय बोल!

Ramkumar Verma
मौन करुणा

Shivmangal Singh 'Suman'
हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के


Resources: The best collections for Hindi Poetry that I have come across:
Anubhuti
Kaavyaalaya
Kavitakosh
Geeta-Kavita
KV songs

Ek Ashirwad

I had posted this poem long time back, along with an attempted translation (here). However, at that time the unicode support was not great. So sharing again, for the love of reading it in hindi fonts :-) (and with the title).

एक आशीर्वाद

  - दुष्यंत कुमार

जा तेरे स्वप्न बड़े हों।
भावना की गोद से उतर कर
जल्द पृथ्वी पर चलना सीखें।
चाँद तारों सी अप्राप्य ऊचाँइयों के लिये
रूठना मचलना सीखें।
हँसें
मुस्कुराऐं
गाऐं।
हर दीये की रोशनी देखकर ललचायें
उँगली जलायें।
अपने पाँव पर खड़े हों।
जा तेरे स्वप्न बड़े हों।