"Aaj Ka Hindostan" (Genre: Hindi Poetry)

By Mohit Nigam aka "Majhi"
......................................


Is manzar-e-tabahi mein
aankhon ka paani sukh gaya
unke liye ek anjaan maut hui
mere bachpan ka saaya chut gaya
ghar se chala tha apno se rukhsat lekar
yahan toh zindagi se hi naata toot gaya


Roti bilakhti cheekhon ki aawaz
maano ghar kar gayi in kaanon mein
jaane kahan se aaye hain woh haivaan
chupe baithe hain jo insaanon mein
bikhar rahi hai sapno ki kashti
in baroodi toofano mein


Aaj bhi yaad aata hai kuch
kehte the saare jahan se accha
sabka nagma, tha sabka naara
buland aawaz gaata har bachha
kyun hai badla ab ye nazaara?
kyun kho gaya hindostan hamara?

Editor's corner:

Thank you for another beautiful addition to my blog, Majhi. Keep writing :)

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high"

We have all read this poem or at least heard of it. At one point, it was considered to be the vision of India in the future. Are we anywhere close to that vision?

Each line of this poem is potent. Each can be contrasted with the current Indian situation. Each can be the subject of endless debates. For this article, I'm only looking at line 1.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Blasts in Delhi Since 1997

Jan 04, 1997: Sonepat Road: 1 killed, 11 injured.
Jul 14, 1997: Red Fort: 18 injured.
Oct 01, 1997: Frontier Mail Train: 3 killed.
Oct 01, 1997: Sadar Bazaar: 30 injured.
Oct 10, 1997: Kingsway Camp: 1 killed, 18 injured.
Oct 18, 1997: Rani Bagh: 1 killed, 23 injured.
Oct 26, 1997: Karol Bagh: 1 killed, 34 injured.
Nov 30, 1997: Chandni Chowk: 3 killed, 73 injured.
Dec 30, 1997: Punjabi Bagh: 4 killed, 30 injured.

Jan 09, 1998: ITO: 40 injured.
Jul 26, 1998: Interstate Bus Terminal: 2 killed, 3 injured.
Aug 31, 1998: Turkman Gate: 1 killed, 17 injured.
Dec 19, 1998: Bhajanpura Temple: unspecified.

Apr 16, 1999: Holambi Kalan Railway Station: 2 killed.
Jun 03, 1999: Chandni Chowk: 27 injured.

Jan 06, 2000: Old Delhi Railway Station, 20 injured.
Feb 27, 2000: Paharganj: 8 injured.
Mar 16, 2000: Sadar Bazaar: 7 injured.
Jun 18, 2000: Red Fort, 2 killed.

May 09, 2001: Army Headquarters/Dalhousie Road: 1 injured.
May 20, 2001: CGO Complex: unspecified
Aug 11, 2001: South Extension: 2 injured.
Dec 13, 2001: Parliament: 11 killed, 30 injured.

May 22, 2005: Liberty/Satayam Cinema: 1 killed, 60 injured.
Oct 29, 2005: Sarojini Nagar/Paharganj/Govind Puri: 59 killed, 155 injured.

Apr 14, 2006: Jama Mosque (Walled City, Old Delhi): 14 injured.

Sept 13, 2008: Karol Bagh/Cannaught Place/Greater Kailash: 24 killed, 151 injured.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

India: 2008 Only

May 13: Jaipur
Simultaneous bomb blasts at eight different sites, including a crowded shopping site and a Hanuman temple.

July 25: Bangalore
A series of nine blasts. 2 killed and 20 injured.

July 26: Ahmedabad
A series of seventeen blasts killing 49 and injuring 160 people.

July 27: Godda, Jharkhand
At least six people were injured when a bomb exploded at a bus-stand.

Sept 13: Delhi
A series of 5 bombs that killed 30 and injured 90.

Sept 27: Delhi
A bomb blast in a market in the Mehrauli district killed three and injured 23.

Sept 29: Ahmedabad
A low-intensity bomb exploded at a market packed with Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast, killing one and wounding 15.

Sept 30: Gujrat and Maharashtra
Three bombs exploded killing 8 and injuring 30.

Oct 1: Agartala
At least two people were killed and 76 wounded when three bombs exploded.

Oct 8: Aligarh
A country-made bomb exploded in a crowded locality in Aligarh injuring a ragpicker who was rummaging through the garbage.

Oct 8: Guwahati
At least five people were injured when a bomb exploded near a crowd gathered for the Durga Puja festivities in Guwahati.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Some facts:

The other day, we were sitting in the staff room during our lunch hour. Thunder burst with a loud bang. Each of us froze... or ducked.

At the Delhi University metro station, the women cops looked at our faces and dresses, rather than our bags. We had to forcibly open our bags wide and ask them to check it. They were highly offended at being "told" what to do.

At a different metro station, a friend was harrassed because she was carrying a jar of chemical solution for a Chemistry experiment at college. The jar and the solution were handled in such a way that more than half of it landed on my friend's face and neck. The rashes remain.

A kid was beaten up in the middle of the road because he had the audacity to burst a cracker before Diwali. A cracker makes an awful blast, doesn't it?

Yesterday, a friend casually remarked, "bomb blast to hote rahenge, get used to it".

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action--

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

The End (Genre: Short Story)

Rita was driving too fast and she knew it. Death seemed a far better option than what she saw in her future now. Her eyes closed as she hummed in tune with the unfamiliar song on the radio. She had taken the wrong road. There was hardly any traffic. There were more chances of an accident on the highway. Yet another bad choice.


She left the door open as she entered her flat. The blinking red light on the answering machine spoke of the failed attempt to get through to her in time. It was the landlady. There had been a robbery on the second floor. The culprit had been caught trying to pick the lock of Mrs. Khanna's apartment. She should have returned home sooner. An open door would have been easier for the burglar; and for her.


4.30 PM. She was officially 49 now. She wondered how people marked this milestone of life. Too old for the silver, just shy of the gold.


How did they celebrate it? How should she? Especially now.


She could walk onto a busy road and pretend to cross it, very slowly, again and again, till someone forgot to pause. On the other hand, it might be easier to simply walk across the Bajrang Dal office in her birthday suit! That one made her laugh. It was a hollow sound and died within seconds of it's birth. What could she do? Christ would not permit her to enter heaven if she...


The incomplete thought left her comfortably numb. A sigh escaped.


The silver frame on the dining table beckoned. Fingers traced the familiar outlines. Then came the rebellion. A million tiny pieces of glass lay scattered, almost undetectable, losing their identity in the gray colour of the floor. She turned to the table again. Her gaze rested momentarily over the grapes and bananas arranged, just right. Then in one quick motion, she grabbed the knife and slit her wrist.





AUTHOR - Preeti Saha




Editor's corner:

It has been a pleasure and a priviledge to publish your work on my blog. I'll look forward to more contributions from you. Keep writing :)

"Choti Choti Khushiyan" (Genre: Hindi Poetry)

By Mohit Nigam aka "Majhi"
.................................


socho jo asmaan mein naa itne taare baste
kaise raat k andhere ko fir durr karte
kaise taaron ko jod kar cheezein banti
kaise hum apni kalpana se aakash mein udaan bharte


jo naa hoti upwan mein rang birangi titliyaan
kisko hum dawd kar pakadne ki koshish karte


socho kisi jheel mein kabhi paani naa hota
kaun fir tairna seekhta kahan lagata fir insaaan gota
kahan fir machliyaan ghumti aazadi se
kahan fir keechad mein kamal khila hota


kaun fir baith kar nadi kinare
apni uljhanon se durr hota


socho jo kisi phool mein koi khushbu naa hoti
naa hoti kisi kali mein koi mehek
fir kaise madhumakkhi parag se shahad banati
fir kyon duniya phool ki khushboo k geet gaati


sab kitna aasan hai sab lagta hai apna
socho agar neend mein nahin aata koi sapna


socho toh aise bahut kucch hai sochne ko
aankhein bandh kar khushi k ehsaas mein khone ko
beet gaya so beet gaya tu kal ki soch
bahutt moti hai sansaaar mein teri zindagi mein pirone ko

From the poet's pen:

This poem is about small figments of happiness, which we ignore in search of something big. Sometimes in an attempt to achieve out goal, we ignore the surroundings around us, which is full of people and things who work for us round the clock selflessly, if we sit back and just for a moment think, we will find out that this world is not that bad, we just need to find out the positive things around us and enjoy their positive vibes. As we all know... the best things in this world are free... so just cherish them :)

Mohit Nigam (Majhi)



Editor's corner:

It has been a pleasure and a priviledge to publish your work on my blog. I'll look forward to more contributions from you. Keep writing :)

Zindagi (Genre: Hindi Poetry)

Ek din yun hi kahin chalte chalte
Raaste ke kinare behekte sambhalte
Na jaane kab kaise aankhen jhukaye
Chali aayi woh khwahish bin bataye


Waqt ka saath kuch is tarah choota
Raah gum gayi aur har khwab toota
Takra gayi mujhse bemore zindagi
Roothi khudayi, chal basi bandagi


Aakhon mein ansoon rukte se the
Muskurane ko ye lab taraste se the
Tab halke sur mein gungunate huye
Boli ye zindagi khankhanate huye


Khwahishon se haarkar jo baithe ho wahin
Khwabon ke siwa kya koi pehchaan nahi?
Bus ik baar apne man ke zor ko jaano
Is more ke aage ki manzil ko maano


Zindagi ke irade jo hon so ho
Apne wajood ka tum saath to do
Tootkar sirf ruswayi ke meet hoge
Khud ko jo jaana, ye jahan jeet loge

Friend Requests on Orkut - Part 2

It didn't work! The sarcasm. The arrogance. Nothing worked. I even changed my pic to something less noticeable. All in vain. I think it's time for another survey. If you have an account on Orkut, and like me, you too do not believe in adding random people as friends, let me know how you manage to keep these requests at bay (if at all). On the other hand, if you are one of those people who send out such requests, let me know what would make you stop from sending requests to a particular profile.


In the last month, though the average quantity of friend requests has remained the same, the quality has gone down terribly. Only three additions to the favourite list:





nice profile...
u into reading n all.. which is yr favourite book?


My comments:
It was the right way to initiate a conversation with a literature student. Full points for the research.







This request came from a guy on one of my communities:

I dont expect u to add me...but i do expect u to add my name in ur fav fren req on ur blog ;)

My comments:

Cute! Would probably add him once I get to know him a little better on the community.






A little background before I list the next one. The 'Music' section of my profile reads as follows...:

Lol, shastriya sangeet ;-)

(disclaimer: was kidding and any offense to those who listen to it is sincerely regretted...

if you still feel bad, sue me!! :P)


and here's the scrap a guy left:


shastriya sangeet is not my cuppa tea... and no, am not feeling bad at all... but even then, can I please sue you... though rest assured that any sum awarded after I successfully sue you for defamation of sangeet gharanas will go to any NGO of your choice promoting shastriya sangeet...


My comments:

It was hillarious! I absolutely loved it! So, I checked out his profile.

He was married and had been recently blessed with a kid. In the 'about me', he states that he is a 'certified clean chatter' (I know what you're thinking. The guy has a natural sense of humour. Agreed).

The stumbling block came with the 'Here for' section: friends, activity partners, business networking, dating (women).

Ahem... a husband and a dad, on Orkut for dating? Not my cup of tea. So I left him the following scrap:


Sorry, I'm not looking for new friends or people who want to sue me :)




Take a look at his answer now:

…am glad that you and I are on same page on “not looking for new friends”… you are right, lafdaa hi hai yeh, after a while to dosto ka achaar bhi acha nahi lagta… but dudette, are you serious that you don’t want someone to sue you… now come on, though I agree that this is not exactly like a lifetime opportunity to be litigated… but as a disclosure I must enlighten you that being sued by me comes only as often as a maha-kumbh ka mela… and that too only if someone has a pretty face or loads of money… and thank your stars that you have good money!


Final comments:

He has an awesome sense of humour! Had he not been married, I'd have definitely accepted this one to get to know the guy better. Just my luck (sigh)!

................................

The other day someone called me anti-social because I didn't accept her friend request. That's right, it was a girl this time. It's really not about being anti-social. Adding someone as a friend on Orkut, means letting him or her into a very personal realm of your world.


Most people who are active on Orkut use their scrapbooks to exchange all kinds of messages. From arranging an outing with friends to flirting with someone special, it may all be there for display. A lot of people delete all their scraps daily to combat this issue. I don't want to do that.


My best friend stays in South Africa. He cannot use Google talk regularly from his office, though he can log in to Gmail and Orkut. Now don't ask me why, I have never understood it myself. Emails take time to send out, and phone calls are expensive. So scraps and albums become an easy way to stay in touch. Friends on my profile can see my scrapbook and know exactly what's happening in my life at any particular point in time. They can pull up my album and know everything about my home and my family. That kind of trust is hard earned. It comes with time.


Just because I'm a blabbermouth and enjoy being an active member of my communities, does that mean I can't be personal about a few things? If I choose not to allow a bunch of strangers into my scraps and albums, does that automatically make me anti-social? Besides, I have never been fond of lables anyway. Wish I could figure out a way to stay active on Orkut and yet be able to keep away from these friend requests. Oh well, I guess that's why they call it wishful thinking.

The Roots of Indian Literature

I haven't studied anything written in Hindi since the tenth grade. Given how ancient I feel, that seems like another lifetime ago. Unfortunately and regrettably, I haven't been able to read enough literary works to form my own opinion about Indian literature. Yet.


Though the prospect of studying them someday has me excited, I know that day isn't coming anytime soon. English literature binds my heart and mind for now. For the purposes of this article, join me in raising three cheers for Wikipedia and check out the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_literature


Literature in India began with Sanskrit in the form of the Vedas. Four Vedas were written between the Late Bronze and the Early Iron Age (approximately 1500 BC to 600 BC). Most of us would be aware of the names of Vedic literature. Current limitations of my knowledge force me to only list the names here, without enough helpful descriptions:


The Vedas: The four Vedas listed below formed the base of Hinduism.

1) Rig Veda - World's oldest religious text. It contains 1,028 hymns organized in 10 mandalas

2) Sama Veda - This is a collection of melodies (saman means melody)

3) Yajur Veda - This one holds descriptions of procedures for the performance of different sacrifices

4) Atharva Veda - This mostly dealt with magic and personal problems of people


The Upnishads:Called Vedanta. They were the main source of Indian philosophy. They were 108 in number, and are usually considered a part of the Vedas.


Smritis: These explained the rules and regulations in the Vedic life.


Darshans: The following were the six schools of Indian philosophy, given by six philosophers of ancient India.

1) Nyaya Darshana (Analysis) by Gautama
2) Vaishesika Darshana by Kannada Rishi
3) Sankhaya Darshana by Kapila
4) Yoga Darshana by Patanjali
5) Purva Mimamsa by Jaimini
6) Uttara Mimamsa by Badaryana

Note: Badaryana was also known as Rishi Vyasa who wrote Mahabharata, classified the Vedas, composed puranas and gave vedantic philosophy under this school of thought)


Late Iron Age scholars organized knowledge into sutras. Then came our epics, the Mahabharata (Vyasa) and the Ramayana (Valmiki). In the Gupta period, literature took the form of drama, poetry, puranas and scholarly writings on existing works. After Katha-sarit-sagara (by Somadeva) and Geeta Govinda (by Jayadeva) were written in the eleventh century, Sanskrit as the official language of literature gave way to vernacular languages like Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu.


Hindi Literature includes literature in all Hindi languages: Brij bhasha, Bundeli, Awadhi, Kannauji, Marwari, Maithili, Magahi, Bhojpuri, Bihari, and Khariboli (modern standard Hindi) in Devnagari script. The four prominent forms or styles of Hindi literature are:

1)Bhakti (Devotional - Kabir, Raskhan)
2) Shringar (Beauty - Keshav, Bihari)
3) Veer-gatha (Stories or praise of brave warriors)
4) Adhunik (Modern)


The periods of Hindi literature are different than, yet based on, the forms above. They are classified as follows:

Adi kaal or veer-gatha kal: Before 1400 AD. Most of the poetry followed the veer-gatha form. The tradition was for kings to appoint court poets. Prithviraj Chauhan appointed Chand Bardai, Rathore Jayachand had Harsha, Mahoba had Jagnayak and Nalha wrote in Ajmer. Some Buddhist, Hindavi and saint poets also wrote towards the later half of this era.


Bhakti kaal: Long epic poems came up in this Medieval era of Hindi literature. Ramanuja's Bhakti movement had a significant influence on the literary works of this era. Devotion (bhakti), beauty (shringar), love, romance and heroism were the main themes. Kabir, Surdas, Tulsidas, Guru Nanak, Malik Muhammad Jayasi and Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana wrote in this period.


Ritikavya kaal: Poetry forms and theories were further developed. Erotic themes became dominant even in devotional poems (for e.g. Krishna's raas leela, love poetry for Radha etc). Khariboli gradually became popular amongst the masses. Bihari Lal Chaube (popularly known as 'Bihari') wrote the Bihari Satsai, the most well known book of this period. Some of the other authors of the period were Ghananand Das, Lallu Lal, Sadal Mishra, Sadasukh Lal, Munshi Inshallah Khan, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Bhartendu Harishchandra, Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, Maithili Sharan Gupt, R N Tripathi and Gopala Sharan Sinha.


Bhartendu Yuga: Bharatendu Harishchandra is known as the father of Hindi Literature. He wrote towards the end of the 19th century. A multi-faceted man, he was a poet, prose writer, travel writer, journalist and dramatist. His contribution is seen as so immense that the entire period was named after him.


Dwivedi Yuga: Another prominent writer to have a yuga named after him was Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi. He was a writer, littérateur and editor with well-known translations and critical writings to his credit.


Chhayavaadi Yuga: This was the Golden era of Hindi Literature named after the Romantic upsurge known as chhayavaad (shadowism) which became dominant in the twentieth century. This period from 1900 onwards is also known as the adhunik kal. Some of us should be able to recall the names of the authors of this period from the books we read back in school: Jaishankar Prasad, Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Mahadevi Verma and Sumitranandan Pant. Other genres of this kal were prayogvaad (experimentalism: Ajneya, Nirmal Verma and the Tar Saptak poets), pragativaad (progressivism: Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh) and psychological explorations in the novels of Jainendra Kumar.


Munshi Premchand (July 31, 1880 - Oct 8, 1936), was a product of this era. He was the first author to bring realism into Hindi Literature. If some of you haven't read anything by him yet, you must do so. Another literary great of this period was Devaki Nandan Khatri who wrote Chandrakanta: yes, that's right, it was the must-watch 9am TV serial a few years ago.


Uttar Adhunik Kal: Post modernist period of Hindi literature, which questioned the previous trends that had copied the West. The excessive ornamentalism of the Chhayavaad period was replaced by simpler language and natural themes. Feminist works emerged as Indian women joined the Hindi Literature community. Now, other marginalized social groups, like the Dalits have also begun voicing their thoughts through Hindi Literature.


Indian Literature has come a long way. Unfortunately, it does not enjoy the kind of readership English Literature commands, even within our own country. But it's still young in terms of literature and has a long way to go. Here's hoping that the future will shine bright for this important portion of World Literature.