Dr. MAHENDRA BHATNAGAR
[FORTY POEMS]
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Contents
* Preface : Dr. Vidya Niwas Mishra
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POEMS
1 Lust For Life
2 Reap The Paddy
3 O Wind
4 The Splendour Of The Earth
5 Woman Reborn
6 Youth
7 Lose Not Your Heart 
8 Suffering
9 Dilemma
10 Vision
11 The Beauty Of The Sleeping Moon
12 Who Are You?
13 Light The Lamps
14 To The Moon
15 Moon Light
16 No Grievance
17 Conviction
18 Day-Dreaming
19 The Blessedness Of Man 
20 The Man
21 Betrayal
22 Not Alone
23 Life-Stream
24 State Of Night
25 Far Across The Fields
26 Life Today
27 The Middle Class - 1
28 The Middle Class - 2
29 The Future
30 Light
31 Conviction
32 The Firmament Will Change Its Colour!
33 With Flags Of Peace
34 Gala Of National Liberation
35 The Masses
36 Visions
37 Resurgence
38 For The First Time
39 It Won't Collapse
40 To Mao And Chou
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PREFACE
By : Dr. Vidya Niwas Mishra
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I have gone through this anthology of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar’s selected forty poems. The thing which strikes foremost is the note of blazing optimism coming out of these poems, be they songs of love, songs of future of man or songs of the advent of a new era ushered in by the common man all over the world. Though unfortunately I cannot share this optimism, I am deeply moved by the vigour with which it has been projected by the poet. Mahendra Bhatnagar is Browning, Shelley and Maykovsky welded into one, he is a visionary, he is a comrade-in-arms and he is an architect. His ‘Man fired with faith divine moves on’ because he is firm in his conviction that ‘one day the heart-rose shall bloom in the midst of impediments galore.’ He seeks strength from ‘the firmament’ which ‘has changed its colour’ and from the wind, which is always ‘humming a tune’, from the ‘gracious mother earth’ which is blessing man with a life - ‘long and happy’.
He sings of youth in a new vein, youth for him is not a passing phase, it is something ‘which endures’. To him woman no more bears ‘frailty’ as her other name, she is no longer ‘a source of pleasure and pastime’. In this emancipated woman he has found a companion. He is ‘never alone’, ‘the resurgent age is with him’, the future is driving him on. These are a few pieces which reflect the inner struggle between this optimism and disillusionment, but they are subdued by the dominating voice of hope. Such a sincere optimism is a rare quality and deserves full applause; more so, when we have the perspective of a sad and sick man of today.
The poet has a very sensitive ear for cadences and knows how to use them. His diction is chaste though racy, transparent and yet colourful, his imagery drawn partly from common-place of life and partly from poetic conventions, is simple and effective, it is not pretentious, as the so called modern imagery is and is the most suited instrument for the content.
I envy the impetuosity of Mahendra Bhatnagar and at the same time I admire his patience (‘the wall won’t collapse’) and his courage. If at times he is carried away by his creed, it only shows his zeal and not his weakness. If at times, he looks utterly lost in 'the masses idea', it only shows his devotion to the cause and not his lack of personality. If at times he turns a romantic visionary, it is an indicator of his fiery youth and not of his blindness to reality.
I sincerely hope, these poems will be received well.
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[1] LUST FOR LIFE
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The man lives on
By the cravings of love!
The lightning crash near him,
The tornadoes roar and rage around him,
But a faith mysterious
Over brims his heart,
And sleeps he cosy and comfortable
In the shade benign of dreams and visions splendid!
The man lives on by the cravings of love!
In front of him mountain peaks dizzy,
Around him yawn chasms deep
But fired with faith divine
The man moves on
To get comrades genial
On his way eternal!
The man lives on by the cravings of love!
The death's orchestra plays on,
The mango-groves once jubilant and gay
Are silent and deserted now;
But with faith divine
In the midst of tears and sighs
The man laughs on!
The man lives on by the cravings of love!
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[2] REAP THE PADDY
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Reap the paddy, mow the paddy
Mow on, reap on!!
All the fields to the vision's end
Are full and mature!
So ripe and full!!
Rustling and surging
With glee over brimming!
Flow with the air
And laugh like blooms,
Get up and quit the old hovels
Comrade! the open fields are beckoning you!
Reap the paddy, mow the paddy
Mow on, reap on!!
Water trickled through the glaciers,
And ran in many rapid restless currents
Carrying along the alluvial dust,
Down the heights of the Himalayas.
The dust drenched in sweat of labour,
Shot up in the bowers and on boughs
Blossoms white, red and yellow
The gracious Mother Earth
Blesses you with a life-long and happy!
Reap the paddy, mow the paddy
Mow on, reap on!!
When the monsoon clouds dark and dense
Enveloped the sky and hovered over head,
The dry bowers of heart
Were drenched with hopes divine,
With abandon and delight;
As if,
The beautiful white - 'Kajal'1-applied eyes
Of a pretty, healthy, sweet, delicate mellow maid
Bedecked with lustre bewitching
Over brimming with live emotions new
And dreams of simple life,
Sing the song of a world reborn!
Reap the paddy, mow the paddy
Mow on, reap on!!
The seeds sown by your labour devout
For the world's resurgence and remarking
Have come to blossom,
The fond dreams nurtured in the lap of eye-lids
Those seeds now find fulfilment and fruition
And embrace these myriad spikes
And play with abandon in the cool moon-light
Be up and doing,
Hear O! you master of the vast land
From Kanya-Kumari to mountain Kailash!
Hear and hail the new upsurge!
Behold the families all of the village,
Find the fruition of their dreams!
Reap the paddy, mow the paddy,
Mow on, reap on!!
The teeth are fallen
Hair are dry and dull,
Yet in the wrinkles of the face
There dances a smile — easy and natural!
The fragrance embraces the whole universe
The sky drips with odour sweet
Wake up! the pride of my land!
Reap the paddy, mow the paddy
Mow on reap on!!
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1- A preparation made out of the soot of an earthen lamp burning mustard oil and applied to the eyes by an overwhelming majority of Indian women.
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[3] O WIND!
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O wind!
Come, tuning a song,
Come, sweeping,
Shaking the boughs
Come, raising the dust!
Lovely fragrance filled
O vital Eastern Wind!
Come skipping
Over the distant mountain-peak!
O Wind!
Mad and over-brimming with youth
Come, kissing
These new green leaves
Come, humming a tune,
Come strewing the shreds of cloud!
Drunk and forgetful of mind,
Drunk and forgetful of body,
With laughter bubbling
Sweet and vivacious,
Vibrating the heart strings
Come, dancing!
O Wind!
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[4] THE SPLENDOUR OF THE EARTH
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Green and all green and 'Sonfia'1
Oh Dear! are the boughs,
The laden boughs!
Rows after rows are rustling
Thousands, millions, rows innumerable!
The lavish caresses of the breeze,
Have filled the air with a joyous outcry.
Oh, on our earth descends
A green youthful fairy!
With blooms new on all her curves.
Green and all green and 'Sonfia'!
Oh Dear! are the boughs,
The laden boughs!
Suffused with dim red are the skies
Smeared as if with 'Gulal'2
Are the spacious cheeks of Heaven.
Bedecked with fineries,
A bewitching beauty every branch to-day,
Carefully adorned with foliage patterns.
Oh Dear! enveloped is every branch
In a captivating green 'Chunary3'!
Green and all green and 'Sonfia'
Oh Dear! are the boughs,
The laden boughs!
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1- A light green colour similar to that of aniseed.
2- A long piece of cloth loosely thrown over the blouse, shoulders and head by Indian village women.
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[5] WOMAN REBORN
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You aren't a purse-purchased commodity of man,
Nor are you the soulless slave girl,
The brainless hand-maid and the lifeless doll.
No longer are you the age-old
Down-trodden footwear of man,
Not a source of pleasure and pastime any more
Frailty is not thy name,
A bed of roses you desire not.
Nor are you caught in the whirl-pool any more
But banks distant you adorn now,
No longer shall injustice crush you,
New power and zeal of the time is with you;
Your hands are now free from chains;
Prison social or personal confines you not,
Nor does man dominate your mind and body
That you submit to his whims
And utter not a complaint even by chance
On behalf of the youths millions of the world
I speak, not as your lord, but as a friend;
I simply wish to bind you
With bonds silken of eternal love!
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[6] YOUTH
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Time shall pass away
But youth shall endure!
From time immemorial the current of youth
Washing aside obstacles galore,
Has constantly flowed on,
And shall ever flow on!
From time immemorial the orchestra of youth
Has been playing on
And shall ever play
The new melody of resurgent life!
The vibration shall never die,
But shall forcefully resound
In the sky, in all directions,
In every city and in every street,
To shake all from slumber deep!
The world of dreams
The world of darkness
Is bound to dwindle!
The darkness will stagger,
And darkness will die out,
But the light of youth
Shall never grow dim!
Time shall pass away
But youth will endure!
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[7] LOSE NOT YOUR HEART!
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Do not lose heart!
One day the heart-rose shall bloom
In the midst of impediments galore!
So, lose not your heart!
Sport with the fury of storms,
If they rage and roar around you.
Stand up to the heavy rocks
They fling at you!
You know well enough
The weather is rainy;
There's rough and tumble in the sky,
The dark clouds hover and thunder above
Let all that be a song sonorous to you!
True,
Flashes the lightning, again and again
But to you a crackling of firework it is!
If you tread your track unmoved
Your destination itself will arrive one day
And meet you half way!
Do not lose heart!
One day the heart-rose shall bloom
In the midst of impediments galore
So, lose not your heart!
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[8] SUFFERING
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Youth you are of the up coming age,
Shedding tears
In remembrance of the beloved,
Or for her betrayal
Behoves you not!
Clouds are gathering,
Breeze vernal blows slow,
Sky is lit up with moon-light!
Far away are you from beloved!
Or she has broken your trust
Simple and sentimental you are,
Enshrined in your heart is love,
And desire lurk there,
And longing too for happiness,
And dreams of a fresh, golden smiling life!
But, today they are shattered,
As if a thermometer slipped
From the hands on a stone,
The tears roll like mercury,
As though lost now is all your control!
Heed no more that
The candle is burning out,
And like sharp thin thorns
The memories are piercing the heart!
These pigeons
Calmly sitting on the roof
Do they too,
So remember some one?
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[9] DILEMMA
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What's is this weariness?
That leaves inert every limb, every nerve!
Deadened is the mind to sensations all,
Heavy and tired are the eyes with sleep!
How is it,
That fatigued out is my soul
And the vault of heaven resounds not
With the melody of my soul?
Wax-like melt the convictions firm
Oh! why hope of future too
Is receding fast like a star
Away and away from sight?
Thorns lie concealed in the dust
On life's road difficult
And strewn with impediments is my path.
How is it,
That my soul's lamp flickers fast
As these storms rage in the skies?
Ah, a reality, it is too grim
An illusion it can't be!
Forget it! shall I?
Or shall I weakened by weariness,
Sleep and swing on the chords of dreams
In the quiet woods of calm breath?
Or, abjectly surrendering to stark reality
Shall I rein in the soul?
(Which dormant lies already.)
Or shall I,
With all the might of the soul
Fight every movement of reality?
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[10] VISION
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Indeed attached to the earth though we are
Yet the bond of love for the moon and stars
Is unbreakable as ever,
In dreams and ideals we do indulge,
Yet no less significant is our pledge
To make them real!
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[11] THE BEAUTY OF THE SLEEPING MOON
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Cosy lies the moon on the star-spangled carpet!
So care-free physically,
Mentally so free from worries;
And so content with life
Holding somebody's loving 'Anchal1'!
Cosy lies the moon on the star-spangled carpet!
With feelings all anew,
With imaginations all novel,
With desires all maiden;
And with a heart full of a world of dreams!
Cosy lies the moon on the star-spangled carpet!
With happiness oozing out of every breath,
With hopes nectareous
And thirst eternal;
Clasping light luminous to his heart!
Cosy lies the moon on the star-spangled carpet!
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1- Hem, Lap.
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[12] WHO ARE YOU?
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Who are you long-lost in waiting,
So awake in the dark mid-night?
Clouds of darkness are fleeing fast
From end to end of universe,
The atmosphere is calm and quiet
And without a wink
The stars stare in sky
Who are you, sweet ! so awake
In the company of galaxy of stars?
Whose lamp is it burning
With light new at the door?
It is illuminating the path,
Light is reaching out far beyond,
What is this lamp, flickering alone
In the face of the furious wind?
Again and again to-day
Strikes somebody the chords of heart-lyre
And from black lustrous eyes now and then
Flows down love on both the cheeks,
What is that agony
Twitching the heart of lotus full awake at night?
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[13] LIGHT THE LAMPS
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The storm is petering out
Now in the new abode
Do light up a lamp — anew!
Dreams - their dome
Once lit up with moon and stars
Lies deflated — torn!
The harp-strings, all pieces
The ones that emitted melodies once!
I want to forget all
So please sing me a song
Fresh and sweet
In a new strain!
Ask me not
How many times
Did I fall and rise
On the stream of life
Many a time
My emotions lay dead in dust
And often soared in the blue,
Yet do I know —
I have drained the cup of poison to the dregs,
Sure do I know —
Unshakable is its effect!
But why don't you
To my lips bring the flask of nectar!
The desire still burns,
And the portals of heart
A tide of laughter knocks,
Dear! the love is still alive with all its aspirations,
Steeped in the flowery sweetness of spring
Several nights of enchanting mad moon still remain,
Talks of faith and betrayal
And thousand other trivial things!
Smile and smile a little
And be with me, my company!
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[14] TO THE MOON
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Please smile not and tempt me thus,
Or else I shall kiss your cheeks!
Yes, lavishly endowed with beauty you are
Your graceful eyes reflect the dream world of happiness
Where dance the naked damsels
Where new beauties enter and add to glamour
Go and join the beauty parade
Please shed not your lustre here!
How stealthy are your steps
Like a thief you traversed the sky
But no sooner the golden sun withdraws
All your lustre bewitching spreads out,
Cover not your limbs with attempt so vain!
For ages past I have seen you so mute
Tell me please, I ask, ''Who are you?''
Now never shall you escape from view
Strewn is the entire court-yard with your treasure to-day
Please pause in your path and enshrine me softly in \your heart!
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[15] MOON LIGHT
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Giving herself airs the moonlight approaches me,
Knowing me alone, the moonlight beguiles me ever!
Slowly on the parapets comes down the moon-light,
Lovely and sweet song sings the queenly moonlight!
On my roof and tin-shade spreads the moon-light,
With my hands and face openly plays the moon-light!
Sleeps not herself nor allows others, the moonlight!
At dawn, nobody knows where flees the moonlight!
This moon-light speaks not to me none knows why,
Fills the heart with strange nectar of love, this moonlight!
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[16] NO GRIEVANCE
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No grievance have I against you today!
The helpless eyes conceal the whole secret
The pleasant pictures of our meeting
Are enshrined in the heart,
I think over and over again think I
Far far away a new path search I!
No habit though have I of forgetfulness Dear!
No grievance have I against you today!
Willingly or unwillingly sweet dreams
I sometimes enjoy;
Thus intoxicated I conjure up your image
No harm if I smile,
And create a new world of my own;
No mischief indeed is this!
No grievance have I against you today!
Sometimes even a tree embraces a creeper lone,
The tired Lotus also takes the Bee in the cosy petal-fold
When she shield and shrank
Your memory tormented me all the more
Beauty of the universe is nobody's pawn!
No grievance have I against you today!
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[17] CONVICTION
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Full well do I know
A day is to come
When before my eager eyes
With a pitcher of nectar you will come!
As comes a rain-laden cloud
And hovers in the sky!
You would open the door
With hands as fair as mirror
And stand in modesty
With your innocent cheeks
Blushing red and rosy
Your eyes would tell me
Who-knows-what in language mute!
The moon thrills 'chakore'1
At dawn, lilies open up
So your face glamorous
Shall make some one restive
And he will be lost
In dreams sweet and bygone!
But soon he shall beckon you
And ask, ''How are you?
When did you come?''
What shall your answer be?
Perhaps none, except two deep sighs
And then you may put
Your 'Anchal'2 on your eyes!
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1- A bird enamoured of moon according to Indian myth.
2- Hem, Lap.
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[18] DAY-DREAMING
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From morn till night
Nothing could I do
But set afloat in fancy's ocean
Lamps of long-long cherished dreams!
And draw living Ajanta frescoes
On the canvas, my heart!
How intensely I've been seized
By your beauty!
From morn till night
Nothing could I do
But wander in the Elysium — my thoughts
Like a traveller free from bonds!
Like a love-lorn bee
I've only kissed and kissed
The buds, bright, ravishing, drunk
And drenched in honey!
How tormented am I
By your beauty!
From morn till night
Nothing could I do
But release the innocent doves
In the firmament — my feelings
And soothe a heart
Ablaze in the raging fires of want
I wandered — wandered all the time
Engrossed in thoughts of you
How strongly seized am I
Body and soul
By your beauty!
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[19] THE BLESSEDNESS OF MAN
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A glamorous marriage procession life is
For the man having love as God's gift,
Lucky is he; for him alone there is
Spring in nature; rains in the world!
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[20] THE MAN
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Finding the beloved's lap
Where is the man, hasn't fallen asleep!
Where is the man hasn't lost himself
Having got the beloved's love.
Hero is he, who hasn't shed a tear
And has treasured the anguish in the heart!
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[21] BETRAYAL
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No more do I indulge in dreams now
Nor do I sigh, off and on, in separation,
Believing you as fascinating as the Moon.
No longer remains the lunacy of love
The sign of the diseased mind.
Reflected not in my eyes any more
Your lustrous beauty as before!
For I have witnessed
The picture of living truth,
A picture of the world and of life
Full of pain and agony restless!
Deep sorrow of some innocent soul,
In torrents of tears,
Pours down on earth!
Darkness prevails so dense all around,
That Aurora in displeasure tarries.
To win over the damsel of the dawn
The myriad songs I would sing forth,
And to dispel the darkness,
I would bedeck life with light!
Until the blooming love pervades the entire universe,
Until a new kingdom of joy and smile
Descends and sheds its lustre on the earth,
Let not your memory creep into my life,
It weans away the mankind from the path of duty
And breaks millions of simple and sincere hearts!
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[22] NOT ALONE
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I am not alone,
Not alone am I,
The resurgent age is with me
And I too on my part
Zealously keep pace with it!
Innumerable arms lend me strength,
And freely draw upon
My energy untiring!
Myriads of men around me
Are constantly on the march,
Advancing on and on!
Along the thorough fare of liberty
There's no despair,
There's no despair,
Nor helplessness any!
No obstacles can stand
The upsurge popular
All are being swept away!
Has snow melted away
On some Himalayan peak?
Soil new is being created,
Fearless, peaceful habitations new are emerging!
Green, red, yellow and rosy gardens
Are in full bloom to-day!
Man is being initiated into humanity,
And sunken cheeks
And the long fallen faces
Their cheerfulness have regained!
Keep pace with that life
And cheerfully
Attune yourself to that life!
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[23] LIFE-STREAM
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Dread not
The new song of life’s revolt!
A new song of creation
It is, of rising tempo!
The process slow of mountain formation
Governs not the mighty creative human force.
(It is as true as the sky is blue!)
The glacier beyond ‘Gangotri’
Creeps slowly on the slope
By the gravitational force of earth
It creates and wrecks on small scale;
And brings about changes trivial
Such is not the stream of human revolt!
Refined is popular taste of my time,
Morbid it certainly is not!!
On the wall of the age
Descends a brilliant crimson light,
Of conviction bold and glamour rare!
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[24] STATE OF NIGHT
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Cooler is growing the night!
The faint sound of mills echoes at intervals,
From a source unknown!
The distant whistle of an engine
Stabs the tranquility,
Somewhere the swarms of mosquitoes
Spin the queer buzzing din,
Sometimes come out the rats
And run a competitive race,
The clock strikes the hours!
The world to a stop has come
And static, inert, dull and calm,
And senseless lie the souls who
Breathe unawares in state unconscious!
The porters, the watchmen and the workers
All are under the spell of sleep —
As if a woman casts her spells
And beckons to her lord for a close clasp
Of body and soul
For a calm and complete merger
Of identities in state relaxed!
Waking from the dream
One laughs on oneself!
Wondering at the irony of repeated errors!
Boundless is the dreamland
And matchless the whole funny affair.
But tangible truth is night
Growing calmer and cooler,
The wind drenched in moonlight
Constantly blows humid and heavy,
Dew is in the making above
To make the night frosty!
Oh Dear! Only the morn,
Would lift the silken veil
From the charming face of a bride-nature!
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[25] FAR ACROSS THE FIELDS
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The dark and dreadful night of the winter!
The decayed mud-hut far across the fields,
Where life is mute and morose.
The mist awful shakes every soul,
The people’s mind is oppressed.
It’s a tale of repression of the dumb souls!
It’s a final fatal blow to the tender heart.
Look, those wounded and tormented,
Roll in dust with life despised
And stricken with pain and grief,
Tied up, exploited and drenched in blood
The dark and dreadful night of the winter!
A most pitiable out-cry of grief
Arises over the dignity lost.
Poison of disparity permeates all around;
Polluted stand all culture
Every breath is a shiver and the body all a shudder!
The dark and dreadful night of the winter!
The disastrous lightning is crashing
On the poor humanity,
Civilization a synonym of violence and loot —
Devoid of affection all;
Dawn is lost in desolate darkness!
The dark and dreadful night of the winter!
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[26] LIFE TODAY
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The smile of life has withered away,
And dark clouds shroud the Moon!
The night stands denuded of its beauty,
As if the belle widowed has been!
Stands robbed the spring of human happiness,
And all the flower and foliage are fallen!
Blasted lie the flowing fields,
The sand-storm blew so cruel!
Heart rending seems every dream,
And aspirations on all sides are being crushed!
Crumbled are the customs of the present world,
The path of love lies twisted and turned!
Stands intact only the forest of motives selfish,
Housed where in are the dacoits' dens!
Every where is playing the funeral music,
And coffins colourful are being arranged!
Constrained are we to lie down there,
Fatigued and broken by pain!
So much has life been crippled,
It falls and staggers paralysed!
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(27) THE MIDDLE CLASS — 1
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Overcast is the sky!
Prevails all around
The thick darkness
One feels after closing the eyes.
Birds are calm and quiet
Resting cozily in their nests,
And from every mansion
Are pouring forth pleasant notes
From Piano or 'Tanpura'1
But under the leaking roof
From the pangs of recent child-birth
Groans a mother
Yet the life of man,
Is undying
Nay — is springing forth as ever!
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1- A musical instrument of four strings.
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(28) THE MIDDLE CLASS — 2
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It's ten O'clock in the night
Distantly are heard
The discordant drum-beats of a marriage party!
And at a high pitch the Radio Ceylon is blurting out!
The stale and insipid film-songs
either from 'Aan'1 or 'Barsat2'!
And in the house nearby,
Half-asleep and bored
A maid, thirty-year old
Lies restless in bed
Dreaming and thinking of her beloved,
Her father, a clerk poor,
In a heap of files drowned,
(Caught in the labyrinth of life!)
Pauses to think —
''Far advanced is the night
Tomorrow shall I look into the rest.''
His eye-lids are heavy with sleep
As he dreams of days carefree of childhood!
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1- An Indian film in Hindi.
2- An Indian film in Hindi.
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(29) THE FUTURE
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On man's future path
Reigns the limitless darkness,
Reigns the thick darkness!
No moon nor sun visible,
Not even alarm-trumpet is heard!
On the cliff of death
Stands the hushed humanity,
Staggering off and on!
The Earth is terribly trembling
With blasts of atom and hydrogen bombs!
Island after island is vanishing
And cities almost all,
Ever dreaming the tragedy of 'Hiroshima'!
On the vast expanse of the sky
Plays the flame with lurid fire,
Smoke, Smoke, all around!
On man's future path
Bright light is needed,
The flood light is needed!
In place of sand dunes precarious
We need a solid concrete dam!
So that Man may have a firm footing,
In the face of storms
And Man may resist on
Strong, valiant and patient!
Nor let there be any groans and sighs!
Let every man laugh
A laughter — white and pure!
And let hopes bloom
Of a future happy and glorious!
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(30) LIGHT
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May the future of man —
From the darkness,
From the ever-spreading fear of cold war
Be free!
Be absolutely free!!
May the rays of pure reason
Spread far and wide,
May the forces hostile to progress
Be torn to shreds
May the society from class and colour distinction,
And the man from man's bondage
Be free!
Be absolutely free!!
Let not the new mental horizon
Be overcast
By whirlwind, dust and lightning
Never
Oh Never!!
Nor let the crest of the new order
Crash and crumble down!
Let the pious divine efforts,
And the yearnings for world peace,
Adorn the Earth like golden dawn,
And redeem the world afflicted
And caress with love and affection,
Let not the pollen of new feelings
Be scorched and consumed by fire!
From the destructive power of various weapons
From the venomous and the devilish hate campaigns
May the modern civilization
Be safe!
Be absolutely safe!!
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(31) CONVICTION
---------------------------------------------------------
Firm is the conviction —
Some day the sky shall clear of clouds dark!
Sunny days, not one but countless
Shall descend on earth
With laughter pure, dripping with light!
Hark not, O, Life's traveller!
At this hour of pouring rain,
Let not the fear of getting drenched
Dampen your spirits high!
Rest assured —
The carpet of violet rays awaits
You on your path ahead!
All water shall dry up
And cold shall vanish
The current mighty of your eternal energy
Shall inflict utter defeat
On clouds — your rivals
Who boast of rains inexhaustible!
Under the dense and dark clouds
The tiny lamp of man's undying faith
Has flickered strong as ever!
Lost it has got somewhat
In the black blanket of darkness
You search it out,
And with it light your lamp,
Soon shall you see,
A myriad lamps lit up!
And drive darkness away,
And open up a new path golden!
As the light of conviction burns eternal
For a better world to come!
Conviction therefore is firm
That the transitory dusk
Shall pass through the transitional darkness
And wrest from heavens
A rosy dawn of life new!
---------------------------------------------------------
(32) THE FIRMAMENT WILL CHANGE ITS COLOUR
---------------------------------------------------------
No more shall the dark shroud
Envelop our heads!
And within moments
The firmament will change its colour!
The 'Malay breeze'1 is beckoning
Capering and dancing!
On every bough
On every leaf
A new awakening is blazing
And world's history takes a turn.
Gone are the paths of dreadful darkness
And gone are the pain ridden tragic ages,
Descends on Earth an age of light golden!
The musing Earth is moving,
The inert world vibrates with new song
Every corner resounds
The night is over,
The night is over!
The long awaited golden morn
Stands at the door
And offers to every heart
Presents of zeal and joy!
From the world will banish
The dense darkness of sufferings,
And the close atmosphere of dejection heavy!
Surely will the firmament take a new colour!
---------------------------------------------------------
1- A breeze coming from the direction of mountain Malay — a mountain of India, out of seven main mountains.
There is a luxuriant growth of sandal trees on Malay mountain.
---------------------------------------------------------
(33) WITH FLAGS OF PEACE
---------------------------------------------------------
No matter how vigorous
The drum-beat of war may be
We shall hold fast
The banner of peace aloft!
And the suppression of the voice of peace
We shall not allow!
From the dawn of history
We have faith in peace and humanity,
Gautam and Gandhi are dearest to our hearts!
Molesting anyone is sin for us,
We come not in any body's way
Quarrels we do not pick,
World friendship and mutual love
Is our message eternal,
Enough affection have we
For the tormented and destructed world!
Our hands will uplift the down-trodden,
And we shall save
Millions of down-cast mute molested
Fear-stricken injured sisters
From the cruel clutches of the devils!
We love smiles of children innocent;
Alluring are the folk-songs of the shepherds and farmers!
We shall never let these songs of mirth
Turn into painful sighs and groans!
Nor let the smiles be blood-stained!
We pledge we shall never let the lightning
Crash on the innocent dreams of Resurgent Man!
---------------------------------------------------------
(34) GALA OF NATIONAL LIBERATION
---------------------------------------------------------
Today is the eventful day,
That had witnessed the break-up and the fall
Of the chains of bondage tied to our feet!
The clang of the fall had resounded the world over,
And disconsolate tired people all,
Were aroused from slumber deep
And the ground had slipped
From under the feet of tyrants all!
History of the hungry and the exploited
Turned a new leaf of hope,
And heaved a long sigh of relief!
The powerful empires shrank with fear
And crumbled to the abyss of decline
The powerful current of time washed away the empires!
Indeed difficult it is to dominate any
Impossible it is to suppress any
Fired with a burning zeal new,
The youth is determined to fight the forces adverse!
Today is the eventful day
When darkness was dispelled
Our firmament lit up with a new Moon!
That pierced the heart of darkness
And shed the radiance of self-reliance on us!
Sure, the darkness will surround us never again
Nor shall utter doom blind us any more
No more shall we spend nights in writhing gloom
No more shall the rivers of sorrows swell!
Novel is the rising youth!
Novel is the saga of the nation!
Impediments have turned friendly,
Magnificent is the current of history!
That is the landmark of Victory!
This is he eventful day
When life smiled anew
And bestowed a thrilling kiss on our lips!
Myriads of roaring voices resounded in welcome
With great eclat did we celebrate
The gracious dawn of knowledge,
Destiny itself condescended to dance
And so mad with music we ran
And the world witnessed us
Rushing on with winged feet
New blood speeded in our veins,
Un-aided and undaunted
We inspired other nations to fight,
And healed up all wounds old;
And on a new ground we built up
A colony fresh and peaceful;
With tears of joy
Millions of women looked forward
Millions of strong men waited ready
To change the face of the nation
All had earlier fought
Against social evils and impediments hard!
Remember! this is the eventful day
On which on our soil burst forth
In blooms and blossoms new,
When age old prison doors were flung open
And people separated long
Rushed into each others embrace!
When singing victory songs
Out of the prison came
The soldiers of freedom universal!
This is the day
To usher in which
Gladly embraced widowhood
Many a woman blooming and young!
This is the same day
The very same day is this!
Of attack successful, utter sacrifice
Complete renunciations and campaigns,
This is the day Universal resurgence
This glorious day
Of the famished, the naked and the suppressed!
---------------------------------------------------------
(35) THE MASSES
---------------------------------------------------------
The reign of terror
Has ever failed to stay;
For the masses
Never sleep like 'Kumbh Karan'1!
And are never smitten by death!
If proofs are needed —
And beating of their hearts
Need be tested —
Turn over then
The pages of history of any nation!
Or else, visit and go round my land — India!
Where man has buried deep
The age old dead weight of dark despair
Into bowels bottomless of earth,
And saplings of conviction and hope bright and new
Have been implanted in their place!
And myriad lamps of life sublime
Have been lighted!
To drive the darkness out,
And where rivers over brimming
Flow freely on, gurgling,
The new message of the changing age!
Where, men to change the World
Unite together with zeal and vigour!
And with their hard work
Sow the seeds of vibrant life on Earth!
------------------------------------------------------
1 A demon, who was the younger brother of the notorious villain Ravan of the great
Sanskrit epic ‘Ramayan’. According to popular belief ‘Kumbh Karan’ used to sleep
Continuously for six moths.
---------------------------------------------------------
(36) VISIONS
---------------------------------------------------------
Some where across the horizon
Has thundered the collective voice
And sent a thrill
Over the free waves of my firmament!
Felt I early at dawn
That my heart-beat had changed!
That season had changed,
As if snow on the Himalayas had melted
The Ganga-Yamuna their banks have overflowed
And lashed and broken the rocks,
Oh! how much water
Have they stored in their hearts!
In the free oceans of the East
Are surging waves of aspirations new,
New storms are blowing!
Of them we have heard of course,
But never before saw the descending on Earth.
But today in the morning sky
We have caught a glimpse of them,
Stark stood out the truth
Dispelling and smashing illusions all!
Clouds thin had spread out
I beheld on their screen a panorama
As if the demon of capitalism
Was taking its last breath
Under the heels of resurgent man!
As if somebody was leading to 'Nandan Garden'1
A crowd of
the hungry, the naked and the down-trodden!
Again it appeared
As though a pack of pigeons had arrived
To deliver a message of joy!
And I saw as if
The ears of wheat had strewn all over!
This panorama has given me conviction firm,
And new inspirations for life's struggle,
And an impression of the might of the toiling masses!
Today those very pictures
Are reflected on the firmament!
Those very pictures
Are inscribed on minds of millions!
And the same ideals
The world is keen to uphold!
---------------------------------------------------------
1- The mythical garden of Indra, the king of gods.
---------------------------------------------------------
(37) RESURGENCE
---------------------------------------------------------
A new flame is blazing in every direction;
Life is lit up with red twilight.
The earth resounds with new footsteps,
Every ray is scattering a new light.
Age old darkness has been dispelled
And on the path descends a new dawn!
Revival of the past; this certainly is not
Altogether a new look has earth worn.
Simply to destroy class distinctions
Awakening is adoring the common man.
The age and the civilisation have taken a turn
The creeper of culture is blooming with flowers new.
The flowers full of sweet scent
Send a thrill of joy into the fertile land.
The mansions of selfishness and exploitation are crumbling
And on ruins of fallen houses surges a current of creation new.
O men, coiled up in the freezing winter;
Rise and rejoice over the approaching 'Kuro-Siwo'1.
O 'Hori'2 the sun-burnt peasant beheld!
Vital rain-laden breeze is rushing up!
And embrace your old and haggard wife 'Dhania'3
(Just control affection brimming over!)
You are now the master of the heavens
Man's dream into reality turns!
---------------------------------------------------------
1- A warm ocean current washing pass the south-eastern shores of Japan.
2- Hero of ‘Godan’ — famous novel by Premchand, the leading Hindi novelist.
3- Wife of Hori.
---------------------------------------------------------
(38) FOR THE FIRST TIME
---------------------------------------------------------
The common folk have gathered strength
And shaken the slumber,
For the first time in World's History,
And they have risen in revolt
As never before!
Breaking away from the age-old beaten track
Fighting against the huge rocky barrier
And the most powerful current,
Side tracking thus
The desolate thorny hilly tract
And many such hurdles
Did the people's current cross
Then it flowed down
To the plain of human life
Seasoned with experience and courage of conviction!
For the first time creepers colourful
Have sprung up all around
And the parochial boundaries of all lands
Are rendered dim and all dim
In the colourful glare of these boughs!
It's because
Burns in every bosom the spark,
The live, red-hot spark of restive agony
The cataclysmic force that
Will bring about a World new
Unity of action for the first time is there,
And therefore has survived every adverse blow!
Gone never to return are
Many angry, roaring storms of fire
No inkling we had.
The new age is busy struggling
For the rights of all,
The coming years will follow suit,
The world will stand guard
On rights of all people!
From California's Death-valley
From Kalahari, Sahara
Abyssinia and Tundra
Has disappeared the dark night of ignorance
All quarters are illumined with lights new
Peoples of all countries are up,
To construct the world anew
In a variety of ways
A variety of countries thus
Are no longer idle and helpless
Discovered they have
The new device of building
A happy paradise unfettered and free!
The World entire belongs to all nations,
None is alienated, nor any longer
Is it a far-fetched dream.
Gone for ever is
The worn-out life before Revolution
In the face of firm faith
Nations all nurtured by injustice
Have banished been forth with.
The fading lamps are kindled again
Affection of the age the lamps receive,
And joyously flicker freely.
Life's cloudy night is armed with lighting
Whenever his feet falter
The torch lights up the way
And into focus is brought
The road of common man's life.
Destroyed is the darkness
Banished from the path.
The reign of terror is over
No king is there,
Nor is there a beggar,
Those neglected so far for generations
Are harking to the call of revolt,
For the first time the World is so wide!
For the first time the sacrifice is so vast!
---------------------------------------------------------
(39) IT WON'T COLLAPSE
---------------------------------------------------------
The wall of concrete conviction
Can never collapse!
It has been built
By the boiling blood of the toiling masses
And by their bones as hard as granite and steel,
Many a restive, yet mute martyr
Had fallen to fill the foundations!
This conviction of a new future of life
A mere haze it is not
And is not without purpose,
Even the numberless blows
Can never destroy the wall of a new conviction!
Thanks to the years' struggle
And the power of mass awakening
That the tunnel of dark days is over
The World is lit up
The truth is aglow!
The iron-wall of people's power
Stands as sentinel
In order to protect
The oppressed and the have-nots
That wall is raising its head
Challenging the class
Steeped in blood pool of lust imperial,
That wall can never collapse and crumble
For it's a fresh and organised force of the masses,
Opposite current any would dash against it
But only to reel and retreat in utter defeat!
---------------------------------------------------------
(40) TO MAO AND CHOU
---------------------------------------------------------
Did we
With great eclat,
Your emancipation celebrate,
For this return?
Did a sea of joy,
On your proud out-cry of victory,
surge here too,
For this return?
Did we,
Like a comrade-in-arms,
Welcome you,
As the symbol of new resurgence of Man,
For this return?
That you -
With aims brazen
And motives of expansionism
dirty
May commit on us an aggression
Cruel, barbarous and sudden,
And rain on us a savagery
Abominable, primitive, and
ferocious;
And that you -
May occupy our land thus?
That you —
May forget our age-old friendship
To turn a cruel traitor,
And annihilate humanity from your hearts?
That you —
May turn merchant of tears
And bring us gifts of death?
That you —
Coming from East,
May bring us,
Darkness dense and smoke thick,
Enveloping vast expanse?
That you —
In the garb of communism,
May cast greedy eyes,
On the whole of south-east Asia?
No such hopes,
History had of you,
That you will add to it
A chapter so bitter!
No such hopes of you,
Had the resurgent communist world,
Never did it expect,
So pitiable a help from you!
Change!
Still there is time,
Change your policies;
Still there is time,
Change your stinking ways
Of behaving with friends!
Or else
The power of World's humanity
Shall smash into dust
Your empty false pride!
The lover stubborn,
Of war suicidal
Just retrace your steps,
Or else!
World civilized
Shall turn your blow
On you yourself !!
---------------------------------------------------------
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