HasyaIntermediate

देखिए न मेरी कारगुज़ारी

Dekhiye Na Meri Karguzari

Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya'

3 verses · ~1 min

अब देखिए न मेरी कारगुज़ारी कि मैं मँगनी के घोड़े पर सवारी कर ठाकुर साहब के लिए उन की रियाया से लगान और सेठ साहब के लिए पंसार-हट्टे की हर दूकान से किराया वसूल कर लाया हूँ

थैली वाले को थैली तोड़े वाले को तोड़ा -और घोड़े वाले को घोड़ा।

सब को सब का लौटा दिया अब मेरे पास यह घमंड है कि सारा समाज मेरा एहसानमंद है।

इति

Rasa: Hasya
Stanzas: 3
Lines: 13
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Free verse
Metre: free verse
Rhyme: irregular

The poem exudes a cynical and mock-heroic atmosphere, grounded in the hasya rasa, as it depicts a self-important intermediary riding a borrowed horse with an air of unearned authority. The visual scene captures this petty official traversing the marketplace and village, clutching bags of collected taxes and rents for his wealthy masters while pathetically returning every last coin and possession to their rightful owners. His bloated pride serves as a bitter satirical symbol for the middle-class functionary who mistakes his role as a mere conduit for power as genuine social influence. Ultimately, the tone is one of sharp, derisive irony, exposing the hollow vanity of an individual who revels in the delusion of being a benefactor while remaining a subservient puppet of the elite.

देखिए न मेरी कारगुज़ारी (Dekhiye Na Meri Karguzari), by Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya' runs to 13 lines across 3 stanzas, set as Three short stanzas with a conversational, satirical tone. Its governing rasa is Hasya, shaded by Shanta. The metre is free verse. Rhyme falls as irregular.

A sharp critique of the middle-class intermediary who serves the rich (landlords and merchants) yet feels a false sense of social importance.

Read it for मध्यम वर्ग की निरर्थक व्यस्तता पर व्यंग्य and पूंजीवादी व्यवस्था में बिचौलिए की भूमिका. 4 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Rajput Warrior on Horseback: Imbued with an atmosphere of solemn majesty and heightened anticipation, the painting evokes the unwavering ethos of Rajput chivalry and martial honor. A fully armored noble horseman sits atop a magnificent steed draped…

Words worth pausing on

कारगुज़ारी: काम या प्रदर्शन
रियाया: प्रजा या जनता
पंसार-हट्टा: पंसारी का बाजार
तोड़ा: रुपयों की थैली

Threads

Satire Society Pride

Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya'

The Poet

अज्ञेय

Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya'

1911 · 1987

Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan, universally known by his pen name Agyeya, completely rewired the circuitry of modern Hindi literature. Born in 1911 in a British archaeological camp in Uttar Pradesh, his life was as fiercely untraditional as his prose. Before he became the architect of the Prayogavaad (Experimentalism) movement, he was an active revolutionary who spent four years in British colonial prisons for attempting to help Bhagat Singh escape. In those prison cells, he began drafting Shekhar: Ek Jivani, a psychological novel that shocked the literary establishment with its unapologetic exploration of the individual ego. He rejected the prevailing romanticism of the era and instead assembled the Tar Saptak series, bringing together a new generation of poets who wrote in free verse about alienation, intellect, and the fractured modern psyche. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1964 and the Jnanpith Award in 1978. Agyeya was a novelist, a combatant officer in World War II, a journalist, and a profound existential thinker. He gave Hindi literature the vocabulary to interrogate the inner self without the comfort of traditional morality.

Paired Painting

Rajput Warrior on Horseback

This exquisite miniature painting captures the majestic essence of a Rajput warrior prepared for battle. Clad in chainmail armor and holding a sharp spear, the noble horseman embodies the spirit of chivalry, honor, and martial prowess that defined the warrior clans of northern India. His steed is equally magnificent, draped in protective golden quilted barding and striking crimson leg guards. Set against a luminous green meadow under a stylized dark sky, the artwork preserves the timeless ethos of a proud military culture.

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