5 verses · ~1 min
मुझे चाहिए पूरी पृथ्वी अपनी वनस्पतियों, समुद्रों और लोगों से घिरी हुई, एक छोटा-सा घर काफ़ी नहीं है।
एक खिड़की से मेरा काम नहीं चलेगा, मुझे चाहिए पूरा का पूरा आकाश अपने असंख्य नक्षत्रों और ग्रहों से भरा हुआ।
इस ज़रा सी लालटेन से नहीं मिटेगा मेरा अंधेरा, मुझे चाहिए एक धधकता हुआ ज्वलंत सूर्य।
थोड़े से शब्दों से नहीं बना सकता मैं कविता, मुझे चाहिए समूची भाषा – सारी हरीतिमा पृथ्वी की सारी नीलिमा आकाश की सारी लालिमा सूर्योदय की।
(1987)
इति
The Poet
अशोक वाजपेयी
Ashok Vajpeyi
1941 · 2008
Ashok Vajpeyi occupies a towering position in contemporary Hindi letters as both a prolific poet and a master architect of cultural institutions. Born in 1941 in Durg, he joined the civil service and subsequently shaped India's modern arts landscape by founding institutions like Bharat Bhavan. Despite his immense public responsibilities, his poetry remains fiercely dedicated to the intimate and the personal. He views poetry as a civilizational defense against the crushing impersonality of the modern world. In collections like Shaher Ab Bhi Sambhavana Hai and his Sahitya Akademi Award winning Kahin Nahin Wahin, Vajpeyi explores the themes of love, death, nature, and absence with remarkable linguistic precision. He writes in free verse, employing a sparse and exact vocabulary to capture fleeting moments of domestic quiet or sudden metaphysical dread. His work has been translated across the globe, bringing modern Hindi sensibilities to a vast international audience. Vajpeyi demonstrates that a writer can navigate the complex machinery of the state while keeping the solitary flame of the poetic conscience brilliantly alive.
Paired Painting
Ararat Valley
Hakob Kojoyan imbued his landscapes with a profound, quiet reverence for the majestic landscapes of his homeland. The Ararat Valley, stretching beneath ancient skies, holds a deeply spiritual place in the cultural consciousness of the region, symbolizing endurance, heritage, and timeless beauty. Through gentle brushstrokes and a warm palette, Kojoyan captures not merely the physical terrain, but the soulful resonance of the earth and the solitary figures who inhabit it, standing as quiet witnesses to the grandeur of nature.
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