6 verses · ~1 min
पानी छूता है उसे उसकी त्वचा के उजास को उसके अंगों की प्रभा को –
पानी ढलकता है उसकी उपत्यकाओं शिखरों में से –
पानी उसे घेरता है चूमता है
पानी सकुचाता लजाता गरमाता है पानी बावरा हो जाता है
पानी के मन में उसके तन के अनेक संस्मरण हैं।
(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
At The Bath
Raja Ravi Varma breathed a revolutionary spirit into Indian art by marrying Western oil techniques with the rich inner grace of Indian life. In this intimate portrayal, a young woman stands quietly by a water tank, wrapped in a damp white garment that clings gently to her form. Her cascading dark hair and contemplative gaze invite the viewer into a moment of pure, unhurried solitude. The play of light across her shoulders and the stone steps reflects Varma's deep mastery of chiaroscuro, turning a simple daily ritual into an enduring poetry of form and light.
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