2 verses · ~1 min
एक युवा जंगल मुझे, अपनी हरी पत्तियों से बुलाता है। मेरी शिराओं में हरा रक्त बहने लगा है आँखों में हरी परछाइयाँ फिसलती हैं कंधों पर एक हरा आकाश ठहरा है होंठ मेरे एक हरे गान में काँपते हैं: मैं नहीं हूँ और कुछ बस एक हरा पेड़ हूँ – हरी पत्तियों की एक दीप्त रचना! ओ युवा जंगल बुलाते हो आता हूँ एक हरे बसंत में डूबा हुआ आऽताऽ हूं...।
(1959)
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
Hermitage of Valmiki, Folio from the Nadaun Ramayana
This exquisite folio captures a moment of profound spiritual sanctuary within the hermitage of the sage Valmiki. As the Ramayana reaches its poignant conclusion, the forest setting becomes a haven of peace where the divine Sita finds refuge and maternal grace. The artist invites us to witness a landscape where nature and spirit coalesce, depicting the animals living in harmonious proximity to the holy hermitage. Every stroke reflects the deep reverence held for the epic tradition, portraying a world where the sorrows of the mortal realm are softened by the serenity of forest life and the wisdom of the sages.
Open the viewer →