№ MMXXVI

RACHNA · A LIVING ARCHIVE

Rachna by M.

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MM · XXVI

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Surpanakha Complaining to Ravana

Karuna

आ न सकूँगा

Aa Na Sakunga

Dhananjay Singh
2 min read 11 versesनिमंत्रणinvitationदर्पण

11 verses · ~2 min

यद्यपि है स्वीकार निमंत्रण तदपि अभी मैं आ न सकूँगा

फूल बनूँ, खिलकर मुरझाऊँ मेरे वश का काम नहीं है जिसके आगे पड़े न चलना ऐसा कोई धाम नहीं है

तुमने गति को यति दे दी तो कभी लक्ष्य को पा न सकूँगा

हृदय तुम्हारा पानी-जैसा गिरे कंकड़ी तो हिल जाए मेरा मन दर्पण जैसा है टूटे, सौ प्रतिबिम्ब दिखाए

यदि उल्टा प्रतिबिम्ब बना लो दर्पण को बहला न सकूँगा

पल भर को वह रूप दिखाकर अधरों को वह गीत दे दिया वर्तमान का सुख जग भर को मुझको करुण अतीत दे दिया

अब कोई आघात मिला तो मैं जीवन भर गा न सकूँगा

सब कुछ बदल गया है लेकिन घावों की शृंखला न टूटी बहुत सरल हैं पंथ दूसरे पर मुझसे यह राह न छूटी

सुख-वैभव दे डालोगे तो घावों को सहला न सकूँगा

देखा नहीं किसी को मैंने मुरझाए फूलों को चुनते देखा नहीं किसी को अब तक क्रंदन-गीत चाव से सुनते

रोने को अभ्यास न मुझको लेकिन अब मुस्का न सकूँगा

इति

Dhananjay Singh

The Poet

धनंजय सिंह

Dhananjay Singh

Dhananjay Singh represents a deeply grounded voice in contemporary Hindi literature. Born in 1945 in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, his literary career spans several decades of poetry, ghazals, and lyrical verses. He writes with a profound awareness of the changing human condition and the quiet emotional struggles of ordinary people. Through celebrated collections like Palash Dahke Hain and Din Kyun Beet Gaye, he explores the delicate intersections of memory, nature, and modern existence. He possesses a remarkable ability to craft accessible yet deeply moving verse, bridging the gap between classical poetic traditions and contemporary sensibilities. Honored with the Sahitya Bhushan Samman, he has also dedicated much of his life to editing anthologies and uplifting new literary voices. He remains a steadfast guardian of the Hindi lyric form, writing poems that feel both intensely personal and universally relevant.

Surpanakha Complaining to Ravana

Paired Painting

Surpanakha Complaining to Ravana

This profound canvas brings to life a pivotal and dramatic turning point from the Aranya Kanda of the epic Ramayana. Here, the mutilated demoness Surpanakha, having suffered humiliation at the hands of Lakshmana in the forest of Panchavati, approaches her powerful brother Ravana to demand vengeance. Raja Ravi Varma captures the raw psychological tension of the moment, the sorrow and rage etched upon Surpanakha as she recounts her ordeal, and the smoldering fury awakened in Ravana, whose ornate crown and pensive yet dangerous posture foretell the impending tragedy of the abduction of Sita and the cataclysmic war of Lanka. Through rich textures and masterly handling of light and shadow, the artist elevates a mythological encounter into a deeply human drama of pride, grief, and destiny.

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If this held you

Four more, in the same key.

Chosen for their rasa and their register, not their popularity. Each one carries some part of what Aa Na Sakunga carries.