KarunaIntermediate

अकेला रह गया

Akela Rah Gaya

Dinesh Singh

1 min read 7 versesLoneliness Pain Memory

7 verses · ~1 min

बीते दिसंबर तुम गए लेकर बरस के दिन नए पीछे पुराने साल का जर्जर किला था ढह गया मैं फिर अकेला रह गया

तुम आ गए तो भा गए इस ज़िन्दगी पर छा गए जितना तुम्हारे पास था वह दर्द मुझे थमा गए

वह प्यार था कि पहाड़ का झरना रहा जो बह गया मैं फिर अकेला रह गया

रे साइयाँ, परछाइयाँ मरूभूमि की ये खाइयाँ सुधि यों लहकती ज्यों कि लपटें आग की अँगनाइयाँ

हिलाता हुआ पिंजरा टँगा रह गया पंछी दह गया मैं फिर अकेला रह गया

तुम घर रहो बाहर रहो ऋतुराज के सर पर रहो बौरी रहें अमराइयाँ पिक का पिहिकता स्वर रहो

ये बोल आह-कराह के हारा-थका मन कह गया मैं फिर अकेला रह गया

इति

Rasa: Karuna
Stanzas: 7
Lines: 29
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Free verse
Metre: free verse
Rhyme: irregular

The poem evokes a desolate atmosphere of karuna (pathos), painting a scene of a crumbling, archaic fortress interior where a single, neglected birdcage hangs, its occupant long departed. The imagery centers on the stark contrast between the vibrant, blooming mango groves of spring—where the cuckoo’s call mocks the speaker—and the scorched, arid desert of the speaker's internal world, where memories flicker like searing, uncontrolled flames. This narrative of abandonment symbolizes the crushing weight of a hollowed-out presence, where the lover’s lingering pain is felt as a mountainous cascade that leaves the protagonist trapped in a state of terminal solitude. The artistic tone is profoundly melancholic and elegiac, capturing the exhausted resignation of a heart that remains tethered to the wreckage of a past that has already collapsed into silence.

अकेला रह गया (Akela Rah Gaya), by Dinesh Singh runs to 29 lines across 7 stanzas, set as Irregular stanzas with varying line counts. Its governing rasa is Karuna, shaded by Shringara. The metre is free verse. Rhyme falls as irregular.

It belongs to the 1948 · 1970s span of Dinesh Singh's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for वियोग और अकेलेपन की पीड़ा and समय का बीतना और पुरानी यादें. 4 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Untitled (Disappointed): Steeped in a poignant and heavy atmosphere of melancholy, the portrait depicts a young woman in a traditional sari standing in a deeply pensive pose against the trunk of a great tree. She is accompanied by a silent…

Words worth pausing on

जर्जर: टूटा-फूटा या अत्यंत कमजोर
मरूभूमि: रेगिस्तान
अमराइयाँ: आम के बाग
पिक: कोयल

Threads

Loneliness Pain Memory Separation

The Poet

दिनेश सिंह

Dinesh Singh

1948 · 1970s

Kanwar Dinesh Singh is a vital contemporary voice who moves with remarkable grace between English and Hindi literary traditions. Born in 1973 in New Delhi and deeply shaped by the mountainous landscapes of Shimla, he has carved out a unique space as both a poet and a pioneering haikuist in Hindi literature. While many modern writers lean heavily on complex intellectualism, Singh finds profound beauty in brevity. Through collections like Kuhra Dhanush and Aangan Mein Gauraiya, he adapts the strict, minimalist structure of the Japanese haiku to the linguistic rhythms of Hindi, capturing fleeting moments of nature and delicate human emotions. He also serves as a professor and literary critic, consistently working to foster dialogue between different literary cultures. Honored with the Himachal Pradesh Sahitya Akademi Award, Singh demonstrates that poetry does not need to be loud to be deeply impactful. He is a writer of quiet observation, proving that immense philosophical weight can often be carried in just a few carefully chosen syllables.