16 verses · ~2 min
चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में! तुम चन्दा मैं रात सुहागन
चमक-चमक उट्ठें आँगन में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
बिखर-बिखर उट्ठो, मेरे धन, भर काले अन्तस पर कन-कन, श्याम-गौर का अर्थ समझ लें
जगत पुतलियाँ शून्य प्रहर में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
किरनों के भुज, ओ अनगिन कर मेलो, मेरे काले जी पर उमग-उमग उट्ठे रहस्य,
गोरी बाँहों का श्याम सुन्दर में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
मत देखो, चमकीली किरनो जग को, ओ चाँदी के साजन! कहीं चाँदनी मत मिल जावे
जग-यौवन की लहर-लहर में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
चाहों-सी, आहों-सी, मनु- हारों-सी, मैं हूँ श्यामल-श्यामल बिना हाथ आये छुप जाते
हो, क्यों! प्रिय किसके मंदिर में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
कोटि कोटि दृग! मैं जगमग जो- हूँ काले स्वर, काले क्षण गिन, ओ उज्ज्वल श्रम कुछ छू दो
पटरानी को तुम अमर उभर में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
चमकीले किरनीले शस्त्रों काट रहे तम श्यामल तिल-तिल ऊषा का मरघट साजोगे?
यही लिख सके चार पहर में? चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
ये अंगारे, कहते आये ये जी के टुकडे, ये तारे `आज मिलोगे’, `आज मिलोगे',
पर हम मिलें न दुनिया-भर में चलो छिया-छी हो अन्तर में!
इति
The Poet
माखनलाल चतुर्वेदी
Makhanlal Chaturvedi
1889 · 1968
There is a poem that lives at the absolute center of the Indian literary imagination of sacrifice a poem in which a flower, offered for worship, instead asks to be pressed into the wreath of a martyr, to fall upon a brave man's chest as he marches into the cannon's mouth. That poem is Pushp Ki Abhilasha The Flower's Longing and its author, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, composed it with the hand of a man who had already offered himself in exactly the same spirit. He was imprisoned multiple times by British colonial authorities for his journalism and his poetry. He was the editor of Prabha, one of the luminous literary political journals of the independence era. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi's very first prize in 1955, and the Padma Bhushan followed. But what no institutional recognition can fully capture is the texture of his moral life the extraordinary combination of burning patriotic fire and absolute personal humility, a man who wrote about martyrdom while quietly being available for it himself. Born in Babai in 1889, he lived to see the independence he had helped dream into existence, and then he wrote on for two decades more, finding in a free India new obligations for the literary conscience. He is the poet of pure sacrifice not sacrifice celebrated from a distance, but sacrifice inhabited, practiced, and offered without expectation of return.
Paired Painting
Lord Shiva and Parvati as Hunter and Huntress
In this evocative scene, we witness the divine couple, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, stepping away from their celestial majesty to wander the earthly forests as Kirata and Kirati. The image captures a profound moment of intimacy, where the cosmic balance is mirrored in their earthly disguise. Shiva stands with his trident, adorned with the crescent moon and the snake, his expression one of quiet strength. Beside him, Parvati holds a long bow, her gaze soft yet keen, embodying the grace of a huntress. They represent the unity of the universe, moving through the wild landscapes of creation with a shared, silent understanding that transcends mortal time. This depiction reminds us that the divine is present in every aspect of our existence, from the stillness of the mountain peaks to the heartbeat of the forest.
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