№ MMXXVI

RACHNA · A LIVING ARCHIVE

Rachna by M.

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MM · XXVI

Canvas
Rama, Sita and Lakshmana in Exile

Karuna

खुरदरे पैर

Khurdare Pair

Nagarjun
1 min read 5 versesपैरfeetश्रम

5 verses · ~1 min

खुब गए दूधिया निगाहों में फटी बिवाइयोंवाले खुरदरे पैर

धँस गए कुसुम-कोमल मन में गुट्ठल घट्ठोंवाले कुलिश-कठोर पैर

दे रहे थे गति रबड़-विहीन ठूँठ पैडलों को चला रहे थे एक नहीं, दो नहीं, तीन-तीन चक्र कर रहे थे मात त्रिविक्रम वामन के पुराने पैरों को नाप रहे थे धरती का अनहद फासला घण्टों के हिसाब से ढोये जा रहे थे!

देर तक टकराए उस दिन इन आँखों से वे पैर भूल नहीं पाऊंगा फटी बिवाइयाँ खुब गईं दूधिया निगाहों में धँस गईं कुसुम-कोमल मन में

१९६१ में लिखी गई

इति

Nagarjun

The Poet

नागार्जुन

Nagarjun

1911 · 1998

Vaidyanath Mishra, universally known as Nagarjun, was a literary force of nature who absolutely refused to bow before power. Born in 1911 in the Darbhanga district of Bihar, he earned the title of Janakavi or the poet of the people through decades of unyielding progressive writing. He wrote in both Hindi and Maithili, winning the Sahitya Akademi Award for his Maithili collection Patrahin Nagna Gachh. Nagarjun was a restless traveler and a committed activist who actively participated in peasant movements and went to prison several times. His poetry is stripped of all artificial elegance. It speaks directly with the raw, biting anger of the hungry, the marginalized, and the exploited. Whether he was exposing political corruption or writing tenderly about the first rains on parched village earth, his words carried the undeniable scent of the soil. He died in 1998, but he remains the ultimate benchmark for resistance poetry in India. He proved that true poetry does not reside in the palaces of kings, but in the sweat and struggle of the common folk.

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana in Exile

Paired Painting

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana in Exile

This sacred image captures the profound devotion and unwavering bond of the divine trio during their long years in the forest. Rama, with his skin the color of a rain cloud, holds Sita hand in hand, symbolizing their eternal union amidst trials. Lakshmana stands faithfully by their side, a constant guardian and brother. Their serene expressions reflect the spiritual stoicism demanded by the Ramayana, reminding us that even in the deepest wilderness, dharma remains their guiding light. This depiction has graced countless homes, serving as a timeless anchor for faith and the ideals of duty, sacrifice, and pure love.

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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 Khurdare Pair carries.