3 verses · ~1 min
कल तुम्हें सुनसान अच्छा लग रहा था आज भीड़ें भा रही हैं तुम वही मन हो कि कोई दूसरे हो
गोल काले पत्थरों से घिरे उस सुनसान में उस शाम गहरे धुँधलके में खड़े कितने डरे कँपते थरथराते अंत तक क्यों मौन थे तुम
किस तिलस्मी शिकंजे के असर में थे जिगर पत्थर, आँख पत्थर, जीभ पत्थर क्यों हुई थी सच बताओ, उन क्षणों में कौन थे तुम कल तुम्हें अभिमान अच्छा लग रहा था आज भिक्षा भा रही है तुम वही मन हो कि कोई दूसरे हो ।
इति
The Poet
नरेश सक्सेना
Naresh Saxena
1939 · 2001
Naresh Saxena holds a singular and fascinating position in contemporary Hindi literature as a man who brought the exactitude of science into the heart of poetry. Born in 1939 in Gwalior and trained as an engineer, he did not publish his first poetry collection, Samudra Par Ho Rahi Hai Baarish, until he was sixty one years old. Yet, his literary presence had already been firmly established through decades of publication in prestigious journals. Saxena writes with a unique physiological and environmental awareness. He constructs his poems not out of abstract romanticism, but from the physical mechanics of the natural world and the complex realities of modern survival. His language is spare, precise, and completely devoid of unnecessary ornamentation. Alongside his poetry, he is an acclaimed playwright whose drama Aadmi Ka Aa has been staged thousands of times, and a filmmaker who won a National Film Award for his directorial work. He demonstrates that a poet does not need to abandon the rational world to understand the human soul.
Paired Painting
Portrait of Chola Emperor Rajaraja I from the Brihadisvara Temple Murals
This magnificent fragment preserves the likeness and majestic spirit of Emperor Rajaraja the Great, the visionary ruler who brought the Chola Empire to its zenith of cultural, spiritual, and military power. Painted during the completion of the monumental Brihadisvara Temple, the mural captures the sovereign in rich traditional regalia, adorned with ornate jewelry and a towering crown, holding a ceremonial standard. The gentle yet powerful grace of the figure reflects a golden age where devotion to Lord Shiva inspired peerless artistic mastery. As we gaze upon these earthen pigments, we witness a living prayer rendered in stone and lime, capturing the eternal dignity of a monarch who dedicated his empire to the divine.
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