4 verses · ~1 min
इस लज्जित और पराजित युग में कहीं से ले आओ वह दिमाग़ जो खुशामद आदतन नहीं करता
कहीं से ले आओ निर्धनता जो अपने बदले में कुछ नहीं माँगती और उसे एक बार आँख से आँख मिलाने दो
जल्दी कर डालो कि पहलने-फूलनेवाले हैं लोग औरतें पिएँगी आदमी खाएँगे -– रमेश एक दिन इसी तरह आएगा -– रमेश कि किसी की कोई राय न रह जाएगी -– रमेश क्रोध होगा पर विरोध न होगा अर्जियों के सिवाय -– रमेश ख़तरा होगा ख़तरे की घण्टी होगी और उसे बादशाह बजाएगा -– रमेश
(1974)
इति
The Poet
रघुवीर सहाय
Raghuvir Sahay
1929 · 1990
Raghuvir Sahay transformed the language of modern Hindi poetry by entirely removing its reliance on classical romanticism. Born in Lucknow in 1929, he worked as an influential journalist and served as the chief editor of the prominent weekly magazine Dinaman. This journalistic career fundamentally shaped his poetic voice. Sahay wrote about political disillusionment, middle-class hypocrisy, and the quiet tragedies of urban life with the precision of a reporter and the sensitivity of a master poet. Collections like Log Bhool Gaye Hain, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984, dissect the democratic failures of post-independence India. He refused to dress his anger in ornamental words. Instead, he used everyday conversational Hindi to confront readers with the harsh realities of power and powerlessness. Sahay died in 1990, leaving behind a stark and unsentimental body of work that continues to challenge the conscience of the nation. He proved that poetry does not need to be sweet to be profoundly moving.
Paired Painting
O My Teacher, Behold the Great Army of the Sons of Pandu
This profound moment captures the fragile yet volatile precipice of the great war at Kurukshetra. Within the crimson confines of a royal pavilion, the troubled prince Duryodhana approaches his venerable preceptor, Dronacharya. With a gesture charged with anxiety and restless ambition, Duryodhana points toward the formidable military array formed by the sons of Pandu. The artwork visualizes the very opening verses of the Bhagavad Gita, where mortal fears, political tension, and the heavy burden of destiny converge before the clash of righteousness and greed.
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