3 verses · ~1 min
आया प्रभात चन्दा जग से कर चुका बात गिन-गिन जिनको थी कटी किसी की दीर्घ रात अनगिन किरणों की भीड़भाड़ से भूल गए पथ, और खो गए, वे तारे।
अब स्वप्नलोक के वे अविकल शीतल, अशोक पल जो अब तक थे फैल-फैल कर रहे रोक गतिवान समय की तेज़ चाल अपने जीवन की क्षण-भंगुरता से हारे।
जागे जन-जन, ज्योतिर्मय हो दिन का क्षण-क्षण ओ स्वप्नप्रिये, उन्मीलित कर दे आलिंगन। इस गरम सुबह, तपती दुपहर में निकल पड़े। श्रमजीवी, धरती के प्यारे।
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
On the River, Benares
When Edwin Lord Weeks arrived in the ancient holy city of Varanasi, known then as Benares, he was deeply moved by the living spirituality woven into every stone of the riverside ghats. Unlike many Western travelers who viewed the East through a distant exotic lens, Weeks approached India with profound reverence and painstaking observational care. He stood on boats in the middle of the sacred Ganges to capture the delicate morning light as it bathed the majestic sandstone steps, soaring temples, and quiet devotion of daily life. In this breathtaking masterwork, the shimmering reflections on the holy river reflect not just light, but centuries of faith, renewal, and quiet human dignity. Devotees gather under woven bamboo umbrellas, perform daily ablutions, and converse along the waters, while grand architectural facades rise proudly into the brilliant sapphire sky. The painting stands as a deeply respectful testament to the enduring eternal spirit of Kashi, preserved forever through the artist's empathetic brush.
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