King Dasharatha and Queen Kaikeyi in the Wrath Chamber

RaudraAdvanced

ज्ञानीजन

Gyanijan

1 min read 6 versesPoverty Satire Exploitation

6 verses · ~1 min

ज्ञान के आतंक में मेरे घर का अन्धेरा बाहर निकलने से डरता है

ज्ञानीजन हँसते हैं बन्द खिड़कियाँ देखकर उधड़े पलस्तर पर बने अकारण भुतैले चेहरों पर और सीलन से बजबजाती सीढ़ियों की रपटन पर

ज्ञान के साथ जिनके पास आई है अकूत सम्पदा और जो कृपण हैं मुझ जैसे दूसरों पर दृष्टिपात करने तक वे अब दर्प से मारते हैं लात मेरे जंग खाए गिराऊ दरवाज़े पर

तुम गधे के गधे ही रहे जिस तरह कपड़े के जूतों और नीले बन्द गले के रुई भरे कोटों में माओ के अनुयायी...

सर्वज्ञ, अगुआ ज्ञान-भण्डार के भट्टारक, महा-प्रज्ञ कटाक्ष करते हैं:

ख़ुद तो ऐसे ही रहा दीन-हीन लेकिन इसकी स्त्री ने कौनसा अपराध किया कि मुरझाई नीम चढ़ी गिलोय को दो बून्द पानी भी नसीब नहीं हुआ ।

इति

Rasa: Raudra
Stanzas: 6
Lines: 26
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Free verse
Metre: free verse
Rhyme: none

The poem evokes a bitter, fiercely satirical, and indignant emotional atmosphere charged with the rasa of raudra (anger), contrasting the oppressive arrogance of the intellectual elite with the grinding degradation of absolute poverty. Visually, a painting of this scene would depict a dilapidated, crumbling hovel featuring peeling plaster marred by accidental ghost-like stains, slick moldering steps, and a rusted, unstable door being brutally kicked open from the outside by haughty, well-fed intellectuals dressed in bourgeois-revolutionary uniforms like padded Mao coats and cloth shoes. This violent intrusion symbolizes the systemic cruelty of class exploitation, where the self-proclaimed guardians of knowledge and moral authority weaponize their vast accumulated wealth and intellectual vanity to mock and torment the helpless destitute. The artistic tone is one of scathing, uncompromising social critique and helpless fury, laying bare the hypocrisy of a privileged class that preaches enlightenment while ruthlessly trampling upon the marginalized and their starving families.

ज्ञानीजन (Gyanijan), by Rituraj runs to 26 lines across 6 stanzas, set as Six free-verse stanzas with sharp, critical language.. Its governing rasa is Raudra, shaded by Karuna. The metre is free verse. Rhyme falls as none.

It belongs to the 1940 · 2021 span of Rituraj's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for बुद्धिजीवियों के पाखंड और संवेदनहीनता पर प्रहार and ज्ञान और धन के अहंकार द्वारा गरीबों का उपहास. 3 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside King Dasharatha and Queen Kaikeyi in the Wrath Chamber: The painting exudes a heavy, suffocating emotional atmosphere of impending doom and domestic tragedy, capturing the exact moment kingly authority fractures under the weight of grief and betrayal. Within the darkened…

Words worth pausing on

कृपण: कंजूस
भट्टारक: महान विद्वान या पूज्य पुरुष (यहाँ व्यंग्य में)
गिलोय: एक औषधीय बेल

Threads

Poverty Satire Exploitation

The Poet

ऋतुराज

Rituraj

1940 · 2021

While many modern writers focused on grand political narratives or complex urban themes, Rituraj deliberately turned his attention to the quiet and often overlooked corners of ordinary existence. Born in 1940 in Rajasthan, he spent over three decades teaching English literature. However, he chose Hindi as the medium to express the profound tragedies and daily struggles of the Indian heartland. He lived mostly in Bundi, far from the glittering literary circles of major metropolitan cities. From there, he developed a voice that is exceptionally attentive to those living on the margins of society. In his famous poem Kanyadaan, he examines the complex anxiety of a mother giving away her daughter with piercing, understated realism. He avoided heavy ornamentation and artificial rhetoric. His poetry simply affirms the quiet resilience of everyday people. He passed away in 2024, leaving behind a body of work that forces readers to confront the deep ironies hidden in plain sight.