ShantaIntermediate

नए साल की शुभकामनाएं !

Naye Saal Ki Shubhkaamnaaye

Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena

1 min read 7 versesVillage Farmers Labour

7 verses · ~1 min

नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ! खेतों की मेड़ों पर धूल भरे पाँव को कुहरे में लिपटे उस छोटे से गाँव को नए साल की शुभकामनाएं!

जाँते के गीतों को बैलों की चाल को करघे को कोल्हू को मछुओं के जाल को नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ!

इस पकती रोटी को बच्चों के शोर को चौंके की गुनगुन को चूल्हे की भोर को नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ!

वीराने जंगल को तारों को रात को ठंडी दो बंदूकों में घर की बात को नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ!

इस चलती आँधी में हर बिखरे बाल को सिगरेट की लाशों पर फूलों से ख़याल को नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ!

कोट के गुलाब और जूड़े के फूल को हर नन्ही याद को हर छोटी भूल को नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ!

उनको जिनने चुन-चुनकर ग्रीटिंग कार्ड लिखे उनको जो अपने गमले में चुपचाप दिखे नए साल की शुभकामनाएँ!

इति

Rasa: Shanta
Stanzas: 7
Lines: 22
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Free verse
Metre: irregular
Rhyme: AAB

The poem evokes a profound sense of shanta (serenity) and grounded acceptance, casting a warm, observant light on the cyclical rhythms of rural existence and the quiet dignity of domestic labor. A painting of this scene would display a layered collage of life: dusty footprints on earthen field boundaries amidst morning mist, the steady rotation of stone grinders and oil presses, and the intimate, domestic vignettes of hearth fires and children’s laughter. The imagery bridges the divide between harsh, solitary toil and fragile, ephemeral beauty, symbolized by the juxtaposition of scattered hair in a gale and delicate floral ornaments tucked into a bun. Through its rhythmic, litany-like structure, the work transforms the mundane reality of the farmer and the forgotten individual into a sacred tapestry of human endurance, ultimately framing the new year as a compassionate embrace of both sorrow and simple, persistent joy.

नए साल की शुभकामनाएं ! (Naye Saal Ki Shubhkaamnaaye), by Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena runs to 22 lines across 7 stanzas, set as Seven stanzas of three lines each, with a recurring refrain.. Its governing rasa is Shanta, shaded by Karuna. The metre is irregular. Rhyme falls as AAB.

It belongs to the 1927 · 1983 span of Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for श्रमजीवी वर्ग और ग्रामीण जीवन के प्रति सम्मान and नववर्ष पर समाज के वंचित और साधारण अंगों को याद करना. 4 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Village Belle: Bathed in a serene, quiet dignity, this warm-toned oil portrait radiates an intimate and graceful emotional atmosphere of everyday rural life. A young village maiden is depicted mid-journey, balancing a terracotta water…

Words worth pausing on

मेड़ों: खेतों की सीमा पर मिट्टी की बनाई हुई ऊँची लकीर
जाँते: अनाज पीसने की हाथ की चक्की
कोल्हू: तेल या रस निकालने का यंत्र
चौंके: रसोई घर या खाना बनाने का स्थान

Threads

Village Farmers Labour

The Poet

सर्वेश्वरदयाल सक्सेना

Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena

1927 · 1983

Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena completely rejected the notion that serious poetry required an elitist vocabulary. Born in 1927 in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, he became one of the most accessible and beloved voices of the Nayi Kavita movement. As the prominent editor of the children's magazine Parag and a key figure at the literary journal Dinamaan, Saxena possessed an incredibly rare ability to speak directly to the rural heartland while maintaining razor sharp political intelligence. His poetry collections, such as the Sahitya Akademi Award winning Khunti Par Tange Log, confront the disillusionment of post independence India, governmental apathy, and the quiet struggles of the peasantry. He wrote about rivers, forests, and village folk not with romantic nostalgia, but with a fierce and protective realism. Saxena passed away in 1983, but his words remain permanently etched into the consciousness of the Indian middle class. He proved that true literary greatness lies not in speaking above the people, but in walking directly beside them.