HasyaIntermediate

सज़ा

Saza

1 min read 6 verses

6 verses · ~1 min

तमाशा बनने की तैयारी ख़त्म हुई तमाशा बन गया है अब एक पूरा का पूरा आदमी |

नाराज़ लोग ख़ुश हुए सारे के सारे दीदा-फाड़ अंदाज़ में देखते हुए उसकी ओर लगाते हुए कहकहा पीटते हुए ताली अपनी-अपनी थाली बजाने लगे है अब |

तमाशा बना आदमी बदलता है तमाशबीनों को तमाशे में इसी तरह बना कर दीदा-फाड़ लगवा कर कहकहा पिटवा कर ताली बजवा कर सबसे अपनी-अपनी थाली |

आदमी को तमाशे की शक्ल में देखने की एक जायज और बेहतर सज़ा है यह |

रचनाकाल: 29.06.1996, विदिशा

शलभ श्रीराम सिंह की यह रचना उनकी निजी डायरी से कविता कोश को चित्रकार और हिन्दी के कवि कुँअर रवीन्द्र के सहयोग से प्राप्त हुई। शलभ जी मृत्यु से पहले अपनी डायरियाँ और रचनाएँ उन्हें सौंप गए थे।

इति

Rasa: Hasya
Stanzas: 6
Lines: 18
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Free verse
Metre: free verse
Rhyme: none

The poem evokes a grotesque and cynical atmosphere, shifting the traditional comic rasa into a sharp, uncomfortable satire where the boundary between the entertainer and the spectator dissolves. Visually, the scene depicts a central figure trapped as a public spectacle, surrounded by a distorted, wide-eyed crowd that revels in his humiliation, their faces twisted into jarring laughter as they clap and rhythmically strike their metal plates. This tableau serves as a biting commentary on the voyeuristic cruelty of the masses, suggesting a reflexive, karmic punishment where the act of consuming another’s misery inevitably turns the observers themselves into the very objects of ridicule they sought to mock. The tone is deeply biting and unsettling, transforming a scene of communal mockery into a cold, mirror-like indictment of human malice.

सज़ा (Saza), by Shalabh Shriram Singh runs to 18 lines across 6 stanzas, set as Four stanzas of varying lengths in free verse.. Its governing rasa is Hasya, shaded by Karuna. The metre is free verse. Rhyme falls as none.

Written on June 29, 1996, in Vidisha, this satirical poem critiques the public consumption of individual suffering as entertainment.

Read it for समाज की संवेदनहीनता, तमाशबीन संस्कृति पर व्यंग्य and मानवीय गरिमा का ह्रास. 2 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Draupadi Vastraharan: Steeped in an atmosphere of profound anguish, terror, and moral decay, this dramatic oil painting captures the harrowing Mahabharata episode where Draupadi is publicly humiliated in the Kaurava assembly. The scene…

Words worth pausing on

तमाशबीनों: तमाशा देखने वाले दर्शक
कहकहा: ज़ोर की हँसी

The Poet

शलभ श्रीराम सिंह

Shalabh Shriram Singh

1939 · 1960s

Shalabh Shriram Singh was a bohemian visionary who deliberately rejected the comfortable illusions of mainstream literature to forge an entirely new path. Born in 1938 in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, he became the driving force behind the Yuyutsawad movement in Hindi poetry during the late 1960s. He refused to be categorized by traditional literary epochs, writing with a rebellious spirit that sought a total transformation of society. His iconic poem Nafas Nafas Kadam Kadam became a revolutionary anthem, echoing through protests and progressive circles long after it was written. Singh possessed a remarkable ability to bridge the lyrical traditions of the Urdu ghazal with the grounded realities of modern Hindi verse. He wrote not for applause, but to confront the deep social inequalities and religious hypocrisies that plagued the nation. Passing away in 2000, he left behind a legacy that continues to inspire young writers. He remains a fearless poet of the marginalized, proving that true literature must possess the courage to make the comfortable feel intensely uncomfortable.