5 verses · ~1 min
ओ रभाती नदियों, बेसुध कहाँ भागी जाती हो? वंशी-रव तुम्हारे ही भीतर है!
ओ, फेन-गुच्छ लहरों की पूँछ उठाए दौड़ती नदियो,
इस पार उस पार भी देखो,- जहाँ फूलों के कूल सुनहरे धान से खेत हैं।
कल-कल छल-छल अपनी ही विरह व्यथा प्रीति कथा कहती मत चली जाओ!
सागर ही तुम्हारा सत्य नहीं वह तो गतिमय स्त्रोत की तरह
इति
The Poet
सुमित्रानंदन पंत
Sumitranandan Pant
1900 · 1977
Sumitranandan Pant was the absolute master of lyrical aestheticism in modern Hindi literature. Born in 1900 in the lush Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, he drew his earliest and most profound inspiration from the pristine beauty of the Himalayas. He became one of the four foundational pillars of Chhayavaad, the Hindi neo romantic movement. However, his literary journey did not stagnate in romantic nature worship. Over a career spanning more than five decades, his poetry evolved through distinct phases, absorbing progressive ideologies and eventually culminating in the deep philosophical spiritualism of Sri Aurobindo. Works like Pallav showcased his unmatched ability to weave delicate, musical imagery, while his later masterpiece Chidambara earned him the Jnanpith Award in 1968, the very first time this prestigious honor was given to a Hindi writer. Pant was also recognized with the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan. He passed away in 1977, leaving behind a poetic vocabulary that taught the Hindi language how to capture the exact softness of falling dew and the quiet grandeur of the mountains.
Paired Painting
Radha and Her Companion
In this tender depiction, the master painter Raja Ravi Varma captures a quiet moment of companionship rooted in the deep love of the divine. Radha, the eternal devotee and beloved of Krishna, sits with her sakhi, her friend and confidante. The scene radiates a gentle intimacy, as if the two women have paused their walk to share a secret or a moment of reflection by the water. Varma portrays them with the grace of courtly elegance, yet infuses their expressions with a human vulnerability that bridged the gap between traditional mythological storytelling and Western academic naturalism. This painting invites us into a space of devotion, where the human soul speaks quietly to the divine.
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