Contemplation Poems

कच्ची सड़क – सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना

What happened to that dirt road leading to my village?

A village kachchi road is converted into a black tar-coal modern road. With that the old magic is buried forever. Only memories remain, and nostalgia… Here is an excerpt from a poem by Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena. Rajiv Krishna Saxena कच्ची सड़क सुनो ! सुनो ! यहीं कहीं एक कच्ची सड़क …

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पिता की मृत्यु पर – निदा फ़ाज़ली

A son turns out to be a copy of his father. As we grow, we gradually realize that in our mannerism, thinking and opinions, we become more and more like our fathers. Here is a touching poem that brings out this truth out in the voice of the son at …

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थकी दुपहरी – गिरिजा कुमार माथुर

Exhaution during hot summer noon

In early summer, fields are empty and dried leaves fallen from trees fly all over in warm wind. Poet presents a shabda-chitra and likens the scene to the loneliness in life. Rajiv Krishna Saxena थकी दुपहरी थकी दुपहरी में पीपल पर काग बोलता शून्य स्वरों में फूल आखिरी ये बसंत …

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मधुशाला – हरिवंश राय बच्चन

Madhushala

Madhushala is one of the most popular book of Hindi poetry. There was a time that this work of poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan Ji, comprising 135 verses, was a craze. Here are few selected verses from Madhushala. Rajiv Krishna Saxena मधुशाला मृदु भावों के अंगूरों की आज बना लाया हाला‚ …

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कांच का खिलौना- आत्म प्रकाश शुक्ल

So temporary! What is the point of life?!

Life is so short. At times it seems rather pointless and absurd. Here is a very down to earth perspective on life that is very Indian. Rajiv Krishna Saxena कांच का खिलौना माटी का पलंग मिला राख का बिछौना। जिंदगी मिली कि जैसे कांच का खिलौना। एक ही दुकान में …

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परम्परा – रामधारी सिंह दिनकर

Tradition is so precious!!

Tradition (parampara) is strong in India but the forces of post-modernism are chipping at it. Tradition may appear irrational but it provides the inner strength to a society. One is resigned to the fact that in due course of time, Indian society would give up its traditional ways. While this …

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जीवन क्रम – बालस्वरूप राही

This is not the life I wanted!

Daily rut and unchanged routine… doing the same thing day after day with no joy of creativity… drains a man. There seems no escape … regrets linger on with us. Perhaps things could be better if we had not compromised in life. Yet now we almost willing remain in the …

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तुम्हारी हंसी – कुसुम सिन्हा

Your laughter !

Laughter they say is the best medicine. After all life is so temporary and brooding on perceived losses serves no particular purpose. Fortunate are those of us who retain their ability to laugh off the adversities. Here is a description of such a heartfelt laughter by Kusum Sinha. I especially …

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उर्वशी (नर प्रेम – नारी प्रेम) – रामधारी सिंह दिनकर

How men love, how women love

How differently is the emotion of love felt by men and women! Here is an excerpt from Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s famous book “Urvashi”. Meanings of some difficult words are given below – Rajiv Krishna Saxena उर्वशी (नर प्रेम – नारी प्रेम)   इसमे क्या आश्चर्य? प्रीति जब प्रथम–प्रथम जगती है‚ …

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परिवर्तन – ठाकुर गोपालशरण सिंह

Disaster turns the world topsi-turvy in no time

Change or parivartan they say, is the only that never stops. Everything changes as day follows night and night follows day. Everyone faces constant ups and downs. Here is a poem that makes a statement to this effect. Rajiv Krishna Saxena देखो यह जग का परिवर्तन जिन कलियों को खिलते …

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