Old Classic Poems

On the Happy occasion of Holi, I present this old classic from film Mother India, written by Shakeel Badayuni. Happy Holi to all readers! Rajiv Krishna Saxena होली आयी रे होली आयी रे कन्हाई, होली आयी रे होली आयी रे कन्हाई रंग छलके सुना दे ज़रा बांसरी होली आयी रे, …

Story of Laxmi Bai, (born Nov.19, 1835) the Queen of Jhansi is unparalleled in the history of India. She was only 18 years old when her husband Gangadhar Rao, the king of Jhansi died. As the first born child of Rani had died, the couple was childless. They adopted a …

As per the original agreement Pandavas were to get back their kingdom when they returned from 14 years exile in the forests. But Duryodhan refused to oblige and part with the land. Lord Krishna came to Duryodhan to persuade him to see the reason and give Pandavas at least five …

Raskhan the great Krishna-Bhakt lived in late sixteenth century some where around Delhi and wrote in Brij Bhasha. His following poem is a classic and shows the depth of his absolute devotion for Lord Krishna – Rajiv Krishna Saxena मनुष हौं‚ तो वही ‘रसखानि’   मनुष हौं‚ तो वही ‘रसखानि’ …

Here is an excerpt from the famous poem Panchvati by Maithilisharan Gupt. The description is of the cottage in Panchvati forest that was the abode of Ram, Laxman and Sita during the terminal year of their 14 years banvas. As Ram and Sita sleep inside, Laxman is on guard outside. …

In mid 1500s Akbar the Mughal emperor of India, in his bid to consolidate his empire, had entered into agreements with Rajput kingdoms except that of Mewar. Maharana Pratap of Mewar was defiant and did not want to lose his independence. Frustrated Akbar sent his massive army led by Mansingh …

You may have read Shyam Narayan Pandey’s classic epic “Haldighati”. Three excerpts from that great work are available on this site. Many readers had asked me to include a Rajasthani classic poem on the same theme by the great poet Kanhaiyalal Sethia, but I could not find that poem any …

Here is what Kaka Hathrasi thinks about the beard on men’s face. Kaka writes in his autobiography that once he was travelling by train along with Harivansh Rai Bachchan and the latter gave him the first line of this poem asking him to compose the rest. Here is how Kaka …

I recently saw the movie “Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara” directed by Jahnu Barua, with lead characters played superbly by Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar. It is a gripping tale of a family’s struggle to treat the delusional dementia of their old father. A poem that runs through the movie …

Here is an old classic from Subhdra Kumari Chauhan. Most of us have read this poem in our school days. Here it is to refresh the memory. – Rajiv Krishna Saxena ठुकरा दो या प्यार करो देव! तुम्हारे कई उपासक कई ढंग से आते हैं सेवा में बहुमूल्य भेंट वे …