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Literary Review
The Bachchan I know
Mere Shavke Peeche Chalnevalo
Yaad ise rakhan
Ram nam hai sathya na kahna
Kahna Sachi Madhushala
WITH the passing away of Sri Harivansh Rai Bachchan, poetic bankruptcy sets in. India has bid adieu to the man of Belles Letters.
As a Bachchan reader, I am familiar, only too well, with "Madhushala". Artistic involvement and not indulgence makes Bachchan's Bacchanalia cut across the boundaries of the pagan and the carnal. It is not the bough, the chalice, the book and you that are romanced here.
"Madhushala" is the epitome of "live in the present". It stresses the importance of "now". It is too vexing to think of tomorrow, too frustrating to wail over the bygone days. Within the limited scope of poetry, Bachchan has portrayed a way of life. Form and content have been beautifully woven into a tapestry of romance, speaking for the here and now. The style is capricious. "Madhushala" is the nearest, the most practical solution to take away the sting from life. We all have to be a bit drunk, just a bit benumbed in order to face life. It is the destination to every existentialist. All are welcome to Madhushala, the confluence where every day is Holi and every night, Diwali. Let us go on a tour de force into this Elysium, perhaps in search of ambrosia.
Madhiralai jaaneko ghar se
Chaltha hai peenevala
Kis pathe se javun masumanjas...
Alag alag pathu bathulathe sab
Par mai yeh bathulathahun
Raha pakad thu ne chala chal
Pa jagenag Madhushala
...
Bas aa pahunche door nahin
Kutch chaar kadam aur chalna hain
Chalaku rahe sab peenewale
Mehak rahime Madhushala
...
Dharm granth sab jala chuke hai
Jiske anthar ki jwala
Mandir Masjid girje sabko
Thod chukka jo mathwala
Pandit momil padiriyonko
Andhonko jo kaatchuka
...
Dard nasha hai is madira ka
Vigath smrithiya saathi hain
Peeneme anand jisevoh
Aaye meri Madhushala
...
Pran priye yaad karo
Meratho aise karna
Pinevalonko bulvakar khulvar dena Madhushala
Nam agar poochetho koi
Kahna bas peenevala
The stanzas of "Madhushala" have been immortalised by HMV. The soulful rendering of these have been captured by Manna Dey, with the music direction of Jaidev and Vijay Kishore Dubey.
RAJI VISWANATHAN
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