Tuesday, 29 October 2019

Hindi poem titled "Hindustan meri jaan" (हिंदुस्तान मेरी जान). It's a poem about the eclecticism (co-existence of contradictions) in India.




ह्रदय यहाँ सपाट हैं
[People with big hearts]
होंसले विराट हैं। 
[Its a land of the audacious]
प्रवेश द्वार सात हैं
[7 ways to enter world -Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain or atheist]
निकास अस्सी घाट हैं। 
[to die there are special Ganga ghats in Banaras]
जल सूर्य-अर्पित है
[here the sun is offered water]
तिरंगिणी पे लाट है। 
[while small lamps in flower boats float on Ganga]
सवंचलित पृणाली है
[It is a self propagating system]
एक की जंजाली है। 
[There is no need or problem of following only one path]
देव, रक्ष मुग्ध हैं
[Here, both the Godly and the ungodly are equally enchanted]
स्वयं-जयंत बुद्ध है। 
[But the one who is victorious over himself is the Buddha]
यहाँ भ्रम धर्म चरम है
[Skepticism and seeking truth is the pinnacle of 'right-way' of life]
और चरम धर्म कर्म है
[Pinnacle of 'right-way' of life is to act]
भ्रम एक कर्म है
[One of the few places, where seeking is a bonafide act of life]
और कर्म एक भ्रम है। 
[Action too is a mirage, as results are not always in consonance with action]
निश्चय द्रढ़, स्वर नरम हैं
[Our resolves are undaunted, though we don't make noise about them]
विवाद गरम गरम हैं। 
[And concurrently we are very hotly argumentative]
यहाँ सत्य भी असत्य है
['Fact' is not always truth. Facts are ignored, if compassion merits it]
और असत्य-सत्य सत्य है। 
[Factually untrue but compassionate truth is considered higher truth]
यहाँ गुमे हुए को मिल गया
[Those, who are lost in their devotion to seek, find enlightenment]
गया गया जो, खिल गया
[He, who went to Gaya (Buddha) got radiant]
मिला हुआ गुमा सा है
[He, who is enlightened seems to all others as a lost soul]
गुमे हुए की दिव्य लेह। 
[While, he who is enlightened & seeming lost to others has divinity in him]
जो मिल गया वह है नहीं
[We find enlightenment in nothingness]
जो है नहीं वह मिल गया
[Which does not exist in reality, is treated like a God]
यह वृक्ष, पशु का जाल है
[It is a network of flora and fauna]
भारतकोश कुसुम से लाल है
[India is blood-red with saffron (colour of sacrifice)]
यहाँ युद्ध है, फिर बुद्ध है
[Ashok won the fierce Kalinga battle, but surrendered to Buddhism]
कलिंग ह्रदय में वास है। 
[Similarly the battle of right and wrong is fought in one's own heart]
जीत ही की तृष्णा है
[There is no thirst for victory, treating it transitory like loss]
भू की कोई प्यास है
[Similarly there is no yearn to capture lands]
यह शिवाजी-शिकोह की धरती है 
[This is the land of Warrior Shivaji as well as Dara Shikoh]
तेग-गोबिन्द ने सुर्ख़ करदी है। 
[Ordained by the sacrifices of Guru Gobind & Teg Bahadur]
यहाँ नानक की सूफी छाप है
[Guru Nanaks Sufism has left an impact on this nation]
प्रयोगकर्ता राष्ट्राबाप है। 
[While father of Nation M.K. Gandhi was a great experimenter]
झाँसी यहाँ की रानी है
[The Queen of Jhansi fought the first war (1857) of freedom]
नाना-पाण्डे की कहानी है
[So are Nana Saheb and Mangal Pandey the heroes of 1857]
भगत राजगुरु सुखदेव सुभाष 
[Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, and Subhash sacrificed their lives]
चाचा ने खोज सुनानि है। 
[Pt. Nehru narrated India's story in his book 'Discovery of India']
यहाँ सोच, ज्ञान कोष है
[Thinking and knowledge are paramount]
रामनुजन भट्ट रमण बोसे हैं। 
[Hence, great scientists - Ramanujan, Aryabhatt, Raman, and Bose]
यहाँ वसिष्ठ चरक सुश्रुत मत
[Similarly, Vashisth, Charak and Sushrut were lights of our nation]
गोरख, मत्स्येंद्र नाथ हैं। 
[We had great philosophers like Gorakhnath & Matsyandranath]
बसर जहाँ दोनों जहां 
["Both heaven & hell exist on earth, in this land", Indian Philosophy]
मध्यमार्ग के यहाँ वहाँ। 
[People here subscribe to middle path of Mahatma Buddh & others]
यह विशव हृदय सम्राट है,  
[India is the king of global hearts]
यहाँ जन राजपाट है। 
 [People here are rulers]
हज़ारों साल की गर्द हैं,  
[There are thousands of years of history]
कहानियों की परत है। 
[There are layers and layers of fables & stories of this land]
बला है यह बयांँ परे,  
[It is beyond rational explanation & understanding]
यहाँ मरके भी कोई मरे,  
[Death too has no finality about itself here]
यह मेरा हिन्दोस्तान है,  
[This is the story of our nation - India]
माँ है, मेरी जान है। 
[Which is my mother and my life]