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Thursday, August 23, 2007
CRITICS & DR. MAHENDRA BHATNAGAR'S POETRY
EDITOR'S NOTE
– Dr. Suresh Chandra Dwivedi
Prof. English, Allahabad University
Of the many Indian poets whose literary careers were shaped by poetry in the post-independence India of 20th century , the name of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar is one of them. He is a progressive poet of renown. His poetic career covering several decades demonstrates his humanistic vision from beginning to end. In all his works the thread of his humanistic vision can be seen vividly. He wrote poems to bring about a change in the world. His humanistic vision has its own distinction : it is connected with a world vision. He believes that a progressive, prosperous and purposeful world can be constructed. His poetry contains joys and sorrows of common men. He is endowd with the gift of free imagination dedicated to bring about change in our soulless heartless, dead, disintegrated, disunited, disillusioned capitalistic world where common man is foredoomed to be exploited, cheated and looted at every step. Prof. Mahendra Bhatnagar is a first rate intellectual, who analyses, interprets, evaluates and describes his emotions in the light of his humanistic vision. The forces of establishment and power – both Governmental and non-Governmental have crushed the hopes and dreams and ambitions of common people. A poet like Prof. Mahendra Bhatnagar uses irony to expose the fraud of exploiters. He has ultimately emerged in his poetry as a champion of the common humanity. He so often exposes the enemies of the labourers and the peasants of India. With his humanistic vision he constantly compels the readers to distinguish between power and propriety. He is alert, careful, and cautious, sometimes reminding us occasionally of Brecht, Auden, Pablo Neruda and of Carl Sandburg.
Like them he is a spokesman of the people, and he employs a rare sensitivity, a rare intellectuality and a rare humanity like them। Without the quality of their free imagination and immense love for the people Mahendra Bhatnagar's poems would not have seen the light of the day. A humanitarian poet he has always given his eyes and ears to his mother India. If one wants to know the sufferings and agonies of common people in India, he must give his days and nights to the poetry of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar. His poem 'Helplessness' typical of its kind reveals not only his own helplessness but also of the common people of India :
Thrust upon, undesired life, I lived.
Every instant, every step, shame I lived
History, now you ask me what
Folly and dirtiness of the world, I lived.
('Helplessness')
I have quoted this poem because this is a poem which reflects his free imagination and humanistic vision fully. The poet opposes those forces which resent change. The last 110 years have been the years of wars, terrorism, apartheid, exploitation, unemployment, violence, criminalisation of politics, betrayal of godmen and bureaucrats. The dynamic poet Mahendra Bhanagar powerfully attached to this period of moral degeneration and disintegration. He is rightly of the view that this period has been a period of shame, helplessness and corruption all over the world. Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar's poetry mirrors our era of shame, helplessness and corruption. As an intellectual he stands on earth and questions, examines and tests terrestrial things. He employs irony and understatement to expose the enemies of people. He does not spare even those who are at the helm of affairs. Like Mulk Raj Anand and Premchand, the novelists he takes the side of the people and not the fascists, dictators and capitalists. We do not find servility syndrome or tendency of hero-worship in Mahendra Bhatnagar. In his several volumes of poetry, he emerges as an artistic reporter of the agonies and dreams of people. His poems have authenticity and sureness of death, and dynamism, truth, beauty and goodness of life. His great and valuable poetry should not be underestimated because of the fact that he is a Hindi poet and originally wrote in Hindi. Indian criticism does not have that free imagination, love for people and humanistic vision which creative writers have in abundance. Critics are either slaves of ideology or write with some selfish motive to please Academies or some gods. But a poet like Mahendra Bhatnagar is always free and has actively participated in the drama of mankind. The humanistic vision of Mahendra Bhatnagar is broader than that of Muktibodh and Kedar Nath Agrawal. His humanistic vision often combines compassion of Gautam Buddha, martyrdom of Jesus Christ, love for common objects of Kazuyosi Ikeda, commonness of Auden, skepticism of Brecht and involvement with mankind of John Donne. He is a fine poet of people's consciousness and his volumes of poems confirm this. Each poem gives a definition of life; each poem gives a clarification of life. He uses people's thoughts, consciousness and their language adeptly. So far as sensuous comprehension of thought is concerned, so far as love for people is concerned, so far as exposure of fascists, tyrants, terrorists and enemies of people is concerned, he is second to only a few. So far as quality of depiction of criticism of life with a sense of poetic truth and beauty is concerned he is second to none. He is clearer than Muktibodh, wider in emotions than Agyeya, deeper than Kedar Nath Agrawal and more readable than Shamsher Bahadur Singh.
Every instant, every step, shame I lived
History, now you ask me what
Folly and dirtiness of the world, I lived.
('Helplessness')
I have quoted this poem because this is a poem which reflects his free imagination and humanistic vision fully. The poet opposes those forces which resent change. The last 110 years have been the years of wars, terrorism, apartheid, exploitation, unemployment, violence, criminalisation of politics, betrayal of godmen and bureaucrats. The dynamic poet Mahendra Bhanagar powerfully attached to this period of moral degeneration and disintegration. He is rightly of the view that this period has been a period of shame, helplessness and corruption all over the world. Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar's poetry mirrors our era of shame, helplessness and corruption. As an intellectual he stands on earth and questions, examines and tests terrestrial things. He employs irony and understatement to expose the enemies of people. He does not spare even those who are at the helm of affairs. Like Mulk Raj Anand and Premchand, the novelists he takes the side of the people and not the fascists, dictators and capitalists. We do not find servility syndrome or tendency of hero-worship in Mahendra Bhatnagar. In his several volumes of poetry, he emerges as an artistic reporter of the agonies and dreams of people. His poems have authenticity and sureness of death, and dynamism, truth, beauty and goodness of life. His great and valuable poetry should not be underestimated because of the fact that he is a Hindi poet and originally wrote in Hindi. Indian criticism does not have that free imagination, love for people and humanistic vision which creative writers have in abundance. Critics are either slaves of ideology or write with some selfish motive to please Academies or some gods. But a poet like Mahendra Bhatnagar is always free and has actively participated in the drama of mankind. The humanistic vision of Mahendra Bhatnagar is broader than that of Muktibodh and Kedar Nath Agrawal. His humanistic vision often combines compassion of Gautam Buddha, martyrdom of Jesus Christ, love for common objects of Kazuyosi Ikeda, commonness of Auden, skepticism of Brecht and involvement with mankind of John Donne. He is a fine poet of people's consciousness and his volumes of poems confirm this. Each poem gives a definition of life; each poem gives a clarification of life. He uses people's thoughts, consciousness and their language adeptly. So far as sensuous comprehension of thought is concerned, so far as love for people is concerned, so far as exposure of fascists, tyrants, terrorists and enemies of people is concerned, he is second to only a few. So far as quality of depiction of criticism of life with a sense of poetic truth and beauty is concerned he is second to none. He is clearer than Muktibodh, wider in emotions than Agyeya, deeper than Kedar Nath Agrawal and more readable than Shamsher Bahadur Singh.
Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar does not belong to any group or coterie of poets and critics. All his poems as well as his entire corpus suggest that man belongs to a large family. Man cannot live and should not live like an island. Man should choose to love and help each other and fight against enemies of people, country and democracy unitedly. Every man is a part of mankind.
Last but not the least, Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar knows Indian people and their pathetic conditions. He has given an authentic poetic record of the common humanity of India. He is a good observer of the life around him. His honesty, integrity, sincerity, authenticity and brevity are appealing and so are his sensitivity, subjectivity and tempestuous poetic capacity. He is a prolific poet whose books cannot be forgotten. He observes everything through his free imagination and humanistic vision. One is astonished to see the wide scope and vast canvas of his poetry which surveys all the occupations, classes and regions of India. The poet is seen shaking hands with the crowd, talking to them and rubbing shoulders with them. His books of poems reveal the collective wisdom of the people. The wisdom lies in synergy, cooperation, unity, collaboration, hardwork, naturalness, peace and in Auden's thought – "We must love each other or die." and Arnold's thought – "Oh love! let us be true to each other." Mahendra Bhatnagar is a great poet of 'living moments and people alive.'
Last but not the least, Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar knows Indian people and their pathetic conditions. He has given an authentic poetic record of the common humanity of India. He is a good observer of the life around him. His honesty, integrity, sincerity, authenticity and brevity are appealing and so are his sensitivity, subjectivity and tempestuous poetic capacity. He is a prolific poet whose books cannot be forgotten. He observes everything through his free imagination and humanistic vision. One is astonished to see the wide scope and vast canvas of his poetry which surveys all the occupations, classes and regions of India. The poet is seen shaking hands with the crowd, talking to them and rubbing shoulders with them. His books of poems reveal the collective wisdom of the people. The wisdom lies in synergy, cooperation, unity, collaboration, hardwork, naturalness, peace and in Auden's thought – "We must love each other or die." and Arnold's thought – "Oh love! let us be true to each other." Mahendra Bhatnagar is a great poet of 'living moments and people alive.'
Forty Poems of Mahendra Bhatnagar : A Preface
– Dr. Vidya Niwas Mishra
I have gone through this anthology of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar's selected forty poems. The thing which strikes foremost is the note of blazing optimism coming out of these poems. Be they songs of love, songs of future of man or songs of the advent of a new era ushered in by the common man all over the world. Though unfortunately I cannot share this optimism, I am deeply moved by the vigour with which it has been projected by the poet. Mahendra Bhatnagar i11s Browning, Shelley and Maykovsky welded into one, he is a visionary, he is a comrade-in-arms and he is an architect. His 'Man fired whith faith divine moves on' because he is firm in his conviction that 'one day the heart-rose shall bloom in the midst of impediments galore.' He seeks strength from 'the firmament' which 'has changed its colour' and from the wind, which is always 'humming a tune,' from the 'gracious mother earth' which is blessing man with a life–'long and happy.'
He sings of youth in a new vein, youth for him is not a passing phase, it is something ‘which endures’. To him woman no more bears ‘frailty’ as her other name, she is no longer ‘a source of pleasure and pastime’. In this emancipated woman he has found a companion. He is ‘never alone’, ‘the resurgent age is with him’, the future is driving him on. These are a few pieces which reflect the inner struggle between this optimism and disillusionment, but they are subdued by the dominating voice of hope. Such a sincere optimism is a rare quality and deserves full applause; more so, when we have the perspective of a sad and sick man of today.
I have feeling that the vigorous rhythm of the original has not been carried fully to the English translations, may be, the barriers of language do not permit its export. The poet has a very sensitive ear for cadences and knows how to use them. His diction is chaste though racy, transparent and yet colourful, his imagery drawn partly from common-place, life and partly from poetic conventions, is simple and effective, it is not pretentious, as the so-called modern imagery is and is the most suited instrument for the content.
I envy the impetuosity of Mahendra Bhatnagar and at the same time I admire his patience, his conviction ('the wall won't collapse') and his courage. If at times he is carried away by his creed, it only shows his zeal and not his weakness. If at times, he looks utterly lost in 'the masses idea', it only shows his devotion to the cause and not his lack of personality. If at times he turns a romantic visionary, it is an indicator of his fiery youth and not of his blindness to reality.
I sincerely hope, these poems will be received well.
I have feeling that the vigorous rhythm of the original has not been carried fully to the English translations, may be, the barriers of language do not permit its export. The poet has a very sensitive ear for cadences and knows how to use them. His diction is chaste though racy, transparent and yet colourful, his imagery drawn partly from common-place, life and partly from poetic conventions, is simple and effective, it is not pretentious, as the so-called modern imagery is and is the most suited instrument for the content.
I envy the impetuosity of Mahendra Bhatnagar and at the same time I admire his patience, his conviction ('the wall won't collapse') and his courage. If at times he is carried away by his creed, it only shows his zeal and not his weakness. If at times, he looks utterly lost in 'the masses idea', it only shows his devotion to the cause and not his lack of personality. If at times he turns a romantic visionary, it is an indicator of his fiery youth and not of his blindness to reality.
I sincerely hope, these poems will be received well.
‘Exuberance and other poems’
Dr. R. S. Sharma, Retd. Professor, BHU Varanasi (U.P.)
The seventy-five poems of Mahendra Bhatnagar selected in ‘EXUBERANCE and other poems’ represent a wide range in terms of theme, mood and tone. They give us a glimpse of Mahendra Bhatnagar’s high stature as a poet, who can induce in the reader serious thinking as well as aesthetic delight.
The collection opens with ‘Exuberance’ presenting a highly charged sensuous description of the transitional hour of the day. In the midst of mixed light and shade and insistent draughts of wind, we glimpse the body of the beloved :
Impassioned
And knowingly getting trembling-wet
Is the beloved’s body!
Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar is most successful in vivifying directly-experienced scene of Nature and prismatic states of weather; he often makes the objects of Nature to carry symbolic meaning and convey dedicate and transitory states of the mind. ‘Birthday’ finds a fitting conclusion in the lamp, which has kept burning in the midst of storms. Loss of hope is analogous to ‘ the twittering branch of the evening that suddenly went deaf and mute.’ ‘Waiting’ is a series of Nature processes that suggest agony of waiting. ‘Yearning’ makes us feel what it is to dwell in the lap of Nature - silk-smooth grass, greenish thorns, butterflies wearing pied printed saris, the tamarind and guava trees.
Love is received by the poet in the form of a blessing and it lifts him to a new level of being with a sense of miraculous release. The emotion approaches the poet’s heart by means of quiet gestures : ‘Since / We knew each other - / Involuntarily / Sweet songs began to flow / From my mute lips. (‘Meeting’). As soon as the beloved touches the forehead of the lover, all his problems dissolve and a stronger feeling of joy fills his heart : ‘In my heart / Suddenly burst forth / Thousands of / Morning fresh flowers’ (Touch’) In the course of his life, Mahendra Bhatnagar has witnessed the national shame of subjugation and an intense desire to attain freedom. He has felt the joy of being indepedent, he has also shared the triumphs and sorrows of free India. All these experiences are preserved by him in memorable verse steeped throughout this collection - and indeed, on a larger scale, in the vast corpus of his writing.
Born in the land of Laxmibai, when he rouses the warriors to advance and crush the enemy, he reminds us of Subhadrakumari Chauhan and when he takes up a national theme, he has something of Maithilisharan Gupta. And when he writes of the have-nots, the exploited and the labouring workers, he shows genuine empathy, and the verse assumes revolutionary overtones.
Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar knows what it is to feel failure and disappointment, but his abiding strength is in courage and will to survive and overcome. The poet is aware of his broken dreams when the sweetness of a loving heart changed into poison. (‘Unwanted’) He tells us how difficult it is to create a fresh world of equality (‘Futile’). He is aware of the pain of separation from dear ones who left this world, and doesn’t know whom to call (‘Solitary’). He carries a wounded psyche with a bitter taste in the mouth (‘Hurt’) With the personal sense of failure he joins the general sense of suffering and disillusonment of our age : ‘We / Bearing the pain of the wounded age / Will carry the garbage of history’ (‘Torment’)When dealing with this mood, Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar is a modernist like W.B. Yeats and T.S.Eliot.
On the other hand, the note of buoyancy and hope is even stronger। It is in the nature of man to love all created things and beautiful objects; it is also natural to him to imagine beautiful worlds (‘Duty’) The poet is fully concious of the dignity and power of labour (‘The Valiant Workers’) For him, experience has proved that the dark hours are bound to pass and day will surely dawn (‘Experience - Proved’) It is true that man is powerless before destiny and nothing can stop the progress of human knowledge and science. His deepest insight is that which all great thinkers and poets have realized : ‘In this life / There is nothing, / Nothing indeed / More beautiful than love / Anywhere!’ But he also knows that there is nothing more difficult than love - it is an ideal not easily to be achieved. Yet try we must because as W.H. Auden describes in a poem, ‘We must love one another, or die.’
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