Nisha Nimantran by Harivansh Rai Bachchan

Who does not like Hindi poems? Whether it’s reading them or writing some, Hindi poems are always one step closer to our hearts than the English ones which need an extra level of processing as we have to translate them into Hindi in our minds to understand the meaning. When we talk about the Hindi poems, we have a bunch of poets whom we can look up to and make sure that favourites might change according to the perception of poetry of the people. Today, I will share the review of one of my favourite Hindi poetry books – Nisha Nimantran by Harivansh Rai Bachchan. Nisha Nimantran is one of the collections in the history of Hindi poetry which offers too much to the readers through the delightful verses included. You cannot miss the charm of the poems of Mr Bachchan!

This is a collection of one hundred poems and all of them are pleasant, enlightening and serious at the same time. Beautifully describing the definition set by Coleridge that a poem must begin with delight and end with wisdom. Going by the theory of Rasa set by the Indian classic critics, most of the poems fall in the line of Shringara Rasa. However, many poems are there which are meant to serve as the impetus for the readers to keep moving in the life which might be confusing at times and we often tend to give up in those situations. Harivansha Rai Bachchan writes with dignity:

“तू क्यों बैठ गया है पथ पर?

ध्येय न हो, पर है मग आगे,
बस धरता चल तू पग आगे,
बैठ न चलनेवालों के दल में तू आज तमाशा बनकर!
तू क्यों बैठ गया है पथ पर?”

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You can feel the terrain of thoughts coming on to you once you start reading the poems in the collection. The simplicity with which Bachchan sahab details the simple events of life is mesmerizing as well as pleasant. He talks about the passing day; he talks about the evening; he talks about the common household chords and mixes them all into the wreath of poetry so beautifully that you cannot stay away from saying “wow”! Here is an example of that:

“रवि-रजनी का आलिंगन है,
संध्या स्नेह मिलन का क्षण है,
कात प्रतीक्षा में गृहिणी ने, देखो, घर-घर दीप जलाया!
साथी, अन्त दिवस का आया!”

One more excerpt which I would like to share with my readers is amazing! Most of us who come from a rural background (even the far-off relations or nativity) must remember the rustic songs which the people sitting on the shores of rivers might be humming. The poet has captured that essence of the village life with a serenity which adds to his poems a further level of beauty and lyricism. When Bachchan sahab talks about the singer who sings on the banks of river Yamuna, the poem becomes wonderful:

“भंग निशा की नीरवता कर,
इस देहाती गाने का स्वर,
ककड़ी के खेतों से उठकर, आता जमुना पर लहराता!
कोई पार नदी के गाता!”

The beauty of these lines will surely hypnotise the readers as if these are the spells of a magician. I am a huge fan of Hindi poetry as well as English but the poetry of Europe has its own charms and poetry of Indian village life has it in PLENTY! What a poet sitting on the banks of Yamina can write, cannot be written by T S Eliot on the banks of river Thames!

Readers, those who love reading Hindi poetry, MUST read the collection of poems Nisha Nimantran by Harivansh Rai Bachchan! You can grab a copy from Amazon and may get some discounts as well. Below is the link to the book:

http://amzn.to/2uVEeSo

Review by Amit