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Saroj Smriti

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Saroj Smriti
AuthorSuryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'
Original titleसरोज-स्मृति
LanguageHindi
GenrePoem
Publication date
1937
Publication placeIndia
Media typePrint

Saroj Smriti (ISO: Saroj Smṛti) (lit.'In memorium Saroj') is a long elegiacal poem in Hindi written by Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'. He composed this following the death of his 18-year-old daughter, Saroj, in 1935. Its first publication occurred in the second edition of Anāmikā in 1937. This poem is considered one of the finest elegies in Hindi literature.[1]

Overview

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Nirala composed this poem in the profound grief following his daughter's death. It transcends emotional outpouring, with a deep sense of regret and sadness permeating the poem. Its subdued, restrained treatment and pensive dignity elevate it to an epic stature.[2] David Rubin stated that Nirala's elegy for his daughter introduced a new element of unsparingly direct speech. It combined an intensely personal tone with objective control, merging the rhythmic flexibility of free verse with the solemnity of classical meter.[3]

Excerpts

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Nirala, while depicting Saroj on her wedding day, portrays her as a vibrant and poetic entity that evokes memories of his late wife, Manohara Devi.

Devnagri script[4] IAST transliteration English translation[5]

देखा मैंने, वह मूर्ति-धीति
मेरे वसंत की प्रथम गीति—
शृंगार, रहा जो निराकार
रस कविता में उच्छ्वसित-धार
गाया स्वर्गीया-प्रिया-संग
भरता प्राणों में राग-रंग

Dekhā maine, vah mūrti-dhīti
mere vasant kī pratham gīti—
śṛṅgār, rahā jo nirākār
ras kavitā meṃ ucchvasit-dhār
gāyā svargīyā-priyā-saṅg
bhartā prāṇoṃ meṃ rāg-raṅg

In you, I saw the courage,
the first song of my own spring,
that love without a physical form, the feeling
I'd expressed in my poems and once shared
with my lost darling, now filling my senses
with passionate joy.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nirala, Suryakant Tripathi (2024). A Portrait of Love: Six Stories; One Novella. Translated by Choubey, Gautam. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789357086011.
  2. ^ Gupta, Manju (1988). Datta, Amaresh (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1149. ISBN 9788126011940.
  3. ^ Rubin, David (1971). "Nirala and the Renaissance of Hindi Poetry". The Journal of Asian Studies. 31 (1): 114. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  4. ^ "Saroj Smṛti: Full poem". www.hindwi.org. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. ^ Shah, Ramesh Chandra (1998). "Another Returning of the Heart... Nirala's Imagination". India International Centre Quarterly. 36 (1): 1998. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
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