Literature Gems #1 Kanupriya

मंत्र पढ़े बाण से 
छूट गए तुम तो कनु 
शेष रही मैं केवल 
काँपती प्रत्यंचा सी । 

Language: Hindi; Script: Devanagari
Author: Dharmveer Bharti; Book: Kanupriya

Romanized Transliteration
Mantra padhe baan se 
Chhoot gaye tum to Kanu
Shesh rahi main keval
Kaanpti pratyancha si.

Approximate Translation
(Radha is addressing her lover Krishna, whom she lovingly called ‘Kanu’, who has abandoned her)
Like an enchanted arrow
You left me, Kanu.
And like the trembling bow,
I was left behind … alone.

Why I love it
In one single line (the second line, in particular), the poet has managed to describe the agony of being deprived of love, happiness, hope … and the analogy of bow and arrow is just deeply poetic too! In addition, the story of Radha and Krishna holds a deep significance for people of the Indian subcontinent, especially the poets (or any person with artistic leanings) of the subcontinent!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *