November 27 is the birth anniversary of renowned Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan whose poetic magnum opus “Madhushala” catapulted him to a status in Indian Literature which is rare and unique. His fame is eternal and so is the way in which poetry lovers will keep quoting verses from his Madhushala and other important works.
On this occasion, it would be interesting to discuss Bachchan ji’s close relationship with the Doon valley as well as The Pioneer.
Born on November 27, 1907, in Allahabad, Bachchan began his career as a court reporter with The Pioneer in the 1930s. Around this time, he began participating in small literary gatherings. He used the symbol of Madhushala (tavern) as a vehicle to communicate to the world his responses to life in all its complexity. An exquisite rubai describes the transition from the age of innocence to one of worldliness. “Ek samay santusht bahut thha paa main thhodi si hala, bhola sa thha mera saqi, chhota sa mera pyaala/chhote se is jag ki mere swarg balaayen leta thha /vistrit jag mein hai gayi kho meri nanhi madhushala.”
In his autobiography “In the Afternoon of Time”, the poet and writer describes a calm summer spent by him in the Doon valley. He tells us about a Doon which few of us would have seen or known. He praises the pristine valley with a small population and abundant greenery.
Madhushala had been recently published. Harivansh Rai’s first wife, Shyama had succumbed to tuberculosis in the winter before this summer of 1937. He was at a loss as to how to go ahead in life with this great burden of grief.
It was then that his friend Brij Mohan Gupta, who was from Dehra Dun and studying with him at Allahabad, invited him to spend the summer vacation with him in the idyllic valley. He stayed with Brij Mohan and together the two friends roamed around the valley, spending many evenings relaxing at the Parade Ground. “I would see the lights of Mussoorie in the far distance, a necklace of diamonds on the neck of a dusky lady reclining on a bed of sapphire,” writes the poet.
Bachchan went up to Mussoorie to meet Professor Amar Nath Jha who had bought Lynwood Cottage there. He had taught Bachchan when he was an undergraduate and was annoyed with him for leaving the university after the first year of MA (English).” Now that I was thinking of enrolling at university again, I thought I should seek his blessing,” says Bachchan. “I left Dehra Dun in a much better frame of mind than I had come in. The way ahead was not easy, but who wanted ease; and even if my heart still knew little composure, I felt ready for anything.” Till 1981, Bachchan ji visited Dehra Dun several times to attend poetic gatherings and call on his friends living here.
Bachchan’s poetry has always been the expression of his innermost feelings and experiences, mostly painful. A poem titled “Lahron ka Nimantran” manifests the poet’s desire to give himself up completely to an intense emotional experience crossing the confines of reality. “Teer par kaise rukun main, aaj lahron mein nimantran/Aaj apne swapn ko main sachh banana chahte hun/Door ki is kalpana ke paas jaana chahta hoon’’ (How can I stand on the shore when the waves are so inviting. I want to give my dreams body and bones).
I consider myself, as a journalist, extremely fortunate to have attended the 80th birthday celebrations of this great poet in New Delhi. I became the proud young journalist who was given the “private” (unlisted) phone number of the Bachchans’ residence “Sopan” located in Gulmohar Park. I called up, spoke to the gracious Teji Bachchan and was given an appointment to meet them at their home. By the next day, when I was supposed to reach there my nervousness had increased manifold. It seemed to me that I was about to enter a dream and it proved true.
When I look back, after all the long years that have passed since that evening, I realise what a beautiful moment of my life that was. That wonderful evening of Delhi, the time of dusk, and an inexperienced journalist sitting there, hanging on to each word uttered by the dignified and graceful couple-Harivansh Rai and Teji Bachchan.
Every year, with the arrival of this day, my mind goes back to the time when the poet shared with me his memories, his poetry, his views and his feelings. Little did I know then that his connection with the Doon valley and The Pioneer would come to my knowledge much later. Doon is proud to have played an important role at a turning point in Bachchan ji’s life. It acted as the much needed balm for his agony, soothing his mind and rejuvenating his spirit. He went to Allahabad from here to start afresh!
His description of the Doon valley of eighty one long years ago makes one feel nostalgic and one wishes that the pristine beauty and echoing silences of the valley could somehow be brought back. On his birth anniversary, I pay personal, heartfelt tributes to this simple, golden-hearted poet who was always thankful for the little things in life and set an example for us by being an epitome of simplicity and goodness.