Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi, NM
(We are extremely thankful to Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi Ji for sharing his literary and artworks with e-abhivyakti. An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, Capt. Pravin has served the country at national as well international level in various fronts. Presently, working as Senior Advisor, C-DAC in Artificial Intelligence and HPC Group; and involved in various national-level projects.
Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi ji is not only proficient in Hindi and English, but also has a strong presence in Urdu and Sanskrit. We present an English Version of Ms. Nirdesh Nidhi’s Classical Poetry “नदी नीलकंठ नहीं होती” with title “The Last Metropolis” . We extend our heartiest thanks to Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi Ji for this beautiful translation.)
सुश्री निर्देश निधि
इस कविता की मूल लेखिका सुश्री निर्देश निधि और कैप्टन साहब के प्रति आभार प्रकट करते हुए इस रचना मूल हिंदी संस्करण आप इस लिंक पर पढ़ सकते हैं
मैं निःशब्द हूँ और स्तब्ध भी हूँ। इस घटना / रचना को तो सामयिक भी नहीं कह सकता। सुश्री निर्देश निधि जी की रचनाओं के सन्दर्भ में कुछ लिखना सूर्य को दीपक दिखाने के समान है। उनके एक-एक शब्द इतना कुछ कह जाते हैं कि मेरी लेखनी थम जाती है। आदरणीया की लेखनी को सादर नमन।
आपसे अनुरोध है कि आप इस रचना को हिंदी और अंग्रेज़ी में पढ़ें और इस कविता को अपने प्रबुद्ध मित्र पाठकों को पढ़ने के लिए प्रेरित करें और उनकी प्रतिक्रिया से सुश्री निर्देश निधि जी एवं अनुवादक कैप्टन प्रवीण रघुवंशी को अवश्य अवगत कराएँ.
☆ Anguish of the River…☆
River is not *Neelkanth, the Lord Shiva — poison digester…
She was once a playful translucent river
And me, a carefree ambitious damsel
Used to do *Aachman*, sipping her sacred water while offering her my obeisances…
I always stood by her as a solid rock
Kept attending to all
–her frustrations, her vexations, her boisterous predicaments…
I was happy to be a rock to her…
But, one day you came, and
Crossed all the limits by embracing me
I didn’t like
your that filthy touch,
In a moment, I got disintegrated,
like millions of sand particles
Just resigned to the gloomy
lap of the river
That’s when I realised that
river is not mere flowing water
She is a dextrous historian
Scripting historical manuscripts,
Creating cultures, nurturing customs as responsible ancestor…
She was also a modern trendsetter
Always altering courses on her freewill…
She is the seeker, a questor!
She was a loving-mother incarnate
That’s how I could live the anguish of the river…
You have removed even
the womb, intestine, heart,
flesh and marrow from her body…
So many times I heard
her sobbings from the palatial garrets
Witnessed the river
Repeatedly shedding her tears in the
inner layers of the roads
She too wanted to get dispersed as particles in the thin air
Exactly like me!
But where could she go?
Where could she get accommodated? Where!!
As she did not have river, just like herself only…
I fell on her bosom, tiredly
Kept watching her helplessly,
By choking her face with a dirty cloth
Kept witnessing her sufferings,
Her writhing in agony, even for a breath!
Her misery of breathlessness
Was far worse than my dispersing into particles…
River, that joyfully spilled around
its banks for ages
Now, in this epoch, only last few breaths of life are left
Stinking, panting, with last few breaths…!
How many times
did I beg of you
If you desire, take my remaining particles; but,
Fill her with few breaths in her chest
By mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,
Just return her past glory
Which you forcibly snatched her of,
By planting *Singi* –poisonous trees
to pull all the poison out of her body…
Listen,
River cannot survive
By drinking the poison
Because, river is not the *Neelkanth*, the Lord Shiva…!
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Originally Written in Hindi by Nirdesh Nidhi
English Translation by Captain (IN) Pravin Raghuanshi, NM (Retd), Pune
