Life unveiled through literature

Every person is creative in his own natural way. Creativity is not about success or money,rather it is related to the thoughts & imaginations attached to the soul. But every people cannot express whatever their heart desires. The fortunate few become well known literary workers. We read their creations & try to identify ourselves with them. Inspite of that,there is hardly a single soul who have never tried to write a poem,specially the teenagers falling in love for the first time. It doesn'nt matter whether those were well written or not. The only thing that matters is the urge that drove them to pen down their emotions.

Again,there are people who study literature. But not necessarily they study out of passion or love for the subject. On the contrary, the people far away from the study have the literary hunger more than anything else. Literature in any form is closely related to human life in general.

This blog is a creation out of such a thought. People who come across this blog will find their emotions & feelings identified with the creations of the poets,writers or critics. I include critics as it is said that the critics are the best lovers of the works they criticise.

Right from the age of Chaucer to this present day world we find various depictions of the society be it political,social,economic, religious & the like. But this is one platform where discrimination of any sort does not arise,maybe because emotion plays the most important role hete which is almost the same for all human beings worldwide.

"Maa go amay chuti dite bol, shokal theke porechi je mela
Ekhon ami porar kotha bhule,korbo shudhu pora pora khela
Tumi bolcho dupur ekhon shobe,nahoy jeno shotti holo tai
Ekdino ki dupur bela hole,bikel holo mone korte nai...?

Translation: A little child is pleading his mother not to force him to study as he wants to play. The mother objects to it as it is still hot afternoon. The child tries to persuade her by saying that even if it is afternoon,can't we imagine for atleast one day that it is already evening & can go out to play...

The poem from which this extract has been taken has been written by Nobel Laurete,Rabindranath Tagore, in Bengali,a regional language of India. But is this perspective just confined to India? Doesn't every child of this world pray for the same thing? Don't all the grown ups feel that as a child they have also experienced the same feeling?

"Madiralay jane ko ghar se chalta hai pinewala
'Kis path se jau?' asamanjas me hai ye bholabhala
Alag alag path batlate sab,par mai ye batlata hu
'Rah pakarkar tu chalachal,pa jayega madhushala'..."

This is an extract from a famous poem,Madhushala by Harivansh Rai. Madhushala is a place where people go to enjoy liqour. A man is trying to get there but is unable to find the way. Many people suggest different ways for him. But the poet tells him to follow his heart and keep on going & one day he will certainly reach Madhushala.

Madhushala is not actually just a liqour shop here. The poet wants to convey how to find the way out to reach the right place where you want to be. People may mislead you but if you have faith in yourself then one day you will surely achieve your goal & reach the place where you are destined to be.

The language might not be understandable to everybody but doesn't the meaning or the message conveyed tie a knot with all the human beings around? Don't we all sometimes go through the same dilemma?

Shakespeare, a universal poet,the greatest playwright that ever existed was a composer of many beautiful sonnets as well. He had glorified love,dreams of being with the loved one like every other people in the world does. Whether they achieve it or not is their fate. But that doesn't stop anyone from wishing or dreaming about their loved ones.
"Live with me,and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys,dales and fields,
And all the craggy mountain yields.

There will we sit upon the rocks,
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers,by whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee a bed of roses,
With a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs,
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Then live with me and be my love.

Love's answer:
If that the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move,
To live with thee and be thy love."

If life & love is important, so is death,an integral part of life that follows us like a shadow everywhere. We all realise that death is inevitable & the ultimate truth,still all of us want to live on & avoid the thought as if it doesn't exist. Even after death we wish to live in the hearts of the people we love. We want to spread ourselves throughout the world & beyond eternity. This has been expressed beautifully by the verses of Mary Elizabeth:
"Do not stand at my grave & weep
I am not there,I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow
I am the sun on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night
Do not stand at my grave & cry
I am not there, I did not die."

Literature acts as a guide and help us refresh and relieve our minds with the help of the reflections depicted throughout every phase of life. I hope we all feel the same in this context.

I would be happy to have you all share in this blog & unite as one in whichever part of the world we might belong to.