Posts

Reading Past

How does one know past? Is history faithful in capturing it? Is history a discovery or an invention? History is the study of past societies, cultures, and civilisations. Historians analyse material remains of old civilisations such as archaeological diggings, artifacts, documents, and literature to build their narrative. They write about events removed hundreds and thousands of generations from their time. Cultures and civilisations are the product of human thought. And thoughts change with time Stones do not speak. Mind, with its ideas, is not fossilised. Zeitgeist is not recorded on imperishable tablets. Sketchy written documents, if any are available, never relate a cogent, verifiable narrative. How do historians then collate history of ideas from the material evidence they study? When the evidence is so feeble, what is it that allows an historian to read the mind of historical figures, to discover intentions behind their apparent actions, to comment on their morals? Historians...

Poetry: A Key to Life

Poetry: A Key to Life   Ephemeral moments ceaselessly rain down on consciousness, each unwaveringly like the one gone by. In this monotony, life – shorn of emotions and feelings– inexorably escapes from my clasped fingers. Poetry is one shelter where a bewildered mind rests and makes sense of the fleeting reality. Poetry brings timelessness to a life shackled to time.   फिर विकल * हैं प्राण मेरे ! * Restless तोड़ दो यह क्षितिज मैं भी देख लूँ उस ओर क्या है ! जा रहे जिस पंथ से युग कल्प उसका छोर क्या है ? क्यों मुझे प्राचीर * बनकर * Battlement आज मेरे श्वास घेरे ?   -       ‘ सांध्यगीत’   Mahadevi Verma   रहिए अब ऐसी जगह चल कर जहाँ कोई न हो हम - सुख़न * कोई न हो और हम - ज़बाँ # कोई न हो *   Someone to talk with    # One who speaks our language   बे - दर - ओ - दीवार * सा इक घर बनाया चाहिए *    Without doors and walls  ...