Tyaa fulaanchyaa gandh koshi: Part 1

Tyaa fulaanchyaa gandh koshi

 Yesterday I decided to go check the cotton fields. Last time I visited in late March the early saplings had made their appearance. 4 months later the plants have reached their mature heights of nearly 3 feet and have abundant flowers and buds in various stages. Bees were hovering over the blossoms actively carrying out pollination. During the same drive we stopped by to admire some pistachio laden orchards as well as flowering oleanders and other blossoms. The sight of the flowers brought to mind the poem Tyaa fulaanchyaa gandha koshi.

Marathi poet Suryakant Khandekar’s poem Tyaa fulaanchyaa gandh koshi is one of the most beautiful compositions that touches upon the eternal search for our creator. The poem would have probably remained beyond the reach of many like me had it not been published as a song in the voice of and musical composition by Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar. I run the risk of repeating myself but believe me I am not deliberately trying to endorse Panditji or the Mangeshkar family. Any good poem or song in Marathi that I begin to talk about finds it’s connection one way or other to them. So vast is their contribution to bringing the best of Marathi literature to the common man, they are a perfect example of Lokasangraha that I had discussed in an earlier post.

Kisliye jeete hai hum

Kiske liye jeete hai

Baarahaa aise sawaalaat pe ronaa aayaa….

“Why do I live? For whom do I live?

Several times such questions have made me cry”…..Sahir Ludhianvi( Hindi poet)

This question must come to mind for each of us at some point or another. Why do we live? For who do we live? 

I have seen individuals who were adopted at an early age try to find their biological parents when they are adults. There is an invisible bond of the souls, that seeks to connect with our source. It is thus not surprising that our inner being tries to seek our Creator. And this search is beyond the scope of Google or social media or any other practical resources.

Anyways. Coming back to this poem by Mr Khandekar, here the poet is addressing God and pointing out to several things he observes around he asks his Creator “ Are you here?”. These are poignant “things “ or situations that only an exceptionally sensitive poet can imagine and connect with a sublime theme or entity like God. 

त्या फुलांच्या ~ गंधकोषी ~ सांग तू आहेस का...
त्या प्रकाशी तारकांच्या ~ ओतिसी तू तेज का...
त्या नभांच्या नीलरंगी ~ होऊनिया गीत का...
गात वायूच्या स्वरांने ~ सांग तू आहेस का...

Tell me, are you present in the fragrance of those flowers? 

Are you the one who pours brilliance into those shining millions of stars in the night sky?

Are you the song in the vast blue sky?

Is it you who sings through the notes of the wind?

मानवाच्या अंतरीचा ~ प्राण तू आहेस का...
वादळाच्या सागराचे ~ घोर ते तू रूप का...
जीवनी या वर्षणारा ~ तू कृपेचा मेघ का...
आसमंती नाचणारी ~ तू विजेची रेघ का...

Are you the breath and heartbeat(life) in a human being?

Are you in the form of the terrible stormy sea? 

Or is it you in the form of mercy that showers like rain from the clouds?

Is that you in the flashy line of lightning that dances across the sky? 

जीवनी संजीवनी तू ~ माऊलीचे दूध का...
कष्टणार्‍या बांधवांच्या ~ रंगसी नेत्रात का...
मूर्त तू मानव्य का रे ~ बालकांचे हास्य का...
या इथे अन् त्या तिथे रे ~ सांग तू आहेस का...

Are you the nectar in a mother’s milk that sustains life?

Or the color( redness)(from hope,worry or suffering) that fill the eyes of laboring brethren?

Are you personified in humanity? Or the innocence in the laughter of a baby?

Please tell me, is it from here to there, in all these places, that you exist?

One can grasp the poem at face value or look deeper and deeper to find meaning and never totally find where the bottom lies.

Saree is a lovely lemon yellow cotton with chikan kari embroidery that I had bought in Lucknow nearly 2 decades back. The threadwork design on the pallu and borders is in a rust color.