School days’ poems make you walk down the memory lane. You can vividly recall how your literature teacher explained and you struggled to understand the hidden meanings, even if the stanzas were in your mother tongue. And what if a particular poem extended to several stanzas…!!!
While I consider Makhanlal Chaturvedi’s ‘Pushp Ki Abhilasha’ the most powerful Hindi poem, one of the longest poems I memorized for its beautiful words and that I often quote is “Hawa Hoon Hawan Main Basanti Hawa Hoon, Suno Baat Meri Anokhi Hawa Hoon”. Here is the Hindi poem ‘Basanti Hawa’ composed by Kedarnath Agarwal, followed by English translation of just the few lines for better understanding for non-Hindi readers.
बसंती हवा
– केदारनाथ अग्रवाल
हवा हूँ, हवा मैं
बसंती हवा हूँ।
सुनो बात मेरी –
अनोखी हवा हूँ।
न घर-बार मेरा,
न उद्देश्य मेरा,
न इच्छा किसी की,
न आशा किसी की,
न प्रेमी न दुश्मन,
जिधर चाहती हूँ
उधर घूमती हूँ।
हवा हूँ, हवा मैं
बसंती हवा हूँ!
जहाँ से चली मैं
जहाँ को गई मैं –
शहर, गाँव, बस्ती,
नदी, रेत, निर्जन,
हरे खेत, पोखर,
झुलाती चली मैं।
झुमाती चली मैं!
हवा हूँ, हवा मै
बसंती हवा हूँ।
चढ़ी पेड़ महुआ,
थपाथप मचाया;
गिरी धम्म से फिर,
चढ़ी आम ऊपर,
उसे भी झकोरा,
किया कान में ‘कू’,
उतरकर भगी मैं,
हरे खेत पहुँची –
वहाँ, गेंहुँओं में
लहर खूब मारी।
पहर दो पहर क्या,
अनेकों पहर तक
इसी में रही मैं!
खड़ी देख अलसी
लिए शीश कलसी,
मुझे खूब सूझी –
हिलाया-झुलाया
गिरी पर न कलसी!
इसी हार को पा,
हिलाई न सरसों,
झुलाई न सरसों,
हवा हूँ, हवा मैं
बसंती हवा हूँ!
मुझे देखते ही
अरहरी लजाई,
मनाया-बनाया,
न मानी, न मानी;
उसे भी न छोड़ा –
पथिक आ रहा था,
उसी पर ढकेला;
हँसी ज़ोर से मैं,
हँसी सब दिशाएँ,
हँसे लहलहाते
हरे खेत सारे,
हँसी चमचमाती
भरी धूप प्यारी;
बसंती हवा में
हँसी सृष्टि सारी!
हवा हूँ, हवा मैं
बसंती हवा हूँ!
English Translation
I am the breeze heralding spring
Listen to my ‘unheard of’ ways
I don’t have a house
Neither do I have any aim
I don’t wish anything
Neither do I long for anything
God I don’t have friend or enemy either
I travel anywhere, wherever
I am a wanderer
Here I come
There I go
There I come
Here I go
Touching everyone, everything
I spare none
Not even a fellow wanderer
Just for them, for them only
I am the breeze heralding spring
Listen to my ‘unheard of’ ways
I am the breeze heralding spring
Blowing quietly, blowing refreshingly
Making waves, everywhere
I am the breeze heralding spring
Listen to my ‘unheard of’ ways
Neeraj Bhushan 
Thank you so much. You just helped me in participating in Hindi recitation.
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You Are Welcome. Thanks & Bests.
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[…] I’m the breeze heralding spring […]
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Childhood memories. 🙂 Sharing this on my blog.
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Thank you for the credit.
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English translation can not capture the powerful Alankars and chand in hindi poem. Though effort may be worth but power of poem is in the wording and behaviour of basanti hawa (wind blowing in the season of spring). It also captures the various crops and surrounding in the spring season. Original effort makes poem so long but easy to remember evn by small children. We enjoyed in our childhood. Our children enjoy it even now. Its an evergreen poem.
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mai jab bhi ye kawita padhta ho mujhe apna bachpan yad aa jata hai. Thanks for loadiog this poem..
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And I so LIVE this poem, day after day. Thank you.
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i remembered my school time when i read this poem. thank you.
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Very Powerful, Very Innocent.
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Reblogged this on The Gappuccino ~ g caffè ~ and commented:
I travel anywhere, wherever
I am a wanderer
Here I come
There I go
There I come
Here I go
Touching everyone, everything
I spare none………………
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Yup G 🙂
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Yes, I too remember the poem, “Pushp ki abhilasha” and also a few more by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan and Mahadevi Varma. I like this Hindi site: http://www.anubhuti-hindi.org/gauravgram/index.htm
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Both these poems are so part of my life ever since I learnt them. I thank the persons (one a teacher and other an acquaintance who passed on these to me quite early in my life. Thanks Giri.
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Maa bhi aayee beta bhi aya, mantri aur pradhan matri koo bhi bulaya.Bihar nai khah tum sub na anna NDA kau is hai yeh pradesh chalaana.
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🙂
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