Madhushala by Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan 

Harivansh rai  Bachchan is one of India’s most successful, famous, and skilled Hindi poets. Unlike other poets, Harivansh Rai  Bachchan’s poems are not just read by poetry lovers but are included in most of the education systems of India. Harivansh rai  Bachchan is the first poet of India to receive a Ph.D. in English Literature from Cambridge University.

He was born on 27 November 1907 in Babupatti village, in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Harivansh grew up in a sizeable Brahmin family struggling with financial difficulties. He studied in Allahabad and attended St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge University.

When he returned to India, he worked for All India Radio in Allahabad and then the Ministry of External Affairs, where he made Hindi the official language of India. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1966. He received the Padma Bhushan a decade later for contributing to Hindi literature.

Amidst these contributions, one of the most recognized and famous works of Shri Harivansh Rai  Bachchan Ji was “Madhushala.”

MADHUSHALA

Madhushala, which translates to house of wine, is the most celebrated work of SHRI HARIVANSH RAI BACAHAN. Madhushala, as a book of poems, has highly metaphorical work, which is still celebrated for its Vedantic and Sufi philosophical undertones. Madhushala, as a work, contributed highly to 20th-century Hindi literature.

Madhushala is one of the books of a trio by Harivansh Rai  Bachchan. It contains 135 Rubai, which verses of four lines. The uniqueness of MadhuahL was that every verse of the book ended with the same word, “Madhushala.”

Throughout the verses of Madhushala, poet Harivansh Rai  Bachchan has tried to explain the complexity of life by using four interrelated words. madhushala( house of wine), madhu, madira or haala (wine), saaki (server), pyaala (cup or glass).

Harivansh Rai  Bachchan said that Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiya inspired him to write the trilogy. The work of Madhushala was welcomed by people and liked by them. The book brought Harivansh Rai  Bachchan instant fame, and his recitation of the poems became a “craze” at poetry symposiums.

OVERVIEW

To understand Madhushala, one will need more than reading a blog. But indeed, this blog can give an overview to develop an interest and understanding of the book.

The poet begins the poem by extolling the virtues of his book and poetry. He continues, “I am delivering this book to you like I am presenting you with a bottle of wine.” I’ve written it with much love and consideration, and she’ll be the one to offer it. He claimed that he had poured his heart and soul into this book/wine and that this love was intended solely for you. 

Now he displays his deep concern and cares for the book/wine once more. He claims that he can go to any length for his work. He has composed it with great care, much like a guy prepares wine, and he will go to tremendous lengths to safeguard it. He believes that much as a winemaker boils water to make wine, he may equally stand on one foot to make his Madhushala collection appealing to the reader.

He conveys his interest and cares for the book/wine once more. He claims he can go to any lengths for his book. He took enormous care in writing it, just as a guy takes great care in making wine, and he will go to any length to protect it. He adds that just as a winemaker boils water to make wine, he may stand on one foot to appeal to the reader with his Madhushala collection.

He claims that a winemaker utilizes grapes to make wine and adds additional components to make it delicious. He claims he has created a collection “full of big meanings and deep concepts.” He compares me, the author, to a wine merchant who has delivered a glass of wine or a book full of great poetry. He claims that no matter how many people drink from it, it will live forever since he has loaded it with so much wine or beautiful concepts.

Now he’s talking about a drunken drinker who doesn’t know which road to choose. He begins his quest by leaving his home befuddled and baffled by many notions. He consults several people for advice on which road to choose, and each person gives him different advice. Some advised him to turn right, while others advised him to turn left. However, the poet advises the individual to take one path and continue walking until he reaches his target, the tavern. The poet is attempting to convey that a person should not rely on others but instead do what his heart tells him to do, that he should choose one path and walk it. As eventually, he will reach his destination.

Harivansh Rai  Bachchan goes on to suggest that walking on the road to the destination will be challenging. In this instance, you could lose a lot of things, including wine. But, no matter what, you should keep walking since you will eventually arrive at your target. You may come across memories from your past that will influence you along the journey, but you should not stop and continue because your main goal is to arrive at your objective.

He claims that only those who have dealt with everything in life and outcrossed all of life’s pitfalls will arrive at their objective. Who have left behind all the wrong individuals and are willing to give up all wrongdoings. According to the poet, getting to your destination can be incredibly tough. And that may discourage you, but it is the one thing that you should avoid. You must have the courage to combat this and remain motionless until you get to your objective.

In the final words, he refers to himself as the Cup and the reader as the wine. He claims that wine is incomplete without the Cup and that if the reader fills the Cup with wine, he will become an alcoholic. He claims that a book (Madhushala) would be incomplete without both the reader and the author, much as a tavern would be without a cup of wine.

In last, he praises his poem in a unique way, stating that even if you read it a million times, it would not become useless. Because no matter how many drinkers arrive at the bar, the wine never runs out, he refers to his book as the wine and readers as the drinkers.

In the end, Madhushala can be stated as a sad poem based on personal hardships and events. It is founded on sad scarcity, disappointment’s sorrow, death’s certainty, a patient acceptance of defeatism as the soul’s only shield, and the soul’s ardent desire for beauty ending only in defeat. 

Every great thing has its origin. Check out the origin of the Indian Poetry.