A Poem that Stayed with me!
It is a no-brainer that there is no shortage of content today, but how often do we feel satiated after watching something? Not every time, Right?
And the content which succeeds in unlocking emotion within an individual stays for a long time.
I remember one such series, Aspirants, presented by TVF (The Viral Fever). I am not sure if it’s present in other countries but quite famous in India. Though the series oozes creativity, The part that stayed with me even after years is the poem recited throughout the series.
This poem is known as “Antim Unchai” by poet “Kunwar Narayan”
For my readers, who do not understand Hindi- Antim means “Last/Final” and Unchai means “Altitude/Height”.
Antim Unchai
(English Translation)
How Clear It Would Have Been To Keep Moving Forward
If The Ten Directions Were In Front of Us,
Not Around Us,
How Easy It Would Have Been To Keep Walking
If Only We Could Walk
Everything Else Would Have Ceased,
I Have Seen this Bustling World
While Trying To think With Ten Heads And trying to achieve it with twenty Hands, have made It difficult For them.
Everyone In The Begining Wants
That Everything Should Start From The Begining,
But By The Time They Reach The End, They Lose Their Courage,
We Lose Interest
that How It Would All End
That Started With So Much Fanfare
On Our Wish,
While Conquering Inaccessible Forest And High Mountains
When You Conquer Even The Final Height -
When You Feel That There Is No Difference Now
In You And In The Hardness Of Those Stones
Which You Have Won -
When You Will Face The First Snowstorm On Your Head
And Will Not Tremble -
Then You Will Find That There Is No Difference
To Win Everything
And In Not Giving Up Till The End |
Hindi (Original)
कितना स्पष्ट होता आगे बढ़ते जाने का मतलब
अगर दसों दिशाएँ हमारे सामने होतीं,
हमारे चारों ओर नहीं।
कितना आसान होता चलते चले जाना
यदि केवल हम चलते होते
बाक़ी सब रुका होता।
मैंने अक्सर इस ऊलजलूल दुनिया को
दस सिरों से सोचने और बीस हाथों से पाने की कोशिश में
अपने लिए बेहद मुश्किल बना लिया है।
शुरू-शुरू में सब यही चाहते हैं
कि सब कुछ शुरू से शुरू हो,
लेकिन अंत तक पहुँचते-पहुँचते हिम्मत हार जाते हैं।
हमें कोई दिलचस्पी नहीं रहती
कि वह सब कैसे समाप्त होता है
जो इतनी धूमधाम से शुरू हुआ था
हमारे चाहने पर।
दुर्गम वनों और ऊँचे पर्वतों को जीतते हुए
जब तुम अंतिम ऊँचाई को भी जीत लोगे —
जब तुम्हें लगेगा कि कोई अंतर नहीं बचा अब
तुममें और उन पत्थरों की कठोरता में
जिन्हें तुमने जीता है —
जब तुम अपने मस्तक पर बर्फ़ का पहला तूफ़ान झेलोगे
और काँपोगे नहीं —
तब तुम पाओगे कि कोई फ़र्क़ नहीं
सब कुछ जीत लेने में
और अंत तक हिम्मत न हारने में।
- कुँवर नारायण
My Interpretation of this poem:
Life is not direct, It does not give you all choices at once, does not give
you everything in a platter and that is the beauty of life, It in itself is
amazing and we are ordinary..
We start things with much pomp and show, hard work and zeal but somewhere on
the way loose interest and forget how we started it with so much happiness and
give it up before reaching to where we wanted to..
If we go till end, if we cross all our hurdles, if we do what we ought to do
then there will be no difference left between winning and not loosing till end.
* My favorite is last verse.
While Conquering Inaccessible Forest And High Mountains
When You Conquer Even The Final Height -
When You Feel That There Is No Difference Now
In You And In The Hardness Of Those Stones
Which You Have Won -
When You Will Face The First Snowstorm On Your Head
And Will Not Tremble -
Then You Will Find That There Is No Difference
To Win Everything
And In Not Giving Up Till The End |Let’s discuss it in the comments and have many interpretations. :)
Cheers!
-Richa.
