Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

Poems of Surya Kant Tripathi Nirala Translated By Dr. Archana Bahadur Zutshi

Dr. Archana Bahadur Zutshi

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Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' (

' '), was an extraordinary luminary at kavi sammelans during his lifetime.Born on
February 21, 1896 in a Brahmin family of Midnapore in Bengal (originally from Unnao,Uttar Pradesh) he was a versatile poet and
pioneered the blank verse. He was a poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer.. He was an authority on various languages Bengali,
English, Sanskrit, and Hindi. He ushered in a new style of poetry and acquired the pseudonym, Nirala (unique). Nirala died in
Allahabad on 15 October 1961. Nirala has a distinctive style which seems staccato or deliberate when translated into English. In
choice of words and brevity he achieves an uparallaled place : he is known to be a poet of words and not of sentences.
Nirala pioneered the Chhayavaad ( ) movement along with Jaishankar Prasad, Sumitranandan Pant ( ) and
Mahadevi Varma ( ) . Nirala's Parimal () and Anaamika ( ) are considered as the original Chhayavaadi
Hindi literature. His style of poetry was revolutionary for his time. He voiced his protest against exploitation through his verses.the
following poem subtly refers to the feminine struggle for an identity which is lost in endless toil and submerged in social disparity.

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 Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

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She Breaks Stones (Surya Kant Tripathi Nirala)

She breaks stones.
Page | 78
I saw her along the road in Allahabad,

Engaged in her toil.

Not a shady tree under which she sat

With acceptance of her lot.

Dark skinned,fulness of youth restrained.

Cast eyes, her dear-work-engrossed mind,

A heavy hammer held her hand,

Striking repetitively

Across stood a heavily wreathed palatial, type.

The sun was ascending,

At summertime

The day bore a scorched look;

The searing loo wind rises,

The earth cotton-like burns,

Engulfed with smouldering dust,

At around noontime

She breaks the stones.

She threw cursorily a glance at me

Looked at the imposing structure,awhile ;

Perceiving none around,

She gave me that formal look,

As though post-beating the tears she brooked,

Adorned serene sitar,

I heard a strumming never heard before

After a moment quivered the belle,

From her brow fell off drops of perspiration

Returning unobtusive to her toil she seemed to say

I break stones.

( Translated from Hindi by Dr. Archana Bahadur Zutshi, Lucknow)

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 Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

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Page | 79

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Arrival of Spring (Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala')

Dear friend, spring has arrived.

The heart of the wood is with joy filled,

Rejuvenation is all pervasive.

Clad in newly sprung leaves, dainty-youthful vines

Endearing meeting with heart-throb trees foliage,

Swarms of honey bees entrapped

The cuckoos sonorous call rends the sky.

The soft breeze falters, flows gentle, gentler,

My eyes are enlivened to the richness

Of the wood and the youth.

In the sequestered expanse of

Luscious-heart-lotuses bloom,

Flowing saffron strands from opened buds,

Gold- verdant-saree pallu

Of the earth flutters.

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 Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

( Translated from Hindi by Dr. Archana Bahadur Zutshi,)

Translation of 'Sandhya Sundari', A Poem by Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'

Page | 80 Evening Beauty

It is the time of dusk -

From the cloudy skies she descends,

She the evening-beauty, fairylike,

Lightly, lightly, lightly

There's in the dusky drape no hint of mischief

Sweet, sweet are her two lips,

But slightly sombre, there is in her no sprightly laughter

Laughs but an only star -

Braided with those black-black tresses,

The queen of hearts it anoints.

Sloven like the creeper,

But the bud of daintiness,

With an arm around friend- quietitude,

Like a shade from the sky-path she started.

No Veena plays in her hand,

No note of love-rhythm-strain,

In her anklets too no sound of run-jhun run-jhun

Like an unspoken word only 'quiet quiet quiet'

Is resounding everywhere -

In the skies, in the water bodies -

She sleeps on the silent pond amidst the pristine lotus-crowd -

Amidst the vast breast expanse of the beauty-vain-river -

On the top of patient-brave sombre summit amidst snowcapped-unmoved-mountain-expanse

In the attacking-currents- hurricane amidst the strong-roaring-hightides -

In the horizon in water in the sky in air and fire -

Like an unspoken word only 'quiet quiet quiet'

Is resounding everywhere -

And what else? Nothing more.

She spills the river of ale as she comes,

To the tired souls with love,

she offers to drink a cup of ale.

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 Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

She puts them to sleep on her bosom,

Shows them numerous sweet dreams of forgetfulness.

When she is steeped into midnight restiveness,

Incites the poet's passion,

Page | 81
From the lovelorn faint throat

Rises a song of desperation!

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Geet (Song) From the Collection : Anamika( The Anonymous)

Bring my reflection

Bring my reflection in every heart!

From my eyes these dreams you explain!

The sound which fills the fresh clouds

Life felt blessed singing enraptured the heart,

The sound-shower which filled up river-lake-seas,

This earth of mine was blessed crowded were the blue skies,

That exalted tune sing in their throats!

The speed with which eye meets the eye,

Hearts bloom, crowds-of- Lotuses move,

The end towards which realization of life-death-detachment is awakened

Brings from life lifes supreme-worship.

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 Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

To foot-eye-heart-word you teach!

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From Kavita Kosh(Treasure of Poems ), Collection: Archana (Worship)

You are of the body, mind, wealth (Tan Ki,Man Ki, Dhan Ki Ho Tum)

You are of the body, mind, wealth.

You are of the freshly risen, you are of the bedtime.

You are never the overt enchantress,

You have always been the simple mistress,

The river-of- paradise you have flown always,

Of the eyeless, of every eye you are.

ttachment-perspective-ponderous-occupation

Life is never people-depraved,

Your laughter is shackle-binding,

Pride of the sage, you are for pondering.

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 Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies ISSN: 2321-8274

I went deep, then I found you,

Otherwise a shadow of the form you were,

The only wealth of true utterance,

Of my aural speech you are.

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( Inroduction of the translator of the poems of Suryakant Tripathi Nirala from Hindi to English:

Dr. Archana Bahadur Zutshi is Assistant Professor in English at Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow.
She has been an Academic Counsellor in English, with Indira Gandhi National Open University for the past several years, where she
teaches various courses in English. Her Ph. D research was on Comparative Literature, the poetry of Philip Larkin and Nissim Ezekiel.
She herself composes poems in English.)

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