Hindi and Vajpayee

Today is World Hindi Day, that is celebrated on the 10th January every year, for promoting the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of Hindi and its speakers around the world.

It also marks the anniversary of the first time that Hindi was spoken in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1949. It’s different from National Hindi Day celebrated on 14th September to mark the adoption of Hindi as the official language of India.

When we talk of Hindi and UNGA, the contribution of the former Prime Minister Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee cannot be forgotten.

As the external affairs minister of India, he was the first to deliver a speech in Hindi at the UNGA’s 32nd session on October 4, 1977, effectively raising India’s stand on key issues like nuclear disarmament, state-sponsored terrorism and reforms at the world body.

He touched the subject of the non-aligned movement and said that the India “stands firmly for peace and friendship with all countries, citing the vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum – the world is one family.”

Mr Vajpayee was the force behind uplifting Hindi to the international platform by using the language at the UN each time he delivered a speech.

And when we talk of Atal ji, can his  poems be far behind? I share a few lines of his famous poem, ‘Maut Se Than Gayi’ (It was death I faced). It
was an obituary Mr Vajpayee wrote for himself while battling death in a hospital in the US, contemplating on life’s biggest question – that of death.

This poem reminds us that life is a vital force, above everything else, and that every man has a right to it, regardless of conflict. His existential retrospection teaches us lessons in compassion for life, and of bravery against odds.

‘मौत से ठन गई’ (It was death I faced)

जूझने का मेरा इरादा न था,
मोड़ पर मिलेंगे इसका वादा न था।

रास्ता रोक कर वह खड़ी हो गई,
यों लगा ज़िन्दगी से बड़ी हो गई।

मौत की उमर क्या है? दो पल भी नहीं,
ज़िन्दगी सिलसिला, आज कल की नहीं।

मैं जी भर जिया, मैं मन से मरूँ,
लौटकर आऊँगा, कूच से क्यों डरूँ?

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

I was not eager to fight back,
Neither was prepared for a rendezvous.

But there she stopped, holding my path,
She seemed larger than life.

How long lasts death? – Not even a moment,
Life, however, is a continuum.

Alive I was with the grandest vibes, I’ll die in peace,
I shall return, why should I be afraid of departure?

–Kaushal Kishore