Everyone knows Tulsi Das wrote Ramcharitmanas. But how many of us know that he was cast away from home, at age five, on the orders of the king? He was abandoned in a distant land to fend for himself or die. Child Tulsi had to beg from door to door with a bowl in hand to survive. Read the life story of Tulsi Das in Kavyanjali Vol. 5, which is a bilingual volume - the original is written by Padma Shri Haldhar Nag, and it is translated into English by Surendra Nath.
Shri Nag venerates Goswami Tulsi Das as his Guru, which he mentions in the opening part of the poem Rasia Kabi Tulsi Das. The relationship between Tulsi Das and Haldhar Nag is on an ethereal plane; though the two poets never belonged at the same time, their living circumstances have been similar. While Tulsi's parents disowned him when he was an infant, Nag became an orphan at age ten. After that, each led an abject life of absolute misery. Each of them walked the spiritual path in their own ways and chose to write poetry to bring mythology to the masses. Both wrote in languages that were largely spoken in their respective regions - Tulsi in Awadhi and Haldhar in Sambalpuri-Kosali.
Panchkanyas in Hindu mythology are Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara and Mandodari. Of these five iconic women, the former three have been extolled by writers, poets, commentators and mythologists for their roles in the epics. Tara and Mandodari are the two women in the list of Panchkanyas, whom writers have not heralded, possibly because their consorts were infamous and ungodly in character. Yet, Haldhar Nag has taken up these two neglected characters in his poem Tara Mandodari. With his imaginative and creative storytelling, he has narrated how similar their plight was.
Aside from these two long poems, this volume contains 29 short poems. Like all volumes of Kavyanjali, this one contains both the versions - original by Padma Shri Haldhar Nag and the English version translated by Surendra Nath.
The printed books (paperbacks) of Kavyanjali contain both the versions - the original by the poet in Sambalpuri-Kosali and its English translation. Amazon Kindle eBooks do not support the vernacular language; hence it is only the English version for eBooks. Those interested in bilingual copies may opt for paperbacks.
Shri Nag venerates Goswami Tulsi Das as his Guru, which he mentions in the opening part of the poem Rasia Kabi Tulsi Das. The relationship between Tulsi Das and Haldhar Nag is on an ethereal plane; though the two poets never belonged at the same time, their living circumstances have been similar. While Tulsi's parents disowned him when he was an infant, Nag became an orphan at age ten. After that, each led an abject life of absolute misery. Each of them walked the spiritual path in their own ways and chose to write poetry to bring mythology to the masses. Both wrote in languages that were largely spoken in their respective regions - Tulsi in Awadhi and Haldhar in Sambalpuri-Kosali.
Panchkanyas in Hindu mythology are Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara and Mandodari. Of these five iconic women, the former three have been extolled by writers, poets, commentators and mythologists for their roles in the epics. Tara and Mandodari are the two women in the list of Panchkanyas, whom writers have not heralded, possibly because their consorts were infamous and ungodly in character. Yet, Haldhar Nag has taken up these two neglected characters in his poem Tara Mandodari. With his imaginative and creative storytelling, he has narrated how similar their plight was.
Aside from these two long poems, this volume contains 29 short poems. Like all volumes of Kavyanjali, this one contains both the versions - original by Padma Shri Haldhar Nag and the English version translated by Surendra Nath.
The printed books (paperbacks) of Kavyanjali contain both the versions - the original by the poet in Sambalpuri-Kosali and its English translation. Amazon Kindle eBooks do not support the vernacular language; hence it is only the English version for eBooks. Those interested in bilingual copies may opt for paperbacks.
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