Shav Vahini Ganga

Last updated
"Shav Vahini Ganga"
by Parul Khakhar
Original titleશબવાહિની ગંગા
WrittenMay 2021
CountryIndia
Language Gujarati
Rhyme scheme AABBAA
Publication date11 May 2021 (2021-05-11)
Lines14

"Shav Vahini Ganga" or "Shab-Vahini Ganga" (English: "Ganges, the Hearse of Corpses") is a 2021 Gujarati-language poem that was written by Indian poet Parul Khakhar. The poem criticises the Indian government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her verses attracted widespread attention, particularly on social media, after she posted the poem on Facebook. The poem has been translated into several languages.

Contents

Background

Parul Khakhar is a Gujarati-language poet from Amreli, Gujarat, India. [1] She was fifty-one years old when she wrote "Shav Vahini Ganga" ("A Hearse called Ganges"). [2]

As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic swept over India, the country's newspapers began to cover the crisis by publishing disturbing images, including those of massed corpses of people suspected of dying from COVID-19, on their front pages. Cremation facilities were overwhelmed by the sharp rise in the demand for funerals. Patients died due to a lack of oxygen cylinders. Moved by these media reports, Parul Khakhar wrote a Gujarati-language poem called "Shav Vahini Ganga". [2] On 11 May 2021, when she posted the poem on Facebook, it went viral and was soon translated into several languages. [3] [4] The translations also went viral on social media. [3]

Composition

"Shav Vahini Ganga" is a 14-line poem with an AABBAA rhyme scheme. [3] The poem is written in the style of Marsiya , an elegiac poem or dirge. [1]

The locus of her image, the Ganges river, is a core symbol of sacredness and is well known as such throughout India. [5] The poem evokes the ire of the virus as it leaves a trail of death, as abandoned dead bodies float along the river, the smokes arise from funerary pyres, and the chimneys in crematoria undergo a meltdown from the number of bodies they had to incinerate. The piece, as a lament for the dead, lists a number of collateral effects of the pandemic, including the scarcity of pallbearers and mourners, and the drying up of the flow of tears. [6]

The poem implicitly criticises the Narendra Modi government and attributes the government's inaction to the deaths that occurred during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. [7] [4] The poem describes Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, as a "naked king" ruling a Ram Rajya where the sacred river Ganga serves as a hearse for corpses. [3] In writing of the city that "burns as he fiddles", the Prime Minister, without being directly named, is likened to the Roman Emperor Nero. Modi is addressed in the lines:

O King, this entire city has at last seen your real face
O King, in your Ram-Rajya, do you see the bodies flowing along the Ganges? [6]

The people of India are called upon to:

Come out and shout and say it loud
The naked King is lame and weak. [2]

Reception

The poem received both praises and criticism, and immediately became popular as comments on social media picked it up and multiplied it exponentially. [4] It was translated into several languages including Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, English, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi and Tamil. [3] [5] Musical compositions for the Gujarati and Punjabi versions were released. [5] Shalini Randeria and Ilija Trojanow published a German translation in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 21 May 2021, along with their commentary on the poem. [8] [9] The Hindi translation was done by Ilyas Sheikh. [3]

Khakhar was acclaimed for writing "such a powerful and brave poem" but was also "bombarded with abusive messages". [10] Salil Tripathi writing for The Guardian noted users of social media posted over 28,000 abusive comments reacting to her allusion to the responsibility of the Indian government. [5] [3]

Prakash N. Shah and Salil Tripathi compared "Shav Vahini Ganga" with Hans Christian Andersen's tale The Emperor's New Clothes , emphasizing its power of telling a visible yet unperceived truth concerning the rulers of the state. [11] [5] According to Babu Suthar, "Shav Vahini Ganga" should be viewed as a protest poem in which the traditional, dominant Gujarati poetics of representation and transformation are put aside, and language is used as a weapon against the state. [12]

The popular Gujarati writer Kaajal Oza Vaidya published an article about the poem in Divya Bhaskar on 16 May 2021. [13] While calling the criticism of the government's handling of the pandemic "fashionable", she blamed the general populace for not following the COVID-19-related guidelines. [1]

Gujarat Sahitya Akademi's criticism and responses

The following month, an editorial appeared in the June issue of Shabdasrishti , a publication of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. [14] Without explicitly mentioning "Shav Vahini Ganga", the editorial dismissed it as "pointless angst expressed in a state of agitation" [6] and called those who discussed or shared the poem "literary Naxals". [14] [15] Vishnu Pandya, the editor of Shabdasrishti, wrote in The Indian Express : "There is no essence of poetry in the poem and neither it is the proper way to pen down poetry. This could be merely venting out one's anger or frustration, and it is being misused by liberals, anti-Modi, anti-BJP and anti-[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] elements." [14]

After the publication of this editorial, which appeared to defend the Indian government, around 169 Gujarati writers issued a statement demanding its withdrawal. [15] Some of the signatories included Amrit Gangar, Anil Joshi, Babu Suthar, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Himanshi Shelat, Jignesh Mevani, Kamal Vora, Mallika Sarabhai, Panna Naik, Praful Raval, Prakash N. Shah, Pravin Pandya, Priti Sengupta, Salil Tripathi, Sanjay Chhel, Sharifa Vijaliwala, Suman Shah, Yoseph Macwan, Zakia Soman. [16] Shortly afterwards, Khakhar published a poem entitled "Taare Bolvanu Nahi" ("You Should Not Speak") in Nireekshak, a journal edited by Prakash N. Shah. In the issue, around half of the 16 contributions were written by the signatories of the statement and consisted of literary protests challenging the Shabdasrishti editorial. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajendra Shah (author)</span> Indian lyrical poet and author

Rajendra Keshavlal Shah was a lyrical poet who wrote in Gujarati. Born in Kapadvanj, he authored more than 20 collections of poems and songs, mainly on the themes of the beauty of nature, and about the everyday lives of indigenous peoples and fisherfolk communities. In his poems using Sanskrit metrics, he was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. He is considered one of the giants of post Gandhi-era in Gujarati literature.

The history of Gujarati literature may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, other than its composers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suresh Joshi</span> Gujarati writer and poet

Suresh Hariprasad Joshi was an Indian novelist, short-story writer, literary critic, poet, translator, editor and academic in the Gujarati language. Along with his teaching career, he led the modernist movement in Gujarati literature. He was prolific writer and he transformed the field of literary criticism.

<i>Saraswatichandra</i> (novel) Gujarati novel by Govardhanram Tripathi

Saraswatichandra is a Gujarati novel by Govardhanram Madhavaram Tripathi, an author of early twentieth century from Gujarat, India. Set in 19th-century India, It is acclaimed as one of the masterpiece of Gujarati literature. Though the novel was published in four parts, each part has a distinct thematic content, its own cast of characters and independent beginnings and ends. It was adapted into several plays, radio plays, films and TV series. It was well received by the number of critics, and was translated into several Indian languages, along with English. However, Suresh Joshi, a strong proponent of formalism theory, criticized the novel for its structural failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinu Modi</span>

Chinu Modi, , also known by his pen name Irshad, was a Gujarati language poet, novelist, short story writer and critic from Gujarat, India. Educated in languages, he taught at various institutions and established himself as a poet and author. He was a recipient of several awards including Sahitya Akademi Award, Vali Gujarati Award and Narsinh Mehta Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raghuveer Chaudhari</span> Indian author

Raghuveer Chaudhari is a novelist, poet and critic from Gujarat, India. He has also worked as a columnist for numerous newspapers, such as Sandesh, Janmabhumi, Nirikshaka and Divya Bhaskar. He was a teacher at the Gujarat University until his retirement in 1998. His most significant contributions have been in Gujarati language but he has also written Hindi articles. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, for his novel trilogy Uparvas. He received Jnanpith Award, considered to be India's highest literary award, in 2015. In 2019, he was awarded a D.Lit. by Gujarat University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanju Vala</span>

Sanju Vala is an Indian Gujarati-language poet and literary critic Gujarat, India. He has authored more than 10 books and received numerous literary awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anil Chavda</span> Gujarati Poet

Anil Chavda is a Gujarati language poet, writer and columnist from Gujarat, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harshad Trivedi</span> Indian poet, short story writer, critic and editor

Harshad Trivedi is a Gujarati language poet, short story writer, critic and editor from Gujarat, India. He was an editor of Shabdasrishti, an organ of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, from 1995 to 2015. Trivedi has served in different positions at several Gujarati literary institutions. As of 2023, he is a president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashok Chavda</span> Gujarati poet and writer (born 1978)

Ashok Chavda, also known by his pen name Bedil, is a Gujarati poet, writer and critic from Gujarat, India. His anthology of poetry, Dalkhi Thi Saav Chhutan (2012), was awarded the Yuva Puraskar by the Sahitya Akademi in 2013. His collection of known writings include Pagla Talaavma (2003), Pagarav Talaavma (2012), Tu Kahu Ke Tame (2012), Pityo Ashko (2012), Shabdoday (2012), and Ghazalistan (2012), which is a translation of Urdu ghazals written by Indian and Pakistani poets. He is also a recipient of the Yuva Gaurav Award (2012) from the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, and the Dasi Jivan Award (2013–14) from the Government of Gujarat. He has appeared in several TV and radio programs on All India Radio and Doordarshan.

<i>Shabdasrishti</i> Gujarati literary magazine

Shabdasrishti, the journal of the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, is a Gujarati literary magazine, published on the fifth of every month. The magazine was started in 1983, a year after the establishment of the Akademi. Shabdakhya Jyoti Prakasho is a motto of this magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suman Shah</span> Indian critic, short story writer, novelist, essayist, editor and translator

Suman Shah is a Gujarati language critic, short story writer, novelist, essayist, editor and translator from Gujarat, India. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 for his short story collection Fatfatiyun. He has written both in the modern and in the postmodern eras in Gujarati literature. He has authored more than 74 books, including 2 novels, 6 short story collections, 4 collections of creative essays, 6 translations into Gujarati from English and Hindi, 22 books on literary criticism and around 23 edited works of literary theory and modern Gujarati short stories and poems. He was honorary editor of Shabdasrishti from 1983 to 1986 and an editor of Khevna, a literary journal, from 1987 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajendra Patel</span>

Rajendra Patel is a Gujarati language poet, short story writer and critic from Gujarat, India. He has served as Vice President of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad since 2014. His significant works include Jueeni Sugandha, Shri Purant Janse and Avagat. Gujarat Sahitya Akademi awarded him three times for his poems, short stories and criticism. His book Jueeni Sugandh was translated by Navneet Thakkar in Hindi as Juhi Ki Mahak (2007). He also served in the editorial team of Shabdasrishti, a monthly magazine published by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harish Meenashru</span>

Harish Krishnaram Dave, better known by his pen name Harish Meenashru, is a Gujarati language poet and translator from Gujarat, India. He is best known as a postmodern poet in Gujarati literature. Some of his significant works include Dhribaangsundar Eni Pere Dolya (1988), Suno Bhai Sadho (1999), Tandul (1999), Parjanyasukta (1999), and Banaras Diary (2016). His poems have been translated in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, German, and English. He received a Kalapi Award (2010), Vali Gujarati Gazal Award (2012), and Narsinh Mehta Award (2014). He received the 2020 Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection Banaras Diary (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashokpuri Goswami</span>

Ashokpuri Goswami is a Gujarati poet and writer from Gujarat, India. He won Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati language in 1997 for his novel Koovo (1994).

Kamal Vora is a Gujarati language poet and editor from Mumbai, India. He is an editor of Etad, a quarterly Gujarati literary magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gujarat Sahitya Akademi</span> Gujrati language authority in India

The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, is one of them; the others are Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, Sindhi and Urdu. As of 2022, Bhagyesh Jha is the chairman of the Akademi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manisha Joshi</span> Indian poet and journalist

Manisha Joshi is a Gujarati language poet and journalist. She is an author of four poetry collections including Kandara (1996), Kansara Bazar (2001), Kandmool (2013), and Thaak (2020). She currently lives in California.

Rasiklal Chhotalal Parikh (1897–1982) was a 20th-century Gujarati poet, playwright, literary critic, Indologist, historian, and editor from Gujarat, India. He was the president of Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and was appointed the president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1964. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960 for his play Sharvilak. He is also a recipient of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak.

<i>Vasantavilas</i>

Vasantavilas is a fagu poem by unknown author written in old Gujarati language, believed to be written in first half of the 14th-century. Its theme is the depiction of Shringara, an erotic sentiments. The poem has a significant historical value as it provides linguistic evidence of Old Gujarati.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tripathi, Salil (27 May 2021). "The Pandemic Poetry of Indians Has Roused Readers Far and Wide". Mint. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Biswas, Soutik (20 June 2021). "Parul Khakhar: The Indian Stay-at-home Mum Trolled For Poem on Covid Dead". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Trivedi, Deepal (15 May 2021). "BJP Furious as Top Gujarati Poet Blames 'Naked King' Modi for Corpses Floating in the Ganga". The Wire. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 29 Sep 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Susan, Nisha (25 Jun 2021). "The Uncertainty of the Artist". Mintlounge. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 Sep 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Tripathi, Salil (28 May 2021). "The Poem That's Channelling India's Anger About the Pandemic". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 29 Sep 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Doshi, Tishani (5 July 2021). "Flogged, Imprisoned, Murdered: Today, Being a Poet Is a Dangerous Job". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "'Conspiracy' by 'Literary Naxals': Gujarat Sahitya Akademi Criticises Poem on Corpses Found in Ganga". Scroll.in. 10 Jun 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 Oct 2021.
  8. ↑ "Gujarati Writers, Readers Condemn Sahitya Akademi's Vilification of Poem on Ganga Corpses". The Wire. 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 Oct 2021.
  9. ↑ "Ein Gedicht erschüttert Indien: Im Ganges fließt nur der Tod". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 Oct 2021.
  10. ↑ Devkala, Mehul (20 May 2021). "Gujarati Poem Criticises Govt's Handling of Covid Resurgence". Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Shah, Prakash N. (28 May 2021). "'શબવાહિની ગંગા'ની સાખે" (in Gujarati). Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  12. ↑ Suthar, Babu (28 June 2021). પ્રતિકારની કવિતા [Poetry of Resistance] (in Gujarati). Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  13. ↑ Vaidya, Kaajal Oza (16 May 2021). "માય સ્પેસ: દુઃખ પારાવાર... મૂઈ આ સરકાર !". Divya Bhaskar (in Gujarati). Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 Sharma, Ritu (10 Jun 2021). "Poem on Bodies in Ganga: Gujarat Sahitya Akademi Sees 'Anarchy', 'Literary Naxals'". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 Oct 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 Sharma, Ritu (18 Jun 2021). "Litterateurs Demand Withdrawal of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi Editorial". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 Sep 2021.
  16. ↑ Desai, Nachiketa (18 Jun 2021). "Gujarati Writers, Poets and Artists Condemn State Sahitya Academy For Maligning Poet Parul Khakkar". National Herald. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 Oct 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.