Saturday, January 4, 2003
M A I N   F E A T U R E


 Poet of hope and humanism
Amar Chandel

Harbhajan HalwarviHARBHAJAN Halwarvi has straddled two apparently unrelated genres of writing which may not be diametrically opposite, but are not complementary either. Despite being a colleague of his for more than two decades, I have always wondered whether it would be more appropriate to call him a journalist who also writes poetry or a poet who also happens to be Editor of Punjabi Tribune. Well, after the double honours he has won during December for his poetry, he himself may like to give the secondary spot to journalism, the Shiromani Punjabi Patrakar Award that he has already won notwithstanding. The awards bestowed on him would be any poet’s dream. First, he was nominated a member of the General Council of the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, for five years. Then came the news that he had won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book of Punjabi poetry, Pulan Ton Paar. This was a golden double if ever there was one.

Those who have followed his writing keenly were already aware that he had touched a new high with this book. The award was only a confirmation of this assessment. But Pulan Ton Paar should not be read in isolation. His literary evolution can be fully understood only if one evaluates it in the backdrop of his previous offerings, Paun Udas Hai (1981), Pighle Hoe Pal (1985) and Pankh Vihuna (1991). The chiaroscuro that emerges is the culmination of a wide array of influences. The Naxalite initiation and personal tragedies have all combined to temper his expression in a unique way.

 


One would expect a revolutionary poet to be spewing fire and acid but in Halwarvi’s case, the expected finds expression in a refreshingly understated way. He has internalised the dissatisfaction with the world order to express his feelings in a gentle, philosophical way. He finds faults, but without frothing at the mouth. This unique evenness comes into his work because he sees every person or event on an exceptionally wide scale. If you focus exclusively on the black, white vanishes from your sight. Halwarvi does not fall into that trap. Displaying an almost cosmic vision, he evaluates everything in the right perspective. According to him even the biggest upheaval does not upset the overall balance: Kee hoya kujh tare bujh ke raakh bane ne. Kee hoya je kalakh rata ku sanghni hoi Sooraj di par tapish ghati na,

Puniyan da chanan vi pahilan varga pak pavittar Brahmand da eh mahan pasara

Hale vi unne da unna. (I tried to translate that into English but the magic was lost). Punjabi poetry is prone to be critical and pessimistic at times. But Halwarvi can be called a poet of hope. The golden thread that runs through 44 poems, one geet and 22 ghazals in Pulan Ton Par is infectious optimism. Pichhal jhaak di putthi aadat

Safar layee hundi madi Aakhan dur agahn wal vekhan

Aisi jugat izaad karan. There is firm belief in himself and in the intrinsic goodness of mankind. Mind you, he is not a dreamer. Realism that accepts that far too many things are wrong in the new social reality can be perceived in all his work. It is just that he refuses to be overawed by the adversities. He takes contradictions in his stride, refusing to miss the wood for the trees. Another leitmotif is the inherent humanism of his thought process. He does not believe in seeing humanity as a sum total of several tiny pieces. For him, it is one holistic entity, to compartmentalise which is a sacrilege. Nadiyan lahoo nadan han Dharti de sudaul jism diyan.

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Kadon mitniyan Dharti utte vajjiyan leekan Kadon pher hone anvande duniya de jal thal Te Kudrat de bande.

Since that Vasudev Kutumbakam approach does not have too many takers in real life, there is an undercurrent of desolation and loneliness in his work. This longing fills his ghazals with sublime beauty. Chete vich ghul gaya hai Gandhla umar da paani Toon pher vi pachhane aina ku maan chahvan Bahan vich bhar ke mainun lai dekh is ton pehlan Teri vi simrati chon Ukka hi visar javan. As the small samplings reproduced here make it clear, his expression is as refreshing as his thought. Dynamism is palpable. That is why the national award is a matter of honour not only for Halwarvi but also for all lovers of Punjabi.