THE ENNOBLING BODY of D.V Gundappa’s creative literature spans all forms except short stories and novels as we’ve noted elsewhere on The Dharma Dispatch. Of these, poetry was his forte. The gamut of themes that he explored in his poetic oeuvre is as varied as it is sublime, evocative, pleasing, aesthetic and enduring, reminding us of Dryden’s pithy wisdom that “he who would search for pearls must dive below.”
If Mankutimmana Kagga is the undisputed crown of his poetic attainments, his Gita Shakuntalam, Sri Rama Parikshanam, Sri Krishna Parikshanam, and Antahpura Gite occupy an exalted class in their own right. These works opened to immense appeal when they were first published and continue to endure as prized jewels of Kannada literature.
If these are complete poems woven around a single theme, DVG also wrote — copiously wrote — stray poems when he was seized by inspiration. These were compiled into two bouquets titled Nivedana and Vasanta Kusumanjali. For several decades, many poems from both collections became household songs in Karnataka. His Vanasuma, especially, was sung during the morning school prayers.
Daarigara Haadu (Song of the Wayfarers) is a poignant poem included in the Nivedana collection. As an uncompromising classicist, DVG set all his verses to metre. Most of his poems fall in the Geya (musical lyric) category. In the Nivedana collection as in others, DVG has himself suggested the most appropriate Ragam in which each poem has to be sung. He has suggested the Mohana Ragam for Daarigara Haadu.
Daarigara Haadu belongs to the poetic sub-genre that can reasonably be called Virakta-Kavya or Renunciate Poetry. Its wellspring is the Vedic corpus, which extols the glory of Sanyasa or renunciation. The Mahanarayana Upanishad for example, has several sections celebrating Sanyasa. Its climax, entitled Jnana Yajna, is a marvellous exposition of attaining Moksha through renunciation.
In the non-Vedic realm, Bhartrhari’s Vairagya Shatakam is the undeniable monarch of Virakta-Kavya. Every Indian language has contributed quite admirably to this genre both qualitatively and quantitatively. In fact, rousing poetry, lyric and song were used as some of the most powerful vehicles during the Sanyasi Andolan which shook the British in the 19th century.
Another poem that belongs to this category is Swami Vivekananda’s electrifying The Song of the Sanyasin.
As someone who was inextricably moored in the Sanatana tradition, DVG had internalised the best elements of its genius. In several of his writings, he confesses that he had been attracted to Sadhus, Sanyasins, Bairagis and Jogis from his childhood. His essay, Hakkiya Payana is an expressive confession of his inward attitude to external life. In the later part of his life, he had kept an Iktara at his bedside. Small wonder that his Kannada biography is aptly titled, Virakta Rashtraka (Renunciate Nationalist). Small wonder also, that he wrote The Song of the Wayfarers.
While this poem truly merits an independent exposition, suffice to say that it incorporates the spirit of Bhartrhari and can be favourably compared with Swami Vivekananda’s The Song of the Sanyasin. The fact that DVG wrote it in the early 20th century — at a time when significant sections of the Hindu society had brainwashed themselves in English education and were busy rejecting their own roots — is even more remarkable.
The Song of the Wayfarers has a magnetic appeal that is hard to express in mere words. The following is its English translation, which I hope does even the slightest justice to the brilliance of the original. Needless, any translation defect is entirely mine but I take solace in DVG’s own words:
ಶಬ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಟಿಪ್ಪಣಿ ನಿಘಂಟುವಿನಿಂದ |
ಭಾವಕ್ಕೆ ಟಿಪ್ಪಣಿ ಭಗವಂತನಿಂದ ||
The meaning of the word is found in the lexicon |
The meaning of emotion is supplied by Bhagavan ||
Happy reading!
— Sandeep Balakrishna
WE ARE WAYFARERS;
Include us not in the troubles of your town,
My friends.
We come here from faraway;
We repose in the free rest-house of your town and
Move onward this day,
My friends.
WE WANDER UNCEASING, under the command of our Guru;
We stay not in the same place for a day more than two;
Want and worry, fear and fury torment us not;
So listen to our story, learn how you can discard these,
My friends || 1 ||
We departed at the early rays with a sack on our head;
We walked on with vigour apace with the high winds,
Blest with the love of our Mother, the Earth,
With joy, we walked forward until we spotted a fine stream,
My Friends || 2 ||
Purified we were in its waters,
We sat under the tree-shade and
Ate from our sack the cold, stale food of yesterday;
We scoured the nearby foliage and
Ate the fruit we found and
Wearily slumbered at the very spot,
My friends || 3 ||
Lost we were in deep, blissful sleep
Lulled by the melodic lullaby of birdsong,
Fanned by the wafting fragrance of flowers numberless, and
Awoke and drank the stream-water and
Walked onward,
My Friends || 4 ||
Our body now scorched by the
Furious rays of the same Deity of the Day who had, ere,
Shown such pleasant benevolence;
We sought tree-shade again and
Inspected the sky hiding inside the heap of clouds above,
My Friends || 5 ||
And as it were,
The sky tossed soothing, cool breeze and
The huddled clouds danced and dawdled and
Flung lightning and stabbed us with thunder and
Rained rain upon us and drenched us and
We trudged along, shivering, shivering, shivering,
My friends || 6 ||
We walked onward and onward and reached the
Rest-house of your town’s temple and there
We met poor wayfarers, our kindred spirits;
We sang with them and we exchanged tidings and
We spent the night there,
My friends || 7 ||
We depart from here at sunrise and
Forgetting our fatigue, we walk again with a brisk gait;
With our eyes, we feast on diverse beautiful sights and
Singing lovely melodies, we journey on to
Yet another town,
My friends || 8 ||
We roam daily in this manner;
Neither want nor desire afflicts our mind for even half a moment;
We know no fear nor do we embark on adventure;
All we desire is your compassion,
My friends || 9 ||
We’ve seen cities and towns and villages;
We’ve walked on their streets and alleys and gulleys;
We’ve seen the piety and the penance of their dwellers;
We’ve enjoyed their generosity; and
We’ve had enough of civilisation,
My friends || 10 ||
We’ve seen those that laugh;
We’ve seen those that weep;
We’ve seen those that’re afraid;
We’ve seen those that’re fearless;
We’ve seen the wicked;
We’ve seen the deluded;
We’ve seen the Wise;
My friends || 11 ||
We’ve seen enough of your endless worldly pursuits;
We’re akin to birds in a hurry to return to their nests; and like them,
We must need rush forth and reach our abode and unload our burden,
My friends || 12 ||
Closing the ditches,
Clearing the thorns,
We ease the path for pilgrims who might follow our step;
We narrate and we listen to noble stories and
Dissolve our worries in those fables,
My friends || 13 ||
Imprisoned we are not by the
Stubborn bonds of accomplishing something;
Afraid we are not of the ardours of our chosen path;
Holding staunch to the song of our Guru inside our hearts,
We rejoice in his words,
My friends || 14 ||
We fear not Fate which mocks us;
We face Fate with modesty;
We have in our hearts, a drop of the essence of Amrita;
Savouring it in constancy, we know no anxiety,
My friends || 15 ||
We ask nothing that our eyes behold;
We relish with joy any morsel, any fruit that falls into our hand;
Our joy is ours; your worries, yours;
We’ve had enough of your town,
My friends || 16 ||
|| Om Shanti ||
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