CHAPTER SEVEN
POEMS
OF
NATURE
A considerable portion of Assamese Romantic Poetry,
comprises of the study and eulogy of nature. Prior to the
coming of the Romantic poets, the representation of nature
in Assamese poetry was scanty. The poets had only occasion­
a lly touched nature and hence nature got lit t le chance to
emerge out with a proper form and philosophy. I t was only
/
/
0
Sri Sankaradeva who showed some respect to n a t u r e ; in his
long-devotional poems he often drifted into the delineation
o f nature wherever he could pick up any chance. Thus, we
have the description of the celestial flower garden in the
1
Haramohana and the beautiful love garden in the
(sections of the K irtana).
£>
Rasa-1l la"
Apart from &ri Sankaradeva's
attenpts there was no direct endeavour to portray nature in
poetry. Vaisnavite poetry, being mainly religious, often
lik e d to lin k man and God and hence there was no positive
attempt to link man and nature, nor there was any attempt
POEMS
OF
NATURE
at describing different aspects of nature*
385
The Assamese
folk-poets, however, tried to link man and nature in their
poetry. But the proper growth of nature poetry with its
distinctive form and philosophy was not possible till the
advent of the Romantic poets. I t was Chandrakuraar Agarwalla
who initiated nature into Assamese poetry in his beautiful
nature-lyric Ban-Kuwarl (The princess of Wilderness). BanK u* ar* was published in the very fir s t issue of JonakL
From historical view-point the publication of Ban-Kuwarl is
ii^>ortant. I t introduced newness both in form and matter
and such a theme was hitherto unknown in Assamese poetry.
Moreover, i t was the fir st poem of Chandra Kumar Agarwalla.
The poem was a great success which encouraged the young
poet to enploy his genius in singing nature-lyrics. He was
one of the pioneering poets of Assamese Romanticism. Chandra
Kumar as well as his two friends Hem Chandra Coswaml and
Lakhsminath Bezbarua effected a revolution in Assamese poe­
try by portraying nature in a bold and entertaining manner.
These three poets described the different aspects of nature,
t rie d to evolve a philosophy of nature and were successful
in linking man with nature.
'
POXMS OP IATURS
386
Chandra lunar Agerwall-a (1867-3938) v u bom at
Brahnajan in tha Terror sub-division. He v u the second
•on o f the Illu striou s Hariri las Agarwalla. Chandra lunar
passed an uneventful ohildhood and from his early terns
he was associated with the business a ctiv itie s o f his
father at Calcutta* In due tine he passed the Hitranee and
the F irst Arts exaninations (respectively) but could not
obtain the Bachelor* s degree* He studied at the Presidency
College, Calcutta* tin his return to Ass an Chandrahnnar took
to business and tea-cu ltivation , He started a preps at
Cauhatl and published sons news papers fron i t , a fa c t,
which had pared the way fo r Assanese journalise. With hie.
in it ia t iv e new vistas were opened fo r Assanese literatu re
t
in general and poetry in particular. A poet by heart and
a business nan by profession, Chandraknaar was a nan o f
unique coablnatlon. Pratima (The Inage, 1914) end B ln Barigi (The Minstrel, 3923) are the books o f poetry that
we here fron hie fa c ile pen*
As a post o f nature Chandrakunar f e l t e strong
looting to be anidst nature. He on joyed passionately the.
lores and beauties, o f nature. In the poen Phull Sari yah
DariL (Ih t bloaaoning nustards) the poet fe e ls an intense
POD* OP BATOR!
387
urge to toe the beautifttlflAvers t
Pray, #j»are ao
I go to have a look
At tha blooathg Bustards,
Which have Captivated me
tip to thl* day )
Tha mustard flowers,
Ptill of tha wings of tha
3
Butterflies*
‘
Every object of nature — tha flowers, tha birda, tha traaa
tha beautiful mermaids, tha blua aky and tha el onda fata an .
axtraordlnary plaaura to tha poet* Jnd whatever pleasure ha
darltad from Ma intimate aaaociation with Batura, Chandra
Kumar immediately aotwrtntoatad to hla readers. Lika tferfo.
worth ha dleeoveped a sp irit, a soul af nature and vaa vary
mueh Harassed by the mightiness of it* In tha poaa Bin Baragl tha poat hoi fa it tha affeetlonate warmth of nature
vhiohbeeoae a aouraa of unfailing inaplration for him*
Chandrt Khnar fa it that natura la nora affaotlonata and
kinder to tha baaah beings. Tealmala, tha poor and tortur­
ed g irl of Agakwall'a's baladlc poem Tesimala vaa given
rescue and aolaoa by natura* Tha g irl Tesimala (tha
P © * «f
OF IATOEB
388
i i s t B u i C inderella) who was driven oat o f home (end henoe
o f the hnnen s o c ie ty ) b y h e r cruel step-aether was n l o e lj
accomodated hr nature* For, escaping the tortu re o f the
step-mother She assumed the fo r a o f a creeper and a tre e
su ccessively, and f i n a l l y took the fo r a o f a lo v e ly lo ta s
In the eaters o f a rive r* boron In a background o f fo lk s to ry the poen T e d n a li has received eloquent appreciation.
The ttordsworthlan Idea, "nature never doth betray the soul
th a t loves her*, is n le e ly r e fle c te d In th is peon* Obser*
ving the closeness o f Tesiaela to nature the poet remarks t
Hmrah hutuae
d a lly a l p e la le
~kakan© kutum p i l l ,
Haram b eth ire
H a l l knwarl
e H lk e xilU k a r ll* .
i
The* hfiussn frlead s
Have d^terted you »
Alas, whom did you
fin d a frie n d ?
k ith the warath o f
your heart,
0 the Innocent la s s ,
you have now befriended a ll*
pone or nature
Chandrakunar perhaps Ilk * Shakespeare b elie ved , "One ton oh
o f nature aakes the whole world kin", m other popular aspect
o f Chandrakapar1s nature poena is the in clu sion o f the
supernatural w iteh ^ girls, the neraalds
and the f l e t i t l e a s
fo r e s t dansale* The lo v e ly descriptions o f the Banksvarfs
(th e princesses o f wilderness) and the Jaltattiaiis (the
neraalds) nake his poees lo v e ly and enchanting* The extent
sion o f Chandraknnar* s roaantlo imagination i s very nueh
v iv id in these supernatural poene* In the n idst e f nature* •
in a s a le but n oon -lit dawn the neraalds are asking water*
sp ofta in a b e a u tifu l riv e r as we have i t very n ic e ly deeoribed in h is Jalkuuari s
Through the waves* the swans p ly
The beat Bade o f flow ers |
The rlver-p rln eess as b e a u tifu l as the lotu s
Donees with the flowers
And on her head g l i t t e r s
A p earl o f dew*
Their hands end fe e t are red
th e ir faees too (arc rod)
And th e ir hairs are b rig h ter than tfit rttfosnsi
POM vOf lATUkE
W O
All of than art
A
n
d
S i n e
l
f
t
*
H
i
p
r
a
i
s
t
O
f
t
h
a
m
o
r
n
i n
g
.
Sona of than ara smooring
Tha lotas potals on thalr bodlas,
And tho rad-ono is collacting
6
Tha lotas Rhoads In han&-fhl«*
Tho spool si kind of porooptlan of tho oxlitanea of sapor- '
natural olommit* vithln naturo has mods U s poama aara
attraotlT# and auohnara romantic, Bollnoation of tha smpSrnatural was ono of tho OUof charactorlatics of tho fttgllsh
lo nantie poatry*. fho occult and boary doserlptlon of tho
Jakblni C< Sanskrit. Taktlnl ) ohoaill (tho f* rist U tch )
• har clipping of hands bonoath tha wild has bos of phntaka
trass Cphutuka talata yakM.nl ohoaali tuk tuk oapart ray1)
ranlnd us of tha danlsans of tha Jhgllsh wltab-vorld Ilka
Carol dina of Golarldga' s C hrist# SI. Chandrakunar Agaraalla
Ilka tho Uglisfc Semantic posts Tfcould diacoror an aronuo of
boauty U thin naturo* Tho pursuit of bounty vas indoad a
strong passion U th ChandrakamaT as hs U asslf said —
7
"Tha pursuit4 of bfsnty is my, l i f t ,'s- sport."
Ss had found
boauty in orory ob joot of natura and this aorld fu ll of
boauty giras lmmansa dallght to tha poat t
POW. 0 JfAlUR*
®1
« -V .
Bandar*** svndar 1 dudlntyi dot
Yatanar anaodar suYani mil.
«* Ibis vorld thatigh ta^prary 1* tha Kit baatutifta,
Aloraiy afeoda of strlfs and plaasurt.
Bsauty and ioy for hi* vara tha atsantlal prineiplaa of thla
unlTsrss* Tha post naturally intarlinkad nan and aatnra aa
tha participator of tha aana ap'Ort aanaly tha pursuit of
bsauty* M ona of tha pisntsifftf pasts of Assanas# HonaatlQlaBf Chandrakaatr had to invant a nav dlatlon for Ms pas­
try. Ha prsfarrad aaay and honaly diction and Ms art of
narration vas laps rb*tori sal. |n a aansa, MS poana a**
full of tha Alaad&rht naaad BndhprOktl, vMah aaaardlnc
to eartain thaorlat* Ilk* hhanaha la not an Al*nkira.(fi4al
Dr. T.Baghaaran, dona Oonaapta of Alafchar* daatra, pp.PP-116).
Ha did not Ilk* to sabMt to %ha orthodox oouvantlon aa
ragarda diotlan and so ha Maas&f innovated * diation
vas nora naaror tha aoanan nan* Sa prsfarrad slnpliaity as
an lnatrunant of aonmniaatisn to his raadaro vha vara op­
to that tins not at all faotllar with tha Binantis tradi­
tion* dn additioiul gain fr*n this Aavioa vas that Ms pasas
bsoaafe andowad with tha quality of Praaffda (partpisuity).
Though siHpliclty la tha Ufa and broath of Ms dasariptiona,
•
m
**
*j HATOWS
92
y s t, Chandrakuuar could aittl vary beautiful laagaa with
eonwletioa and ecooouy. the »aea, Madhuri (Loveliness) la
tha uni qua exasp lc of Ids inage Baking s k ill. In n a tte rs
of aatra Chandrakunar praotlsad a metrical sequance w r y
nruch closer to tbs old Assamese metres.
Chandra Kumar1* frland Bah Chandra Qoevasi too was
an ardent worshipper of natara. Tha Bonantie -tr io consis­
ting o f Chandra Kumar, Haa Chandra and lakhaalnath welcomed
tha Bonantle imagination into Assaaasa poetry. fhasa three
poata vara genuinely insplrad by Boglleh Bemwitlo poata —
Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats and Byron j and as a result of
th at thay lnharltad tha all-parvading warmth of Batura
f ton Wordsworth | tha supreme flig h t of imagination fro*
Shelley, tha ly r ic a l and passionate sa n tla sa ta llty o f Keats
and tha heroic vivacity o f Byron. In his nature poaaa Ban
Chandra Coswanl triad his bast tc bestow U fa and aetnallty
to a ll tha rtsourees that Hatura hald in har boson. More­
arer, ha triad to daduea a philosophy of sxlstene* for
Hatura. Xn searching for sueh a philosophy, he r a after
the Qpanlsadie truths and B ib lical references. Thara i t a
sp lan dour of das crip t l on and a raallzatlen o f tha fine spi­
r i t of naturs in his posns. With his characteristic
*QPB < | JHATOBB
»3
axel tenant and Inflaned Inaglftation
poet kindlaa a ray
of lota for nature In thO heart* of hla reader*. Tha neat
fanoua of Ma nature poena la Prakrltl (Vatura). In thin
poaa Haa Chandra develop* a great paaalon for natara and at
tha oana tlaa ha dlaaotara a phlloaOphy of axlatenee for
natara. Hla ria l on of natara la vide \ i t la not lingted
to tha baantlaa of rippling river*, high nountaliie, groan
flald a, panoranlo M ila and dalaa* lake* a d rival at#,
tree# and flavor#, Mrda and baaata and tha aky and tha
planet* j but hla ranga of Vatura ootara tha vhole ooania
axiatoneo. Like the *age* of the Upanlaadic culture, ha
anvlaagaa Vatura aa a grant goddaaa vho gave b irth to
Bhulok, gtarlok and Bhnvahloka the throe different phnaaa
of tha ooanle order. Haa Chandra In dlaootarlag Vatura aa
tha llfa-gltlng Hither Coddaaa for a ll tha oreaturea m
lnaplrad by tha Upaniaadle faith of dodGLlnaaa in ovary
goodllne**. Ha daoiaraa natara at a ahadov of tha Mighty
Lord, "Iavarar ehiyi tual aartya bhabanat." tha poet alncerely baliavaa that I t la Vatura (lather the goddaaa of
Vatura) that nakga tha gnn, tha Moan and tha other planate
to travel unhaaitatlngly in thair appointed patha, aahee
tha aaaaona oone vlth variety and oolour, anrlOhaa tha
garden* vlth the bloeaoMng *3ol£p, tagar, Ifilatf. Jai and
/
10
POlMltfr
NATURE
3B4
Bakula "flowers. i t is Nature who inspires th* bird* to sing
sweetly and nakif the l i l y and tho lotos happy with tho
radiant lov# o f tha Mail and tha son respectively. Tha vast
enpires of tibia nighty kings sons and go at tha instanoa of
Nature, Tha poat was oonscious of tha vast aspans a of
nature and ha> aologlsad tha nightlnes* of nature, Han
Chandra was quite ally* to both tha kind and tha eroal as­
pects o f Natura, Ha wondered at tha devastating aspaet of
tha otherwise kind Natura, Tha poat says t
lassos hovi dayavati,
Ksanava nirday ati,
Hijra dhani narilao ubha$l noooi,
Nubujo toner ale ik i bhav hoi?
■* Sonatinas you appear an snbodiamt o f kindness,
(But) sonatina* you suzpass
tha oruallty of tha nost eruoi j
Ton show accession to none
\
I f even sonsbody braaks hi* heart out of griaf.
I cannot understand, nothar natura.
Tour peculiar santinants.
I t is a nattar o f oonnon dlsacconodation with tha Ronaatio
natura poats that out o f thair passlonata lava for natura
POWg OF NATURE
u
96
. .
* '
thay were often in d iffersh tto the cruel aspects of nature.
I t la alleged, that evenIlirdsworth the groat nature poet
was blind to the orual aSpooto of nature. But E«i Chandra
-
*••**■%
could woll apprehend tho disastrous side of nature. In this
respect Honchandra had a ainllarity with tho Sanskrit drana>
t is t Bhavahhhtl, itao was an exoeptlon in portraying tie
hoary and ugly aspects toov of Nature. (fid e, A. B»Keith t
Sanskrit Prana, chapter will ), In tho sano pooa Prakrltl
Hon Chandra like Wsrdsworth visual 1sea that wo lir e noaror
Nature in our boyhood days* Vorisworth reaarked that in his
boyhood days nature was too inti note with hla and as such
hs could hoar tha whispsrs of tho objects o f nature* In
our boyhood years tho horlson of our winds keeps wide and
all-eato racing, to, i t is natural that wo eon approbate
tho charns of Nature and ean oultlTate a fanillarlty with
tho ob joots of Nature* Hon Ohahdra points out t
Tenoknri lara leal,
n kale sakalo bhil,
II kale eirlopbilo lagariya nor
gash, lata, ban phul, nadi glribor.
yar mkhoiate eao,
Tarsi naran pis j
POEMS
or KAZURE
306
Takai ip on trail koto ooai khao
Yak* pao taka k$udra hrday rilao,
Tana la ri kal hil
3nari hi fa phati j i f ,
Prakjti prahlr prftn praddylnl ala,
Pinki, piakl hiy, pinkl dona! ?
* In that glorious boyhood,
Vh«s arerything turns good,
Ehm tha frlanda ara all around,
Trans and oraapars, roads and florars
Maintains and rlyors happily bound,
Whonnrar I son
Ha glvas his lor* to ns
Hi* x kiss ralantlossly as «y nost dtar,
Pro* ay littin hnart, 1 giro ay lorn to aaoh,
Alas thosa fatnful boyhood yaars,
Tha nonary o f which brings taars j
Ifaturn Is tha soul and sjdstancs of all araatlon
Shall I aaat har again. Shall I , oh shall I ?
Por a Roaantlo post (who ganarally boars a daap gratltuda
and lorn for tha past) this lanantatlon orar his boyhood
days is natural* Wordsworth too, aada ldantleal axprassloc
posp
OF NATURI
397
o f bis boyish qppraelatlsn o f Vataro in tho poos *Unos
tfrittan A FW Jtlss dbov# ttatsrn jfeboy«." Hon Chandra'•
........ ... .... » .... .. ........... . ...... . . ..... . ... .................................... . .... ..... a il................. ...................... mr n m m ^ m .... ... ........ ..
—
lanantatian ovar tho loot o f tho oharaa o f Batura and tho
b liss o f boyhood has booono stronfly vivid in tho bovailihg uttaranoo *>aakl« panki hu|&o Panki dnaii* (shall I
■oat her afainr shall Z# oh shall Z t )• His natoro poofla
aro sot a prodaot 6f aoro antbaslasn and tondamaaa hat
thoy aro andovad tilth a llvnly sanslbllty baokod by aloar
paroaptlon and Intofit introtpaction.
Han Chandra's anothar hnautlful natam-lyria is
Prakrit! Stati (A Hynn to Hatnrd)* In this pooh tho poot
has fo lly adsptod tho Biblloal introspaetloa an hathro is
rovoalod In tho PSAZN - 39, ( So tho Chlaf Ifaslaian, A
Psala o f David). Han Chandra found coanaaaoss of his idias
about nataro with this Psaln md that is idiy ha had adap~
tad tha smtinants into his o*n poon. in his poon Prakritl
8tutl tha post dadaraa that Vatnra is ths shadow of tho
lord* dad in tho David* s Psala i t is said s
1, ths Hoavsns doalara ths Clory of cod $
and tho firagMnt showoth his handiwork.
2. Day onto day nttoroth spoooht and ni*ht unti nifht
shovsth knovladft .
POEMS
OP
NATURE
308
3 . There i s no speech n or language, where th ere v o ic e is
n o t heard*
Hem Chandra hat rendered e lo q u e n tly t h is in t o Assamese,
Svargaye keval Prabhu an n a h aleo,
P ra k lsich e purnarupe mahima tomar,
Ananta akas aru t a r i sakaleo
Bakhiunlche kari kart V isva Vidhatar.
Ghuri aha divaaar p ra tyek puval
Jnanar pohar i n i lo k a t v i l l i ,
Ohurl aha r a ja n ir sandhi yar bid
Svaragar upades a u l a l i t gay.
Sen t i e in s p i r i t , h ig h ly em otional in fe e lin g s the poem
Puva (The Dawn) i s the most a p p re cia te d nature noem. The
poem c a r r ie s remarkable fo r c e and eloqu en ce and i t is
b u i l t on a n a tio n a l and l o c a l background* The p o e t has
p o r tra y e d an in tim a te p ic t u r e o f the b ea u ties o f the dawn
a s s o c ia t in g i t w ith some d iv in e c r e a tiv ity *
The rays o f
th e dawn are peeping through the fadin g darkness o f the
l a t e night* The n ig h t i s s t i l l lin g e r in g and the morning
is
y e t to come* A c o ld and sooth in g b re e ze i s blow ing to
welcome the morning* G radually the darkness i s vanishing
POSMS
OF MATURE
399
and the morning 1* f a s t approaching. The b e a u t ifu l rays
conin g and showering b le s s in g s on the lo tu s la k es are
su p erb ly p ortra y ed in the fo llo w in g stanza.
J ilin a n i e t i ahl padun banat
Svaragar rahan d h a llo h a ,
A kalsariya d u ti padun k a liy e
14
Q u a khai h a lio h e ja l ic h e .
* The b e a u t ifu l rays o f the nornlng sun
Pour heavenly b l i s s on the lo tu s la k e s ,
Two sweet lo n e ly lo tu s buds
Are dancing and p r a tin g
K issin g each o th e r.
The p o e t had a c le a r g i f t o f Inage naklng. The p o e t i s
s in c e r e and h is attempts are spontaneous. The poem
Puva
c a r r ie s sons sym bolic meaning t o o . Hen Chandra has narrated
o f a c o ld war between Darkness and l i g h t . Darkness i s ig n o ­
ran ce and l i g h t i s knowledge. As l i g h t d is p e ls darkness, s o ,
knowledge too d riv e s out ig n o ra n ce . The symbol o f the lo tu s
la k e in d ic a t e s the lo v e lin e s s o f the w orld and the Swan Is
th e man w ith a c le a r ap titu de t o e n jo y the b e a u tie s and
th e p le a su re s o f th is lo v e ly w orld. There i s sons V edic
i n t u i t i o n in the background o f t h is poem; in the concluding
POEMS
OF
NATURE
400
15
l i n e s o f the poem Hem Chandra in vokes the Jonaki Savita
( i . e . , the luminous Sun ) to bestow knowledge and grace
f o r a l l time t o come. This in v o ca tio n has a corresp on ­
dence t o the con ten ts o f the G ayatri mantra* which i s
a l s o an in v o ca tio n to Savlta* the Sun God.
Lakhsodnath Bezbarua, whose a s s o c ia t io n with
Chandra Kumar and Hem Chandra was immensely p r o f i t a b le
f o r Romantic p oetry * wrote a few b e a u t ifu l n atu rel y r i c s f u l l o f p e r c e p tiv e sp on ta en ity and sym bolic e f f e c t .
Lakhsminath con sid ered man and nature u s u a lly adapted to
ea ch o th e r. The opening o f Bhram (E rro r) w ith i t s e x tra ­
o r d in a r y r h e t o r ic and g i f t o f o b serv a tion i l l u s t r a t e s
th e p o e t ’ s r e a liz a t io n o f the b e a u tie s o f n a tu re .D e ta ile d
w ith a con sciou s craftsm anship the poem makes c le a r inno­
v a tio n s on the b e a u tie s o f nature* He lin k s the b e a u tifu l
o b je c t s o f nature w ith an in n e r s p i r i t o f n atu re.
Who dares to say i t a tune o f the f l u t e ,
No, i t i s the deep melody o f B an adevl's song ;
t
/
—
This garland i s never made o f S evali flow ers
I t i s s la p ly a garland o f s ta r s .
***
Who says i t a d e e r - c a l f ,
Who i s so much devoid o f sen ses,
poems
of
nature
401
I t Is the beauty o f wilderness,
Grazing on the Durva-grass
16
In the shape o f the deer.
The poet* s novel observation has made the tune o f the
flu t e as much soothing as the song o f the Banadevl (the
goddess o f Wilderness)} the d e e r-ca lf an epitome o f the
beauties o f wilderness. The use o f the Jpahnutl Alamkara
In this poem is r e a lly worth-enjoying. But the truth
behind the Apahnutls ( i . e . , negations ) Is the r e a li­
sation o f a correspondence, between various ob jects o f
Nature and i t seems to be very much In consonance with
the theory o f correspondence o f Baudelaire (Vide, a short
History o f Literary Criticism ). Bezbarua could rea lise
----------------------------------------------------------------------
17
the subtle Influence o f Nature on the human mind. Malatl
(The Jasmine) i s a fin e poem wherein the poet has esta­
blish ed also a personal touch with Nature.
But Bezbarua's nature poems lik e those o f Chandra
Kumar Agarwalla had l i t t l e soope fo r any philosophic
Interpretation o f nature. Of the romantic t r io only Hem
Chandra Qoswaad had discovered a deeper philosophy for
•nature. According to him 'Nature i s the life -g iv in g mother
o f a l l the worldly beings 1 (P rakriti Pranlr pran-praday ln i a i).
POEMS
OF
NATURE
40?
Hem Chandra perceived an affectionate motherly touch of
nature everywhere. This personification of nature in the
garb of a mother can be coa^ared with the deification of
nature in Greek mythology.
All these three poets opened a vista for nature
poetry in Assamese and their portrayal of nature was a
thing of interest and inspiration for all the later poets
o f the age. Though the Romantic-trio began by receiving
the influences of Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats and others,
y e t , very soon they developed an extensive imagination
and a vision of their own which could be discerned as
pecu lia r to the Assamese poetry alone.
Jonakl and other contemporary magazines were the
avenues where the nature poets u t iliz e d their poetic
genius.
Jonakl and Bahi gave birth to a large number of
nature poets. For want of space we have to limit our dis­
cussions to only the most celebrated few of them,
a
poet of
nature with certain rare distinctions was Padma Nath lohain
Barua. But his poetic genius and his sk ill in the treat­
ment of nature are best exhibited in his kavya IilaT. Hence
we have discussed in detail the treatment of nature in 111a
in the chapter on the Assamese kavyas.
POEMS
OF NATURE
Mafizuddin Ahmed Hazarika (1870-1958)
403
d isco v e re d
an u t t e r l y new s tr a in In nature p o e tr y . The n atu re l y r i c s
o f Jnan-M IlinI r e f l e c t s the p o e t 1s deep I n t u it io n and
a f f e c t io n a t e understanding o f n a tu re. Nature to him was
a te a ch er and a g u id e. In the p o rtra y a l o f nature he o f t ­
en showed I n s t in c t s o f fundam entally c la s s ic a l natu re.
He was deep ly In flu e n ce d by the an cien t b e l i e f o f the
t w o -fo ld path o f V irtu e and V ice . The p o e t saw an easy
r e f l e c t i o n o f v ir t u e and v ic e in the nature kingdom.
II.
RAQHONATH CHOWDHPRY
Raghunath Chowdhury (1 8 9 0 -1 9 6 8 ), who began his
p o e t i c ca re e r in the pages o f the Jonsdcf, had developed
th e s tr a in o f nature in Assamese p o e tr y to a co n s id e ra b le
m e rit. Bom in a remote v i l l a g e in the Kamrup d i s t r i c t ,
Raghunath had h is e a rly education at Oauhati. He read un­
t o c la s s V III in the Cotton C o lle g ia t e High School and
d iscon tin u in g h is education he became a teach er In a
Oauhati L .P .s c h o o l. L ater on he took t o c u lt iv a t io n and
l e f t teach in g. He had jo in e d the Indian s tr u g g le fo r
independence and in 1922 Raghunath had to s u f f e r in^prlsonment f o r one year. He was e le c t e d P resid en t o f the
Asara Sahltya Sabha in 1935. Raghunath was a ls o the
POKf OF NATURE
404
Prasidant o f the liforld Peaoe council (A**an Branch) fo r a
few year*. Journalise was a favourite hobby o f the poet.
He edited three nagaxlnes, Main! (1923) | Jayanti (1936-38)
and Starabhi (1940-44). Sadarl (1910), Keteki (1918) and
Dahikatari (1931) are the three collection s o f his poses
which r e fle c t the s p ir it o f nature.
Thoufh a romantic poet by s p ir it and sentiment,
yet Hsgfaunath had very l i t t l e soope to cone to the direct
influence o f the Btglish Semantic poets. The poet did net
receive co lleg ia te education and as such he did not come
to the all-pervading influence o f the flhglish nature
poets. Perhaps, fo r this fa ct Raghunath's nature poems
are more original in sentiment and colour. Sagtamath was
well-versed in Sanskrit litera tu re and hence U s poetry
shows a d e a r manifestation o f the warm influence o f the
Sanskrit nature poets. He has derived a lo t o f sim iles,
allusions and p oetic conventions from the Sanskrit poets,
esp ecia lly from K ill das a. The vast panorama o f nature,
i t s beautiful flowers and melodious b ird s, the gliding
streams and rivers have made the poet mi earnest admirer
o f nature. With beautiful images and lov ely descriptions,
labudd with s keen rhetorleal dsvies, the poet has nads
naturs a sourca o f unfailing lovallnsaa and parmananoy.
*0$ » S f IdTOHE
406
Ragfannath* • poatia nxcnllmaa, hovawar, stand* unparallal•d in dnaeribing tbs two >najor nip sots of natura, v i* .,
tha birds and tha flowari. t t is Ragbunath who souId diaoorar for tba firs t tins tha avant nalody of tha songs of
tha oonuon Asdannsa birds, lika tha Dnhik&tari and tha
Ketaki. And at tha tana tina ha dalinaatad tha ooanon Assaaasa flowars, lik a tha Oolqp (tha rota) and tha § lri* allik i with anunpraandantad bnauty «nd colour. Tha pent* s
understanding of natura is sinonra ltd dlraat, Ha has saan
aasfcgh of natura in his boy hitod days $ and had spout nany
long hoars in winning aftar tha birds* songs. Lika kbrdsworth ha nada an intlnata eontaot with natura in Ms tasnst
Fro* tha adolasesnt days tha pont had nada kaan and alaar
obsarvatians of hhtura and ha had snjoyad suffioisntly tha
warath of natura* a unfailing affnation. In tha poaa Dahikatari tha bird DaMkatara has baoona a souroa of paraaaaat Inspiration for -tha poat. Tha *alodious song of tha
bird has snrspturad tha post* s haart. Tha bird oarrlna a
nassaga of parnsnsnoa for natura. DaMkatara is a fount
of a ll- Joy. Tha poat ballaTss that i t is tha SaMkatari* s
song wMah th rills and inspirns all natura and only in
rasponsa to tha a want bird** aalady tha objaots of natura
turn to lOTOliaaaa.
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POKMB OF VASnUI
407
And. th is all-pow erful b ird 1* song has adorned th« beauti­
f u l f ie l d with green grans, Bade the lo tu s and the l i l y
to bloon in the lakes and in vite d the spring to cone v ith
the luxury and grace o f a brlde-grooa* The sweet aelody
o f the Dahlkatara's song has in spired the riv ers to flow
a dancing through the v a lle y and the Kabul and the SoQiru
flow ers to bloon with th e ir b ea u tifu l flowers* The poet
i s deeply eharnsd by the bounty and grace o f th is lo v e ly
l i t t l e bird* For h ie, the b ird DChikatari i s a v e rita b le
treasure-house of lo v e lin e s s, p u rity , beauty and a ffe e t l on* The poet is* in clin ed to swia peraanently in the sea
o f w r a th o f Dahlkatara's song*
Koaalata p a v itra ta saundaryya aadhurl,
Prea Pravahini bai
icha cirak al v a i
Snigdha s a i l la t j m tb a tta naduri
...
20
Purivine van chi nor kaoon Sadari.
* in epltoae o f so ftn ess, p u rity ,
beauty and lo velin ess %
Ton are flowing e te rn a lly
carrying the rip p les o f love*
haxubk
408
1st ns bath# (otOtatHy)
ia tha holy v a t a r O f o u r lava)
**ay ay lit t la h£*a^ny darling
Idmld yon quanah apr thirst ?
Ihi« soaat banadictlm, this povorfal g ift of laaglaatloa
i t raally tha vary aoul o f roaantie poetry. In tha aoods
o f bit axaltad faaliaga tha post's Into&sity spring* lika
aoaa fast (roving vaad froa a singia saotlonal foot* fha
aotuis as softnas*! baauty, parity sad loralinass tand to
sxtwd tha qaalitlas of tha bird* With such sards tha
raadar is aagiaallf aanght tip in tha atoitad oai**h o f tha
spaakar** saatlsns.
Couohad ia a basatifoi rhstorloal albua his Ooolfea
gbjr Mar Prlya Blhanglnl is by far tha aost •snsitiY# o f
his natnra lyrics, tha poaa is an oology o f tha bird. l*ka
an apt adairar tha poat has rsgusstsd his loving bird to
sing oaaa and only ones tha aalodious raptors** vfcieh ho
had a ahanaa to U s t « aarliar* tha acfodioos raptors* of
tho bird** songs has b lm ts d tha poat laghonath to tha
haight of Kaatsian sansiblity. Jnd ilka Easts tha post had
paraaivad bsauty in a ll tha sphoraa of natura. Easts Kt i
appraaiatad tha iaasrtality of tha bird » •Thou vast not
POfgl OF lATCHS
40»
bam fo r (loath, I m ortal BUd.' Poat Cbowdhary too, has
o f tan tlaas hlntad at thb fenbsrtality o f tha bird In his
paan Katatt. But Ragbnnath was narar lnflnanead by la sts,
nor ho had A y sallows steady o f tho ftigliah iom n tls pasts.
Ho had l t t t l o wastain aducatlon and as snOh ha had no prlTllaca to oom Into diroot oontaot with tha atgllsh Bomit i e posts* Bat i t is anaslm to hots that soastlms Chow*
dhafy Ml A s to tho halght o f VbrdswortMA or Koatslas
(BooontlO) santioantallty. ' Tha spontanaoas ovsrflsv o f
psvtrfn l fa ilin g s’ Is abundant in U a A d in tho dailnoatlo a o f tho flo v irs In poatry Raghnnath has sbovad a
axtraordlnary aniaatlon o f Ms poaUa sanslbllty. Col%
•ad Blrlnalllka ara Ms too l^>ortant flowor-poans. Tho
poot has oOAarad tha Cola
with a boantifal btldo who
has lost uftrollbd bar fa A to groat har bslovad with a
_
21
v a n A d a ffa o tlA a to s A ls , Tho poat takas noto o f tho
fa s t that tho Boss was o rigin a lly a nan-Indian flavor bolo>
nglac ta Arab ooontilaa. Tha post wary a rtis tis a lly AOs crib a how tha fla vor travail A f ran tho noar aaat to India
daring tho fAMonablo days o f tho Mighals. In C lria a lltk i
too, tho post has sonmlTod har a
a warns diasardlng bar
▼sll* Tha past* • lows fo r tho flavors knows no boonds.
POSHS Of ttfOBS
410
Vlth Ms superior crafts awnship these flower* hare gained
colour and beauty. sirlnallikfi Is an epltoa* of loro and
beauty. Li hi a lower the flower dirlnallika la distribu­
ting her stolen glances to the trees and ereepers around.
In Ms other,poena the poet Chovdhary has aptly used the
flowers and the floral beauty to enhance the besnty of Ms
poena. The picturesque representation of the autuno and
spring flowers are deeply interesting. In the peon Bahjgir
Blya (narrlage of Sahigi, the presiding deity of the ninth
of Bhhif) the poet has arranged an array of beautiful flow­
ers like the siaalnt p alls» as'ok, aandir, kaainl, kifioan,
oa%gt nagesVar and the like, apart fron the beauty Idle
flowers have certain pMlosophio eomaitaent for th eir eacistenee. The poet has understood that the flowers inspire the
hunan heart to subdue its low passlone and to bloon like
tho flowors with colour and bounty to add graoo to this
aa las tie world of ours. M ailarly tho birds hare inspired
In the poet a ronantlc yearning for tho unknown. Tho flight
of tho belored bird te ^ ts tho poot to fly to the unknoaei
land where the river of lore originate#.
1TOuar legate uri yio rihanginl
Sadii Teiehe yat prea aandakini.
P08MB OF VASURX
411
* l e t ae f l y vith thee, 0 dear b ird,
To the land where tha river o f love
f l o w eternally.
Beyond the birds and flow ers,the poet Baghnnath has depi­
cted the riv ers, the trees and the oreepers, the son and
the noon, the black-bee and the b u tterfly in his poeas*
The poe* Joaalai (So the npon) speaks o f a love-drama
betvean the noon and the river* The river had once a fa ir
chance (in a fall-noon night) to get the moon in her boson.
And now on the radniseeno.es o f that night the river enti­
ces the noon to cone to her side* She has travelled fa r
and vide in search o f her lover i the noon*
laghonath Ghovdhary is a an expert craftsman. Sis
poeas exhibit a fin e rhetorical pattern and the structure
o f each poen i s accurately balanced* His poeas are ablase
with dnoprlsa, Upana, Bapaka, Atls'ayokti and Tirodha
Alaakams* Vs cannot re sist the tesptation o f quoting the
follow ing a llite r a tiv e verse froa Dahikatara*
MADHAYI
Madhcgendha gitl-chanda
Nanaathar aahadah,
Maratar maxu phnle
Maiayar p ile ghriq.
pope 99 V4BT&S
418
IkDiUauidt tale fffjo
Mfhaoandra ratIni,
(fadhaailatt* tshdfco
TifnftiS 5Phdlti yiaiai*
Madhaehanda nadanar
oohpi mruhana dbrani,
Mikhailta
S6
Kiknlita pbulaaaol.
tho alliteration of tho *evo oxtraot aakes tha peon daneo
in aoasured atops* Tha subilaity of sounds* perevived in
tho above poop is really vorth-notldflf. l&s style of
nsint Atitayokti Alairicara is Tory aaoh satertelnli** *to
rivulet Bharalu hoi Joined In tho ajthtyBrahaaputra on
tho western aids of tho Oanhatl olty. It la attaaer ttM,
Tho rain voters have everflooded tho rivulet and iho in
her turn hat paoaod like a nowbride fall of rlftbes nmalot PsJostiaalljr to iota hor hnsba*4» VIth this vision
poet has aptly eonstrusted so Atis'ayokti Alaska* »
' Bharaluve ail kaina sail svaid harlhalal yiy* (Be-day
Bharalu In tho talk of a bride foos to loin hor Moband).
Vo have alto auefc eosplex Alaakiras liko Vldaroaaa as in
tho folloviag oxtraot >
the
?0«p^9T IAX0RI
lin a j fltthaniddSPi
413
.
Pan! plyallra bhafi
mimtlr subhrauila syinal pbtft.
» This soft bad of f<as* ,
la fail o f pan! plyalis,
And thajr asks an uithsntlng farland
Of p aaM*
m a gram oarpat,
Tha parallal prasoutation (yinblimTl^atTa) of tha uhtts
paniplyall flowara vith tha vhlta paaxls supplla* tha baa a
for tha Kldaraana*
Tho poat ha* successfully u til 1sad tha apie allu*
•ion* in soaa ef hi* pae*s*R*ghunath»s darotad study o f
Sanstelt poetry Inspired Mu to van after tha beautiful
Sanskrit allusion*. Sous of tha aple alluplan* of unfal11he g ift ara quoted hard.
(1)
Datt p tii arl that tk itf nartaki
naretat bhari dila urrail ket ekL ( Dahlkatarf)
This allusion refers to tha Urrall1• fa ll froa haaTan as
■antionad In tha Irvadat tha Mshihhfrrata, tha Tlkmuemr
slyiu o f K&lldisa and tha Tlagupurina. Tha saaa allusion
Is used In tha poan Oollp also*
_
or BdTOltt
4X4
*v.
(1 1 ) B lr a h ln l t p ^ a t l r
* . t '"
■’■ £ ■ ■
T a lg a l a tr u n ir ,
Sanvaran j€ p ehabl dhari a n ta ra t
28
B haram lle kataao din a a l l a s ik h a r a t.
(D a h lk a ta ra )
The r e fe r e n c e h ere la t o th e lo v e * t o r y o f kin g Samrarana
and 8uryya Kanyi T a p a tl , a t v a have I t in th a Mahibharata.
( i l l ) Udda* Tail ana Xal 8varna*rga Xhadi
Samsarat b h ra n llo klmah. (D a h lk a ta ra )
Th is r e fe r s t o tha Bamayanle s t o r y o f Baaaohan&ra's hunting
o f th a g o ld e n -d e e r.
Baghuna th Cbovdhury's poems b o a r a sym bolic lm eg in a tio n a la o . I f we approach h i * f o r a s o p h i s t i c a t e psy­
cho l o g l o a l e x p lo r a tio n o f m a n t l e id e a lis m , va fin d th a t
h is D a h ik a ta ri I s a sy a b ol o f h is l o s t Xo ts « * i e fr e q u e n t,
In tr o d u c tio n o f tha ' f a l l from heaven* aplsoda o f U rv a s l,
spaaks o f th a p o a t#s arehatypaX consciousness t o re tp rn
t o heaven. Tha p o st through h is subconscious laments e v e r
th e d is in t e g r a t io n o f th e human s o u l f r o * tha so u l d iv in e * '
Baghunath Ghovdhury's c h o ic e o f words i s w o n d e rfu lly ad”*
a lr a b la * The words a re most p r e c is e ly a p p ro p ria te t o tha
theme. Sue words them selves go a long way t o d e p ic t tha
PjOrt^
Q *
4X6
VdSHBB;.
proper background fob ^ JSM crlption of any thing of
nature. tho Boot being o rig in ally a flovor o f tho Hoar
Bast, Baghnnath mow morda o fA rab ic and Port!an o rig in ,
w hile doooriblng tho flovor in Mo ooleb rated pooa 301^>.
Ho freely mow such words a* «*» bulbul (b ird ), hisnihina
(a kind of flom or of tha lo ir Bast region), gml wadan
(b eau tifu l face), piplya (a b ird ), h laP iatia (In d ia ),
p l y i t i (d ear), Bedahah (king), harm , dildariya (tho
ocean of h e a rt), dilbA htri (a p et of h o art), g u ljjr (agog
w ith J*y)# the cosing of tho flovor to In d ia (Bln das ton)
Is n icely described with tho use of oortaln words o f f!W«
k ri ti c o rig in i
' Bap ras gandha paras pronat J in ili p iy a ri bin das tin ,
Bade! harsh kart g u lja r dfit d arly at t o l l l i win.*
(d e lip )
y o t, i t was tho In d ia of tho feghala to which tho flowor
came. dad hones, there Is tho prspondoronoo over tho worts
o f nonodtfnskritlo o rig in • Bldshih, haroo, g u lja r sod d il­
dariya. In tho poop la h ig ir Tiya, thoro i s tho dosoriptisn
o f tho eosing o f tho sp riig season sg ain st m in tiro ly
lo c a l Assaeesa so ttin g . I t is th s description of tho aprftg
In Ass an. Hsneo, tho verdi aro ty p ically Asssaooso — and
scarcely «w h of tho ta tsa n a ty p e .
-»iQh .
—
.■■HI
'
■■
io
im . i
■
........
a —
.«i
mil iilA. I
mk
■
—
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POEMS
OF
416
NATORE
In c o n t r a s t w ith t h e s e , we f in d a predom inance
o f some S a n sk rit words e n t i r e l y f r e e from any contam ina­
t i o n w ith c o l l o q u i a l Assamese words o r words o f A ra bic
o r P e rs ia n o r i g i n . The l i n e s l i k e *manda manda makaranda
madagandhe m odita madhavi ku hja' e t c . , from h is f a c i l e
p en a t t r a c t th e re a d e rs enorm ou sly. The p r e s e n c e o f Padal a l i t y a in poems l i k e th e
p r e s e n t o n e , w ith th e a l l i t e r a ­
t i o n o f co n ju n c t consonants co n ta in in g any f i f t h l e t t e r
o f th e va rga ( i . e . , w ith any n a s a l) sh o u ld h a r d ly esca p e
our n o tic e .
(V id e , Dr, M.M,Shamia $ Upama K a li das a sy a ,
p 1 4 1 ),
III.
The change w hich was coming o v e r the s p i r i t o f
p o e t r y w ith th e e x p lo r a t io n o f n a tu re was welcomed a ls o
b y a h ost o f o th er p o e ts .
Mention may b e made o f Am bikaglri
Roy Chowdhury, S a ila d h a r Rajkhowa, Ratna Kanta B a rk a k a tl,
B h alrab Chandra K h a ta n ia r, Nllam anl Phookan ( S r , ) ,
Siraha-
d a t t a Dev A dh ikarl , Dlntoeswar N eog, Binanda Chandra Barua,
A tu l Chandra H azarlka, P a rv a ti P rasad Barua, Ananda Barua,
Ganesh G a g o i, Bhabananda Rajkhowa and D ulal B o r p u ja r i. They
f o llo w e d th e same rom antie s t r a in as p r a c t is e d b y th e ear­
l i e r p o e t s o f th e p e r io d . But each o f them c o u ld b estow
c e r t a in in d iv id u a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w hich saved t h e i r poems
V
VOStt * F
I AIDES
417
f r o * being stereotyped and hackneyed.
Aabikagirl Boy Ghowdhury coablned hie observation
on nature v lth uystlelsn* He Could te e In nature a r e fle c ­
tio n o f the A1nighty Creator* At the back o f a l l beau tifu l
creations o f nature lie perceived the aye t i c presence o f a
90
d iv in e being.
SalljMlhar Bajkhowa could sing o f the beauties o f
nature in a vara and a ffe c tio n a te m y . His Ml s a ri (1998)
ly r ic s are f u l l o f the lo v e ly descriptions o f nature*
Picturesque Images and sonorous n u s lc a llty aark his p o n e .
Batnakanta Barkekotl, nalnly a poet o f love* has
depicted the earn glow o f nature in a b eau tifu l nay* Pur­
s u it o f beauty had dominated nost o f his nature poeas*
The luxuriance o f the power e f expression aakes hie poetry
gay and popular* Barkakati r e a lly and passionately loved
nature. I^ r e s s lo n e o f s ig h t, touch and s n e ll crowd every
l i n e o f his uork \ in tha poaa Tlavaharan, the poet hee
recorded his ln tia a o y with tha Sun end the Itoea, the stars,
th e Sky end the rivers* Barkakati was an ardsnt lo v a r e f
nature and h i tr ie d to suggest the u n fa ilin g powers o f
nature to others* In the peso Saklyanl (The Hint) the poet
has asked the people, whether they f e e l any Impulse fro a
nature or not*
POINT $T lATORI
418
This naturo alvnyi bnooka at ao9
Doo* I t not nako a hadok to you ?
Doth not tho ivM t fragM m
Of v*kula disturb you ?
Doth not tho wild-flovoro aaila to yon ?
Dots not tho oockoo sing to you ?
Can* t yon too through tho aloud*,
Tho boantiful lining* o f tho noon*• ray* ?
Doth not tho stroak of Hghtoning wrlto
ao*sago* of loro in your hoart t
V
Doth hot tho atom throb at yonr hoart ?
1 an knookod *o meh by Igtoro ?
81
Doth i t not nako any fcnoOfclnf at yon ?
In tho aphoro of naturo ho eouldfind tho hqppy union of
loro and bounty* In mat of hispoow* naturs, loro and
boanty haro blondod into a dolightfhl roallsatlan.
Bhairab Chandra Khataniaf md hi* vifo Tamnoorari
took to naturo pootry with dorotldn* but tholr pootie out­
put van anall* Xnmnatwari had a abort 11fo. But within
hor briof pootloal oaroor9 aho tgiod to diaeowor a now
•train for naturo pootry* 8ho hint a d at tho diTiAlzatian
o f naturo* Bhairar Chandra had an uni quo g ift of poreoptlon. Ho had found7tho rof!action o f tho Alndghty Fowor
POJDB SSf HATURB
419
in a ll the creations o f tM| world. Bvaa the tiny a in lmtmi leaves have certain sign ifican ce fo r hi a* Lakshsd-
Nath Besbarua could not# the messages o f heaven eve* in
a tin y durva grass* Bhairab Chandra, likewise hat found
an universal messeg# and an in vitation froa tha Heavenly
32
Fathor in tha tiny and ordinary aaalmni sak.
IT.
ClLAMtfl
PHOOCAH ( 3 r .)
Kilaaani Phookan ( S r.) , know aora fo r his aata physical poems, took to nature poetry only occasionally.
But within a b r la f compass ha hai axhibited a fina g i f t
fo r nature-lyric*. Ho too realised tha presence o f a
beautiful divine soul in tha body o f nature. fha poat
aakas vigorous search fo r Beauty through tha objects o f
nature. His Bondar Tumi Cat (Beauty, where Shou Art) is
a fina and a sensational poea. The poet has aaia a vigo­
rous pursuit o f beauty and in Ms pursuit ha not a stremal a t . Tha streamlet assured M e to taka to Beauty. Ha
follow ed the stream at. Tha sportive stream daheed froa
M i l to M i l , passed through the fie ld s and villages « d
at la st joined the sea. Tha over enthusiastic poet ceUid
not neat Beauty. But standing by the sea, tha poat saw $
P99* *f XATtJRK
480
I saw bayoud tha aaaa
Baauty naklnc arfiha panoraaa,
Tha uniTarsa la ita taakg round.
Thu atrunhlut ran.
To tha ooofluancu of tha aaaa,
8ha turned her ayaa toward* Baauty,
And Join ad in Baantf** confluanoe.
X waited and waited for Baauty*
Lonely, I a* waiting an tha hank,
Ala*, with w ill ta il na "t
Where i t ay Bounty
?
39
Vhara, whara ha la t
This desperate aaareh for Baanty through tha object# of
nature fu lfllla a ll tha proaUao of a roaantla natara
poet* This yaaming, this passlan la tha vary seal of
Boaantlo intuition* dacerding Dr. MLK. Sharon, this
poaa is a nine aocaapla of tha uso of syahalian In Base*
aaaa poetry* Haro, tha atree*!, a t is tha syaOol of a
ajdhafca and tha Jouznay of tha streamlet 1* tha syobol
of hia aidhana, While tha *ea ia th a syebel of tha
Supruae aalf, tha a ll bountiful. I t la ay * ell
t*Id
th at whan a iadhaka raaliaaa tha Bnprana Basilty, ha
■V
t o
t a l l y
A
P02NB
or
IAHJBX
421
singles lap with the i u » tft* after this eaanelp&tlan,
the sadhaka cannot be expected to coot book to to ll la
so nany words as to what tho Sttprene Reality is* I t is
a thing for subjective experience, which cab at bast bo
cosnuaicated through tho suggest! Tlty of a symbol* (Vide,
Ppasi Killdasasya> p 1 4 ).
In tho poo* Padnsani (tho lotus Lako) tho poot
Phookan has prosohtod his reninisesnoe in a Wordsworth­
ian stylo* tho poot was ohafsed by the boostlful lotusfs
dancing and pratt lag on tho brooso. Tho poot has enjoyed
tho scono of tho lotuses as tho poot Wordsworth enjoyed
the scono of tho dafTodils long ago* And when the lotus
lake beease dry and the lotuses vaplsh, tho poot concei­
ves tho lotuses In his «lnd*s lako with tho sane beauty
and fragrance as he saw earlier*
Pukbnrir Pinldari
8ukil yetiya
tonal udah
hay taiiiaico tar )
Dokho ptallache
aahas sarat
34
Paduaanl Jatlskar*
> When tho waters In tho lake
got dry*
POSH OF HATDRB
422
And i t s bed barren,
Then I p erosive
In ay B in d' s Ink** j .
thp b eau tifu l lo tas es
bloosing gloriously*
This re fle c tio n o f Pboolean on tho lo tu s os roalnds ns o f
tho s ln lla r observations aado by poot tfordsworth on tbo
b o an tifn l D affodils s "They fla s h upon the inward *70,
36
which i s tho b lis s o f so litu d e".
The nature pooas o f Siahadatta Seva AdMkari are
r ic h in oaotional appeal. His Sandhlya (The Dusk) i s
charged with a treaendous sig n ifica n ce and high p ic t o r i­
a l e ffe c t, the se ren ity and the lo v e ly beauty o f the
evening i s w ell*exhibited in the poea.
PIW18WAH HUM
But by fa r the aost successful nature-poet
a f t e r Baghunath Cbowdhury i s Di riles war Reog. B o n and
brought up aaid st the s e m e and b eau tifu l ataosphere of
nature in Sibsagart Di rises war Reog had a d o s e touch
w ith Rature. This in tiaaoy with Hature taught h ia to
have fa ith in Rature* Wordsworth had once declared 1
* Mature never doth betray the soul that loves her* •
pone
o p
Kisofts
483
Diabesvar Veog, too, held identical opinion an nature. Ha
innoTa%od som naturo-art)!* a* in the pooh ’ Sapa-aukta*
(Release fron the CUree). Beog too had discovered a closeQ6i8 between leva, naturo and bounty. Built on a very
export Botrieal sequence and rich in rhetorical beauty
his Pig all (The )fcd Dane) is an unique nature peon fron
tho view-point, of- eaotianal appeal and understanding* The
poet in this poenhai depicted a fine picture of tho
natural beauties of thethen Oauhatl (March, 1920), vfcieh
the poet had enjoyed while ho vat a student in tho Cotton
College, Oauhatl* Hero are a few linos, fron tho said
pooh, so rioh in rhetorical device and laago>nahlng*
*Poirot h ilar Aire, dure, vafcur n illn vastra uro,
xugdha bare u d islj
JCrena neghar cull tari
ray pandn ganda yurl
hera puma sodail *
111 udar gag an tale
gay vihag dale dale
nice sapon-kunari,
Kota yugar a tit snrti,
kata kalar nllan g iti,
uthe hrday gunari |
Betsa phuie, natun pate, kata kalar snrtl note
kata iveg anari •
Toner prinat nava yeenvan ahi pale kapal pavan,
f
4M
PQ*WlAfOBE
d ll* In is Jn aart,
Ia in ileal h ly i khani,
vigru* lw » handolani,
lean A0 r« r« th lr a r a ,
S dh* Jiao aka* Jcurif
to n ir
_
tua
para a r t
37
d ivar khali dhirar* V
Dlabaavar loot* * ? l f t of inagln&tlan and th a f f i i t l t y of
axpraaaion ar* n o rth -im ita tin g . lo lo ts a aoholar than
Dr. S o alti Kunar C hattarjaa ha* p ra lsa d the post** t a i m t
38
aloquantly. I cog* a d iction la en tertain in g . Ho nsad ploturaaqua words* which la th sn salras har* a h lfh da*raa of
▼ivaelty. Th# axpra* a Iona Ilk a , fton nayaaar p n ta ll nialoh*
a j l kalpanar t£t*« | 1VatiA* TaUfaa ▼anu11 1Jonakl b h jrtfii, |
' Kan aaya fcohakty* rakh* aok s & l * sag*at noro than sh at
they naan. Ia th a a a tta r of a a trlo a l aagaanc* also* ha ha*
•ado c e rta in lo v ely innovatlona.
bibutda
GBunau
■ III............................................................. —
iahja
... ................. ....................................................... ..
Bln an da Chandra Barua whose ra p u ta tl an ah&afly
ra s ta on. hla p a tr io tic ly rlo a oftan ahovad a high in c lin a ­
tio n toward* n atar*. the noat ln ta ra a tln g aapaat in h is
n a tu ra poaas, i s hi* linking th a h is to ric a l p a s t with
n a tu re . In sons of h is n a ta ra poaa* baauty and angolsh
a ra delineated aid* by aid*, dnd, in son* others ha has
POM OP IATUR1
486
perceived a dlvlnisatlan o f nature la the line of the
Vedant ic intuition* Ha has portrayad tha Buteart (durva
grass), tha Akasl lata, tha Cuckoo, tha Brahmaputra, tha
advmt of tha mtdan .sad tha fir s t dap of Asa^ha and
similar things In his posma. Blnanda Barua often triad
to deduce moral lams from nature* In tha poan Tomar Pujm
tha poat has abaerred t *Mature alvays reminds ns that
■an vara oraatad for work* (karnar karane srajlOhe mahav,
Bp
prakrtlye Sada di noha Jan). Tha presence o f a divine
author of this groat natnra is oftaa r afloat ad in his
poems*
Am
CHiHPBA HAUHtfA
Atul Chandra Hasartka sav natnra In har ovn dlspasi tions without any colour of mfth or philosophy. His
natnra pooas ara aoro descriptive than philosophic and
thay bat ray a parfactly slqplo style without oaring for
high-sounding rhetoric or studied styllsatloiu Hazarlka
has vrlttan on a largo nunfesr of natural objects. His
pooas ara rich In vividness and clarity* Tha pee* Vagaoanalal (A v is it to tha Vaga Hills) speaks vividly tha
beautiful atmosphere of tha Hagaland's h ills and dales*
40
In his another beautiful poem Ballahar (The Sand dunes)
tha poat has dapiotad nicely and clearly a riverine
PQ*H OF lATBBS
426
atmosphere. Zb this poem there is a slight hint at tha
transitoriness of the objaats a t Batura*
PARTAH PBABAP B4HJA
Tha poet aha had induced a deep lyrical lntsBsity
into tha nature poatry is Parrott Prasad Barua <3204 1066)* tha brifht thythnlo and melodious at rain of his
b atar a
poao easily eaptlYata tha readers. A taa-pltfitar
by profession and a aaster artist by s«ntlMntst Parrati
Prasad was a versatile fshins as far as poatry and fiaa
arts are Ooaassaad* He composed songst vrota dramas,
playod on tha sta?a and tha soraaa and dir actad action
pictures too* Fro* his boyhood days ha was a olote adairar of tha riverine Batnral boautlss of Sihsafar* A ItSac
Intiaaoy with natara Barks a ll his posas. Ha had a peealia r vision of Batnra aod ho triad to deduce a philosophy
o f existence for natara* Bis playlets on nature-mytha era
products of oniqua oraftsasnshlp* Wa have disoassad tha
poetical plays o f Parrati Prasad la tha ahsptar ea tha
Poatry of tha Orates* Parrati Prasad* s Botatla jjvar ale
Bahaa Ptal (in ode to tha whita stands and tha willew)
ra cords with serve sincerity tha different aspsets of
nature. Tha enotiohal ecstasy of these peeas ate hlfhly
aagnl f i cant.
poBMs 9W Mature
427
AHAMDA BABDA
Ananda Barua who pas* at is tha VakulTanar Karl
(Boat of tha Takala garden) axoalls in depicting panoranic beauty of nature. Ha is neither philosophic nar overaaotlonal in tha portrayal of nature in his poeaa. But
Ananda Baras had a passion far dlrinization of nature* In
tha poan Maghodrari (Tha Ooddase of clouds) tha paat has
idealised tha black clouds in tha fo ri of a goddess*
a a a
Msgh aru r iju lir luka-luki kheia
cays aru asyaaaya viaakanras,
Sakalo haran kari rlium rinohani
naghadra il adrtinati, aukta krana kasa*
Maghkrsna cull nali avarl tanai
■aghar aajata yai lukai lukai,
aite-gaae canda bhara aefca rahasyat
_
-
-
1.
41
lilaaayi rahi acha karita snail*
* Tha douda and tha lightening play hi da and saak,
Shadows and 1llusions eoaa in baantlfil fanes
Taking everything to har9 HeghesSrari tha universal
oharaar
Has dasslad in har beauty.
POEMS OF NATURE
4?8
Her b la c k h a ir i s unlocked.
Spreading her c lo u d -b la c k h a ir and coverin g a31,
Hiding h e r s e lf amidst the c lo u d s ,
Plunging h e r s e lf in the m ysterious e x is te n c e
o f song and dance,
Meghesvari, the queen o f il lu s io n s i s s it t i n g
with a p o e t ic a l g ra ce.
Ananda B arua's p o e t ic d ic t io n i s sim ple but w ithin i t s
s im p lic it y the p o e t can ca tch the im agination o f the rea­
d e r s . The words l i k e — Saponiya poharat v a r is a r veha ;
Sarvahara hrdayar udas kathat { Kelpanar padmapahi manohar
s a je are f u l l o f im agination and c o lo u r . Ananda B arua's
clou d s have le s s s im ila r it y w ith th at o f S h e lle y 's and
S ri Barua has n o t fo llo w e d the beaten tra ck o f K alidasa
and o th e r s , who have ln v e s t it u t e d th e clouds with g r e a te r
r e s p o n s i b l i t i e s . We now l i k e to make a search f o r the
p s y c h o lo g ic a l background o f h is clo u d . In our con sidera­
t io n h is clou d i s an archetype o f the goddess Durga, who
w ith her beauty and mystery has evoked wonder and admirathe p o e t 's h ea rt. Mbreover goddess Durga i s held
as th e u n iv e rsa l mother. She, in her d iffe r e n t m anifesta­
tio n s , has paused l i k e mukta-kesi ( o f unlocked h a ir ) ,
navln megha sannlbha (on e resem bling the newly formed
POEMS
429
OP NATURE
c l o u d s ) , Vi^va Vlmohani (u n iv e r s a l ch a rm er), 111amayl
( P h i l o f I l l u s i o n s ) and th e l i k e .
The p o e t p e r c e iv e s
th ro u g h a consummation o f b l i s s , th e m y stic p re s e n ce o f
th e mother godd ess i n th e c lo u d s .
GANESH CHANDRA
GAGOI
N ature r e c e iv e d an e lo q u e n t t r i b u t e from Ganesh
Chandra O a g oi. P r i n c i p a l l y a p o e t o f l o v e , Gagoi saw th e
r e f l e c t i o n o f l o v e and b ea u ty In n a tu r e . He f e l t the
I n s p ir in g pow er o f n a tu re In a l l o b j e c t s . His poems l i k e
N a-Jon (The new m oon), Sapon-Kuvarl (T he D re a m -G irl),
B as a n te ( The s p r i n g ) , R u p -J y oti (The Ray o f l i g h t ) ,
N a va rlya (T he boat-m an) and th e v e r s e s o f P ip a r l a re f u l l
o f th e d e s c r ip t io n s o f n a tu re . Sometimes he was amazed to
s e e th e shadow o f h is own l o v e - l o r n l i f e In th e bosom o f
n a t u r e . I n h is poem Sapon-Kuvarl th e p o e t has v is u a liz e d
t h e p r in c e s s o f w ild e rn e ss as h is l o s t m is tr e s s .
Ganesh Gagoi* s a r t o f p o e t r y was h ig h ly t e c h n i c a l.
An e x p e r t In r h e t o r i c a l c o n s t r u c t io n , Ganesh Gagoi match­
ed h is poems w ith p o p u la r r h e t o r i c a l d e v ic e s .
His know­
l e d g e o f h i s t o r y has c o n t r ib u te d t o th e growth o f an oth er
p h a se In th e treatm en t o f n a tu re i . e . , th e g lo r io u s a sso ­
c i a t i o n o f th e country* s p a s t w ith th e b e a u t ie s o f n a tu re .
POEMS
G a n e s h G a g o i»s
T r a y o d a 's
OF
NATURE
43 0
S a t ik a r Sonar Asam (T h e g olden
Assam I n th e T h ir t e e n t h C entury) i s
a v i v i d im age of
m other Assam p r e s e n t in g the p i c t u r e o f h i s t o r i c a l
m atched to th e b a c k g round o f n a t u r a l b e a u ty .
o f t h is poem i s
is
h ig h ly entertain in g .
relics
The d ic t io n
The rhyming sequence
a ls o p l a i n and sonorous.
Aparupa s u s o b h it a s u j a l a sup hala
manorama p r a k r t l r madhuriraa j a r l ,
I a u h i t y a r t i r e t i r e k a r i l e racana
y ik h a n l a la k a p u r i nlrupam a k a r i .
M and irar s i r e s i r e so n a r k a la c i
arun klran p a r i
a jio
jilik e,
Mamare saraari dhara tainar s h a l l t ,
^
,
,43
K a t a j a n e a j i o j e k a ta katha s i k e .
In
has
t h is b e a u t i f u l poem G a g o i 's
h i g h e v o c a t iv e im a g in a tio n
combined mother n a t u r e w it h mother Assam i n
c lo s e
em brace and in t im a c y .
Bh ab ananda R ajkhow a, B h a v a p ra sa d Rajkhowa and Dulal
B arp u ja ri,
t h e s e th ree late- Rom antic poets t r i e d to d isc o ­
v e r the b e a u t ie s o f n a t u r e even am idst the c a la m it ie s o f
t h e second w o r ld war.
POEMS
V.
DISTINCTIVE
OF
NATURE
431
FEATURES
The distinctive features of Assamese nature poetry
(In the Romantic age) may be summarised as follows s
(I)
An intimate affection for nature,
( I I ) An aesthetic search for the elements of love and
beauty in the various aspects of nature,
( I I I ) Respect for nature. A sincere conviction that Nature
is all powerful and all-pervasive, grew by this time.
The Assamese nature poets, too, believed like Words­
worth *
One lngmlse from a vernal wood
Can teach you more of man
Of moral evil and of good
Than all the sages can.
(lv ) Dlvlnisation of nature.
(v)
Innovation of a soul for nature.
(v i) Linking man and nature In closer proximity. Discovery
of the mother-like affection of nature. 1Prakriti
pranlr pran pradaylnl ai. (Hem Chandra Uoswaml).
(v il) Affinity of history and nature discovered.
(v lil) Search for a philosophy of existence for nature.
(l x )
Innovation of the nature-myths In poetry.
p o s ie
tr nature
438
(x) A tte s t to discover new meanings in the objects of
nature* The attempt at a closer interpretation, like
L*l* Bahama1a t
Tatar duvari Tan caeakat pari
44
faro ati pita diye svafgar ratari.
Cf. tfordsvorth's t
fa me the aaanaat flavor that bio vs eaa give,
thoughts that do often 11a too daap for taars.
And* as far tha art o f narration thara grew distinetiro changes. Navar dictions vara experimented, though
thara vas frequmt uaa of anotont Kavl-sanayas and aplo
allusions, too* Poetry by this Una grow nars rhetorical
( especially In tha hands of Baghanath Ohavdhnry) and
navar verse*foraa vara Introduced* lha Asaanas a metrical
sequence had elaborately changed an tha Influence of
Sagllsh natrlcal standards* the creation of beautiful
poetic images vlth photographic vividness baaaaa a aoat
fo r tha nature poets*
¥Z.
TRANam <»
XI
lA ig B B
But things have changed fron tha tine of tha Second
world var when, never and ne*e progressive Ideas cane In •
POEMS
OF
NATURE
433
The ravages o f the Second world war, the destructions
made by the great Earth quake o f 1950 and the rapid in ­
d u s t r ia lis a t io n o f the sta te have changed the very face
o f nature. In d u s tria lis a tio n perhaps was the g re atest
curse fo r Assam's n atural lo v e lin e s s . The vast and beau­
t i f u l paddy f ie ld s were changed to b ig o i l f i e l d s . D ri­
llin g
Stations, P ip e -lin e s and the Pumping Stations have
seduced the beauty o f the f ie ld s . In the riv e rs the
boats were replaced by the R.C. C«, bridges 5 some o f the
sp o rtiv e riv e rs were coaqjelled to change the course by
the in s t a lla t io n o f the cruel dykes and spurs. In the
countryside, too, things have changed enormously. Newer
towns with over-head tanks and e le c t r ic wires came up
in the country side pushing aside i t s ru ra l g lo ry and
tra n q u ilit y . This tra n sitio n in nature was not l e f t un­
n oticed. The modem poets who began th e ir trade a ft e r
the Second world war took n otice o f a l l these changes
In nature and recorded them in th e ir poems. The poets who
s u ffe re d most the tremendous shock o f tra n sitio n in
n atu re, in th e ir nerves, are Hem flarua, Keshav Mahanta
and Afflalendu Quha. The nauseating in d u s tria l atmosphere
arouse a great detestation in the hearts o f these poets.
The departing lo v elin e ss o f nature and the coming c ru e llty
o f in d u s tr ia lis a t io n re fle c te d in th e ir poems.
POEMS
OF
NATURE
434
HEM BABJA
The p a th e tic co n tra st between the departing
lo v e lin e s s o f nature and the coming c r u e lit y o f an indus­
t r i a l atmosphere i s v iv id l y drawn by Hem Barua in h is
poem Lakhs ml Puinima * 1957. In the s ilv e r y m o o n -lit
n ig h t the p o e t i s busy in a d is ta n t v i l l a g e in awakening
th e v il la g e r s by h is hot speeches to demand the e s t a b li­
shment o f an O il-r e fin e r y in Assam. The p o e t has d ep ic­
te d a n ic e co n tra st between the moon and the ndcronhone.
* Mai a j i h a tu rir s i l ,
Ri jo n a li n is a ,
Kono ek ga bh ir gaor ahat t a la t
Microphone mor katha kay.
Hajar Janata' jonakar pardat
p l a s t i c p u ta la hai ache.
Amar karane LakhsmI n a i. Puja n a i.
Vedamantra sukan pathar.
Ami k a lija kapai matho kao
i
45
TEL SODHANAGAR ASAMAT HAVAI LAGIB. ‘
,
* To-day I am but an a n v il,
In th is m o o n -lit n ig h t , in the shade
o f a banyan t r e e , in a d ista n t v i l l a g e $
F4XW OF lARJRB
435
The sdorophone echoes ay words*
The crowd « i nqr face ur« but
soat p la stic dolls,
Caocmflag ed against »
noon-lit curtain.
For ns, goddsss Lakhsm fle d sway,
Wo knov no worship,
Rio hysns o f tho Fades are dry ston os*
Wo singly n ttsr in heart-raiding voice *
WX DBttlD
KlBHAt
THS Oil.
H lg jlU I AiO IlB g
RXRIXS7 I I ASSAH.
OUHC
Koshar Mshanta'’ lik o Hon lam a eould roaliso tho
transition with oloar understanding. Ho was roady to institn to reellOn in his pootry in tho plaeo o f lissglnstlTs
responses. S t i l l , in his poons thoro is a groat longing
to return to tho gentle and lo r d y ataosphere o f tho
countryside. The post wants to bd froo fron tho net-*e?k
o f brioks* So is roady to f l y away fron tho all-disturbing
c it y roped in tho elec tric wtros, as stressed in tho poon
Carii hai parlngai ( I w ill f l y lik o a bird! « In tho busy
beautiful c ity Calcutta, tho poet recollects with hoary
pains tho loveliness o f his country hone.
P O M 91 IAXOBX
490
Thia day, yon plaaaa axeuaa aa,
Oh, tha baautiful afffclgant olty,
hat
m
fly for a vhila, fro* yon,
fro* tha night*,
aovarad alth alaetrio airaa*
Prayi you apart at, ay friand, *y city,
For a afcil* X go away fro* thaa,
Proa thla nat-vork o f qnnnlng brioka,
(hat a* fly thara)
Uhara tha Innooant aald
light* tha alay^lam
And tha raya paap faably.
In aaah aanant, thara looaa
a Bihu-aong in tha April Sky *
Whara tha daaaa blaa# tha nan
With haaTcnly graoa and lavallnaaa,
46
Pray* hat aa fly thara,
Tha lntanaa aantal auff wring of a aan am ad in an in4d*»
tria l city ia nioaiy raflaotad ham, Bta aarraaa than
intanaar with tha prograaa of tha linaa o f tha poaa, Aw
poat raeollaata tha aarata ataoaphara o f hia aoantry
hoaaf foraakan long ago, and dttra* daap into a nota of
a*lan*holy«
POXMS Of VA3BB1
437
Tho looking bask to nature with uelancholy and
syapathy was further accentuated by tha llnaa of Aualmdn
Ouha. Ho discovered sort closely the cap betvem the lost
nature and growing industry. la his book Songs free tho
bank of the Brahmaputra, tho poot enumerate* not only tho
dofloloaoios of nature in tho present context of things
but also speaks of tho aoeial attitudes and lrrssponsib litio s which hare onhanood tho troubles of transition.
H «m m BI8WA8
Tho peaseful atmosphere of nature has boon dis­
turbed by indodtlialisatlon and the eoonoaios of the
modem age* This disturbance resulted in a change of a tti­
tude of the poeti. They hare eeased to renain eontoot
with the enjeyaent of the serene beauty of nature. Ins­
tead they hare started to be alive to the stem reali­
tie s of life . I f at a ll nature is recognised, i t is
recognised only In its sterner fora. This transition in
the sp irit of the poet and his poetry is poignantly
depleted by the composition of Heaanga Biswas. A poot
with certain leanings towards oonnmlsn, Henenga BlswaS
could visualise the sorrows of nature singled with the
sorrows of nan. In Me poen Mb*ggaralai (Towards Mbsugarh) the poot discards all Illusions about lovollnoas
POEMS OP NATURE
438
o f man and nature and place* his readers, face to face,
with a stem r e a lity , where hunger dominates a ll Inst­
in c t s , Including the In stin ct o f love fo r nature and
beauty.
Paniya sonar desat yadi
gharar caki najvale,
numuva-salita numai parhlba
lang>-postar ta le ,
Ration-monat maraai alera
gupute cakulo vay,
Kanbhiitlr r a tir topani
Kin-khoviti karhi la y,
Utuvai nlye kar gharbari
Kechuvak vechl thay
Kon b iu ll udasi auli
chip ja ri vaehi la y .47
= I f in the land o f the liq u id gold,
The house-laag) does not bum ,
P u t-o ff the fading langi
And begin reading under lamp-posts.
In the ration-bag, the a ffe ctio n o f mother
turns to tears.
The ear-eaters disturb the sleep o f the baby $
The floods destroy the houses o f persons unknown,
And they s e ll even the baby-ln-arms.
The mad, frustrated dame
takes recourse to su icide.
POEMS
NOTES
/
1.
-
OF
AND
NATURE
439
REFERENCES
'
Srimanta Sarikar Vakyamrt, Dutta Baruah & C o ., 1953 j
p p . 119-120
2.
I b i d . , p p . 141-158
3.
Chandram rit, Asam S a h itya Sabha, 1967, p 35
4.
I b i d . , p 69
5.
I b i d . , p 55
6.
I b i d . , p p. 5 0 -5 4
7.
• Sundarar aradhana J lv a n a r khel*
, v id e , Chandram rit,
p 15
8.
Chandram rit, p 20
9.
' P r a k r ti p r a n lr pran p r a d a y ln i a l ' , v id e , , Phular caki,
1 s t e d itio n , p 7
10.
I b id ., p 8
11.
I b i d . , p 11
12.
I b i d . , p 13
13*
I b i d . , p 14
14.
Saricayan, p 187
15.
I b i d . , p 188
16.
I b i d . , p p. 197-198
POEMS
1?.
OP
NATURE
44 0
San cay an, pp . 196-19?
1 8 . Jnan-M alini, 1959, Dibrttgarh,pp. 26-29
19 . Sancayan, pp, 2 3 5 -S36
20. I b i d . , p 242
21. I b i d . , p 230
22. I b i d . ,
23. S adari, G auhati, 1947 |pp. 18-23
24. Dahlkatara, G auhati, 1962 j pp. 32-37
25 . I b i d . , pp. 49-50
26. I b i d . , p 4
27. I b i d . , p 7
28. I b i d . , p 16
This s to r y o f Samvarana and Tapati i s v e r y n i c e l y
r e t o l d by Sabodh Ghosh in the c e le b r a te d B engali
p r o s e work "Bharat Prem Katha". (Ananda P u b lis h e rs ,
C a lcu tta , 8th e d it io n , 136? Sal)
29. D ahikatara, p 91
30. ' Sakaio tundye nath Jagatat dekhieo yiraan',
31.
S e v a li, Novgong, 1962 j pp. 27-28
32. Sancayan, p 309
33 . Manasi, Jorhat 1959 } pp. 44-46
34. I b i d . , p 13
POEMS
OF MATURE
35. P algrave*s Golden Treasury, Book IV , 1958 j p 108
3 6 . San cay an, p 321
37. V icitra ", Jorhat, 1948 j p 27
3 8 . I b i d . , Foreword (page 2)
39. P ra tld h v a n l, Teok, 1938 j p 4
40. Sancayan, p 340
41. I b i d . , p 356
42. Maraha Phular Karani, p 266
43. Rupa J y o t i, S h illo n g , 1957 jp p . 10-11
/
44. S atapatra, p 50
45. B a ll Chanda, Gauhati, 1959 j pp. 34-35
4 6 . Agantuk, C a lcu tta , 1963 ; pp. 14-15
4 7 . Kula KhurSr C o ta l, C alcu tta, 1970 j p 10
441