Appreciation

This is a fragment of a long poem of Platonic love. But I found the struggle between the libido and the superego, or if you prefer, the contest between Shiva and Shakti, the ascetic and the sensuous, interesting. What triumphs? The creative force perhaps?

About The Author

Nanhalal Dalpatram Kavi, M.A. (1877 – 1946) was born in Ahmedabad in a brahmin family with affinity for the Swaminarayan sect. Mother died early and there was conflict between father and son. Kavi studied in colleges in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Pune. His bachelor’s degree was in philosophy and his master’s degree was in history. He also studied Persian. In initial years he taught in schools for princes, but interspersed this with stints as a judge and deputy ‘divan’ (minister) of a princely state. He also officiated as the education officer of Kathiawad (now Saurashtra) agency. Following Mahatma Gandhi’s call for non-cooperation with the colonial government, he resigned from service and settled in Ahmedabad, where he died. Kavi was associated with the Prarthana Samaj (Association for Praying). Kavi has been hailed as a ‘maha kavi’ (great poet). His output was prodigious and variegated. He wrote several volumes of poetry, songs for children, poems of epical length, devotional songs, songs for festive occasions, narrative poems, etc. He was a pioneer of blank verse in Gujarati. He also wrote a number of plays, novels, short stories, essays, the biography of his father (from whom he had got estranged), several volumes of autobiography, literary criticism, short stories, novels, etc. A number of volumes of his lectures were also published. He translated some Sanskrit classical works and scriptures into Gujarati. But his forte was love-suffused poems, poems extolling nature’s beauties, and devotional poems. He attempted a massive work titled ‘Harisamhita’ (Lord’s Hymn), in which Krishna, on completing 100 years, takes family members on a 16-year pilgrimage all over India, the intention being to re-establish religion (death intervened before the epic could be completed). But Kavi also had a practical side to his creativity: he also wrote useful works for students, such as on Gujarati and English grammar, Gujarat’s geography, and exercising!