The Hindu : New Delhi News : Verses immersed in devotion

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Verses immersed in devotion

Poet Narayan Agarwal is continuing in the style of Kabir

SPONTANEOUS: Narayan Agarwal

The biggest names in the world of music have all lent their voices to his words. From Kishori Amonkar to Bhim Sen Joshi, Narayan Agarwal has managed to get them all to sing his songs. However, he is not a poet on demand, he is quick to point out.

Inspired writing

"Mine is spontaneous poetry. It is not as if you can tell me to write about a particular topic and I will be able to do it. I don't write. It just comes to me. God is my inspiration. My mother was also a spontaneous poet,'' he asserts.

Sticking firmly to the rhythm of the past, he is continuing in the style of Kabir.

Noted Hindi poet

A noted Hindi poet, he has managed to make his mark in the religious sphere. "I was always very patriotic. I tried my hand at politics, but found that I did not fit in with the ways. So I chose the path of devotion,'' he states.

A devotee of Krishna, he believes that people have chosen to interpret him in a rather frivolous manner. "People refer to `gopis' as his girlfriends. But that was not so. Even stories of him stealing their clothes are wrongly translated. I have tried to bring out what he wanted to tell them -- to get away from materialism and come closer to God,'' he says.

And bringing out this philosophy in the right way, Agarwal has written many "padas'' talking about the glories of Krishna. "All these verses have a message and can be taught in school,'' he says.

An author too

While he may have got his words set to music, he has also written a book on Lal Bahadur Shastri. Titled "Lal Bahadur Shastri: Churning of Conscious'', the book has been published by Manoj Prakash and was presented to President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam recently. -- Mandira Nayar

-- Mandira Nayar

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