A Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

pat the other’s back, and with her moist
eyes poured her love into each one of them,
cuddling the one in her lap close to her
breast. And yet, exuding contentment, she
kept prattling of this and that. My gaze stayed
fixed on her face. Eyes staring and the mind
musing.
The rainy season was over. And the
floods had receded.
The river again flows with a tranquil,
serene visage. The floods are over, as is all
the brouhaha of life. Even the mud has dried
up, and all weeds and straw washed away.
Absolute calm reigns on the river.
And I have angelic motherhood before
my eyes - only to be revered and worshipped!
Ramvriksha Benipuri (1899-l968),born in a middle-class farmer’s
family, belonged to a village Benipur, near Muzaffarpur. Dropping out
from school, he joined nationalist journalism during the first Noncooperation
movement, editing journals like ‘Tarun Bharat’, ‘Balak’,’Yuvak’,
‘Yogi’ and ‘Janata’, spending over nine years in jails in several short
or long spells, the longest (1942-45) in Hazaribag jail, where he was
a co-conspirator in Jayaprakash Narayan’s daring escape from prison.
A close friend of J. P. Benipuri was among the founder members of
the Socialist Party, taking an active part in the Kisan Andolan in
Bihar. But the full flowering of his literary genius came in the late
40s, after his release from Hazaribag jail. His prison writings include
most of his masterpieces: ‘Patiton ke Desh Me’, ‘Kaidi ki Patni’, ‘Mati
ki Mooraten’, ‘Ambapali’, etc. - a total of more than 70 books of stories,
novels, plays, memoirs, and children’s literature. His biography of J.P.
became a classic in Hindi. Later he also edited famous literary journals
like ‘Himalaya’ (with Shivapujan Sahay) and ‘Nai Dhara’ - all from
Patna. He was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1957. His
‘Granthavali’ has been published in 8 volumes by Rajkamal, Delhi.
He died on 7 September, 1968. ‘Budhia’ (a name, not meaning ‘old
woman’) is the last story in ‘Mati ki Mooraten ‘. The meanings of
the italicised words are almost self-evident in the context. Kalindi, Kalia,
Dwapar, Kaliyug, Nandlal, Gopis, Gopal, etc. refer to the Radha-Krishna
story of the Hindu mythology. - Translator]
Dr. Mangal Murty, born 1937 is a retired professor of English and
Linguistics, who served in universities in Bihar and Yemen for more
than four decades, and has written and edited several books in Hindi
and some in English. He has recently edited and published the collected
works of Shivapujan Sahay (his late father) and is presently doing
translations of Selected Writings of Shivapujan Sahay. He now lives
in Varanasi and is working on an English biography of Dr. Rajendra
Prasad. Email: bsmmurty@gmail.com
January-March 2012 :: 81