Yuyutsu – the Apostle of Modern Youths
Yuyutsu – the long poem by Rajendra Mishra poses challenges to the translator not only in its being a poem of many fold meanings but also in its being a work of constant conflicts and innate inner struggle of the author with his socio-econo-political ideologies confronting the present society with its own prevalent cultural and socio-econo-political nuances in India. In Hindi literature, long poem has been a popular genre and practiced by great stalwarts such as Ramdarash Mishra, Agyeya, Dharmveer Bharati, Naresh Mehta etc. There were long poems in Sanskrit literature in Indian context and Greek, Latin and English literature in the Western context. Twentieth century poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley are known for their significant contribution to this specially crafted genre. A long poem is usually a result of long and arduous struggle of the poet with himself. The wealth of experience and exposure along with his depth of contemplation strikes a bundle of emotions that need expression. A long poem is a befitting medium to express complex thoughts and elaborate subject matters that cannot be covered in a short span. Another important factor to be accounted for here is the application of myth in the composition of the poem. Because the theme and subject matter of a long poem cover a large spectrum and are diverse in nature, there are infinite possibilities of incorporating various issues that affect the society and, which the poet wishes to exploit for the sake of his artistic needs. However, the most important of them all is the human issue – socially, politically, historically and economically influencing the life of human beings in a society. Yet, if humans are the center of attention, can nature be far behind. Nature found subtle expressions in long poems of Ramdarash Mishra while poets like Muktiboth struck a note of warning against imperialism and capitalism and others like Agyeya and Dharmveer Bharati embarrassed mythology to propagate their concerns for the prevalent issues in the Indian society.
The long poem has certain limitations too. Like a short story, a poem commonly focuses on a single point in its narrative – elaborating, expanding and concluding, the whole structure is woven around some particular thought or object. On the contrary, a long poem demands multidimensional approaches and indulges in some lose threads or sparse descriptions in the body of composition. It is possible that the content of the poem display some lose lines or repetitions of thoughts in the whole composition but that should be seen as a diversion to dilute the tension that is building up in the narrative and provide the reader with some sort of relief in the narrative.
The present long poem invokes the myth of Yuyutsu and Ashwatthama – both of whom are doomed to suffer eternally. Yuyutsu stands for the Youths of the world and expects them to become the carrier of change in the society. A change that shall influence humanity on the global scale in the formation of a peaceful and complacent social fabric. The poet believes that the Youth is the cynosure of the society and capable of leading it towards a Utopian state. The tale of Yuyutsu is the tale of all the modern youths who live under the duality of right and wrong and constantly fight a lone battle. Born of anomalous situation, Yuyutsu’s life is spent in setting this discrepancy right.
The poet has transcended the popular prevalent meanings of the mythological happenings. At the very onset he prepares the reader for a revelation not known or acknowledged thus far. Like the popular belief that Gandhari tied a band on her eyes because she was married to a person who is blind finds an exceptional turn of interpretation which seems more suitable to the situation as well as the person about whom the myth prevails. I’d prefer to quote the lines from the poem as they are self-explanatory and very subtle in their linguistic make-up:
She didn’t bind a band because
her husband couldn’t see,
so she shouldn’t see as well.
But she tied it because
Whatever was happening, that was blindness,
with which the people must live in Dhritrashtra’s reign;
Nowhere in literature has one come across such a charismatic synthesis of ideas that reveal the recesses of the character’s mind that were created thousands of years ago. Ashwatthama is another mythological character that is set against Yuyutsu, and he is also cursed and doomed. These two characters from the epic Mahabharata truly represent the aggression, oppression and discrepancy spread amongst the youths of the world. Their consistent efforts, towards making life little more meaningful are intertwined between good and evil. The poet successfully manages to correlate the past and the present and that is where the myth finds its full expression. Death, either in war (as in Mahabharata) or in terrorist attacks (as often happens today) always threatens the very core of humanity and there would always be an Ashwatthama and a Yuyutsu to feel the pangs of this dreadful experience in life. Mahabharata as a symbol of war between right and wrong is an eternal occurrence in the life of all people. Only characters and places change but the strife continues in different shapes and velocities. The inner and the outer self of the man are always at loggerheads with each other, and no one is ready to listen to the other. The result is a chaos, which is self-created and perpetual, mostly for no valid or genuine cause. This subtle estimation of things, past and present, finds perfect handling in Rajendra Mishra in this poem and the following lines are an exquisite example of his masterstroke in balancing the time zones:
Ashwatthama will not die.
So long the blindness exists in the world
And the Wealth reigns,
Until then would continue the trend
Of the death of the people,
Either in war or in terrorism.
Until then I have to live too.
Yuyutsu will not die,
No one can kill Yuyutsu.
Once the rhythm of time is set, the poet expresses his concerns about the nation starting from the time of independence. The development of two nations from one single geographical territory has deeply grieved the poet and he talks at length about its occurrence and the failure of leadership that fought the struggle of independence. The lack of vision, physical as well as mental remains the cynosure of concern for the poet and he compares Dhritrashtra and the leaders of the modern independent India. The wars India fought with his neighbors and their political implications are given a lengthy discussion in the poem and the vigilant readers will find a treat for them in exploring the relationship between the political events in a nation and their poetic expression in subtle and thought provoking manner.
The youth of the world and of the nation form a substantial part of the poet’s imagination. He considers all the aspects of the life of the young people beginning from their academic activities to their personal, social and political evolution. Thus, Yuyutsu, the apostle of the modern youth demands freedom from everything.
They demand a new freedom
All the Yuyutsu men and women of the world
by their own will,
live wherever and with whosever they want,
The international debates on the sexual preferences of the youth find free expression in this poem with a disregard to the new-fangled methods of love making amongst the youth. The poet holds high respect for the glorious Indian traditions prevalent in the country since times immemorial. The youths of the world are restless and passionate and yearn for a change. The poet attempts to give them a strong voice in this poem. His keen eyes observe everything closely and critically traverses the transformation of the society from the plain agrarian and culturally oriented society to the mechanical and commercially oriented face of the modern societal structure. He talks of the status of women in society and the crucial phase of the birth of girl child in Indian context especially. There is great range of objects that find an important place and terse discussion in the poem. History, mythology, politics, bureaucracy, police and politicians – he spares no one. And justly so, because everything influences human life in more than one way. Communalism, conversion, casteism, and conspiracies along with undue and unrequited violence and hooliganism have become the order of the day in the Indian society. The poet is deeply worried – ‘whither goes my country!’ yet, amid all controversies and complications, Yuyutsus are the only hope for the establishment of a peaceful and prospective society in the world. The poet concludes with a note of hope. Unlike Eliot whose The Waste Land comes to an end with Om Shanti repeated thrice like the Hindu chant of a mantra, the Yuyutsu closes with the probability of creating a new world of order and peace.
It will not do justice to elaborate upon the content of the poem here in the beginning of the book because it will mar the pleasure of reading a great poem on the times, we live in juxtaposed with the times of our ancestors. I am sure you will find a great piece of poetic ecstasy in the following pages that will enthrall your imagination and sooth your nerves. Happy reading.
Hemant Gahlot
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