In February this year, celebrated Hindi poet Kumar Vishwas signed a 5-book deal worth Rs 1 crore with Vani Prakashan Group. He is also regularly invited to carry out poetry for honorarium ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore per look. That’s not all. The Hindi language academician-turned-poet is also writing dialogues and lyrics for producer Vashu Bhagnani’s Rs 400-crore film Suryaputra Mahavir Karna (this will mark Vishwas’ debut in Bollywood), multi-starrer film Dasvi and Ramayana, a Rs 200-crore project, which will be directed by the makers of the Hollywood film Gods of Egypt.
Clearly, Hindi poetry and poets are seeing a enormous shift in reception today. Over the previous couple of years, in reality, there’s been a resurgence of Hindi poetry, be it spoken (kavi sammelan) or written, as a new commercially viable genre, thanks in portion to social media, e-books and offline ticketed events. “A Hindi poet is nothing short of a celebrity today… travels in a VIP charter, earns a moolah and can be a global brand name,” says Vishwas, who has close to 5 million followers on social media. Over the years, his straight-liners on social challenges have ignited several young minds, earning him the sobriquet jan kavi (people’s poet). “A good poet has to engage his listener with lines that make a difference to his life — name, fame and money are all byproducts. Woh kahiye jo dusron ka kahan ban jaye. A poet earns respect and status from the love showered by his audience. Today’s popular poet is tomorrow’s classic… just as Premchand was popular, later he became a classic,” says the poet, who has been invited by poetic groups of 40 nations in the world, such as the US, Dubai and London.
Vishwas’s poetry touches people’s hearts, asserts Aditi Maheshwari, executive director of Vani Prakashan Group, a Hindi publishing group with more than 6,500 titles in print, electronic and audio format. Talking about how he has impacted the youth by way of his sublime, universal and uncomplicated imageries, Maheshwari says, “As jan kavi and manch ka kavi (stage poet), his metaphors touch all segments of society.”
Hindi poetry as a democratic genre has not just turn out to be a preferred medium for all age groups, connecting with the frequent man, but is also a clear indication that perseverance, backed by in-depth understanding of literature, can usher in golden possibilities for one’s talent.
“In the past five years, we have received more than 80% mails requesting us to publish poetry books,” reveals Delhi-based Ashok Maheshwari, managing director, Rajkamal Prakashan Group, a noted publishing home of Hindi literature. “Until five years ago, a handful of poetry collections were published in print form. Today, it’s in paperback and at least 25 poetry books are published every year,” he says.
There is no doubt that modern Hindi poetry has turn out to be more visceral, quotidian, political, translational and worldwide, according to Mumbai-based poet and professor Ashwani Kumar. “It has become the new address of feminist, Dalit, tribal, queer, protest and diasporic literature, and also the new home for Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat generations. No open-mike event happens without Hindi poetry,” says Kumar, a policy researcher and professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He is also the co-founder of Indian Novels Collective (INC), a not-for-profit network of people set up with the objective of bringing classics of non-English Indian literature to English readers.
Hindi language as a medium has also been popularised by way of films and lyrics. “There is no doubt that films play a big role in spreading the language,” says veteran novelist and story writer Kshama Sharma. “Poet Sahir Ludhianvi is remembered for his Allah tero naam, Tora mann darpan kehlaye, Aan Milo Shyam… these bhajans resonate even today decades after his death. So the acceptance of Hindi in poetry comes when it appeals to the masses… Poets like Kumar Vishwas have both lyrical and emotional appeal, that’s why he’s prominent among the masses,” gives Sharma.
Story so far
Poetry is an critical register of the social consciousness of any era. Be it the freedom struggle or the green revolution, the history of Hindi poetry dates back to the occasions of saint-poets like Kabir and Mira, and later in the second half of the 20th century when Hindi became the language of protests in India. It has been anti-establishment for more than half a century, with poets like Agyeya, Muktibodh, Nagarjuna, VDN Sahi, Raghuvir Sahay and Shrikant Verma shaping the character of Hindi poetry in the nation.
The time amongst 1947 to the early 1980s was marked as the golden phase for kavi sammelans. But in the mid-1980s, Indian youth suffered from unemployment and this took a toll on the sammelans. New modes of entertainment such as Television came in, creating sammelans drop their standing, each in terms of quantity and excellent, shared Kunwar Bechain, a Ghaziabad-based poet and retired Hindi professor of MMH College, Ghaziabad, in an interaction with FE just ahead of he succumbed to Covid-19 on April 29 at the age of 79.
The revival of the sammelans in the late 2000s brought back the onstage grandeur, preferred poetry culture and a decent supply of revenue, with payments beginning from Rs 2,one hundred for a fresher to about Rs 1 lakh or more for specialists per evening. “It transformed the space, and elevated into a respectable event with huge social media presence of modern poets like Irshad Kamil, Kumar Vishwas, Manoj Muntashir, who have millions of followers — something that was unheard of before,” says Maheshwari of Vani Prakashan. “Social media in the 21st century has changed the game with young poets reciting Hindi stalwarts and a huge movement of poetry by young poets,” adds Maheshwari, who gets 5 to 60 new poetry submissions every single day on social media handles. Some of these hidden gems his publication home now plans to publish.
Maheshwari of Rajkamal Prakashan Group agrees that Hindi poetry is creating a comeback. “Poetry books are appearing in paperback editions and are being sold more than before… there are a few poets whose books are sold fast and in large numbers. After a long time of being in the shadows, Hindi poetry has returned again,” gives Maheshwari.
If poets like Kedarnath Singh, Dushyant Kumar, Gorakh Pandey, Dhoomil, Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena, Manglesh Dabral and Ashok Vajpayee continue to inspire millennials, other folks like Anamika, Savita Singh, Anita Bharti, Katayani, Rajni Tilak, Anuradha Singh, and so on, have transformed the patriarchal landscape of Hindi poetry.
Hindi poetry has also turn out to be more glamorous and trendy, says Kumar of INC. “Though the English literary industry remains dominant, Hindi poetry has also become more glamorous and fashionable with the rising popularity of celebrity poets like Swanand Kirkire, Piyush Mishra, Prasoon Joshi and performance poets such as Priya Malik, Hussain Haidry, Varun Grover and Simar Singh,” says Kumar.
Tech help
Social media has helped Hindi poetry get wider exposure, encouraging a dialogue amongst youngsters. “People are talking about Hindi poetry with old and new names combined,” says Gurugram-based Ankur Mishra, founder of Kavishala, an on the net platform for new writers and poets, which has more than 70% content, poetry and stories from newcomers. Kavishala receives 3,000-plus month-to-month new writers’ registrations and 10,000-plus month-to-month poetry submissions on its web-site and app.
Adapting to the altering ecosystem and the way poetry is getting composed and recited, Red FM radio not too long ago organised The Kavi Collective, a poetry festival in UP, MP and Delhi, to bring the most effective of old and new-age regional poets like Ashok Chakradhar, Sunil Jogi, Ankita Singh, Priya Malik and other folks, with an inclusive method to tips, on one stage. “The biggest debilitating factor that afflicts radio is that we focus only on music, but with the shift from broadcast to audio by other means and the growth of podcast and audio listenership in the country, there is a great opportunity of discovery through the spoken word,” says Nisha Narayanan, COO and director at Red FM and Magic FM.
Trusts and foundations, as well, are working to help young poets today. “Trusts such as Bharatiya Gyanpeeth and Raza Foundation have been providing assistance towards publication of first books of poetry by young poets. There are nearly 100 little magazines… some exclusively publish a large number of contemporary poems,” says noted Hindi poet and critic Ashok Vajpayee, who is the managing and life trustee of Delhi-based Raza Foundation, which supports cultural and artistic activities.
Challenges galore
Even with all the achievement, nevertheless, there are several hurdles to cross. Take, for instance, modern day-day kavi sammelans, which not several in the neighborhood are satisfied with. “One can make out the difference in the quality. Poets like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Bhawani Prasad Mishra, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Mahadevi Verma were excellent poets in both content and presentation. Mahadevi Verma with her presence ensured equal representation, grace and high-quality engagement. Among the current generation of poets, some have great presentation, but not good content,” mentioned Kunwar Bechain.
Vajpayee agrees, saying, “Kavi sammelans bring popular poetry to large audiences, but promote taste for sentimentalism, shallow humour and vague mysticism.”
Once an very affordable supply of entertainment, today such events have degraded poetry to an extent, really feel several. “Sammelans have been reduced to performing art with singers, live performers or standup acts. Today, there is hardly any humour left in many shows. The contemporary relevance of humour is as important today as it was 100 years ago. If live poetry is meant only for entertainment, then it’s not poetry,” says noted Hindi satirist and poet Ashok Chakradhar.
There’s also the challenge of admission. “Getting entry to a kavi sammelan is difficult as it’s a hub of like-minded professionals just like the entertainment industry, so it is reserved for a select few,” says Gwalior-based poet Pawan Karan, who has written poems on subjects like imperialism, capitalism and religious fanatics. He expressed the philosophy of feminism in his groundbreaking work Stree Mere Bheetar (2004). “Only a handful of poets get their due recognition on stage… written poetry alone doesn’t help in earning a livelihood… Sombre or serious writing has no money on stage as compared to humour as the former is not so popular as a genre onstage,” says the 56-year-old.
Vajpayee adds: “Recently, poetry has been forced to be ‘saleable’ by publishers and many young poets are able to publish their books easily. But significant poetry remains financially not sustainable by and large.”
When it comes to books, lack of certified editors can also bring down excellent. “Sometimes good books are published poorly or bad books are published with a beautiful cover. In the absence of reliability and transparency, the publishing business can neither become an industry nor will it be able to build a place of trust in society,” says Maheshwari of Rajkamal Prakashan.
Another challenge is to attain out to an ever-widening literate population and create a vast book culture. “Universities, schools, academies, media all have to play a role in both inculcating a taste for poetry and making more people, especially the younger generation, realise that there is a rich variety of poetry available. Taking books to younger students should become a campaign conducted by schools and colleges, worthy of support by CSR. The Vedas, Gita, Quran, the Bible and the Granth Sahib—are all holy books of poetry,” says Vajpayee.
Kavishala’s Mishra feels there is excellent scope for economic viability. “Lack of financial support for poets due to few investors available, good poets living in rural areas with poor internet connectivity, etc, are a few problems faced today… also, more collectives and platforms are required to encourage young poets,” he says.
One need to also bear in mind that tech could possibly enable open doors, but it is a double-edged sword. “Technology has a limitation in creative writing as people are focused on writing two-liners, which kills creativity, like a crux in two lines,” says Mishra.
Many also rue that poetry writing today is taken incredibly lightly. Many youngsters’ work is elementary level, say publishers. “Writing poetry is considered easy… jotting two lines or making several lines by twisting them does not create a poem. A short poem does not involve less effort. The moods associated with Hindi poetry deliver all social concerns—a poem tells the truth of its time,” says Maheshwari of Rajkamal Prakashan Group.
Social media in the 21st century has changed the game with young poets reciting Hindi stalwarts and a enormous movement of poetry by young poets.
—Aditi Maheshwari, executive director, Vani Prakashan Group
Poetry books are appearing in paperback editions and are getting sold more than before… After a lengthy time of getting in the shadows, Hindi poetry has returned once more.—Ashok Maheshwari, managing director, Rajkamal Prakashan Group
Hindi poetry has turn out to be the new address of feminist, Dalit, tribal, queer, protest and diasporic literature, and also the new home for Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat generations.
—Ashwani Kumar, Mumbai-based poet and professor