Shruti MehtaNamaskaar. Aap sab ka hardik swagat hai. Aap sab ko Hindi Diwas ki bahut sari shubh kamanaiye! Are you guys confused with the sudden Hinglish greeting? Well, these sentences make us very nostalgic and today we just couldn’t help but use them. (Spoiler Alert: There will be Hinglish phrases throughout the post!)
Our country India is our honor. Even the tiniest thing makes us feel connected with our motherland. Today we are posting a Hindi poem as our small token on this auspicious day of Hindi Diwas. The poem ‘PEHCHAN’ is composed by the talented poet Amrita Pritam.
The poem Pehchan is a heartwarming addition to our category of Hindi love poems and of our theme of 15 days of fabulous poetries. All of us are aware that Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14th September. But not many people don’t have a clue of why this day is celebrated as Hindi Diwas. This did not sit well with us and thus we took the initiative of enlightening people with the history of Hindi Diwas.
History of Hindi Language
Before we take a dip into the history of Hindi Diwas, it is equally important to trace the Hindi language. Hindi is one of the official languages of the country. The emergence of Hindi can be traced back to the Indo-Aryan reign. The Hindi language is a descendent of the Vedas and scriptures that were drafted in Sanskrit. Thus, we find many similarities in both languages.
Also, during the Mughal rule in India, the language Hindustani was popularly used. Hindustani is an amalgamation of Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the Hindustani language too has given its noteworthy contribution to the existence of our Hindi language.
Hindi cinema or Bollywood is one of the biggest industries in the world of cinema. There are some iconic songs that have gained huge fame. Hindi is the fourth widely spoken language in the world. Hindi ki aavashayakta hum kin shabadon mein aapse baya karein yeh samaj nahi ata!
With the pandemic striking, India will have an investment in several companies. Any company trying to establish a business in India or investing in some company, it becomes essential from that firm to have basic knowledge of Hindi. After Madrid, Hindi is very popular in the business world. So be it business or culture, Hindi finds its way there. It connects the people in a sacred thread of unity.
History of Hindi Diwas
Now that we have discovered the roots of the Hindi language, it is about time that we undertake another escapade and get further acquainted with the importance of Hindi Diwas. After the rigorous struggle for 150 years, India finally attained freedom. The then newly formed Government was introducing new rules and regulations. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and many others took it on themselves to draft the constitution of India.
On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India declared and adopted Hindi as one of the official languages of India. India makes itself comfortable into the list of some of those countries that do not have a national language. Thus, an official language is of great importance. The Government has set a compulsion for the schools to teach a minimum of three languages, Hindi, English, and the regional language of that state.
The southern and some of the eastern states did have an objection with Hindi being adopted as the official language. But their objections did not deter the crucial decision of the Government. To date, Hindi is a widely spoken and one of the official languages of India.
Hindi Diwas is not just a formality but it is a celebration. We still vividly recall that various competitions were organized when we were in school. There was a hullaballoo. The excitement was so contagious. There were tons of competitions! Kitne sare the ki samaj nahi aata tha kaunse me bhaag le. Poem recitation, essay writing, debate competition, skits, dramas, enacting iconic personalities, and so much more. We just miss those days. We wish if there were a time machine that would just take us back to those days and we could savor them again. Alas, that’s not possible.
We feel like this is a visit down the memory lane while discussing Hindi and the Hindi Diwas. But no poem can start without the introduction of the poet right? According to us, a poem can be best understood only if one gets to know about the poet and understand their style and genre of writing. In this case, let’s get to know Amrita Pritam who won our hearts by crafting the poem ‘Pehchan’.
You can also check out our last year’s Hindi Diwas poem here:
हिंदी हूँ मैं! (कविता) Hindi Hun Main(Poem) – Hindi Diwas 2019
Life of Amrita Pritam
The poetess took her first breath on 31 August 1919. She was born in Mandi Bahauddin which is now part of Pakistan. Her birth name was Amrit Kaur. She was the only child of their parents. Amrita Pritam’s father was a poet too. Now we know the source of her inspiration and talent.
She was 11 years when her mother died. That loss pushed her to write and vent out her emotions. Amrit shifted to Lahore with her father after her mother’s death. With the increasing responsibilities, writing became her pillar. Amrit Lehran was one of her early works. She was married at the age of 16 years to Pritam Singh who was an editor, an alliance fixed in their childhood. After marriage, she changed her name to Amrita Pritam. They had two children together.
Amrita Pritam started her writing with a romantic genre. Later, she turned her writing skills to a higher notch. She joined many movements and social works became an integral part of her life. Many of her works were dedicated to the same. Her empathy can be felt through her work of ‘Lok Peed’. She shifted to India after the partition. But, her charm never faded from the hearts of Pakistani’s as well. They too loved her works as we do. She died at the age of 86 years.
Now on this special occasion of Hindi Diwas, we now present you one of the romantic works of Amrita Pritam. We chose to onboard her poem Pehchan not only because it complies with the theme of our website but also it is her most understated works. After recalling our beautiful memories of Hindi Diwas which were closed in some corner of our brain. We envisioned why not bring work that was lost suppressed somewhere amidst her other works? Toh chaliye ab hum Pehchan padhte hai.
पहचान
तुम मिले
तो कई जन्म
मेरी नब्ज़ में धड़के
तो मेरी साँसों ने तुम्हारी साँसों का घूँट पिया
तब मस्तक में कई काल पलट गए–
एक गुफा हुआ करती थी
जहाँ मैं थी और एक योगी
योगी ने जब बाजुओं में लेकर
मेरी साँसों को छुआ
तब अल्लाह क़सम!
यही महक थी जो उसके होठों से आई थी–
यह कैसी माया कैसी लीला
कि शायद तुम ही कभी वह योगी थे
या वही योगी है–
जो तुम्हारी सूरत में मेरे पास आया है
और वही मैं हूँ… और वही महक है…
Pehchan by Amrita Pritam Analysis
The word Pehchan means identity. The Hindi Diwas special poem is a serene evocation of stirring emotions. It mesmerizingly describes how the poet must have felt the fireworks when she met her better half, her soul mate. She felt the joy, peace, and satisfaction to her soul. She felt those sparks bone-deep and almost recalled her past life. It was as if she was in some other time, the time had stopped and she was in bliss.
The poet in her poem Pehchan seems to be recalling some memory of her past birth. The cave seems to be scary but the intimate description of the scene makes the whole reading experience very surreal yet thrilling because of the cave settings. She feels that she and her lover have met in some past birth and thus the striking connection has her drawn to him.
The poem Pehchan by Amrita Pritam feels that she is experiencing the same intimacy as that of their past. Thus, she feels that the connection between them has sizzled and their bond feels almost an out of the world experience. Koi pari katha lagti hai! Such encounters and connections are hard to find.
With these words, we conclude our Hindi Diwas special: Pehchan by Amrita Pritam. Hume asha hai ki aap sab ko yeh pasand aaya. Show us your support by clicking on the little stars down below. Subscribe to lovesmitten.com if you enjoyed this post and our theme of 15 days of fabulous poetries. Let us know whether you liked this little twist of Hinglish in this post. Stay tuned with us for further interesting updates. Happy Hindi Diwas!
