The House of Wine - MADHUSHALA

एक बरस में, एक बार ही जगती होली की ज्वाला,

एक बार ही लगती बाज़ी, जलती दीपों की माला,

दुनियावालों, किन्तु, किसी दिन आ मदिरालय में देखो,

दिन को होली, रात दिवाली, रोज़ मनाती मधुशाला।।२६।

So before any of you start to wonder why I'm starting off on such a "high" note, let me clarify that the four lines above are an excerpt from the much acclaimed poem, MADHUSHALA by Harivansh Rai Bachchan. The first thing most people asked me when they saw me reading Madhushala was "Dude, are you all right ?"... which if you notice says a lot about how today's generation looks upon reading in Hindi, our national language. When I say generation... I mean the 'educated' people from towns and cities. What a shame !! 

Ok enough of that crap... seriously. Even I have a lot, and I mean A LOT, of trouble reading in Hindi and the only reason I started to read Madhushala was because a friend of mine said it was quite entertaining... and fresh off from reading two back to back comics of Nagraaj (with Super Commando Dhruv), I was feeling quite adventurous and good about myself. 

So back to Madhushala... As I started reading, I found myself totally immersed in the poem and the reading in Hindi ceased to remain a problem. Now on face value anyone can see why it is so entertaining to college students and others.. but if you re read the stanzas, you realise that the poet is not actually promoting alcoholism (though its quite easy to imagine why people would think so) , but the Madhushala (tavern/ house of wine) is used as a metaphor for this world and the poet is actually writing about life using wine as an allegory. 

Madhushala is one of those rare works that achieved both critical acclaim and popularity.. no raised eyebrows there !!! Funnily enough, a lot of people originally frowned upon the poem since it was perceived to be a celebration of liquor. 

Bachchan uses the goblet, the wine, the bar-maid and the tavern regularly in almost each quatrain, each more beautiful than the previous one. Such is the beauty of his composition that today, even after nearly more than three quarters of a century, Madhushala has lost none of its charm and meaningfulness.  The beauty of Madhushala in part lies in the fact that you can interpret the lines whichever way you want... If you look at the bare surface and read it as a tribute to alcoholism, well you'll still find it to be a magnificent and entertaining journey... either way its a beautiful and amazing composition that will leave you spellbound.

If you have heard Madhushala or read it before, you have been as lucky as I have been. And if you have not, please do get hold of a copy of the album. Listening to the composition in the voice of Manna De creates an unbelievable atmosphere. The level of Hindi is slightly higher than Std X levels as you would have guessed by now. But do give yourself up to the joys of this work, the meaning will follow itself!

Go ahead, enjoy this vigorous- and loving- tribute to the goodness of life! (or to alcohol..as you would have it) ;)

P.S.

Harivansh Rai Bachchan mentions in his autobiography that he gained so much notoriety as someone who promotes drinking that he was once summoned to give his side of the explanation to Mahatma Gandhi. Incidentally, he was a teetotaller.