Pushp Pandadi - A Fragrant Bouquet

As a medium of expression poetry is an art quite opposed to prose which can perhaps be mastered to some extent comparatively easily. The reason it is difficult to write poetry is that it comes from your soul and expresses the emotions, longings and feelings of the human heart in imagery expressed in a few lines which carry meaning too deep to be expressed in a prose form.

Because of this complex character it is as difficult to appreciate poetry as it is to write it. Hence very few good poems see the light of the day.

Therefore Pushp Pandadi, a collection of Pushpaben D Vaidya's poems is a welcome, fresh breath of air in the Gujarati literary scene of Kutch.

Her book was released on 20 November 2010 at a simple but well-attended function in Bhuj where noted literary figures were present for the occasion.

Inauguration of Pushp Pandadi

(L to R Dr Nehaben Acharya, Darshnaben Dholakia, Jayanti Joshi, Pushpaben D Vaidya)

Pushpaben has been sort of a secret poetess for very long because even some people very close to her were unaware of her abilities and creative art - notably her guru whom she has dedicated her anthology along with her parents.

Pushpaben has had a very long teaching career along with her household duties which included raising two fine children who have risen to professional eminence at a young age. So it may sound surprising that how Pushpaben found time to write so many good poems. Here perhaps her knowledge of Sanskrit could have had an effect on her literary creations. As a Sanskrit teacher she is well-versed in what is often called the language of Gods, so this classical language's lyrical structure could have nurtured Pushpaben's innate literary sensibilities.

Still another factor that could certainly have contributed to Pushpaben's literary attainment is her highly-knowledable husband Dilipbhai Vaidya. A successful museum curator with notable archaeological achievements to his name, Dilipbhai has been a prolific writer in English and Gujarati. It is natural that with such a person as a soul-mate Pushpaben must have received un-stinted support and encouragement for her literary persuasions.

The literary environment of the family has touched Pushpaben's daughter Dr Nehaben Hemangbhai Acharya also. The anthology Pushp Pandadi also carries Dr Nehaben's poems and short short stories - the latter a genre of literary form which is gaining popularity in the international short-story writing circles.

As it carries the creations of both mother and daughter, the anthology has been aptly named Pushp Pandadi - ( Blossom and Petal.) And it seems from Dr Nehaben's writings that the petal is on the way to develop into a full literary bloom in a very near future.

(Pushp Pandani - By Pushpaben D Vaidya, Dr Neha H Acharya. Publisher: Shaswat Nehalbhai Vaidya, "Neh", 24, Anand Colony, Bhuj. October 2010)

Translation Work In Kutchhi

Gautam Joshi has done pioneer work in the enrichment of the Kutchhi language by his original literary creations as well as translations of sacred and literary works into the language.

So it was appropriate that Gautam Joshi should present a paper on translation work in Kutchhi in the two-day Kutchhi Bhasa Sammelan(Conference) held at Bhuj on 11-12 March 2010 by the Sahitya Academy (Delhi) and the Kutchhi Sahitya Academy (Gandhinagar).

Translation Work in the Kutchhi Language

In his paper titled "Translation Work in the Kutchhi Language", Gautam Joshi has treated the subject of translation in all its aspects and has traced the history of the translation of various literary works into Kutchhi.

Gautam's overview of the history of the translation work, which occupies the better part of his paper, is of utmost importance for the reason that except for those in the literary field, most Kutchhi people are largely unaware of the work that has been done in their mother tongue. Gautam Joshi's paper fills that knowledge gap to a great extent.

Advancement of Kutchhi

It is from this paper that we learn what tremendous work has been done over the years to enrich the Kutchhi language by various people. He narrates how a number of people, devoted to the Kutchhi language, have translated historical, literary and religious texts into Kutchhi over a long time.

While it is conceivable that people from Kutch should be at the forefront in the efforts to develop Kutchhi, you would be surprised to learn here that an English padre had not only learned Kutchhi as long back as 1834 AD but had also written a religious text in the language, ostensibly to recruit disciples to his faith.

If all this work has enriched Kutchhi, the language of Kutch too has added value to other languages as a number of Kutchhi works have been translated into other languages.

One of the notable examples of the flow of Kutchhi into other languages is Kavi Niranjan's Kutchhi patriotic song: "Munji Matrubhumi Ke Naman" which has been rendered into English, French, Russian, Bengali, Sanskrit and Marathi.

Media and Kutchhi

Print and broadcast media in Kutch has also been contributing to the spread of the Kutchhi language since long. Well-known instances of this are the Kutchmitra's weekly Kutchii section and Akashvani's Kutchhi broadcasts.

But from Gautam Joshi we learn of others which though not that well-known among the general public have been doing very much vital work in the enhancement of the Kutchhi language. He has given numerous examples of publications and periodicals which not only feature translated work but also original works in Kutchhi.

A Strong Case For Kutchhi

This paper read out at the Kutchhi Bhasa Sammelan provides a strong argument in favour of inclusion of Kutchhi in the list of reconised languages.

It does this by showing that Kutchhi is not just yet another dialect in the pantheon of thousands of Indian tongues. It, in fact, has a distinct identity with a treasury of rich literary heritage which has been enhanced by inclusion into it the works of other languages from India and abroad and as such deserves its rightful place in the list of recognized Indian languages.

While this paper was written primarily for the Kutchhi Bhasa Samellan, it deserves a wider general publicity as it would serve to enlighten the general public with the great strides that Kutchhi has been taking over the years.