Background: There is a young man, maybe recently married, happily living with his wife in a small house of one room, which is near the bank of a river. One day a flood came, and all his households, utensils, and other things washed away. Though he is recovering from this sudden shock caused by the flood, he is feeling lonely. So, he went to his old teacher from schooldays for some inspirational words and moral support. This poem is about a conversation and advancement that happened between that young man and his teacher, whom he is meeting after a long period.
ओळखलंत का सर मला? पावसात आला कोणी
कपडे होते कर्दमलेले,केसांवरती पाणी
Olakhlat ka sir mala? Pavsat ala koni
Kapde hote kardamlele, kesanvarati paani.
क्षणभर बसला, नंतर हसला, बोलला वरती पाहून
गंगामाई पाहुनी आली, गेली घरट्यात राहून
Kshanbhar basla, nantar hasla, bolala varti pahun
Gangamai pahuni aali, geli ghartyat rahun.
माहेरवाशीण पोरीसारखी, चार भिंतीत नाचली
मोकळ्या हाती जाईल कशी, बायको मात्र वाचली
Mahervashin porisarakhi, char bhintit nachli
Moklya haati jail kashi, baiko matra vaachli.
भिंत खचली, चूल विझली,होते नव्हते नेले
प्रसाद म्हणून पापण्यांमध्ये पाणी थोडे ठेवले
Bhint khachli, chul vizli, hote navhte nele
Prasad mhanun papnyamadhe paani thode thevle.
कारभारणीला घेऊन संगे, सर आता लढतो आहे
पडकी भिंत बांधतो आहे, चिखलगाळ काढतो आहे
Kaarbharnila gheun sange, sir ata ladhto ahe
Padki bhint bandhto ahe, chikhalgal kadhto ahe.
खिशाकडे हात जाताच, हसत हसत उठला
पैसे नकोत सर,जरा एकटेपणा वाटला
Khishakade haat jatach, hasat hasat uthla
Paise nakot sir, jara ektepana vatla.
मोडून पडला संसार,तरी मोडला नाही कणा
पाठीवरती हात ठेऊन नुसतं लढा म्हणा
Modun padla sansar, tari modalaå nahi kana
Paathivarti haat theun, nusta ladh mhana.
Translation with its meaning in my view:
Background: There is a young man, maybe recently married, happily living with his wife in a small house of one room, which is near the bank of a river. One day a flood came, and all his households, utensils, and other things washed away. Though he is recovering from this sudden shock caused by the flood, he is feeling lonely. So, he went to his old teacher from schooldays for some inspirational words and moral support. This poem is about a conversation and advancement that happened between that young man and his teacher, whom he is meeting after a long period.
Olakhlat ka sir mala? Pavsat ala koni
Kapde hote kardamlele, kesanvarati paani.
Someone came to the door in the rain and asked, "Have you recognized me, sir?"
His clothes were wet and muddy; there were raindrops on his hair.
This stanza shows that this young man came after a long time to his teacher’s home. So, he is confirming whether he recognized him or not. Also, his look was not proper at that time, as he came in from the rain, so his clothes were muddy and wet; there was a chance that the sir may not recognize him.
Kshanbhar basla, nantar hasla, bolala varti pahun
Gangamai pahuni aali, geli ghartyat rahun.
Then, sir, allow him to come inside the home. He sat in the room for a while; later he smiled and talked, looking up. “Mother Ganga (in India rivers are respected as mothers or birth givers) came and stayed in my home as a guest.” (Ganga is the word used for the local river.) In India, there is a ritual to call any river the River Ganga, as Ganga is considered one of the holy rivers of India.
When there was a flood, the water logged inside, and the house of the young man was filled with the floodwater. So here the poet used the metaphor that 'Mother Ganga' came and lived in his home like a guest. One more thing can be noted here: though the man lost all his living things, there is still a smile on his face, which shows his courage to fight the odds.
Mahervashin porisarakhi, char bhintit nachli
Moklya haati jail kashi, baiko matra vaachli.
Another metaphor used here for the flood of the river. The water of the river came into his home like a married girl comes to her parent’s home. Whenever that girl comes, she will roam and run across the home. In the same way, the river water came in and ran all over in his home. While going back, it took away all the things with it, just like when the married girl comes to her parent’s home; she will never go back to her husband’s home empty-handed. She will always carry something like gifts with her given by her parents. While the flood washed away all the useful things of the young man, the only thing that survived was his wife. He was happy that at least his wife survived. This shows his level of satisfactory attitude in life.
Bhint khachli, chul vizli, hote navhte nele
Prasad mhanun papnyamadhe paani thode thevle.
Here the post-flood scene is mentioned. Once the water level went down, the man looked at the condition of his home. He noticed that the wall of his home had collapsed and the kitchen fire earthen stove was turned off due to water. All the things were washed out. The only thing that remained was tears in his eyes as an offering. This stanza shows the positive attitude of the man. He is accepting the pain and tears as an offering from Mother Ganga. Though he lost everything in this flood, his home collapsed; still he shows a positive attitude.
Kaarbharnila gheun sange, sir ata ladhto ahe.
Padki bhint bandhto ahe, chikhalgal kadhto ahe.
Now he started to stand up again and started to fight again. With the help of his wife, he started to rebuild the collapsed wall of his home. Removing the stranded mud. Here it shows the fighting spirit of the young man. Also shows his wife is also helping hard in all his work. It shows the struggle to rise again.
Khishakade haat jatach, hasat hasat uthla.
Paise nakot sir, jara ektepana vatla.
After listening to the student, the teacher thought that he might be in financial need. As he lost everything in the flood, he might be seeking financial help, and so he came to his home. By thinking so, the teacher’s hand goes towards the pocket where the wallet was kept. The alert young man noticed the gesture of his teacher; he stood up smiling and said, "Sir, I don’t want money. I was feeling lonely. That’s why I came here.” Here we can witness the emotional status of the student and what kind of help he is seeking from his teacher. Though he lost everything, he is not expecting any financial help from others. He just requires emotional support, as he is feeling solitariness.
Modun padla sansar, tari modala nahi kana
Paathivarti haat theun, nusta ladh mhana
I feel this stanza is most impactful and gives inspiration to stay strong. Here the young man is saying to his teacher, “Though my life has fallen, my backbone is still not broken. Sir, you please just keep your hand on my back and say, “Keep fighting.” Very simple expectation from his teacher, yet the biggest inspirational word he is expecting from his beloved teacher. He just wants the teacher to say, "Forget everything that happened; just think about how to rise again." Just fight. These words will be like a blessing for him and will give him big courage to stand high against all odds. Only moral words will boost him, and he will be ready to face whatever bad happened to him. Here the word "Kana" means the backbone. A backbone indicates strength; that you are ready to stand straight means you are ready to fight and have not accepted your defeat. That means a straight backbone shows the spirit of fighting and not falling emotionally or physically. Till the time your backbone is straight, you are fighting. A broken backbone indicates that you have accepted your defeat and given up fighting. Broken backbone means “I quit.” Here, though his life is broken and his home has fallen, his backbone is still straight, meaning he still has not accepted his defeat and does not want to quit. He is ready to fight. That’s why he is not expecting any money or any other support from anyone but only the words of blessing.
Such a great inspiration for a student and for everyone that one can stand tall in any crisis only with the blessings from a person you admire most, like a teacher or anybody, and that word would be "Just keep fighting."