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shishirkc's review
4.0
Beautiful is the word to describe this 114 versed poem by Kalidasa. 'Meghadut' meaning 'The Cloud Messenger' was composed in 375 AD, when apparently, Kalidasa was sent by Emperor Chandra Gupta II to Nandhivardhana and was separated from his wife for a long time. This personal experience gets translated to this poem where a Yaksha is exiled for a year for not performing his duties, and therefore, separated from his wife, summons a cloud to be his messenger and convey words of love and longing to his lonely wife, up in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. And therefore, this poem is mainly the description of the many beautiful places and people and emotions that the cloud would come across on the way. Kalidasa describes them in such beautiful manners that it is almost astounding to imagine him being well versed with the terrain and cultures in a time when travel was a task.
But more beautiful is the message to his wife that appears towards the end that caught my attention. Erotic and soothing at the same time, one must read it to believe it. Few lines -
Sudden, Himalayan breezes split open
the tightly-shut leaf-buds on deodars,
and redolent of their oozing resin
blow south; I embrace those breezes
fondly imagining they have of late
touched your limbs, O perfect one!
This also might as well be the very first poems which used metaphors to describe emotions. It's actually disappointing to see how ignored Kalidasa is in today's times, when once it was said of him that the counting of great poets started and ended at him.
Recommended to people who love poetry or are interested to know how beautiful ancient Sanskrit literature was.
But more beautiful is the message to his wife that appears towards the end that caught my attention. Erotic and soothing at the same time, one must read it to believe it. Few lines -
Sudden, Himalayan breezes split open
the tightly-shut leaf-buds on deodars,
and redolent of their oozing resin
blow south; I embrace those breezes
fondly imagining they have of late
touched your limbs, O perfect one!
This also might as well be the very first poems which used metaphors to describe emotions. It's actually disappointing to see how ignored Kalidasa is in today's times, when once it was said of him that the counting of great poets started and ended at him.
Recommended to people who love poetry or are interested to know how beautiful ancient Sanskrit literature was.
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