''Madhushala'' ( hi, मधुशाला) (The Tavern/The House of Wine) is a book of 135 "

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

s": verses of four lines ( Ruba'i) by

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

poet and writer

Harivansh Rai Bachchan Harivansh Rai Bachchan (; 27 November 1907 19 December 2002) was an Indian poet and writer of the Nayi Kavita literary movement (romantic upsurge) of early 20th century Hindi literature. He was also a poet of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. He is be ...

(1907–2003). The highly metaphorical work is still celebrated for its deeply

Vedantic ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

and

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

incantations and philosophical undertones and is an important work in the

Chhayavaad Chhayavad ( hi, छायावाद) (approximated in English as "Romanticism", literally "Shaded") refers to the era of Neo-romanticism in Hindi literature, particularly Hindi poetry, 1922–1938, and was marked by an increase of romantic and ...

(Neo-romanticism) literary movement of early 20th century

Hindi literature Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃ� ...

. All the ''rubaaiaa'' (the plural for ''rubaai'') end in the word ''madhushala''. The poet tries to explain the complexity of life with his four instruments, which appear in almost every verse: ''madhu'', ''madira'' or ''haala'' (wine), ''saaki'' (server), ''pyaala'' (cup or glass) and of course ''madhushala'', ''madiralaya'' (pub/bar). The publication of the work in 1935 brought Harivanshrai Bachchan instant fame, and his own recitation of the poems became a "craze" at poetry symposiums. ''Madhushala'' was part of his

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

inspired by

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...

's '' Rubaiyat'', which he had earlier translated into Hindi. The other titles in the trilogy were ''Madhubala (मधुबाला)'' (1936) and ''Madhukalash मधुकलश)'' (1937).

Madhushala in Media

A recording of selected Rubaai from Madhushala was released by

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, where twenty stanzas were chosen and sung by

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

, while the first one was sung by Bachchan himself. The music was composed by

Jaidev Jaidev (3 August 1918 – 6 January 1987; born Jaidev Verma) was a music composer in Hindi films, most known for his work in films: '' Hum Dono'' (1961), ''Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971), ''Prem Parbat'' (1973), ''Gharaonda'' (1977) and ''Gaman'' ...

. His son, actor

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

, has read the verses on several occasions, most notably at Lincoln Center, New York City. The text has also been choreographed for stage performances.

Example Text from the Poem

This is a famous stanza of poem.

Text

* ''मधु'' शाला . * ''Madhushala'' by Harivansh Rai Bachchan. Penguin Books, 1990. . * ''Madhushala'' by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, in German, Draupadi-Verlag, Heidelberg (Germany), 2009. {{ISBN, 978-3-937603-40-7.

References

मधुशाला का मूल पाठ
(विकीस्रोत पर)
हरिवंश राय बच्चन
(विकीस्रोत पर)

External links

मधुशाला की पूरी कविता एक स्थान पे

Madhushala at Kavita Kosh
Hindi poetry collections 1935 poems Indian poetry collections Music based on poems 1935 in India