BLiterature-Apratim

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He tells us in another poem –
“If I
Don’t see in the eye,
Then I do in my mind,
Chandidas says he wears the touch-jewel
Around his neck.”
(Translated by the author)
Then it seems he is telling of an unearthly love.
He exposes his dangling heart in such lines –
“Goes the blue sari wringing out along with my mind.”
(Translated by the author)
He professes his firm conviction of love in these two lines –
“I’ll live in Love Town, will build a house with love,
Tracing love I’ll make neighbors, except which all are far ones.”
(Translated by the author)
Again –
“Pi-ri-ti : these three syllables are the three worlds’ all substance,
Taking it in mind I think day and night, without it nothing remains.”
(Translated by the author)
Here the poet expresses the mystic sense of his love for the beloved –
“My outer door is closed, my inner door is wide open,
Come sweet-hearts, come silently, passing darkness, to the light.”
(Translated by the author)
Chandidas inwardly tells us of godly love when outwardly he just says of
human love. His poems are free of all kinds of so-called ‘vulgarism’ that are evident
in many other medieval poets’ works. He does have a journey of transition from the
bodily flesh to an enlightened soul. And the arc of this mission of the poet is his
immortal mystic songs.
Mukunda Chakraborty (16 th Century)
‘Kabikankan’ Mukunda Chakrabarty is the greatest poet of Mangal-Kabya. His
Avayamangal (which is commonly known as Chandimangal) can be accepted as a
verse-novel and it is the masterpiece of medieval literature.
Mangal-Kabya is a genre of medieval poetry that was intended to glorify a
deity. The story of such a poem would be how the puja of that deity was commenced
in the world.
The story of Avayamangal is concerned with how the puja of Goddess Chandi
was initiated through sacrifice and sufferings made by two outcastes: a hunter
named Kalketu and a merchant named Dhanpati.
Avayamangal is a remarkably unique work in respect of medieval poetical
standard. This work encompasses at the same time, the worlds of both the earth and
‘paradise’ where the deities dwell. The gods and goddesses cast their curses and
blessings upon the mortals. Such themes of the poem remind us of the Homeric
epics.