Following is the text of the President,
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s address at
the conferment of 39th Jnanpith Award for 2003 here today:
Poetry and Creative thinking
“I am delighted to participate in the
function to confer the 39th Jnanpith Award for the year 2003. I greet the
President and trustees of Bharatiya Jnanpith, eminent thinkers, writers and
distinguished guests. The Bharatiya Jnanpith during its last four decades of
existence has honoured many thinkers of Indian literature who have contributed
to the promotion of excellence in literature in as many as twelve different
Indian languages. Every year, Bharatiya Jnanpith is selecting the Indian
literature of excellence. I extend my congratulations to Shri Vinda Karandikar,
the recipient of this year’s prestigious award. He is an essayist, critic and
translator and has made notable contribution to Marathi poetry and literature.
His life is an example of extraordinary achievement realized through ceaseless
search for aesthetic perfection.
Early
influences
I was studying the early life of
Vindaji while he was in college and I found that the rhymes and rhythms had
already begun to enmesh his soul and outpourings of his sufferings in verse
form brought him some relief. Even at that early age, he had decided to fight
the demons such as strong sectarian prejudices, superstitions, a world view
passed on to him by tradition. His effort towards the process of liberation was
to synthesize the west and the east, the past and the present, materialistic
and the spiritual worlds. To achieve this, he has passed through several twists
and turns in his journey after his formal education. I understand that he was
inspired by personalities like Sawarkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Bertrand Russel,
Freud, Einstein. His poems generally reflect high level of practical thoughts.
I wish to quote one of the verses that impressed me very much:
In my mind
lingers not,
Anxiety or sorrow or remorse,
It is enough to know this –
If he gives me tears
He gives me hands too
To wipe them away with.
Poetry and
society
Developing from his early urge to
express his thoughts in the form of poetry, Vindaji popularized what is known
as new poetry in Maharashtra. By his simplicity in language, incisive practical
ideas of use in everyday life, and deep insight into the Indian philosophy, he
wrote poems which can be understood and used by common man. Through this, he
made modern poetry in Marathi popular and started the movement of public
reading of poems.
His poetry is marked by
experimentation, free verse and many other patterns which have his stamp of
individuality. His has been a poetry which not only explores rhythmic patterns
but also brings out and captures the moods of society and the beauty of nature
and spiritualism. He is of course known for his poetry for children.
Vindaji is indeed a multifaceted poet
dealing with philosophy, theology and religion and the human nature and
astronomy. I was impressed by one of his poems, " Here begins the quest of
universe". Vindaji talks about nebula, Cignes X1, the galaxy, stars, and
our planet. The poet in his dream sees Galilieo, Copernicus, Newton and
Einstein running a race in an oblong circle, then he refers to black holes. He
also gives tributes to Narlikar in a beautiful way.
Friends I would like you to read in his
own words of Vindaji, he says :
‘The Universe is steady;
the old decays, the new rises.
The remainder zero.
According to Einstein the universe always expanding.
Some maintain expansion and contraction go on alternating.
Again the primeval atom, again the big bang, again the Universe’.
This poem really indicates the
author's attempt to reflect on science through poetry. With equal ease, the
author talks about nature.
Let me recall a few lines of his
famous poems titled "Panthusth pakshi" or "Migratory Birds".
The poem begins like this:-
The tremulous dawn:
in biting winter
looks intently
in the silver mirror
of a still lake.
This poem beautifully brings to life the humanness of nature
and tranquility of the Manasarovar lake. What makes Vindaji unique is this
versatility.
Contribution
to Child Welfare
Vindaji is hailed as an outstanding
children's writer in Marathi. I understand his younger son had a severe fear
complex. To distract him and to take his mind off the disturbing thoughts,
Vindaji composed a new poem every day to help and to remove his fears. This has
resulted in the child overcoming the fear complex. These poems have also helped
the society at large by giving a solace for children who have been going
through the pain of growing up.
Central
Message of Vindaji's life
What then is the message from
Vindaji's life? He has been described as a poet of pure consciousness, with a
mind that had gone beyond itself, beyond opposites not bound by the shackles of
caste, creed and religion. One can characterize such a mind as an enlightened
mind; a mind that is a well-spring of creativity. From this creativity
beautiful poetry is born. This is a different beauty with which goes love, and
with them is passion. Little wonder that all his life he had deep empathy for
the poor.
Vindaji's attributes are there for
each and every one of us, as fellow human beings, living in our great nation
that still cherishes spiritual values. There can be intelligence only when
there is self-knowledge, the deep understanding of the total process of
oneself. We must realize, as the poet did, that intelligence, that is
integration of reason and love, is much greater than intellect, that is
cultivated merely by book knowledge, important as that is for day-to-day
living.
What is essential for man, whether
young or old, is to live fully, integrally through cultivation of intelligence
which brings integration. It is very important that we approach our human
problems with an integrated point of view both for ourselves and for society.
Creative
thinking
To understand how the creative mind
of Vindaji works, I would like to recall the answer given by him to a question
by one of his interviewers: The question asked to him was, ‘It seems you always
think of people when you write your poetry’. Vindaji answers, ‘This is half
truth. In reality when I write a poem, I do not 'think' at all; 'thinking' is
prior to creation. And for the same reason there is no room for feeling as I
create, at least in the normal sense...’. What a living legend for the younger
generation to get inspired by and to emulate.
Conclusion
I am very happy that Bharatiya
Jnanpith promotes Indian literature by recognizing seminal and singular
contributions. It is indeed a symbol of nurturing the literary tradition of the
nation.
I consider it a great privilege to
confer the Bharatiya Jnanpith 2003 Award on Shri Vinda Karandikar today. May he
continue to capture the transformation that our present society is witnessing.
This will be an invaluable contribution to the cause of developed India.
May
God bless you.”
* * *
DS/CS