Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘Madhushala’ by Harivansh Rai Bachchan is all about the joys of drowning in alcohol. It’s a love poem to your evening drink, or your day drink, or whenever it is that you like to have your poison of choice.
The hindi word ‘Madhushala’ stands for a place where drinks are sold or served. And the poet constantly uses the term to explain different facets of life. The rhyme and meter is consistent through the pages, it reads like a song, and well, the lines do tend to get a bit repetitive.
For the poet, a drink in hand is a solution to nearly every problem one faces in life. In sadness, happiness, despair, or grief, a drink is the right fix. To celebrate a milestone, or to mourn a death. And ‘Madhushala’ is thus a place to reminisce fond memories or forget the terrible ones.
Funnily, I have been a teetotaler since 2020, so maybe this was the wrong kind of poetry book to pick. But as soon as I started going through ‘Madhushala’, I rushed to my parents’ room and started reading out a few couplets to them, because, well, it’s definitely the kind of poetry one would have fun reading out loud at a gathering.
One of the most humorous observations the poet makes while praising the wonders of alcohol is how it serves as a unifier for different religions. He writes of how once the sun sets and it’s time to toast, be it Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh (or a man of any religion for that matter), one doesn’t care if they’re all gathered under the same tavern, all that matters is the drink in their hand.
Of course, since this is a Hindi poetry book, there is not much fun writing about it in English. So, all I’ll say is that if you’re looking for some breezy poetry in the Hindi language, Madhushala might be a good place to start.
Rating: 4 on 5 stars.
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