Jammu, Aug 4: “Ai Raje Diyan Mandiyan Tundiyan Ne..(Do these royal palaces belong to you…?)”
Dogri language lost its epoch-making first progressive revolutionary poetess, who stirred the conscience of many with this bold assault against feudalism forcing subjugation and denial of human rights, on Wednesday.
Padma-awardee illustrious daughter of the soil Padma Sachdev died of cardiac-arrest early this morning in Mumbai. She was 81.
According to family sources, Padma, who was indisposed for the last few months, breathed her last at 4:30 am in A Mumbai hospital. She is survived by her husband Surinder Singh – a Hindustani classical musical maestro (senior of Singh Bandhu duo) and their daughter Meeta.
Born in 1940 in Purmandal (presently part of Samba district), Padma announced her impressive arrival on the poetic landscape of the region with her soul-stirring long poem “Raje Diyan Mandiyan.”
A bold shade of progressive poetry, as she recited “Ai Raje Diyan Mandiyan Tundiyan Ne…..” in late sixties in a local poetic symposium, she stunned all. As Padma, who was just a teenager then, threw a lyrical poser, “…. those who blinded me… those weapons used against us….do they belong to you…. those forcibly took away all my belongings….do those horses carrying our brutally looted assets belong to you?…,” veteran litterateurs present in the symposium were in awe of her revolutionary flight of imagination, weaved in a poignant manner.
Veterans of Dogri literature still recall those moments while mourning an enormous loss to the language in her death.
No wonder, the revolutionary poem was part of her first poetic collection “Meri Kavita Mere Geet” which won her the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award in 1971. Among other poetic gems, which formed part of this collection also included “Nikkre-Fangru Uchchi Udaan..”, which was later sung by none other than Nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar. It is as an all-time favourite song for Dogri music lovers. Her other Dogri lullaby, sung by Lata “Tu Malla Tu” too, is considered to be a precious gem of Dogri music.
In her autobiography “Boond-Bawadi”, Padma had recounted her Kashmir connection as well where she spent three long years undergoing treatment for Tuberculosis at Chest Diseases hospital, Srinagar after her first marriage with another illustrious Dogri poet Ved Pal Deep failed in the 70s.
“During this period, I met Dr Hafeezullah- whom I would address as ‘Abbaji.’ There I also earned my nick-name Fatima,” Padma had written while also recalling the nuggets of past, spent with the (then) Vice-Chancellor A A Fyzee and Begum Fyzee. She had reminisced that she learnt to speak Kashmiri while reading books brought by Fyzee couple there. “I got inspiration to live and fight from my detractors,” she wrote in her autobiography.
Padma, the eldest of three siblings, was the daughter of a Sanskrit scholar Professor Jai Dev Badu. She lost her father in the turbulence of partition when she was just a kid. She stepped into the literary world after she joined Radio Kashmir Jammu (now Akashwani Jammu) in 1961 as an announcer. There she met Surinder Singh, who was a duty officer at the time. Later she also worked in AIR (Akashwani) Delhi as a newscaster/newsreader. From there she went to Mumbai and served with Vividh Bharati.
Her association with the tallest Hindi litterateurs of that era including Dharamvir Bharati, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar besides others helped her in the propagation of Dogri at the national literary scene.
Not just Dogri, she had good command over Hindi and Sanskrit as well. She also wrote poems, short stories, and novels in Hindi. She wrote the lyrics of the song ‘Mera chhota sa ghar baar’ from the 1973 Hindi film by Ved Rahi “Prem Parbat” which had music by Jaidev. Thereafter, she wrote the lyrics of two songs of the 1978 Hindi film “Aankhin Dekhi”, which had music by J.P. Kaushik including the famous duet “Sona re, tujhe kaise miloo” sung by Mohammed Rafi and Sulakshana Pandit. She also wrote the lyrics along with Yogesh for the 1979 Hindi film “Saahas”, which had music by Ameen Sangeet. She also translated several works from Urdu, Oriya and Marathi into Hindi and Dogri.
In 2001, she was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to education and literature. Among her several awards also included the prestigious Soviet Land Nehru Puruskar and J&K Cultural Academy Lifetime Achievement award.
Karan Singh, son of the last Dogra king of J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh, also translated one of her poems into English and hailed her commitment to propagating the language.
Her untimely demise has been condoled across the spectrum.
Union Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, while condoling her demise, tweeted, “Shocked to hear the news of passing away of Padma Shri Padma Sachdevji, a recipient of national fame in the writings of Dogri and Hindi. It is difficult for Dogri literature and Duggar society to fill up this vacuum created.”
The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha too deeply condoled her demise. “Saddened to learn about the passing away of Padma Shri Padma Sachdev Ji, the celebrated writer, poetess, and novelist from J&K. She made rich contributions to Dogri and Hindi Literature. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family members, well-wishers,” the Lt Governor wrote on twitter.
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president, Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah also expressed profound grief over the demise of noted Dogri novelist and poet Padma Shri awardee.
In his condolence message, Dr Farooq said, “The news of Padmaji’s passing away marks an end to an era; she was a renaissance figure in the field of Dogri literature. The versatile personality of Padma Ji will be remembered for her immense contribution to Dogri literature. She wrote as she saw, as she felt without dilution and with rare sensitivity and empathy for her characters. Her story telling magic, her couplets have immortalized her.” “On her demise, I pay my tributes to her and pray for peace to her departed soul. I express my unison with the bereaved family members and numerous followers and admirers of her at this difficult time,” Farooq said.
Omar Abdullah in his condolence message said, “A novelist, a poet, a vocalist and a broadcaster, she donned various roles during her lifetime and earned laurels for Jammu and Kashmir. Her demise has created a void in the literary circles of Jammu and Kashmir. Her passing away is indeed a huge loss for Jammu and Kashmir. On her demise, I pay my heartfelt tributes to her. Sharing in the grief of bereaved family, friends and admirers at this difficult time; I pray for eternal peace to her departed soul.”
Among others party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, additional general secretary Dr Sheikh Mustufa Kamal prayed for peace to her soul and much needed strength to her innumerable admirers.
The National Conference provincial president Devender Rana described her death as the end of an era.
“Padmaji is no more but she will live all along in our hearts and the generations will get inspired by her immense contribution to Dogri language and culture,” Rana said in a message, adding that her commitment to Dogri poetry remained unflinching.
Rana said the best tribute to the great poetess would be to promote Dogri language and pass on the generation the rich and glorious heritage of art and culture.
He conveyed condolences to the bereaved family and expressed solidarity with them as also lakhs of fans of Padmaji, whose passing away created a vacuum that is hard to fill. He also prayed for peace to the departed soul and strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss.
Senior NC leaders SS Salathia, Ajay Sadhotra, Sajad Kitchloo, Javed Rana, Ajaz Jan also condoled the demise of Padma Sachdev.
The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) also held a condolence meeting and observed a two-minute silence to pay homage to the departed soul.
Additional secretary of J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Arvinder Singh Aman chaired a condolence meeting here for Sachdev at which rich tributes were paid to the “doyen of Dogri literature.”
“Sachdev’s contribution to Dogri language is exemplary. She was a living example of Dogri culture,” Aman said, adding that she would be remembered for giving her mother tongue global recognition as her lyrics sung by famous Bollywood singers made Dogri popular not only in India but around the world.
He said Sachdev’s passing away was an irreparable loss for Jammu.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma also expressed grief over Sachdev’s death.
Meanwhile, Apni Party provincial president Manjit Singh also expressed grief over the demise of the first woman poet of Dogri language. In his condolence message, Singh said her passing away is a great loss to the society in general and to the literary world in particular.