Dhani Ram Chatrik

Dhani Ram Chatrik (1876-1954) brought to Punjabi poetry a spirit of nationalism, free of any sectarian or communal strain. With little formal education, he joined the Wazir Hind Press of Bhai Vir Singh early in life. It gave him wide exposure to Punjabi literature and inspired him to start composing poetry in a traditional manner and also to write short stories and essays. He soon gained renown as a poet of the earth, using the language of everyday life. Nature, folklore, mythology and the Punjabi ethos were the recurrent themes in his poetry, of which the best known collections are Chandanwari (Valley of Sandalwood, 1981), Kesar Kiari, Nawan Jahan and Sufi Khana (1950)
The poem Radha Sandesh (Radha's Message) taken from Chandanwari is a fine speciman of his love poems. Here, Sri Krishna busies himself in the state affairs of Mathura, after slaying Kans. In his absence the Gopis of Brij send message after message to him but to no purpose. At long last Sri Krishna sends Udho there to apprise the Gopis of his helplessness and also deliver them some homilies. Annoyed by Udho's harangue, Radha gives vent to her feelings unabashedly. Deeply involved, Radha addresses Udho and Sri Krishna alternately.

Radha's Message
1.
Udho ! Tell me something about Kahn
Why do you torture me thus ?
My wounds had healed somewhat
But you have probed them with new lancets
I had reconciled myself to my fate
But you have given me a jolt.
Your homilies are of no use to me
Our malady needs a different treatment.
If he is reluctant to come to me
Why does he speak evasively ?
If he cannot quench the fire
Why does he add fuel to it ? 126
2.
Tell him to cast a glance at me
My plight is that of a swallow in agony
My eyes are glued to the paths
I count the stars to while away the time.
My life has become wretched
I am dying by inches from his absence
I lament my evil fate I feel sorry to bid him adieu
You have taken possession of the keys of Mathura
In Gokul the doors have been locked
You have lost the way back home
How inauspicious the day you left me !
3.
Why do you wheedle me with your talk ?
I already know the depth of his love
He should shoot with his sermon bolts
The one who has enticed him at the threshold.
Udho ! By showering my love on a hard nut
I have effaced myself completely.
Woes are gnawing my heart,
worries are sapping my blood
I have sullied my immaculate body.
Now my efforts seem fruitless
I have seen through his profession of love.
Well, at least may he live in peace and plenty !
Someone has dislodged us from his heart !
4.
Tell him, he has tarnished the name of truth
He has failed to keep his word
He has not yet abandoned behaving like the black bee
He settles down wherever he spots a flower,
He has gone with the tide of his love for the flower-gir
l After throwing me into the well of knowledge.
Though a herdsman, he has entered a glass palace,
And has started talking like a pundit.
He may have seized the palace of Kans indeed,
But he should not have neglected me thus,
No one would have robbed his palace of anything
He should have invited me to his magnificent abode.
5.
Tell him, my love for him will never retreat
I shall always show my perseverance
These nails will never be severed from the tissues
As long as the sun and the moon rise and set.
My love will find its way in ballads
Wherever a few men gather
No one will remember courts and palaces
Radha's name will always precede Krishna's.
You may have access to three hundred and sixty girls
Your fortune may touch new heights
But, in the temples till eternity
This slave-girl will stay with you.                         RadhaSandesh(l931)