Remembering Krishen Samailpuri Poet of song Pala Sepeya Dogra

O P Sharma
“Pala Sepoy Dogra Aa”This is a verse of the famous Dogri song which is considered symbolic of the Dogras’culture, their valour and simplicity which has rightly captured the hearts of numerous persons including the Army soldiers. .This song, which was composed by renowned Dogri poet Krishen Smailpuri and sung by “Melody Queen” Bharat Ratna Awardee, Lata Mangeshkar and hit great popularity. Our Security Forces are particulary very fond of this sweet and melodious musical Dogri song.
It vividly depicts the sentiments of a Dogra soldier’s wife, who being pained by long separation, calls her husband to bewitching lush green field and enchanting hills. She argues that the multi-coloured flowers on hills are also eagerly waiting for him.
Krishen Smailpuri is a name which shines on the Dogri literary horizon. He was a Dogri poet, Urdu writer and also a journalist for some time. He is recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for Dogri during the year 1975 for his collection of poetic composition book entitled:”Mere Dogri Geet”. He also has to his credit the Urdu publication, Firdouse Wattan, a commendable work highlighting his love for the Duggar and depicts his high sense of patriotism.
Born on September 8, 1900 in a lower middle class family at Smailpur, a village about 16 Kms from Jammu, where his father Pt Sunder Dass was a deeply devoted person. At the age of six years, he lost his mother, which had left a long lasting impact on him.
In the meanwhile, he shifted to his maternal uncle, Pt Agya Ram, who was a Superintendent in the Khatar Tawaza (J&K Hospitality and Protocol Department) at Jammu. But the boy did not carry on studies well and left the school after the middleclass. Interestingly, he had developed interest in drama, music and singing. In due course of time his creative talent found expression in his verses depicting patriotic themes and deep human emotions. His literary career started first with poetry in Urdu. His poems sung at the annual conference of Dogra Saddar Sabha, Jammu got applause and winning him an award too. Smailpuri made an in-depth study of famed Urdu poets like Daag, Mirza Ghalib, Amir Minae and Josh Malhabadi and acquired fair knowledge about Urdu literature. For language and style he was highly impressed by the Urdu poet Daag. His literary journey then had begun and after marriage he moved out of his uncle’s house.
It is a hard fact of life that writers and poets in our country cannot survive on the earnings from their writings alone. They have to work on something else as well for their livelihood. However, of course, only few exceptions are there of writers who make living out of their literary creations. The position is much more difficult and depressing on the Dogri scene. There are very few publishers ready to put out Dogri literature, pay handsomely to the authors and ensure mass circulation of the books for wider readership. The budding writers essentially have often to become self-publishers, with no expertise in printing, publishing experience or effective marketing and distribution of the books. The results are not difficult to visualize or predict. Every book lover has to analyse in detail the reasons for the dismay on the present literary scenario, distress of writers, plight of publishers and at the same time find ways out of this impasse. The situation, however, is steadily changing now and may be with passage of time more publishers may come up and also more young talented youth step forward to write in their mother tongue. Our Education System must give top priority to projection and promotion of the Dogri Language and popularizing it through new technology and innovations.
Krishen Smailpuri, started publication of Urdu weekly, Jannat from Sialkote (now in Pakistan) during 1927 which was a brave venture indeed; but it did not last long. Faced with financial difficulties, he went outside the Jammu and Kashmir State and worked with a private concern for sometime. The affection of the homeland attracted him back and he thengot a job as a preacher (Updeshak) in the Dharamarth Trust, which gave him opportunity to write as well. He came out with his first publication: Vaishno Katha, the first copy of which he offered at the holy Durbar of Vaishno Devi. Soon after the start of the Radio Station, Jammu, Krishen Smailpuri joined it as a copyist. In his youth he was in the Maharaja Pratap Singh’s Cricket team.
Then he took up writing poety in Dogri which included ghazals, geets, poems but it was much later that these were published in a book form. His sense of patriotism and love for the Duggar is reflected aptly in these words:
Surge di Gall nayen La Aarie,
Yas Apne Desa da Gaa Aarie
(Oh companion, don’t talk about any paradise; you just sing praises about our own mother land)
He penned down nearly two hundred lyrics which gave boost to Smailpuri’s prestige as a Dogri poet. His style is simple and straight forward giving expression to deep human sentiments.
The Smailpur village has offered three eminent personalities: the mature and clean political leader, Pt Prem Nath Dogra and two literary figures: Krishen Smailpuri and Tara Smailpuri both of whom were recipients of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in Dogri.
Always clad in traditional Dogri dress of Churidar Pyjama and Kurta, Smailpuriwas also honoured by the J&K State Academy of Art, Culture and Languages during 1963-64.
He breathed his last on January 27, 1981leaving behind a distinct literary legacy.
(Starline.syndicate.service@gmail.com)