Hindi litterateur Sachidananda Hiranand Vatsyayan Agyeya,
Vice-President Hamid Ansari today said the range of his
interest and deep philosophical underpinnings of his output
had established him as a literary figure in the footsteps of
Rabindra Nath Tagore.
"Agyeya was a polyglot, well-versed in Hindi, English,
Sanskrit and Persian. He was a patriot and a revolutionary
freedom fighter on whom Chandrashekhar Azad left a deep
impression," Ansari said speaking at a function here to mark
the birth centenary of the poet, popularly known as 'Agyeya'.
Describing Agyeya as one of the greatest writers in
Hindi literature and a source of inspiration, Ansari said the
writer believed that poetry on politics was the best use of
poetry.
''Yet he was careful to draw the distinction and warn
that patriotic poetry should not lead to an overemphasis on a
religious-spiritual, ethnic or even religious nationalism. On
the other hand, being completely anti-political too was not a
solution,'' he said.
The Vice-President said that the poet strived to make
Hindi a vibrant, volatile, alive and growing language - not a
"standard, well-regulated and universally accessible form",
which, he felt, would only be good for official notifications
and regulations.
"Agyeya also bemoaned the fact that as our social and
political life became complex, it has become very difficult to
focus popular ire. Power and exercise of power has become more
diffused," the Vice-President said.
