Udaibhanu Hans — Rajya Kavi par excellence

Amrit Lal Madan

“Now it is my proud privilege to call upon a poet of eminence, the Rubai Smarat and the Rajya Kavi of Haryana, Udaibhanu Hans, to grace the stage by presiding over this night's Kavi Sammelan,” the anchorman announced in chaste Hindi of Allahabad. And as the octogenarian grand-old poet proceeded to the stage with the assistance of his daughter-in-law amid thunderous applause, I felt pride and joy for my brethren Haryanvi was being given this rare honour in other state. The occasion was the Hindi Diwas function of the prestigious Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Mahadevi Verma Hall in the holy city about 12 or 13 years ago. Amitabh Bachchan had given him a similar honour to commemorate his poet-father’s birth anniversary there a few years earlier. 

But, sadly, a few years later I found the same Hans faltering and fumbling for words, with his eyesight and memory fading fast. The event was a Multani Kavi Sammelan at Saraswati Vihar in Delhi. Dr Rana Gannauri, another Multani poet, came to his rescue and recited poetry on his behalf. Such are the vagaries of ageing that don’t spare even a ‘Smarat’ of ‘rubai’ and ‘geet’. 

This love for being in the limelight made Hans almost cry in anguish about two years ago.  The occasion this time was the first ever Seraiki Kavi Sammelan organised by Doordarshan Hisar, but it chose to ignore Hansji for obvious reasons of infirmities due to old age. When two or three of us went to his residence to make a courtesy call, and to seek his blessings, the old doyen thundered: “How dare they ignore me when I’m still alive, and how dare you attend such an important event without me!” His voice was trembling with genuine hurt. 

Eventually we took him to studios in a crumpled pyjama and kurta. He was pacified only when the producer apologised to him, and he blessed us tearfully. 

I always found him quite agile and vibrant at the Kavi Sammelan with his sweet voice resonating through the applause of appreciating audiences. I remember, one night he regaled his listeners with his ‘rubai’ and famous ‘geet’ at an open air event organised by Akashvani Rohtak. But the same night he had to preside over another such event at the Thermal Plant, Panipat. The radio authorities arranged for a special van for him. On his insistence, I also accompanied him. All through the way, and in the guesthouse, he narrated to me his experiences of his visits to England and Canada where his daughters lived. But his most exciting experiences were when he visited the place of his birth, Dayra Din Panah (Muzaffargarh district in Pakistan) twice, and when he was invited to recite his poems in America by an Indian society, and also at his native place in Pakistan. His seminal epic on Guru Gobind Singh, titled ‘Sant Sipahi’, in 1966 inspired me to write ‘Sant Mahaatma’, a Hindi epic on Guru Nanak Dev three years later. Both works were published by Punjabi University, Patiala. The Uttar Pradesh Government honoured him for his work, while the Haryana Government conferred upon him the honorary title of Rajya Kavi. He was awarded the Life Time Achievement Award during the golden jubilee celebrations at Panchkula in March last year. 

He was educated at Multan, and Ramjas College, Delhi. He has been a prolific  author of poetry books, namely ‘Hans Mukawali’, ‘Dharkan’, ‘Sargam’, ‘Amrit Kalash’, ‘Haryana Gaurav Gatha’, ‘Desan men Des Haryana’, and his voluminous autobiography in prose. He valiantly struggled against all odds in the wake of Partition. At present he is in the good care of his only son Shashi Hans, and daughter-in-law. 

(The writer is retired Principal of Jat College, Kaithal)