Transcending Borders

 

Transcending Borders

 Narendra Singh Negi and the Ethos of Romanticism

Narendra Singh Negi, a poetic voice resonating through the gorgeous valleys of the Uttarakhand Himalayas, exemplifies the Romantic sensibility in a manner that transcends mere physical landscapes. His songs and poems, much like the European Romantics and American Transcendentalists, echo a longing for transcendence; an existential wish to connect profoundly with nature, humanity, and the cosmos. What sets Negi apart is his use of the vernacular tongue, drawing from the everyday life of shepherds, grass reapers, and villagers, blending the simplicity of the life of hill folk with the profound depth of Romantic thought.

Negi’s songs and poems, akin to the poetic expressions of Romantic poets like Wordsworth, Keats, and Robert Frost, reflect an unfathomable reverence for nature. His lyrics whole-heartedly celebrate the feelings of love with a deep exploration of the human condition. Yet, his outlook is uniquely Himalayan, rooted in the high altitudes, where life is both harsh and majestic. His poetic sensibility records the complexities of existence, much like the Romantic poets, who recognized beauty in both joy and sorrow. Likewise, his songs and poems carry an Upanishadic essence; a longing for transcendence, an urge to move beyond physical and psychological realms to a spiritual connection with existence.

Nature: The Pathway to Beyond

Negi’s poem “An Image of Dawn” sensibly records the serene beauty of the natural world with a spiritual essence, reminiscent of Wordsworth’s nature poetry. Wordsworth often regarded nature as a teacher, a source of moral and spiritual growth, as illustrated in “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey”, where he beautifully writes:

“...a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man...”

In the same way, Negi’s dawn imagery is filled with reverence for the cosmic order:

“It’s a gracious time of dawn, brilliance all out there
At the top of mountains and in every direction
Everywhere, snowy peaks are shining brightly...”

Both poets with a keen observation express a cosmic connection, implying that nature is not just a backdrop but a dynamic force in human life, evoking a sense of the divine within the physical world. The gracious dawn signifies more than just the beginning of a day; it indicates an awakening to spiritual awareness, a knock at the doors of consciousness, a Romantic ideal shared by both Wordsworth and Negi.

Love and Longing: The Romantic Spirit

In the tradition of Keats and Shelley, Negi’s poetry is also immersed in the feelings of love and longing. His poem “In Your Love” echoes the sensuality and emotional depth found in Keats’ “Bright Star” or Frost’s “To Earthward.” Where Frost expresses:

“Love at the lips was touch
As sweet as I could bear;
And once that seemed too much;
I lived on air...”

Negi, too, in the same manner, presents love as a transformative force, one that shifts the mundane into the sublime:

“Today, I’m filled like a pitcher in your love
Earlier I have seen fountains and waterfalls of love from afar
Today, I am drenched in your love...”

Both Frost and Negi recognize and express the magical influence of love that creates a space where personal emotions become universal, altering ordinary human experiences into reflections of a higher, transcendent nature.

Longing for Transcendence in Upanishadic Teachings

The songs and poems of Narendra Singh Negi are also infused with an Upanishadic sense of moving beyond the physical or material, a quest that is central to the spirits of both Romanticism and Transcendentalism. This sensibility of spiritual aspiration is echoed in Emerson’s essay “Nature”, where he writes:

“Standing on the bare ground, —my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, —all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.” (Emerson, 1836)

Similarly, Negi’s “Let’s Go Far Away” mirrors a deep longing to escape the confines of worldly sufferings and transcend into an ideal or utopian space where love and peace are being showered:

“Let’s go where flowers are not covered with thorns
Where no one destroys the nests of love
Where there is no obstacle in the path of love...” (Negi, 2020)

Here in this poem, Negi successfully parallels with the Upanishadic concept of moksha (liberation)—freedom from worldly attachments and unification with the divine essence. His poems reverberate this longing to leave behind the grief and strife of the material world, much like the Romantics and Transcendentalists who saw nature and love as doorways to spiritual transcendence.

Celebration of Common Life: A Vernacular Sensibility

Negi, like Wordsworth in Lyrical Ballads, finds beauty in the commonplace. His poem “Where Did I See?” encapsulates the fascination of pastoral life through intense, sensory images, elevating the mundane to the level of poetic art:

“She was like…
The inherent thrill of stealing a cucumber from other’s fields in the village
And tasty as if she is a rare cuisine...”

This ordinary, yet pretty evocative depiction of life reminds me of William Wordsworth’s beautiful lines from “The Solitary Reaper”, where the poet simply expresses his sense of amazement at the beauty of a common Highland lass:

“Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself...”

Both poets are spellbound by the genuineness of rural life, where even the simplest of actions—whether reaping or stealing a cucumber may evoke profound emotion. Narendra Singh Negi’s language, profoundly grounded in the vernacular, functions as a bridge between the pastoral and the philosophical, much like Wordsworth’s goal of making poetry accessible to the common man.

The Global Romantic Spirit: Universal Appeal of Narendra Singh Negi

Narendra Singh Negi’s poetic sensibility surpasses the boundaries of the Uttarakhand Himalayas, although his audience remains limited due to the linguistic medium of Garhwali, which is not widely practiced by a larger population. Like Bob Dylan, a modern bard whose songs capture the spirit of an era, Negi’s poems address universal themes of love, loss, and transcendence. Dylan’s musical masterpiece “Blowing in the Wind” envisages human misery and the quest for peace:

“How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?”

In a parallel manner, Negi’s “Let’s Go Far Away” contemplates an ideal world, free from conflict and anguish:

“Where none would snatch away anyone’s support
None would manipulate the boundaries...”

Both poets, within their unique cultural and linguistic contexts, express remarkably a universal longing for harmony and a connection that transcends material boundaries. The wind in Dylan’s song serves as a metaphor for indescribable realities, while for Negi, nature becomes the pathway to spiritual fulfilment, evoking a sense of collective humanity that resonates beyond geographical and linguistic divides.

Conclusion: Narendra Singh Negi, A Himalayan Romantic Poet of Transcendence

Narendra Singh Negi, through his vernacular simplicity and profound emotional depth, has positioned himself as a Himalayan Bard of Romanticism. His songs and poems, while deeply rooted in the cultural and natural landscapes of Uttarakhand Hills, reach out to a broader, universal audience. Much like Wordsworth, Keats, and Frost, his verses celebrate nature, love, and the human spirit while longing for a connection to something higher—something beyond the physical, a transcendental essence that echoes the wisdom of the Upanishads. His work stands as a witness to the lasting power of Romantic sensibility in a world that is increasingly distanced from its natural and spiritual roots.

Dr. Deepak Bijalwan