Appointment with Kalidasa

Author(s): G K Bhatt
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Appointment with Kalidasa
scenes in nature wear here the hues of love. The symbols like the kiss of the clouds, the embrace of creepers, the intoxication of freely flowing streams and others are, no doubt, conventional; and the description of the seasons lacks the splendour of the poetic vision in the Meghadata. But the poem is still remarkable for its poetic spur, its limpid slyle and the relation it stresses between nature and human emotions.
The poem opens with a description of Grisma or the hot season. The days in this season are unbearable due to heat; but the moon-lit nights are particularly enjoyable to the lovers. The effect of the heat in the form of continuous thirst and laziness is, of course, noticeable on the human beings, birds and beasts. There are forest conflagrations in this season. Varsa or the Rainy season follows Grisma with a fanfare, blowing the trumpet of the thundering clouds and waving the flag of lightning flashes. Clouds filled with rainwater move ponderously in the sky. The Cataka birds heave a sigh of relief and eagerly look up. Streams of water knock at the trees on their banks and rush towards the sea, like a wanton woman, Nature wears a green cloak. And then Sarad or Autumn arrives, with the splendour of a bride, the blooming lotuses for its face and hands, the ripe rice crops for its cloak, the warbling Kalahansas for its anklets. The creepers now appear like the arms of beautiful women; the Jasmine flowers sparkle like their white teeth; clusters of red Asoka look like their smiling lips. With the advent of Hemanta the rice and fields are ripe and yellow; but lotuses wither; the farms are over-hung with mist. But the cold in this season is very delightful, especially in the close company of a beloved. However, as the cold increases in Siśira, hot Sun during the day and blazing fire at night seem preferable to the closeness of one's beloved. The sixth and the last canto describes Vasanta or Spring, the prince of seasons. Wearing the Karnikära flower in their ear-lobes, the blossom of the fiery-red Asoka in their hair, young women start now with enthusiasm towards their trysts. The music of the Koil keeps them company. And the God of Love is ready to release arrows of mangoblossom on their hearts. It is a season which creates yearning and, sometimes, heartburning; but it is also the season that young lovers love best.
Mallinath has not commented on the Ṛrusahhara. The Anthologies do not quote from it. The language, descriptive style and the poetic imagination in this poem are on a lower level than what they are in the other poetical works of Kālidāsa. Some scholars are, therefore, inclined to believe that it is a work of some lesser poet fathered on Kalidasa. But the poem obviously belongs to the apprenticeship period of the poet; and recognising this literary fact one can understand its comparatively lesser merit, without denying its genuineness.
2. Meghadüta
The Meghadata is still smaller in extent than the Ṛrusamhära, the first part or the Parva-Megha having 66 stanzas and the second half or Uttara-Megha 55. But