CII circulates Vajpayee’s poems in Chinese
A
Tall Agenda In Verse
"...My
Lord!
Never place me so high,
That I cannot embrace
Those who are not my own."
—-Atal Bihari Vajpayee
If the political and business
agenda of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee is in spotlight during his current
visit to China, the Confederation of Indian Industry however is
seeking to highlight another aspect of the Prime Minister: Poet
Vajpayee. While this side of the Prime Minister is well-known
domestically, CII has translated a selection of his poems into
Chinese for the benefit of neighbours.
Chinese dignitaries, diplomats
and businessmen are being presented a collection of selected poems
composed by Mr Vajpayee. These poems have been translated from the
original Hindi to English by diplomat Pawan K Verma and to Chinese
by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) research scholar Sabaree Mitra.
"The collection, presented
by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is being circulated in
China during the current visit of Prime Minister," India Brand
Equity Fund CEO and CII deputy director general Ajay Khanna told FE.
"The collection compiled on
his landmark visit to the People’s Republic of China gives a
glimpse of the private and penetrative side of a man better known as
a politician and statesman extraordinaire," he said adding that
Mr Vajpayee is a brand in himself.
Through this effort, CII is
trying to project a different brand image of the country this time.
It’s not just prosaic business, but ‘business with romance.’
It intends to project Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a
brand, symbolising Indian political statesmanship, economic vision,
philosophical outlook and romantic heart.
In its preface, the booklet
describes Mr Vajpayee as a rare individual, "a perfect blend of
pragmatism and romanticism, much rarer, a politician and a
poet."
"His poetry reveals a side
of his personality that identifies with the fears, aspirations and
desires of the common man...In his own words, his verses are not an
expression of defeat or regret, but of confidence, and a will to
win."
Nine selected poems of Mr
Vajpayee includes: ‘Never Place Me So High’, ‘Peace of
Mind’, ‘What Road Should I Go Down’, ‘Power’, ‘The Agony
of Hiroshima’ and ‘Come Let Us Unravel the Knots of the Mind’.
The 27-page collection ends with a back page note
of Mr Vajpayee: "I am not a man of letters, nor do I claim to
be an intellectual. I write to make sense of my word, and for
strength to face the challenges of life. My concerns are those of
any man alive to his own life and to the life of those around him.
My poetry is, to me, not an expression of regret or defeat but of
the confidence and will to win." The next few days in China
will prove whether he has been able to put this into practice during
the current visit
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