Poetry of India 37/100: Makhanlal Chaturvedi’s ‘Pushp Ki Abhilasha’ and Selfless Service
Part 37 of The Poetry Pulse’s 100-part journey through Indian poetry. Makhanlal Chaturvedi’s Hindi poem “Pushp Ki Abhilasha,” often translated as “The Flower’s Wish,” gives a flower a voice and asks what kind of destiny it should desire. Rather than seeking decoration or personal glory, the flower imagines being used in a cause larger than itself. This close reading focuses on the poem’s key symb…
