Hindi satire is alive and well on The Poetic Land. This list is all Hindi: Queen File who rules every government office, the age of the selfie, a pothole’s grand birthday party, a squirrel’s school and a wedding-card printer in Kanpur who knows everybody’s secrets. Each pick has a few lines from the original and a short note in English, and every title opens the full piece, free.
1फ़ाइल महारानी (Her Majesty the File)
by Rajiv Ranjan Kesri Hindi Poem
उसे कोई उठाता नहीं,
बस आगे बढ़ाता है।
There is a file in the office older than the narrator and more powerful than the big boss. With three mantras, 'please see', 'for necessary action' and 'resubmit', it has become immortal. Hindi satire every office worker will recognise.
2सेल्फ़ी-काल (The Selfie Age)
by Rajiv Ranjan Kesri Hindi Poem
पहले लोग
तीर्थ जाते थे पुण्य कमाने,
अब जाते हैं
नेटवर्क ढूँढ़ने।
People once went on pilgrimage to earn blessings; now they go looking for network. A funny Hindi poem about the selfie age, including a groom who asks the cameraman for a retake of the seventh phera.
3गड्ढा श्री का जन्मोत्सव (The Pothole's Birthday)
by Rohitashva Bhanot Hindi Short Story
मेरा पेशा आश्चर्य छापना है, महसूस करना नहीं।
फिर भी गड्ढे वाली बात थोड़ी अलग थी।
A printing-press owner who is never surprised by anything tells the story of a pothole that was born last August, and later got a birthday of its own. A Hindi satire about our roads that is funny until you realise it is true.
4अनुरोग (Anurog)
by Rohitashva Bhanot Hindi Short Story
कानपुर में शादियाँ दो जगह तय होती हैं — एक, जहाँ लड़का-लड़की एक-दूसरे को देखते हैं, और दूसरी, जहाँ कार्ड छपता है।
A funny, warm Kanpur story about weddings, families and love.
5गिलहरी का स्कूल (The Squirrel's School)
by Usha Gangwar Hindi Poem
पेड़ पे खुला एक स्कूल निराला,
गिलहरी दीदी ने उसको सँभाला।
A school in a tree, run by Squirrel Didi, with lessons on tails, saving grain for winter and living together. A sweet Hindi children's poem to read aloud with the little ones.
Keep reading
Which one made you laugh out loud? Share the list with the friend who always sends you memes. Want more? Read more Hindi poems on The Poetic Land, or see all our TPL Articles reading lists.
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