Baagi Uppan Ki Ladai:

History of Himalayan Literature
History of Indian literature
History of Garhwali Kumaoni Literature
Critical History of Garhwali Poetry
Baagi Uppan Ki Ladai: The Poems of Freedom Fight , Worsening Happening after Independence in Symbolic Style
(Review of Long Poetry (Khand Kavy) Baagi Uppan Ki Ladai by Kanhaya Lal Dandriyal)

Bhishma Kukreti
Kanhaya Lal Dandriyal had been a great poet of Garhwali poetry world. The critics and readers call Dandriyal as ‘Maha Kavi” and there is no doubt about his great craftsmanship, choosing subjects, using simple but effective words for narrating complex subject and on top of it doing experiments for developing Garhwali verses. Bagi Uppan ki Ladai is long poetry ( Khand Kavy ) and this poetry collection in Garhwali language is the best example of symbolic poetry apart from imagery poems narrating images of Garhwal .
With reference to Bagi Uppan ki Ladai , Dr Maju Dhoundiyal a Hindi literature critics, Madan Duklan (editor of Hamari chitthi), Puran Pant Pathik in personal conversation with this writer say that Kanhaya Lal Dandriyal has same position in Garhwali literature for using symbols of animals to describe the present society as the critics appreciate William Blake, Alfred Jerry , Antoni Lange, Albert Aurier, Albert Giraud, Albert Mockel, Albert Samain, Alexander Block, Andrie Bely, Arthur Rimbaud, Auguste Villiers de I.Adam, Caspar David Friedrich, Charles Baudelaire, Dante Gabriel, Isidore Lautreamont, Dimcho Debelyanov, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Eldgar Allan Poe, Emile Nelligan, Emile Verhaeren, Francis V Griffin, Fyodor Sologub, George Bacovia , George Rodebach, Gustavo , Innokenty gustave Flaubert , Annesky, Kahn, Henride Regneir, Jean Moreas, Joa da Cruz Sousa, Josip M Aleksandroy, Jurgis Baltrusaitis, Jules Laforgue, Konstantin Bafmont, Maurice Maeterlinck, Mateiu Caragiale, Maxmilian Voloshin, Mikaloius K Ciurlionis , Otokar Brezina, Paul Adam, Paul Fort, Paul Valery , Paul Verlaine, Rachilde, Remy de Gourmont, Stanislaw K Brzozowski, Stephane Mallarme, Stuart Merril, Tendeusz micinski , Valery Bryusov, Vyacheslay Ivanov, Zinaidia Gippius for their creating symbolic verses or literature.. Dr Nagendra Dhyani, a learned Garhwali literature critics of Garhwali literature states that Kanhya Lal Dandriyal uses animals in his long poetry successfully as Vishnu Sharma uses animals in the stories of Sanskrit classic Panchtantra .

The story of Bagi Uppan ki Ladia is chivalry story and the plot is of Goath (when the farmers take their domestic animals in the field from May to October and look after their in the field for so many months) . There is very deep friendship among animals as bulls, buffalos, rams, he goats, goats, sheep etc. An insect Uppan (which is a medium of plague bacteria too) attacks to the flocks of domestic animals. The mosquitoes, bugs, and many other harmful insects are with Uppan but take part in attack on later stage of the story . , The brave and strong buffalo (Bagi) takes the charge of his army to defend the animals of Goath and bull is always the advisor. There is ups and downs in tha fight between buffalo with other animals and Uppan . However, after much bloody struggle, the domestic animals win the battle. After winning the battle, the fighters were thrown out of the kingdom and the corrupted culprits, evilly animals take the charge of symbolic kingdom. Even the lion asks separate nation “Sheristhan”.

In between , the poet describes many real happenings of the contemporary society.
In fact, with the aid of animals, the great poet of all languages, Kanhaya Lal Dandriyal narrates the story of either Freedom Movement and thereafter the worsening situation in India or struggle of Uttarakhand Movement and then worsening situation after becoming separate state Uttarakhand that who struggled for the state could not get the honour but politicians as Narayan Datt Tiwari and others, who never supported the movement, got all the positions in separate Uttarakhand .
One of the greatest poets of the world language Dandriyal could narrate the story in symbolic way and he successfully create all raptures -love, bravery, pathos, laughter, smile, satire , horror, anger, abhorrence, peace, spiritual and philosophical awareness apart from every human emotions.

There are twenty four parts in this long poem (Khand Kavy) and each part has many chapters. There are 367 chapters in this Khand Kavy - Bagi Uppan ki Ladai. All poems are Chaupaya and in the style of Bravery style (veer Rasiy Chhand) as found in Allha Uddal poetry.

There is another poet Jai Pal Singh Rawat ‘Chhipadu dada’ (the disciple of Dandriyal) in Garhwali language who creates symbolic poems with the aid of animals but he never created long poetry as Kanhya Lal could create .
The symbols are easily under stable for intellectual Garhwalis and every body will appreciate the wording construction, Garhwali words of past, images of Garhwal and rural Garhwali society and the total realism of this long poetry of late Dandriyal. Once, the intelligent reader starts reading first poem the reader can not leave reading till he finishes the whole poetry. There is magnetism in the poems of Kanhaya lal Dandriyal.

The long poetry Bagi Uppan ki Ladai is the proof the reason behind calling Kanhaya Lal Dandriyal the Mahakavi (Great Poet) of not only Garhwali language but all languages of this earth.

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, Mumbai, India, 2010