The Poet Ghanashyam
The poet Ghanashyam was a disciple of Sri Gati Govinda Thakur, the youngest son of Srinivas Acharya with his second wife Gaurangapriya. His father’s name was Divyasimha and his grandfather was Govinda Das Kaviraj, the famous vaisnava poet who wrote bhajahū re mana śrī-nanda-nandana and other songs. Ghanasyam’s family came from the village known as Budhuri in the Mursidabad district of West Bengal. But Ghanashyam was born at his maternal grandfather’s house at Srikhanda. He is the author of Govinda-rati-mañjarī, a book of 46 devotional poems.
Once the Nawab confiscated all the properties belonging to the family at Budhuri. However, after Ghanasyam grew up, the Nawab once heard Ghanasyam sweetly singing some devotional songs. Pleased with his devotion, the Nawab awarded␣Ghanasyam a large amount of land at Budhuri and requested him to live there. Ghanasyam had a son named Svarupanath and a grandson named Haridas. The deities of GauraNitai installed by Haridas are still worshiped today in Budhuri at the original home of Govinda Das Kaviraj.
What happiness there is today in the house of Pundarik Vidyanidhi! Singing about the pastimes of the birth of Radhika, Gaura, the son of Mother Sachi, dances in ecstasy. What can that new style of dancing be compared to?
All around him, the Lord’s associates in the dress of cowherd boys carry pots on their shoulders in a joking mood. Mixing butter and yogurt with turmeric they laughingly smear it on everyone’s body.
The sweet sounds of the musicians playing the mrdanga drums, small and large cymbals, and conch shells, fills the air. Who is not dancing to the beat of dhik dhik dhennānā?
In ecstasy, the ladies evoke auspiciousness by making the sound “ululu”. The abode of Pundarik Vidyanidhi has become as beautiful as the home of Maharaja Vrishabhanu. The poet Ghanasyam writes this song with a heart overflowing with joy.
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