Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/393

 pa LT a KABIWALAS 369 relished this life heartily while heartily believing in another. He was not a man of ascetic or His temper and inelastic temper nor had he taken upon character at once reli- টু দির gious and sensual. himself the mere materialism or the satiated attitude of latter-day poets ; but he had enough simplicity and integrity of feeling which made him grateful for the joys of life but repentant when he had exceeded in enjoying them. Tradition speaks of his partiality for one JajfieSvari,! a songstress of Nilu Thakur’s party, who was herself a gifted Kabiwala of some reputation in her time. But though he was himself not above reproach, he would still satirise with considerable frankness and sincerity the reckless young men of his time.” Indeed Ram Basu’s poems express, in the most vivid and distinct manner, the alternate or rather varying moods of a man of soft sensibilities, religious as well as sensual. Ram Basu’s poems, which however have not come down in a more complete or more abundant form than Haru Thakur’s, divide themselves in three groups, sak7-sambad, biraha and agamant. Inall these three depart- ments of Kabi-poetry he is said to have excelled ; but the poems which have survived in each department do not dis- play an equal degree of merit. His songs on sashi-samnbad, although placed by popular opinion in the same rank with Three groups of his poems. Haru Thakur’s exquisite things in the same line, are certainly much inferior not only to those of his rival Haru but also, it seems, to those of Nitai Bairagi. Although ' Of JajiieSvari, no details are known ; one or two of her songs have survived which are noticeable. They will be found in Barga Sahitya Parichaya, vol. ii; also in other anthologies, নাহি জান ঘর বাস! কি বসন্ত কি বরষ! সতীকে করে নিরাশ! অনতীর আশ! পুরাও ॥ 47
 * ঘরের ধন ফেলে প্রাণ পরের ধনকে আগলে বেড়াও।