Budget India 2020: A verse from Kashmiri poem added ‘spice’ to FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech today! As you already know, during her speech for Union Budget 2020-21, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recited a verse from a poem by Pandit Deenanath Kaul ‘Nadim’ to address the members sitting for the Budget Session of the Parliament. After laying the backdrop of Budget 2020 and before presenting the figures of estimated revenue and expenditure, she recited a Kashmiri poem’s verse.
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Quoting the couplet called ‘Myon Vatan’, Sitharaman said, “Saun Watan Gulzar Shalamaar Hyur, Dal Manz Pholvun Pamposh Hyuv, Navjavan-an-hund, Vushun Khumaar Hyuv, Myon Watan, Chyon Watan, Saun Watan, Nundbony Watan.”
Reciting the Hindi meaning of the verse, Sitharaman said, “Hamara watan khilte huye shalimar bagh jaisa, Hamara watan dal jheel khilte huye kamal jaisa, Naujawano ke garam khoon jaisa, Mera watan tera watan hamara watan, Duniya ka sabse pyara watan.”
In English this means, “Our country is like the blooming Shalimar Bagh, our country is like the lotus blooming the Dal Lake, it is like the boiling blood of the youth. My country, your country, our country, is the most beautiful country in the world.” The poem, written with the intention of instilling a sense of pride and unity in the country, resulted in a cheer from the members sitting in the Parliament.
After the speech, several Twitter users took to the microblogging site and shared different facts and verses about the famous Kashmiri poet. Pt Dinanath Kaul Nadim, a Sahitya Akademi awardee, came to fore during the political turmoil in Kashmir and, while he initially wrote poems in Urdu, he later switched to Kashmiri.