AGYEYA (1911–87) was the pen name of S.H. Vatsyayan, one of the foremost figures of Hindi literature who was instrumental in pioneering modern trends in the realm of poetry, fiction, criticism and journalism. He was jailed as a revolutionary by the British authorities in the early 1930s – an experience that indelibly shaped his literary output.
Written between 1933 and 1938, Prison Days and Other Poems astutely captures the mood before Indian independence, when freedom was still merely a dream. The verses in Prison Days vividly conjure the horror and tedium of imprisonment. But Agyeya’s vision never descends into bleakness. Even quarantined, he is constantly aware of the pulse of life radiating outside the prison walls.
Here is an excerpt from the foreword of Prison Days and Other Poems, by Jawaharlal Nehru.
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For many months I have had the manuscript of these poems with me, a constant reminder to me of my promise to write a few lines as a foreword. And yet I have found it strangely difficult to write this foreword, although I have done a great deal of writing on all manner of subjects during this period. I am no judge or critic of poetry and so I hesitated, but I love poetry and some of these little poems have appealed to me greatly. They have stuck in my mind and brought back to me memories of prison days and that strange and haunted world where men, whom society had branded as criminals and cast out of its pale, loved their narrow circumscribed lives. There were men there who had been involved in a killing, men known as dacoits and thieves, but all of us were bound together in that sorrow-laden world of prison, between us there existed a kinship of spirit. In the lonely chambers which were our cells, we walked up and down, five measured paces this way, and five measured paces back, and communed with sorrow. We found friendship and companionship and refuge in thought and on the magic carpet of fantasy we fled away from our surroundings. We lived double lives—the life of the prison, ordered and circumscribed, bolted and barred, and the free life of the spirit, with its dreams and visions, hopes and desires.
Something of that dreaming comes out in these poems, something of that yearning when the arms stretched out in search of what was not and clutched at empty space. Something also of the peace and contentment that we managed to extract even in our loneliness in that house of sorrow. There was always a tomorrow to hope for, a tomorrow which might bring deliverance.
And so I commend these poems and perhaps they might move others, as they have moved me.

Many people believe that when a child is born, he/she mirrors the natural human state before the realities of the world modify their behaviour and state of mind. If this were true, then humans would always be naturally joyful and healthy. But this is not the case. As we grow up, our ability to laugh and play decreases.
Earlier, children would spend their childhood playing and developing emotional skills, which we call emotional intelligence that resulted in laughter and happiness.
Sadly, children today are faced with several pressures. They are faced with many stressors and have forgotten how to laugh and play. Physical activity is restricted, new strains are imposed, adult behaviour is demanded at an early age and group play and child-to-child interaction has been replaced with electronic games and remote communication devices. What is needed is a system that is integrated into educational institutions, which helps them cope with stress and find time for play and laughter.
In his book, Laughter Yoga, Dr Madan Kataria talks about the importance of laughter yoga for children and it’s benefits. Let’s read them here.

1. Developing Emotional Intelligence
2. Improving Academic Performance
3. Boosting Immune System
4. Building Stamina
5. Developing Confidence
6. Enhancing Creativity