Inside me
And outside my mind
Hi, I’m Hardik Soni, a self-directed researcher and poet.
Nobody assigned me my subjects. My real education began in the lockdown, when I read far beyond what any textbook asked of me, and history became the centre of everything I study. Since then, economics, political studies, language, scripts, philosophy, geography, flora-fauna and mathematics have joined it, because history never travels alone.
A word can carry a migration, a crop can start a war, and a river can decide where a city stands.
I write poetry in Sanskrit, English, Hindi and Marathi, and I am still learning to compose in Awadhi. Sanskrit is where my roots go deepest, and English is where I speak most freely. When I translate, I carry over more than the meaning: the rhyme, the rhythm, the emotion and the mischief come along too.
My two Gurus
Many teachers pass through a life. Only a few can be counted on the fingertips as Guru. I have two.
The first taught me Environmental Studies, and later Social Studies. He planted the seeds of sociology, geography, civics and environment in me, and he looked after my young plant of history in my mind. He is also one of the two reasons I began writing poetry and translation into Marathi, my mother tongue and the language of my Culture.
The second taught me Sanskrit, but he is far more than a language teacher, because Sanskrit is far more than a language. He planted the seeds of scriptures, texts and language in me, and he showed me how to trace the blurring past in a systematic way. If I am a good poet, he is the reason. He is a thinker, a philosopher and a gentleman.
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He once told me that all the teachers of your life give you only 25% of your learning. Friends give 25%, knowingly or not. Society gives 25%, and your own experience and study give the last 25%. Everyone is learning at every moment, even a dying person, who is learning how to die. I have no doubt he is right.
My habits, hobbies, manners, body language and even my handwriting carry their reflection.
My name is Cordial Goldsmith, I am from Hindustan…
Cordial Goldsmith is my name translated from Sanskrit: Hardik means cordial, and Soni means goldsmith. The Laughing Buddha in my logo is there because ideas travel better with a smile.
If something here makes you think, argue or laugh, tell me.
At the end. I will tell you about my best friend. He plays flute better than anyone on this planet. He helps me everytime when I need. He motivates me. He make the smogy path visible. He love animals like me. Can you guess who he is?
You can see my stories as videos in my youtube channel Cordial Goldsmith
If you think any of my stories worth your precious time, I humbly request you to support me as you can —
And have a smile like Laughing Buddha.
