Mahadevi Verma

She is a well known Hindi poet of the Chhayavaad generation, the times when every poet used to incorporate romanticism in their poetry. She is more often called the modern Meera. Well, we are talking about the famous Mahadevi Varma, who achieved the Jnanpith award in the year 1982. In this article, we will present you with the biography of Mahadevi Varma, so read on.

Life History
Mahadevi was born in the family of lawyers in 1907 in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. She completed her education in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. At a young age of nine in the year 1914, she was married to Dr Swarup Narain Varma. She lived with her parents till the time her husband completed his studies in Lucknow. It is during this period that, Mahadevi pursued further education at the Allahabad University. She did her masters in Sanskrit from there.

She met her husband for sometime in the princely state of Tamkoi somewhere around 1920. Thereafter, she moved to Allahabad to further her interest in poetry. Unfortunately, she and her husband mostly lived separately and were busy pursuing their individual interests. They used to meet occasionally. Her husband died in the year 1966. Then, she decided to permanently shift to Allahabad.

She was highly influenced by the values preached by the Buddhist culture. She was so much inclined towards Buddhism that, she even attempted to become a Buddhist bhikshuni. With the establishment of Allahabad (Prayag) Mahila Vidyapeeth, which was primarily set up to impart cultural values to girls, she became the first headmistress of the institute. This famous personality died in 1987.

Writings
Mahadevi Varma is one amongst the other major poets of the Chhayavaadi school of the Hindi literature. She is the epitome of child prodigy. Not only she wrote fabulous poetry, but also made sketches for her poetic works such as Deepshikha and Yatra. Deepshikha is one of the best works of Mahadevi Varma. She is also famous for her book of memoirs.

Notable Works of Mahadevi Varma

Prose
Ateet Ke chalchitra
Kshanda'
Mera Parivaar
Path ke Saathi
Sahityakaar ki Asatha
Sambhashan
Sankalpita
Shrinkhla ki kadiya
Smriti Ki Rekhayen

Poetry
Deepshikha
Himalaya
Neerja
Nihar
Rashmi
Saandhya geet
Saptaparna

Collection
Geetparva
Mahadevi sahitya
Parikrama
Sandhini
Smarika
Smritichitra
Yama

Honors
Her writings were well acclaimed and earned her an important position in the world of Hindi literature. She is believed to be one of the supporting pillars of the Chaayavad movement. Her amazing poetry collection Yama brought her the Gyanpeeth award (1940), the highest Indian literary award. In the year 1956, the Government of India honored her by conferring the title of Padma Bhushan upon her. She was the first Indian woman to become a Fellow of the Sahitya Akademi in the year 1979.

R. K. Narayan

Born: October 10, 1906
Died: May 13, 2001
Achievement: Felicitated with Sahitya Akademi Award and Padma Bhushan.

R.K. Narayan is one of the most famous and widely read Indian novelists. His stories were grounded in a compassionate humanism and celebrated the humour and energy of ordinary life.

R.K. Narayan was born on October 10, 1906 in Madras. His father was a provincial head master. R.K. Narayan spent his early childhood with his maternal grandmother, Parvathi in Madras and used to spend only a few weeks each summer visiting his parents and siblings. R.K. Narayan studied for eight years at Lutheran Mission School close to his grandmother's house in Madras, also for a short time at the CRC High School. When his father was appointed headmaster of the Maharaja's High School in Mysore, R.K. Narayan moved back in with his parents. He obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Mysore.

R.K. Narayan began his writing career with Swami and Friends in 1935. Most of his work including Swami and friends is set in the fictional town of Malgudi which captures everything Indian while having a unique identity of its own. R.K. Narayan's writing style was marked by simplicity and subtle humour. He told stories of ordinary people trying to live their simple lives in a changing world.

R.K. Narayan's famous works include The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The Dark Room (1938), The English Teacher (1945), The Financial Expert (1952), The Guide (1958), The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961), The Vendor of Sweets (1967), Malgudi Days (1982), and The Grandmother's Tale (1993).

R.K. Narayan won numerous awards and honors for his works. These include: Sahitya Akademi Award for The Guide in 1958; Padma Bhushan in 1964; and AC Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature in 1980; R.K. Narayan was elected an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1982. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1989. Besides, he was also conferred honorary doctorates by the University of Mysore, Delhi University and the University of Leeds.

Rabindranath Tagore

Born: May 7, 1861
Died: August 7, 1941
Achievements: Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian to became Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913; awarded knighthood by the British King George V; established Viswabharati University; two songs from his Rabindrasangit canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh

Rabindranath Tagore was an icon of Indian culture. He was a poet, philosopher, musician, writer, and educationist. Rabindranath Tagore became the first Asian to became Nobel laureate when he won Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, in 1913. He was popularly called as Gurudev and his songs were popularly known as Rabindrasangeet. Two songs from his Rabindrasangit canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh: the Jana Gana Mana and the Amar Shonar Bangla.

Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7, 1861 in a wealthy Brahmin family in Calcutta. He was the ninth son of Debendranath and Sarada Devi. His grandfather Dwarkanath Tagore was a rich landlord and social reformer. Rabindra Nath Tagore had his initial education in Oriental Seminary School. But he did not like the conventional education and started studying at home under several teachers. After undergoing his upanayan (coming-of-age) rite at the age of eleven, Tagore and his father left Calcutta in 1873 to tour India for several months, visiting his father's Santiniketan estate and Amritsar before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie. There, Tagore read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit, and examined the classical poetry of Kalidasa.

In 1874, Tagore's poem Abhilaash (Desire) was published anonymously in a magazine called Tattobodhini. Tagore's mother Sarada Devi expired in 1875. Rabindranath's first book of poems, Kabi Kahini ( tale of a poet ) was published in 1878. In the same year Tagore sailed to England with his elder brother Satyandranath to study law. But he returned to India in 1880 and started his career as poet and writer. In 1883, Rabindranath Tagore married Mrinalini Devi Raichaudhuri, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.

In 1884, Tagore wrote a collection of poems Kori-o-Kamal (Sharp and Flats). He also wrote dramas - Raja-o-Rani ( King and Queen) and Visarjan (Sacrifice). In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore moved to Shilaidaha (now in Bangladesh) to look after the family estate. Between 1893 and 1900 Tagore wrote seven volumes of poetry, which included Sonar Tari (The Golden Boat) and Khanika. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore became the editor of the magazine Bangadarshan. He Established Bolpur Bramhacharyaashram at Shantiniketan, a school based on the pattern of old Indian Ashrama. In 1902, his wife Mrinalini died. Tagore composed Smaran ( In Memoriam ), a collection of poems, dedicated to his wife.

In 1905, Lord Curzon decided to divide Bengal into two parts. Rabindranath Tagore strongly protested against this decision. Tagore wrote a number of national songs and attended protest meetings. He introduced the Rakhibandhan ceremony , symbolizing the underlying unity of undivided Bengal.

In 1909, Rabindranath Tagore started writing Gitanjali. In 1912, Tagore went to Europe for the second time. On the journey to London he translated some of his poems/songs from Gitanjali to English. He met William Rothenstein, a noted British painter, in London. Rothenstien was impressed by the poems, made copies and gave to Yeats and other English poets. Yeats was enthralled. He later wrote the introduction to Gitanjali when it was published in September 1912 in a limited edition by the India Society in London. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali. In 1915 he was knighted by the British King George V.

In 1919, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Tagore renounced his knighthood. He was a supporter of Gandhiji but he stayed out of politics. He was opposed to nationalism and militarism as a matter of principle, and instead promoted spiritual values and the creation of a new world culture founded in multi-culturalism, diversity and tolerance. Unable to gain ideological support to his views, he retired into relative solitude. Between the years 1916 and 1934 he traveled widely.

1n 1921, Rabindranath Tagore established Viswabharati University. He gave all his money from Nobel Prize and royalty money from his books to this University. Tagore was not only a creative genius, he was quite knowledgeable of Western culture, especially Western poetry and science too. Tagore had a good grasp of modern - post-Newtonian - physics, and was well able to hold his own in a debate with Einstein in 1930 on the newly emerging principles of quantum mechanics and chaos. His meetings and tape recorded conversations with his contemporaries such Albert Einstein and H.G. Wells, epitomize his brilliance.

In 1940 Oxford University arranged a special ceremony in Santiniketan and awarded Rabindranath Tagore with Doctorate Of Literature. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore passed away on August 7, 1941 in his ancestral home in Calcutta.

Prem Chand

Born: July 31, 1880
Died: October 8, 1936.
Achievements: Premchand brought realism to Hindi literature. Premchand wrote on the realistic issues of the day-communalism, corruption, zamindari, debt, poverty, colonialism etc. He avoided the use of highly Sanskritized Hindi and instead used the dialect of the common people.

Premchand popularly known as Munshi Premchand was one of the greatest literary figures of modern Hindi literature. His stories vividly portrayed the social scenario of those times.

Premchand's real name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastava. He was born on July 31, 1880 in Lamahi near Varanasi where his father Munshi Azaayab Lal was a clerk in the post office. Premchand lost his mother when he was just seven years old. His father married again. Premchand was very close to his elder sister. His early education was in a madarasa under a Maulavi, where he learnt Urdu. When he was studying in the ninth class he was married, much against his wishes. He was only fifteen years old at that time.

Premchand lost his father when he was sixteen years old. Premchand was left responsible for his stepmother and stepsiblings. He earned five rupees a month tutoring a lawyer's child. Premchand passed his matriculation exam with great effort and took up a teaching position, with a monthly salary of eighteen rupees. While working, he studied privately and passed his Intermediate and B. A. examinations. Later, Premchand worked as the deputy sub-inspector of schools in what was then the United Provinces.

In 1910, he was hauled up by the District Magistrate in Jamirpur for his anthology of short stories Soz-e-Watan (Dirge of the Nation), which was labelled seditious. His book Soz-e-Watan was banned by the then British government, which burnt all of the copies. Initially Premchand wrote in Urdu under the name of Nawabrai. However, when his novel Soz-e-Watan was confiscated by the British, he started writing under the pseudonym Premchand.

Before Premchand, Hindi literature consisted mainly of fantasy or religious works. Premchand brought realism to Hindi literature. He wrote over 300 stories, a dozen novels and two plays. The stories have been compiled and published as Maansarovar. His famous creations are: Panch Parameshvar, Idgah, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Poos Ki Raat, Bade Ghar Ki Beti, Kafan, Udhar Ki Ghadi, Namak Ka Daroga, Gaban, Godaan, and Nirmala.

Premchand was a great social reformer; he married a child widow named Shivarani Devi. She wrote a book on him, Premchand Gharmein after his death. In 1921 he answered Gandhiji's call and resigned from his job. He worked to generate patriotism and nationalistic sentiments in the general populace. When the editor of the journal _Maryaada_ was jailed in the freedom movement, Premchand worked for a time as the editor of that journal. Afterward, he worked as the principal in a school in the Kashi Vidyapeeth.

The main characteristic of Premchand's writings is his interesting storytelling and use of simple language. His novels describe the problems of rural and urban India. He avoided the use of highly Sanskritized Hindi and instead used the dialect of the common people. Premchand wrote on the realistic issues of the day -communalism, corruption, zamindari, debt, poverty, colonialism etc.

Premchand's writings have been translated not only into all Indian languages, but also Russian, Chinese, and many other foreign languages. He died on October 8, 1936.

Bankim Chandra Chatarjee

Born: June 27, 1838
Died: April 8, 1894
Achievements: Author of Vande Mataram, the national song of India

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee also known as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was one of the greatest novelists and poets of India. He is famous as author of Vande Mataram, the national song of India.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was born on June 27, 1838 in the village Kantalpara of the 24 Paraganas District of Bengal. He belonged to a family of Brahmins. The word 'Bankim Chandra' in Bengali means 'the moon on the second day of the bright fortnight'. Bankim Chandra's father Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyaya was in government service. After his birth he was posted to Midnapur as Deputy Collector.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee had his early education in Midnapur. He was a brilliant student. After his early education in Midnapur Bankim Chandra Chatterji joined the Mohsin College at Hoogly and studied there for six years. Apart from his textbooks, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, used to read other books in his leisure time. He was very much interested in the study of Sanskrit. His study of Sanskrit stood him in good stead. Later, when he wrote books in Bengali his knowledge of Sanskrit helped him immensely.

In 1856, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee joined the Presidency College in Calcutta. In 1857, there was a strong revolt against the rule of East India Company but Bankim Chandra Chatterjee continued his studies and passed his B.A. Examination in 1859. The Lieutenant Governor of Calcutta appointed Bankim Chandra Chatterjee as Deputy Collector in the same year. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was in Government service for thirty-two years and retired in 1891. He was a very conscientious worker.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was married when he was only eleven . At that time his wife was only five years old. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was only twenty two when his wife died. After some time he married again. His second wife was Rajlakshmi Devi. They had three daughters but no son.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee began his literary career as a writer of verse. He then turned to fiction. Durgeshnandini, his first Bengali romance, was published in 1865. His famous novels include Kapalkundala (1866), Mrinalini (1869), Vishbriksha (1873), Chandrasekhar (1877), Rajani (1877), Rajsimha (1881), and Devi Chaudhurani (1884). Bankim Chandra Chatterjee most famous novel was Anand Math (1882). Anand Math contained the song "Bande Mataram", which was later adopted as National Song.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wanted to bring about a cultural revival of Bengal by stimulating the intellect of the Bengali speaking people through literary campaign. With this end in view he brought out monthly magazine called Bangadarshan in 1872.

Bankim Chatterjee was superb story-teller, and a master of romance. No Bengali writer before or since has enjoyed such spontaneous and universal popularity as Chatterjee. His novels have been translated in almost all the major languages of India. He passed away on April 8, 1894.