Harivansh Rai Bachchan (; 27 November 1907 19 December 2002) was an Indian poet and writer of the Nayi Kavita literary movement (romantic upsurge) of early 20th century

Hindi literature Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃś ...

. He was also a poet of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. He is best known for his early work ''

Madhushala ''Madhushala'' ( hi, मधुशाला) (The Tavern/The House of Wine) is a book of 135 "quatrains": verses of four lines ( Ruba'i) by Hindi poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907–2003). The highly metaphorical work is still celebrated ...

''. Obituary, Frontline, (''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

''), 1–14 February 2003. He was also the husband of social activist,

Teji Bachchan Teji Harivansh Rai Srivastava Bachchan (''née'' Tejwant Kaur Suri; 12 August 1914 21 December 2007) was an Indian social activist, the wife of Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and mother of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. Biography Tej ...

, father of Amitabh Bachchan and Ajitabh Bachchan, and grandfather of

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

. In 1976, he received the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

for his service to Hindi literature.

Early life

Bachchan was born at

Babupatti Babupatti is a village in the Raniganj tehsil of Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh state, India. Babu Patti is a variant spelling. Notable people * Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Hindi peot and writer, father of actor Amitabh Bachchan. Noted a ...

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 27 November 1907 into an

Awadhi Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Kayastha family. His family name was Srivastav. He began using the pen name "Bachchan" (meaning child) instead of Srivastava when he wrote Hindi poetry. From 1941 to 1957, he taught in the English Department at the

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

and after that, he spent the next two years at St Catharine's College, Cambridge,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

completing a PhD on W.B. Yeats.

Writing career

Bachchan was fluent in several

Hindi languages The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of related language varieties Spoken across North India and Central India. These language varieties form the central part of the Indo-Aryan language family, itself a part of the ...

, namely standard Hindustani and the local

dialect. He incorporated a broadly Hindustani vocabulary, written in

Devanagari script Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

. While he could not read

Persian script The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran (Iranian Persian, Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari, Dari Persi ...

, he was influenced by

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghali ...

, particularly

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...

Works used in movies

Bachchan's work has been used in movies and music. For example, couplets of his work "Agneepath" are used throughout the 1990 blockbuster movie '' Agneepath'', featuring his son Amitabh Bachchan, and also later in the 2012 remake '' Agneepath'', starring

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...

. and recently in the TV Serial

Ishqbaaz ''Ishqbaaaz'' ()(international title :Game of love ) is an Indian romantic drama television series that aired from 27 June 2016 to 15 March 2019 on Star Plus. It initially starred Nakuul Mehta, Surbhi Chandna, Kunal Jaisingh, Shrenu Parikh, ...

List of works

; Poems * Chal Mardane * Barsaat Ki Aati Hawa * Tera Haar (तेरा हार) (1932) *

(मधुशाला) (1935) *

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

(मधुबाला) (1936) * Madhukalash (मधुकलश) (1937) * Raat Aadhi Kheench Kar Meri Hatheli * Nisha Nimantran (निशा निमंत्रण) (1938) * Ekaant Sangeet (एकांत संगीत) (1939) * Aakul Antar (आकुल अंतर) (1943) * Satarangini (सतरंगिनी) (1945) * Halaahal (हलाहल) (1946) * Bengal ka Kaavya (बंगाल का काव्य) (1946) * Khaadi ke Phool (खादी के फूल) (1948) * Soot ki Maala (सूत की माला) (1948) * Milan Yamini (मिलन यामिनी) (1950) * Pranay Patrika (प्रणय पत्रिका) (1955) * Dhaar ke idhar udhar (धार के इधर उधर) (1957) * Aarti aur Angaare (आरती और अंगारे) (1958) * Buddha aur Naachghar (बुद्ध और नाचघर) (1958) * Tribhangima (त्रिभंगिमा) (1961) * Chaar kheme Chaunsath khoonte (चार खेमे चौंसठ खूंटे) (1962) * Do Chattane (दो चट्टानें) (1965) * Bahut din beete (बहुत दिन बीते) (1967) * Kat-ti pratimaaon ki awaaz (कटती प्रतिमाओं की आवाज़) (1968) * Ubharte pratimaano ke roop (उभरते प्रतिमानों के रूप) (1969) * Jaal sameta (जाल समेटा) (1973) * Nirman (निर्माण) * Aathmaparichai (आत्मपरिचय) * Ek Geet (एक गीत) * Agneepath (अग्निपथ) ; Miscellaneous * Bachpan ke saath kshan bhar (बचपन के साथ क्षण भर) (1934) * Khaiyyam ki madhushala (खय्याम की मधुशाला) (1938) * Sopaan (सोपान) (1953) * Macbeth (मेकबेथ)(1957) * Jangeet (जनगीता) (1958) * Omar Khaiyyam ki rubaaiyan (उमर खय्याम की रुबाइयाँ) (1959) * Kaviyon ke saumya sant: Pant (कवियों के सौम्य संत: पंत) (1960) * Aaj ke lokpriya Hindi kavi: Sumitranandan Pant (आज के लोकप्रिय हिन्दी कवि: सुमित्रानंदन पंत) (1960) * Aadhunik kavi: 7 (आधुनिक कवि: ७) (1961) * Nehru: Raajnaitik jeevanchitra (नेहरू: राजनैतिक जीवनचित्र) (1961) * Naye puraane jharokhe (नये पुराने झरोखे) (1962) * Abhinav sopaan (अभिनव सोपान) (1964) * Chausath roosi kavitaayein (चौसठ रूसी कवितायें) (1964) * W. B. Yeats and Occultism (1968) * Markat dweep ka swar (मरकट द्वीप का स्वर) (1968) * Naagar geet (नागर गीत) (1966) * Bachpan ke lokpriya geet (बचपन के लोकप्रिय गीत) (1967) * Hamlet (1969) * Bhaasha apni bhaav paraaye (भाषा अपनी भाव पराये) (1970) * Pant ke sau patra (पंत के सौ पत्र) (1970) * Pravaas ki diary (प्रवास की डायरी) (1971) * King Lear (1972) * Tooti Chooti kadiyan (टूटी छूटी कड़ियां) (1973) * Meri kavitaayi ki aadhi sadi (मेरी कविताई की आधी सदी) (1981) * So-ham hans (सोहं हंस) (1981) * Aathve dashak ki pratinidhi shreshth kavitaayein (आठवें दशक की प्रतिनिधी श्रेष्ठ कवितायें) (1982) * Meri shreshth kavitaayein (मेरी श्रेष्ठ कवितायें) (1984) * Jo beet gai so Bat gai ;Autobiography * Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon (क्या भूलूं क्या याद करूं) (1969) * Neerh ka nirmaan phir (नीड़ का निर्माण फिर) (1970) * Basere se door (बसेरे से दूर) (1977) * Dashdwaar se sopaan tak (दशद्वार से सोपान तक) (1985), In the Afternoon of Time * Bachchan rachanavali ke nau khand (बच्चन रचनावली के नौ खण्ड)

References

External links

मधुशाला का मूल पाठ
(विकीस्रोत पर) * हरिवंश राय बच्चन (हिन्दी विकीपीडिया पर) * मधुशाला (हिन्दी विकीपीडिया पर)
हरिवंश राय बच्चन
(विकीस्रोत पर)
A Collection