Mahendra Bhatnagar ( hi, महेंद्र भटनागर; 26 June 1926 – 27 April 2020) was an Indian Hindi and English poet. He was one of the significant post-independence voices in his field of poetry, expressing the lyricism and pathos, as well as aspirations and yearnings of the modern Indian intellect.

Early life and education

Mahendra Bhatnagar was born in Jhansi,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

at his maternal grandfather's residence on 26 June 1926. He received primary education in Jhansi, Morar,

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

, and

Sabalgarh Sabalgarh is a municipality in Morena district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The town was founded by a Gujar named Sabala, known as Raja Sabal Singh Gurjar living near Chambal river beside Karaoli, The town has a strong fort called Sa ...

Morena Morena is the headquarter city of Morena district, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is governed by a municipality corporation. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Chambal division. It is from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. G ...

. He then graduated high school in Gwalior and intermediate at Madhav College in 1941 and 1943 respectively. He finally received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the Victoria College in 1945. After graduating, he pursued his

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

at the

Nagpur University Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), formerly Nagpur University, is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is one of India's oldest universities, as well as th ...

in 1948 and 1957 respectively. He also received his teacher's license (L.T.1950) from the Madhya Bharat government.

Career

Bhatnagar began

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

high school in July 1945 under the Madhya Pradesh Government Educational Service, and retired as a professor on 1 July 1984. He was once selected to become a professor of Hindi Language & Literature at the

Tashkent University Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

in 1978 by the University Grants Commission and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He was also the

principal investigator In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...

of the University Grants Commission at the

Jiwaji University Jiwaji University (JU) is a public affiliating university in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. The name comes from Jivajirao Scindia of Gwalior. The university was established on 23 May 1964 and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the President of India, ...

from 1984 to 1987.Sabharwal, Dr R.K.B, Concerns and Creation. In 1992, he taught at the Indira Gandhi National Open University Teaching Centre. From time to time, some of his poems were included in various textbooks of the curricula of the Educational Boards & Universities of India. Afterwards, he worked as a chairman and a member of various committees in Indore University, Vikram University, and

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Consti ...

among other institutions. He also worked in the Light Music of

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

as one of the members in the Audition Committees of Drama, and was contracted as a songwriter. During his talks in the programs, many of his poems were broadcast as well. He also conducted and directed many literary societies. Furthermore, he became one of the award-judges at the following places: Bihar Rashtra-Bhasha Parishad, (1981 & 1983),

Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan also known as UP Hindi Sansthan is an autonomous organisation in Uttar Pradesh, working for the promotion of Hindi language. It is run under the Department of Languages, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from organiz ...

(1983), Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi (1991,1993,1994), and Hindi Sahitya Parishad (2001).

Literary

Mahendra Bhatnagar is one of the many Indian poets whose literary careers were shaped by poetry in the post-independence of India in the 20th century. His poetic career over the years demonstrates his humanistic vision from beginning to end. Rooted deep into the Indian soil, his poems reflect not only the moods of a poet but of a complex age. In his works, the thread of his humanistic vision can be seen vividly and he wrote poems to bring about a change in the world. He analyses, interprets, evaluates and describes his emotions in the light of his humanistic vision. For example, his poem "Helplessness" reveals not only his own ''helplessness'', but also of the common people of India:

"Thrust upon, undesired life, I lived.
Every instant, every step, shame I lived
History, now you ask me what
Folly and dirtiness of the world, I lived."

He also uses irony to expose the fraud of exploiters, particularly exposing the enemies of the labourers and the peasants of India. With his humanistic vision, he constantly compels the readers to distinguish between power and propriety. His poems were translated, published and broadcast in many foreign and Indian languages. However, he also edited Hindi literary magazines such as ''Sandhya'' and ''Pratikalpa'' magazines. He was also the adviser of ''Poetcrit'' magazine, and a member of the advisory board of ''Indian Journal of Postcolonial Literature''.

Bibliography

Eleven volumes of poems in English : *Forty Poems of Mahendra Bhatnagar elected Poems – 1*After The Forty Poems elected Poets – 2*Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar's Poetry. election Poems – 3*"Exuberance" and other poems. *"Death Perception : Life Perception" *"Passion and Compassion" *"Poems : For A Better World" *"Lyric-Lute" *"A Handful of Light" *"New Enlightened World" *"Dawn to Dusk" Distinguished Anthologies : *"Pomes: For Human Dignity" *Poems of social harmony & humanism: realistic & visionary aspects - "Life: As It Is" *Poems of faith & optimism : delight & pain/ Philosophy of life - "O, Moon, My Sweet-Hearet!" *Love poems - "Sparrow" and other poems *Nature poems - "Death and Life" *Poems on death-perception : life-perception & Critical Study **One volume of translated poems in French - "A Modern Indian Poet : Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar : Un Poèt Indien Et Moderne" **Works published in seven volumes in Hindi – three poems (comprising sixteen earlier collections), two critical articles, one on Premchand (Research work) and one from miscellaneous writings. *Only poetry works published in three volumes in Hindi — "Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar Ki Kavitaa-Gangaa" (18 Collections) Published research & critical studies : *Living Through Challenges : A Study of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar's Poetry. y Dr. B.C. Dwivedy*Poet Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar : His Mind And Art. dited*Concerns and Creation. dited*E-Book : Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar's Poetry in the eyes of critics. edarNath Sharma*The Poetry of Mahendra Bhatnagar : Realistic & Visionary Aspects. dited / forthcomingWork in Hindi *Kaviśrī (Poems) *Jujhate hue (Poems)google Book :Jujhate hue
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Awards

*Four times (1952, 1958, 1960, 1985) from the Madhya Pradesh Government Award

Early life and education

Career

Literary

Bibliography

Awards

References

Further reading