Narayan Gangaram Surve (15 October 1926 – 16 August 2010 ) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

poet from

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, India.

Life and career

He was born on 15 October 1926. Orphaned or abandoned soon after birth, he grew up in the streets of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, sleeping on the pavement and earning a meager livelihood by doing odd jobs. He taught himself to read and write, and in 1962, published his first collection of poems ''Aisa Ga Mi Brahma'' (ऐसा गा मी ब्रह्म ; ''Aisa Ga Mi Brahma''). ''Majhe Vidyapeeth'' (माझे विद्यापीठ ; ''My University''), the book he would be most known for appeared in 1966 while he stayed in Chinchpokli, Mahahrashtra. He received 11 prizes for his book ''Majhe Vidyapeeth'' Though he studied only till second standard and never climbed the steps of a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, he is known as one of the best poets of Marathi language. Surve actively worked in the workers' union movement in Mumbai and supported himself as a schoolteacher. Surve, who had much faith in Karl Marx, won the 'Soviet Land Nehru Award' (for his book Majhe Vidyapeeth) from the Soviet Union in the year 1973 as communist people of Russia were fascinated by his views and considered him similar to them. He became the editor of ''Lokvadmaygruha'' in the year 1972. In the 1970s, he was often championed in India as well as in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and some

Eastern bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

countries as a proletarian poet. He died due to old age and after a brief illness on 16 August 2010.

Awards and recognition

* He received 'Soviet Land Nehru Award' from Soviet Russia in 1973 * In 1998, he received a

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

award from the Government of India for excellence in Literature & Education. * In 2003, A Marathi Short Film named "Narayan Gangaram Surve" was awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize during the 50th National Film Awards. * In 1999, he was conferred Kabir Sammanin by the state government of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. * Narayan Surve was a Convener of the Marathi Advisory Board of

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

. * He presided over

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Literary Conference) is an annual conference for literary discussions by Marathi writers. Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra State. The first Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was he ...

Parbhani Parbhani (, IPA ) is a city in Maharashtra state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Parbhani District. Parbhani is one of the largest cities in Marathwada region. Parbhani is around away from regional headquarters of Aurangaba ...

in 1995.

Famous works

The following is a partial list of compilations of Surve's poems and essays:
सुर्वे: नारायण सुर्वे यांच्या समग्र कविता
Publisher

Popular Prakashan Popular Prakashan is an Indian independent publisher and bookseller founded in Bombay in 1924. History In 1924, founder Ganesh R. Bhatkal, a former employee of Oxford University Press India, established the Popular Book Depot as an independent ...

* माझे विद्यापीठ (''Majhe Vidyapeeth'') (1966) * जाहीरनामा (''Jahirnama'') (1978) * ऐसा गा मी ब्रह्म (''Aisa Ga Mi Brahma'') (1962) * सनद (''Sanad'') * मानुष कलावंत (''Manush Kalawant'') * आणि समाज (''Ani Samaj'') * सर्व सुर्वे (''Sarva Surve'') (संपादन: वसंत शिरवाडकर) (Editor: Vasant Shirwadkar) * "Mastaranchi Savli" (Book written by his wife, Krishnabai Surve) * ''On the Pavement of Life'' (1973) is a compilation of English translations of Surve's early poems.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Surve, Narayan Gangaram Poets from Maharashtra Marathi-language writers Marathi people 1926 births 2010 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education 20th-century Indian poets Presidents of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan