Nathuram Sharma ( hi, नाथूराम शर्मा; 1859–1932), better known by his pen-name Mahakavi Shankar ( hi, शंकर), was a

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Harduaganj Harduaganj is a town and a ''nagar panchayat'' in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This town is believed to be founded by Balram Dauji (elder brother of Krishna). An ancient temple dedicated to Dauji is located in this tow ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdo ...

(now

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 ...

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 ...

. He worked with the Irrigation Department at

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

and subsequently as an Ayurvedic physician. His poetic works are primarily in the dialects of

Braj Bhasha The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

and

Khariboli Kauravi ( hi, कौरवी, ur, ), also known as Khaṛībolī is a set of Western Hindi varieties of Shauraseni Prakrit mainly spoken in Northwestern Uttar Pradesh. Standard Hindi and Urdu are based on Khariboli, specifically on its De ...

. He was a writer of Modern Period.

Early life

Shankar was born in 1859 in

(now

, and received his early education at the local primary school. In 1874, when he was a student of the Middle Class, English Educational Inspector E. T. Constable inspected the school. Constable was impressed with his talent and knowledge and commented in the inspection book: "Nathuram is an intelligent student, full of promise." Shankar knew Sanskrit and Persian as well as Hindi and Urdu. He was a contributor to ''Saraswati'', the literary journal of

Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi (15 May 1864 – 21 December 1938) was an Indian Hindi writer and editor. ''Adhunikkaal'', or the Modern period of the Hindi literature, is divided into four phases, and he represents the second phase, known as the ''Dwiv ...

Poetic works

Shankar's poetic works include: ''Anurag ratna'', ''Shankar saroj'', ''Garbhranda rahasya'', ''Gitavali'', ''Kavita kunj'', ''Doha'', ''Samasyapurtiyan'', ''Vividh rachnayen'', ''Kalit kalewar'' and ''Shankar Satsai''. Influenced by the

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

movement, he was a social reformer who used his mastery of language effectively to this purpose. He was referred to as Mahakavi meaning Great Poet.

Death

Shankar died on 21 August 1932 at Harduaganj, Aligarh, North-Western Provinces, British India.

Lineage

Shankar was the father of Hindi poet Hari Shankar Sharma, grandfather of Hindi poet and writer Kripa Shankar Sharma and great-grandfather of Hindi poet Indira Indu.

References

External links