Shardha Ram Phillauri ( ; September 1837 Singh Bedi, Harmohinder. ''Shardha Ram Granthawali''. Nirmal Publisher. (A three-volume work by the dean and head of the

Guru Nanak Dev University The university is Entitled by University Grants Commission to offer higher studies degree courses online. Guru Nanak Dev University's campus is spread over near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly west of the Amritsar, next to Khalsa College, A ...

Hindi Department.) – 24 June 1881) was an Indian writer, poet and

social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

er who is remembered for his contributions to

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 Punjabi literature. He is best known for his Hindu religious hymn

Om Jai Jagdish Hare Om Jai Jagdish Hare ( hi, ॐ जय जगदीश हरे) is a Hindu religious song written by Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri. It is dedicated to Supreme Lord Vishnu and is mostly sung in Vishnu temples. Although the religious hymn is a Hin ...

and ''

Bhagyawati ''Bhagyawati'' is an 1888 novel by Shardha Ram Phillauri. The book is now acknowledged as the one of the first novels in Hindi. Previously, Lala Sri Niwas had written his Hindi novel Pariksha guru, which was published in 1882. ''Bhagyawati'' is b ...

'', one of the first novels in Hindi. Phillauri has also been called the "father of modern Punjabi prose." Born in

Phillaur Phillaur is a city and a municipal council as well as a tehsil in Jalandhar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Punjab, India, Punjab. Overview Phillaur is the railway junction on the border line of Ludhiana Main ...

, he visited cities across Punjab and died in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in 1881.

Biography

Shardha Ram was born in 1837 to a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family in the town of

in the Sikh Empire under the reign of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

.Walia, Varinda
"Hindi novel’s first cradle."
'' The Tribune'' (17 March 2005).Maitray, Mohan
"The creator of Om Jai Jagdish Hare."
'' The Tribune'' (27 September 1998). His father, Jai Dyalu, was an

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

. Their gotra was Moudgil. He did not have any formal education as such. By age ten, he had studied

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

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 ...

, astrology, and music. Later, he was also a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

of traditional Hinduism ( Sanatana dharma). In his books, Shardha Ram documented Punjabi culture and language. Shardha Ram gave forceful lectures on the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, and because of this was charged with conducting

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

against the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

in 1865. As a result, he was

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d temporarily from his home town, Phillaur. Sharda Ram often visited

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

and adjoining

, especially in connection with astrology. During this time, he earned a reputation as an astrologer and wrote several books in Hindi. In 1886 ''Sikhan De Raj Di Vithia'' (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

:''The Story of Sikh Rule'') he published, an account of

Sikh religion Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

and the rule of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

. The last of its three chapters documents Punjabi culture and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

, including its customs, usages, and folk songs. The book was often prescribed as a text book. Shardha Ram has recently been acknowledged as having written the first novel in Hindi.Previously,

Lala Sri Niwas Lala may refer to: Geography * Lala language (disambiguation) Places * Lala (Naples Metro), an underground metro station in Naples, Italy * Lala, Assam, a town in Assam, India * Lala, Ilam, a village in Ilam Province, Iran * Lala, Lanao del N ...

was credited with this achievement; his '' Pariksha Guru'' was written in 1902. Walia, Varinda
"Hindi novel’s first cradle."
'' The Tribune''. His novel ''

'', believed to have been written mainly in Amritsar, was first published in 1888, after Shardha Ram's death. The novel's portrayal of women and women's rights was progressive for its day. Sharda Ram has written the famous and widely sung aarti "

." Shardha Ram died on 24 June 1881 at

Works

Notes and references

External links

Painting of Shardha Ram Phillauri.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillauri, Shardha 1837 births 1881 deaths Indian male novelists Hindu poets Indian Hindu missionaries Punjabi-language writers Punjabi people Indian social reformers 19th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian novelists Indian male poets 19th-century Indian male writers Poets from Punjab, India Novelists from Punjab, India People from Punjab Province (British India)

Biography

Works

Notes and references

Further reading

External links