Suryakant Tripathi "Nirala" (21 February 1897 – 15 October 1961) was an Indian poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer who wrote in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

. He was also an artist, who drew many contemporary sketches.

Biography

Tripathi was born on 21 February 1897 in Medinipur in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. Nirala's father, Pandit Ramsahaya Tripathi, was a government servant and was a tyrannical person. His mother died when he was very young. Nirala was educated in the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

medium at Mahishadal Raj High School at Mahishadal, Purba Medinipur. Subsequently, he shifted to

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

and thence to village Gadhakola of

Unnao district Unnao district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Unnao is the district headquarters. The district is part of Lucknow Division. As of the 2011 census, Unnao district has a population of 3,108,367, making it ...

, to which his father originally belonged. Growing up, he gained inspiration from personalities like Ramakrishna Paramhansa,

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

, and

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. After his marriage at the age of 20, Nirala learned

at the insistence of his wife, Manohara Devi. Soon, he started writing poems in Hindi, instead of Bengali. After a bad childhood, Nirala had a few good years with his wife. But this phase was short-lived as his wife died when he was 22, and later his daughter (who was a widow) also expired. Nirala lost half of his family, including his wife and daughter, in the 1918 Spanish flu influenza outbreak. Most of his life was somewhat in the bohemian tradition. He wrote strongly against social injustice and exploitation in society. Since he was more or less a rebel, both in form and content, acceptance did not come easily. What he got in plenty was ridicule and derision. All this may have played a role in making him a victim of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

in his later life and he was admitted to

Central Institute of Psychiatry Central institute of Psychiatry Ranchi (CIP Ranchi) is an institute that is directly governed by the Government of India. It is situated in Kanke, Ranchi in Jharkhand state of India. History The institute dates back to the days of the British ...

, Ranchi.

Work

Many of Nirala's poems were translated by David Rubin, and are available in the collections, ''A Season on the Earth: Selected Poems of Nirala'' (Columbia University Press, 1977), ''The Return of Sarasvati: Four Hindi Poets'' (Oxford University Press, 1993), and ''Of Love and War: A Chayavad Anthology'' (Oxford University Press, 2005). ''Nirala : Aatmhanta Astha'' was a critical analysis of his works written by Doodhnath Singh.

Legacy

Today, a park, ''Nirala Uddyan'', an auditorium, ''Nirala Prekshagrah'', and a degree college, ''Mahapran Nirala Degree College'', in the

Unnao District Unnao district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Unnao is the district headquarters. The district is part of Lucknow Division. As of the 2011 census, Unnao district has a population of 3,108,367, making it ...

are named after him.Famous Personalities

Official website.

In popular culture

The

Films Division of India The Films Division of India (FDI), commonly referred as Films Division, was established in 1948 following the independence of India. It was the first state film production and distribution unit, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcastin ...

produced a short

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

on his life, titled ''Suryakant Tripathi Nirala'', directed by Rajiv Kumar. It covers his works and achievements.

Reception

Eugenia Vanina notes ‘Mahārāj Śivājī kā patr Mirzā Rājā Jai Siṅgh ke nām’ to endear its audience into Hindu Nationalism.

Works

Poetry

* ''Ram Ki Shakti Puja'' (''राम की शक्ति पूजा'') * ''Dhwani'' (''ध्वनि'') * ''Apara'' (''अपरा'') * ''Saroj Smriti'' (''सरोज स्मृति'') * ''Parimal'' (''परिमल'') * ''Priyatam'' (''प्रियतम'') * ''Anaamika'' (''अनामिका'', 1938) * ''Geetika'' (''गीतिका'') * ''Kukurmutta'' (''कुकुरमुत्ता'', 1941) * ''Adima'' (''अणिमा'') * ''Bela'' (''बेला'') * ''Naye Patte'' (''नये पत्ते'') * ''Archana'' (''अर्चना'') * ''Geet Gunj'' (''गीतगुंज'') * ''Aradhana'' (''आराधना'') * ''Tulsidas'' (''तुलसीदास'', 1938) * ''Janmabhumi'' (''जन्मभूमि'') * ''Jago Phir Ek Bar'' (''जागो फिर एक बार'') * ''Bhikshuk'' (''भिक्षुक'') * ''Todti Patthar'' (''तोड़ती पत्थर'')

Novels

* ''Apsara'' (''अप्सरा'') * ''Alka'' (''अलका'') * ''Prabhavati'' (''प्रभावती'') * ''Nirupama'' (''निरुपमा'') * ''Chameli'' (''चमेली'') * ''Choti ki Pakad'' (''चोटी की पकड़'') * ''Indulekha'' (''इन्दुलेखा'') * ''Kale Karname'' (''काले कारनामे'')

Collections of stories

* ''Chhaturi Chamar'' (''चतुरी चमार'') * ''Sukul ki Biwi'' (''सुकुल की बीवी'', 1941) * ''Sakhi'' (''साखी'') * ''Lily'' (''लिली'') * ''Devi'' (''देवी'')

Essay-collections

* ''Prabandha-Parichaya'' (''प्रबंध परिचय'') * ''Bangbhasha ka Uchcharan'' (''बंगभाषा का उच्चारण'') * ''Ravindra-Kavita-Kannan'' (''रवीन्द्र-कविता-कानन'') * ''Prabandh-Padya'' (''प्रबंध पद्य'') * ''Prabandh-Pratima'' (''प्रबंध प्रतिमा'') * ''Chabuk'' (''चाबुक'') * ''Chayan'' (''चयन'') * ''Sangraha'' (''संग्रह'')

Prose

* ''Kullibhat'' (''कुल्लीभाट'') * ''Billesur Bakriha'' (''बिल्लेसुर बकरिहा'')

Translations

* '' Anand Math'' (''आनन्दमठ'') * ''Vish-Vriksh'' (''विष वृक्ष'') * ''Krishnakant ka Vil'' (''कृष्णकांत का विल'') * ''Kapal Kundala'' (''कपाल कुण्डला'') * ''Durgesh Nandini'' (''दुर्गेश नन्दिनी'') * ''Raj Singh'' (''राज सिंह'') * ''Raj Rani'' (''राज रानी'') * ''Devi Chaudharani'' (''देवी चौधरानी'') * ''Yuglanguliya'' (''युगलांगुलीय'') * ''Chandrasekhar'' (''चन्द्रशेखर'') * ''Rajni'' (''रजनी'') * ''Sri Ramkrishna Vachnamrit'' (''श्री रामकृष्ण वचनामृत'') * ''Bharat mein Vivekanand'' (''भारत में विवेकानंद'') * ''Rajyog'' (''राजयोग'')

References

External links

Nirala at Kavita Kosh
– A large collection of Hindi Poetry {{DEFAULTSORT:Nirala, Suryakant Tripathi 1897 births 1961 deaths Hindi-language writers Hindi-language poets People from Paschim Medinipur district People from Unnao People from Allahabad Poets from Uttar Pradesh Poets from West Bengal Writers from West Bengal Writers from Allahabad 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers Indian male poets