Harivansh Rai Bachchan (; 27 November 1907 18 January 2003) was an Indian poet and writer of the Nayi Kavita literary movement (romantic upsurge) of early 20th century

Hindi literature Hindi literature () includes literature in the various Central Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Hindi, some of which have different writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃśa such as Awad ...

. He was also a poet of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. He is best known for his early work '' Madhushala''. Obituary, Frontline, (''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

''), 1–14 February 2003. He was the father of

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

, and grandfather of Shweta Bachchan and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

. His wife

Teji Bachchan Teji Harivansh Rai Srivastava Bachchan (''née'' Teji Suri; 12 August 1914 21 December 2007) was an Indian social activist, the wife of Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and mother of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. Biography Teji was Bor ...

was a social activist. In 1976, he received the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

for his service to Hindi literature.

Early life

Bachchan was born in

Babupatti Babupatti is a village in the Raniganj tehsil of Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh state, India. Babu Patti is a variant spelling. Notable people * Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Hindi poet and writer, father of actor Amitabh Bachchan. Noted ac ...

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

on 27 November 1907 into a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Kayastha Kayastha (or Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the Chandraseniya Ka ...

family. His family name was

Srivastava Srivastava (; ), also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname found among the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community of upper caste Hindus particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. The Chitragupta ...

. He began using the pen name "Bachchan" (meaning child) for his Hindi poetry. From 1941 to 1957, he taught in the English Department at the

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

and then spent the next two years at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, completing a PhD on

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

Personal life

Bachchan married Shyama in 1926 who died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1936. In 1941, he married Teji Suri. Their elder son

was born on 11 October 1942, followed by their younger son, Ajitabh, on 18 May 1947. He had used the pen name Bachchan ("child-like" in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works. When looking to get their elder son admitted to a school, he and Teji decided the family's surname should be Bachchan instead of

, as both parents opposed the

caste system A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

. Thus, it became the legal surname of the family. He was close friends with the Hindi Cinema Thespian

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

. Bachchan died on 18 January 2003 due to respiratory failure.

Writing career

Bachchan was fluent in several

Hindi languages The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of Indo-Aryan languages spoken across Northern and Central India. They historically form a dialect continuum that descends from the Middle Prakrits. Located in the Hindi Belt, t ...

( Hindustani and

Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...

). He incorporated a broadly Hindustani vocabulary, written in

Devanagari script Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ancient '' Brāhmī'' script. It is one of the official scripts of India an ...

. While he could not read

Persian script 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 ...

, he was influenced by

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 ...

and

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...

, particularly

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

Works used in movies

Bachchan's work has been used in movies and music.

Couplet In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...

s of his work "Agneepath" are used throughout the 1990 film '' Agneepath'', featuring his son Amitabh, and also later in the 2012 remake '' Agneepath'', starring

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including si ...

, as well as in the TV Serial '' Ishqbaaz''.

List of works

; Poems *

Chal Mardane Chal, also shubat or khoormog (, , , ), is a Turkic (especially Turkmen, Uzbek and Kazakh) and Mongolic beverage of fermented camel milk, sparkling white with a sour flavor, popular in Central Asia — particularly in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan ...

* Barsaat Ki Aati Hawa * Tera Haar (तेरा हार) (1932) * Madhushala (मधुशाला) (1935) * Madhubala (मधुबाला) (1936) * Madhukalash (मधुकलश) (1937) * Raat Aadhi Kheench Kar Meri Hatheli *

Nisha Nimantran Nisha, meaning "night" in Sanskrit (निशा, ''nishā''), is an Indian female given name, and may refer to: People * Nisha Botchwey, Jamaican-American academic administrator *Nisha Ganatra (born 1974), Canadian director, writer *Nisha Naya ...

(निशा निमंत्रण) (1938) *

Ekaant Sangeet ''Ekaant'' (English meaning "Solitude") is an Indian television Hindi non-fiction series that aired on The EPIC Channel. The show is anchored by Akul Tripathi who takes viewers on a journey across the abandoned historic locations of India. Akul ...

(एकांत संगीत) (1939) * Aakul Antar (आकुल अंतर) (1943) * Satarangini (सतरंगिनी) (1945) * Halaahal (हलाहल) (1946) * Bengal ka Kaavya (बंगाल का काव्य) (1946) * Khaadi ke Phool (खादी के फूल) (1948) * Soot ki Maala (सूत की माला) (1948) *

Milan Yamini Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(मिलन यामिनी) (1950) * Pranay Patrika (प्रणय पत्रिका) (1955) * Dhaar ke idhar udhar (धार के इधर उधर) (1957) *

Aarti aur Angaare ''Arti'' () or ''Aarati'' () is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'', in which light from a flame (fuelled by camphor, ghee, or oil) is ritually waved to venerate Hindu deities, deities. ''Arti'' also refers t ...

(आरती और अंगारे) (1958) * Buddha aur Naachghar (बुद्ध और नाचघर) (1958) * Tribhangima (त्रिभंगिमा) (1961) * Chaar kheme Chaunsath khoonte (चार खेमे चौंसठ खूंटे) (1962) * Do Chattane (दो चट्टानें) (1965) * Bahut din beete (बहुत दिन बीते) (1967) * Kat-ti pratimaaon ki awaaz (कटती प्रतिमाओं की आवाज़) (1968) * Ubharte pratimaano ke roop (उभरते प्रतिमानों के रूप) (1969) * Jaal sameta (जाल समेटा) (1973) * Nirman (निर्माण) * Aathmaparichai (आत्मपरिचय) * Ek Geet (एक गीत) * Bhool gaya hai kyun insaan (भूल गया है क्यों इंसान) * Agneepath (अग्निपथ) ; Miscellaneous * Bachpan ke saath kshan bhar (बचपन के साथ क्षण भर) (1934) * Khaiyyam ki madhushala (खय्याम की मधुशाला) (1938) * Sopaan (सोपान) (1953) * Macbeth (मेकबेथ)(1957) * Jangeet (जनगीता) (1958) * Omar Khaiyyam ki rubaaiyan (उमर खय्याम की रुबाइयाँ) (1959) * Kaviyon ke saumya sant: Pant (कवियों के सौम्य संत: पंत) (1960) * Aaj ke lokpriya Hindi kavi: Sumitranandan Pant (आज के लोकप्रिय हिन्दी कवि: सुमित्रानंदन पंत) (1960) * Aadhunik kavi: 7 (आधुनिक कवि: ७) (1961) * Nehru: Raajnaitik jeevanchitra (नेहरू: राजनैतिक जीवनचित्र) (1961) * Naye puraane jharokhe (नये पुराने झरोखे) (1962) * Abhinav sopaan (अभिनव सोपान) (1964) * Chausath roosi kavitaayein (चौसठ रूसी कवितायें) (1964) * W. B. Yeats and Occultism (1968) * Markat dweep ka swar (मरकट द्वीप का स्वर) (1968) * Naagar geet (नागर गीत) (1966) * Bachpan ke lokpriya geet (बचपन के लोकप्रिय गीत) (1967) * Hamlet (1969) * Bhaasha apni bhaav paraaye (भाषा अपनी भाव पराये) (1970) * Pant ke sau patra (पंत के सौ पत्र) (1970) * Pravaas ki diary (प्रवास की डायरी) (1971) * King Lear (1972) * Tooti Chooti kadiyan (टूटी छूटी कड़ियां) (1973) * Meri kavitaayi ki aadhi sadi (मेरी कविताई की आधी सदी) (1981) * So-ham hans (सोहं हंस) (1981) * Aathve dashak ki pratinidhi shreshth kavitaayein (आठवें दशक की प्रतिनिधी श्रेष्ठ कवितायें) (1982) * Meri shreshth kavitaayein (मेरी श्रेष्ठ कवितायें) (1984) * Jo beet gai so Bat gai ;Autobiography * Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon (क्या भूलूं क्या याद करूं) (1969) * Neerh ka nirmaan phir (नीड़ का निर्माण फिर) (1970) * Basere se door (बसेरे से दूर) (1977) * Dashdwaar se sopaan tak (दशद्वार से सोपान तक) (1985), In the Afternoon of Time * Bachchan rachanavali ke nau khand (बच्चन रचनावली के नौ खण्ड)

References

External links

मधुशाला का मूल पाठ
(विकीस्रोत पर) * हरिवंश राय बच्चन (हिन्दी विकीपीडिया पर) * मधुशाला (हिन्दी विकीपीडिया पर)
हरिवंश राय बच्चन
(विकीस्रोत पर)
A Collection