Harivansh Rai Bachchan

File:Amitabh harivanshrai.jpg

Harivanshrai "Bachchan" Srivastav (हरिवंशराय बच्चन श्रीवास्तव) (November 27, 1907 - January 18, 2003) was a distinguished Hindi poet, perhaps best known for his early work Madhushala (मधुशाला). He is also the father of Bollywood film superstar, Amitabh Bachchan.

Life

He was born as Harivanshrai Srivastav into a Kayasth family on November 27, 1907 at a small town near Allahabad in the United Provinces (modern Uttar Pradesh). He was called "bachchan" (meaning 'child') at home. He received his formal schooling in a municipal school and followed the family tradition of attending Kayasth Paathshaalas (कायस्थ पाठशाला) to learn Urdu as the first step to a career in law. He later studied at the Allahabad University and Banaras Hindu University. In this period, he came under the influence of the independence movement, then under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1926, at the age of 19, Bachchan married his first wife, Shyama, who was then 14 years old. However she died ten years later in 1936 after a long spell of TB at just 24 years of age. Shortly after his first wife's death, Bachchan married Teji Suri, a Sikh, in 1941. The marriage produced two sons, Amitabh and Ajitabh.

From 1941 to 1952 he taught English at the Allahabad University and then spent two years at Cambridge University in St Catharine's College, Cambridge. There he studied with the famous English literature don, Thomas Rice Henn, and received a doctorate in English Literature for his work on the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. It was then, that he used 'Bachchan' as his last name instead of Srivastav. Bachchan was the second Indian to get his doctorate in English literature from Cambridge University.

Returning to India, he taught briefly and then worked as a producer for All India Radio, Allahabad. In 1955, Harivanshrai moved to Delhi to join the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India and there he was closely involved with the evolution of Hindi as the official language of the nation.

Bachchan used to introduce himself as Mitti ka tan, masti ka man, kshan-bhar jivan — mera parichay. (मिट्टी का तन, मस्ती का मन, क्षण भर जीवन, मेरा परिचय) (A body of clay, a mind full of play, a moment’s life - that is me).

Harivanshrai Bachchan died on January 18, 2003, at the age of 95, as a result of various respiratory ailments.

Work

He is best known for his early lyric poem Madhushala (मधुशाला) (The House of Wine), which has been translated into English and many regional Indian languages including Bengali, Marathi and Malayalam. It forms part of a trilogy, along with Madhubala (मधुबाला) and Madhukalash (मधुकलश). Bachchan published about 30 volumes of poetry. He translated Shakespeare's Macbeth and Othello, Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, the Bhagavad Gita (भगवत गीता) and W.B. Yeats into Hindi. His works include Nisha Nimantran (निशा निमंत्रण), Khadi Ke Phool (खादी के फूल), Ekant Sangeet (एकांत संगीत) and Satrangini (सतरंगिनी). In November, 1984, he wrote his last poem Ek November 1984 on Indira Gandhi’s assassination. His autobiography, consisting of four volumes namely Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon (क्या भूलूं क्या याद करूं), Need ka nirmaan fir (नीड़ का निर्माण फिर), Basere se door (बसेरे से दूर) and Dashdwaar se sopaan tak (दशद्वार से सोपान तक) (abridged and translated into English as In the Afternoon of Time) was chosen for the Saraswati Samman (सरस्वती सम्मान).

Honors

Bachchan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament in 1966, and received the Sahitya Akademi award three years later. In 1976, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan and the Saraswati Samman for his contribution to Hindi literature. He is a recipient of the Soviet Land Nehru Award and the Lotus Award of the Afro-Asian writers conference. In 2003, an Indian postage stamp was released in his memory.

Trivia

• At present, more people may know Bachchan as being father to India's best-known film actor, Amitabh Bachchan, than know his reputation as a poet.

• The creator of the great collection 'Madhushala (मधुशाला)' is often thought to be a great admirer of wonder solutions himself. It is wrongly believed that the creator of one of the most famous poems on wine (Madhushala) never drank liquor. In reality, he had never drank liquor till the time he completed Madhushala. He did drink, although sparingly, later in his life, a fact that he admits to in his autobiography.

Complete listing of Works

Poems (काव्य)

• Tera haar (तेरा हार) (1932)
• Madhushala (मधुशाला) (1935)
• Madhubala (मधुबाला) (1936)
• Madhukalash (मधुकलश) (1937)
• Nisha Nimantran (निशा निमंत्रण) (1938)[1]
• Ekaant Sangeet (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 (मिलन यामिनी) (1950)
• Pranay Patrika (प्रणय पत्रिका) (1955)
• Dhaar ke idhar udhar (धार के इधर उधर) (1957)
• Aarti aur Angaare (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)

Miscellaneous (विविध)

• Bachpan ke saath kshan bhar (बचपन के साथ क्षण भर) (1934)
• Khaiyyam ki madhushala (खय्याम की मधुशाला) (1938)
• Sopaan (सोपान) (1953)
• Mcbeth (1957)
• Jangeet (जनगीता) (1958)
• Othello (1959)
• 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)

Autobiography / Rachanavali (आत्मकथा / रचनावली)

• Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon (क्या भूलूं क्या याद करूं) (1969)
• Need ka nirmaan fir (नीड़ का निर्माण फिर) (1970)
• Basere se door (बसेरे से दूर) (1977)
• Dashdwaar se sopaan tak (दशद्वार से सोपान तक) (1965)
• Bachchan rachanavali ke nau khand (बच्चन रचनावली के नौ खण्ड) (1983)

Sources

• Obituary at Rediff web portal.
• news report of Bachchan's death on BBC news.
• Biography at Poetry International website.
• Sharma, Rajendra (2003) "Obituary: The romantic rebel: Harivanshrai Bachchan, 1907-2003" Frontline, India's National Magazine 20(3): February 01-14, 2003.

External links

• Madhushala in Hindi
• Poems of book Nisha Nimantran
• Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan - A comprehensive resource of information about the great Hindi poet
• Madhushala (displayed as images on HTML page)
• Madhushala in PDF format
• Some poems of Harivansh Rai Bachchan at www.geeta-kavita.com
• Madhushala and other famous poems of Harivanshrai Bachchan
• Hindi Madhushala