Kedarnath Agarwal
Encyclopedia
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
language poet and littérateur.
Biography
Kedarnath was born on April 1, 1911 to Hanuman Prasad Gupta and his wife Ghasiti Devi. He was born in the village of Kamasin in Banda districtBanda District
Banda district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Banda is the district headquarters. It is a part of Chitrakoot Division.Banda is famous for its Shajar stone, used for making jewellery, and the historically and architecturally significant sites Khajuraho and Kalinjar. Khajuraho is...
in the Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
region of the present-day India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. He acquired the B.A. and L.L.B. degrees, and became a practising advocate in Banda in 1938.
However, his first love was Hindi literature
Hindi literature
Hindi literature , is broadly divided into four prominent forms or styles, being Bhakti ; Shringar ; Veer-Gatha ; and Adhunik...
, and he contributed much to that field. He was a member of the Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh, a body inspired by the leftist Progressive Writers' Movement
Progressive Writers' Movement
The Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind or Progressive Writers' Movement was a progressive literary movement in the pre-partition British India, consisting of a few different writers groups around the world....
. His writings have been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
In recognition of these contributions, Kedarnath Agarwal was awarded the Soviet Land Nehru Prize in 1973. He received the Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
Award in 1986. In 1995, Bundelkhand university conferred an honorary doctorate in literature (D.Litt) upon him. Other accolades included the Hindi Sansthan Uttar Pradesh Puraskar (1981); Tulsi Puraskar (1986); Mythili Sharan Gupta Puraskar (1990-91); and the Sahitya Vachaspati Manad Upaadhi (1990).
Kedarnath Agarwal was also involved in several educational and literary bodies. He served as president of the Arya Kanya Intermediate College for many years. He was associated with the Vinoba Bhave College located in Kamasin village, his birthplace. He also served for one year as president of the local Bar Association in Banda.
Kedarnath Agarwal was married to Parvati Devi. The couple were the parents of two daughters and a son. Kedarnath Agarwal died in the evening hours of June 22, 2000.
Published work
Kedarnath Agarwal's published books are as follows:- Yug Ki Ganga
- Neend Ke Badal
- Lok Aur Alok
- Phool nahin Rang Bolte Hain
- Aag Ka Aayeena
- Bambay ka Raktasnan
- Gulmehndi
- Pankh aur Patwar
- Mar Pyar ki Thapein
- He Meri Tum
- Kahein Kedar Khari Khari
- Apoorva
- Jamun Jal Tum
- Bole Bol Amol
- Jo Shilayein Todte Hain
- Aatma Gandh
- Anhari Haryali
- Khuli Aankhein Khuli Daine
- Pushpadeep