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Harivanshrai "Bachchan" Srivastava (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. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... This article is about the art form. ... Madhushala is a book of 135 quatrains (exact term rubaai) by Hindi poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan, father of the actor Amitabh Bachchan. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ... “Bachchan” redirects here. ...

Life

He was born as Harivanshrai Srivastava into a U.P. Kayasth family on November 27, at a small village (of Patti, in district of Pratapgarh,U.P.) 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. Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P. It is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. ... Kayastha or Kayasth is a caste in South Asia, they are placed outside the four Varnas or main castes. ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the city and district in Uttar Pradesh. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... United Provinces, 1903 The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, mainly referred to simply as the United Provinces, was a former province of British India, which existed from 1902 to 1947. ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Allahabad University Logo Allahabad University is an institution of higher learning located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. ... Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is a major university located in Varanasi, India. ... The Indian Independence Movement was a series of revolutions empowered by the people of India put forth to battle the British Empire for complete political independence, beginning with the Rebellion of 1857. ... “Gandhi” redirects here. ...

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. Religions Sikhism Scriptures Guru Granth Sahib Languages English, Punjabi] A Sikh (English: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent to Sikhism. ... Amitabh Bachchan (born October 11, 1942, Allahabad, India) also known as Big B, is an Indian actor. ...

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. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... St Catherines College or St Catharines College could be In the United Kingdom: St Catherines College, Oxford St Catharines College, Cambridge In the United States of America The College of St Catherine, Minnesota In the Republic of Ireland St Catherines College Armagh, a Catholic High... This article is about the city in England. ... Thomas Rice Henn (1901-1974) was a literary critic. ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S... A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ...

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. For the electronica band, see All India Radio (band). ... For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a governmental cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... The Government of India (Hindi: भारत सरकार [1]Bhārat Sarkār), officially referred to as the Union Government, and commonly as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of 28 states and 7 union territories, collectively called the Republic of... Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the two central official languages of India, the other being English. ...

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. is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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). Madhushala is a book of 135 quatrains (exact term rubaai) by Hindi poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan, father of the actor Amitabh Bachchan. ... Bengali or Bangla (IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit languages. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Shakespeare redirects here. ... Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath by Théodore Chassériau. ... For other uses, see Othello (disambiguation). ... Tomb of Omar Khayam, Neishapur, Iran. ... Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Persian: رباعیات عمر خیام) The Rubáiyát (Arabic: رباعیات) is a collection of poems (of which there are about a thousand) attributed to the Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048-1123). ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ... A young Indira Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, during one of the latters fasts Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: ) (19 November 1917 - October 31, 1984) ran a whole big country. ... The Saraswati Samman (सरस्वती सम्मान), is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language. ...

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. In 1994, he was conferred with the "Yash Bharati" Samman by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. [1] 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. Executive President Vice-President Prime Minister Dy. ... The Sahitya Akademi is an Indian organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. ... The Padma Bhushan is an Indian civilian decoration established on January 2, 1954 by the President of India. ... The Saraswati Samman (सरस्वती सम्मान), is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language. ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... A selection of Hong Kong postage stamps A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ...

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.

• One of his inspirational poems, "agneepath" was used as the title and the theme for the 1991 blockbuster movie Agneepath (translates: path of fire) featuring his superstar son Amitabh Bachchan as a ruthless mafia don. This movie was a massive success earning Amitabh Bachchan a National Award for his performance. You can see Amitabh narrating the poem through out the movie.

The poem describes the entire gamut of sufferings that the human race had gone through and is going through. “Bachchan” redirects here. ... Agneepath is a 1990 Hindi feature film, produced and directed by Mukul S. Anand. ... “Bachchan” redirects here. ...

Here is the actual poem :

Vriksh ho bhale ghane, ho ghane ho bade, Ek pat chhav ki mang mat, mang mat, Agneepath Agneepath Agneepath.

Tu na thakega kabhi, tu na thamega kabhi, tu na mudega kabhi, Kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath, Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

Ye mahaan drishya hai, chal raha manushya hai, Ashru swed raqt se lathpath, lathpath, lathpath, Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

• Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, grandson of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was married to Aishwarya Rai April 20th, 2007. One of Harivansh Rai Bachchan poems regarding new beginnings was enclosed in the wedding invitations.

Abhishek Bachchan (Hindi: , born 5 February 1976[1][2] in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is an award-winning Indian actor. ... Aishwarya Bachchan Rai (Tulu-Kannada: ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ ರೈ, Devanāgarī: ऐश्वर्या राय, IPA: ) (born November 1, 1973), is an award-winning Indian actress. ...

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)
• 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.
• Sharma, Rajendra (2003) "Obituary: The romantic rebel: Harivanshrai Bachchan, 1907-2003" Frontline, India's National Magazine 20(3): February 01-14, 2003.
• Harivansh Rai Bachchan's profile on the Hindi Wikipedia

BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ...

External links

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