It has been suggested that Harivansh Rai 'Bachchan' be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Harivanshrai Srivastav Bachchan (November 27, 1907 - January 18, 2003)was a distinguished Hindi poet, perhaps best known for his early work Madhushala. He is also the father of Bollywood movie star, Amitabh Bachchan. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan, today more famously known as the father of Indian Film Legend Amitabh Bachchan, was a Hindi Poet of great talent and influence. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is traditionally a written art form (although there is also an ancient and modern poetry which relies mainly upon oral or pictorial representations) in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... A great book of 135 similarly-structured-poems (exact term rubaai) by the famous hindi poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan, father of the famous actor Amitabh Bachchan. ... Typical Bollywood movie poster Bollywood is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. ... Amitabh Bachchan (born October 11, 1942, in Allahabad, India) also known as Big B, is an Indian actor whose Bollywood career has spanned over four decades. ...

Life

Born Harivanshrai Srivastav, to a Kayasth family in 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 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. Kayastha or Kayasth is a caste in South Asia, they are placed outside the four Varnas or main castes. ... Map of India. ... The United Provinces (Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden/Provinciën, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands/Provinces — 1581–1795) was a European republic which is now known as the Netherlands. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش), also popularly known by its acronym UP, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. ... Urdu (اردو) is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family which developed under Persian, Turkish, and Arabic influence in the South Asia during the time of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... Allahabad University Logo Allahabad University is an institution of higher learning located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. ... Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U.) is a major university located in Benaras, 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, reaching its climax with Mahatma Gandhis Quit India Movement (1942-1945), and Subhash Chandra Boses Indian... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869–January 30, 1948) (Devanagari, Hindi: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी,Gujarati:મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી) was the spiritual and political leader of India who led the struggle for Indias independence from the British Empire, empowered by tens of millions of Indians. ...

From 1941 to 1952 he taught English at the Allahabad University and then spent two years at Cambridge University. He recieved 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. REDIRECT [1] ... 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, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian. ... A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ...

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. // Overview All India Radio (AIR for short) is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India), an autonomous corporation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. ... It has been suggested that National Capital Territory of Delhi be merged into this article or section. ... Hindi (हिन्दी hindī) is an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ...

In 1926 Bachchan married his first wife, Shyama, then 14 years old. Shortly after her death Bachchan married Shrimati Teji Suri in 1941. He has two sons, Amitabh, and Ajitabh.

Bachchan used to introduce himself as Mitti ka tan, masti ka man, kshan-bhar jivan — mera parichay. (A body of clay, a mind full of play, a moment’s life - that is me.).

Harivanshrai Bachchan passed away on January 18, 2003, at the age of 95.

Work

He is best known for his early lyric poem Madhushala (The House of Wine), which has been been translated into English and many regional Indian languages including Bengali, Marathi and Malayalam. It forms part of a trilogy, along with Madhubala and Madhukalash. Bachchan has published about 30 volumes of poetry. He has translated Shakespeare's Macbeth and Othello, Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, the Bhagavad Gita and W B Yeats to Hindi. His works include Nisha Nimantran, Khadi Ke Phool, Ekant Sangeet and Satrangini. In Nov 1984 he wrote his last poem Ek November 1984 on Indira Gandhi’s assassination. His four volume autobiography, (abridged and translated into English as In the Afternoon of Time) was chosen for the Saraswati Samman. A great book of 135 similarly-structured-poems (exact term rubaai) by the famous hindi poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan, father of the famous actor Amitabh Bachchan. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം) is the major language of the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... Scene from Macbeth, depicting the witches conjuring of an apparition in Act IV, Scene I. Painting by William Rimmer This article is on the play Macbeth by Shakespeare. ... Othello and Desdemona in Venice by Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856) Othello: The Moor of Venice is a tragedy by Shakespeare written around 1603. ... Tomb of Omar Khayam, Neishapur, Iran. ... Rubaiyat is a common shorthand name for the collection of Persian verses known more formally as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. ... 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. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

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 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. 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. ... This 1974 stamp from Japan depicts a Class 8620 steam locomotive. ...

Sources

• Obituary at Rediff web portal.
• news report of Bachchan's death on BBC news.
• Biography at Poetry International website.

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External links

• Madhushala (displayed as images on HTML page)
• Madhushala in PDF format