Nagarjun (Hindi:नागार्जुन, Baba Nagarjun, Vaidya Nath Mishra, Yatri) (1911-1998), was a major Hindi and Maithili poet who has also penned a number of novels, short stories, literary biographies and travelogues. Hindi (हिन्दी or हिंदी in Devanagari; pronunciation: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union government of India [1][2]. It is part of a dialect continuum of the Indic family, bounded on the northwest and west by Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, and... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Hindi (हिन्दी or हिंदी in Devanagari; pronunciation: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union government of India [1][2]. It is part of a dialect continuum of the Indic family, bounded on the northwest and west by Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, and... Maithili is of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. ...

Biography

He was born into a maithil brahmin family in a small village of Satlakha in Madhubani District of Bihar, India. His original name was Vaidya Nath Mishra. He started his literary career with Maithili poems by the pen-name of Yatri(यात्री) in early 1930s. By mid 1930s, he started writing poetry in Hindi. This is when he adopted the name Nagarjun. A wanderer by nature, Nagarjuna spent a considerable amount of his time in the 30s and the 40s traveling across India. He was influenced by Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. He also participated in many mass-awakening movements before and after independence. Between 1939 and 1942, He was jailed by the British courts for leading a farmer's agitation in Bihar. For a long time after independence he was involved with journalism. He played an active role in Jaya Prakash Narayan's movement prior to emergency, and therefore was jailed during the period of emergency. He was strongly influence by Leninist-Marxist ideology. This was one of the reasons that he never found patronage from the mainstream political establishments. Coupled with this, his own vagabond way of life, became the cause of his extreme poverty. He spent his last days in illness and poverty in the poor localities of Delhi and Darbhanga. He died in 1998 at the age of 87 in Darbhanga. Madhubani district is one of the thirty-seven districts of Bihar state, India, and Madhubani town is the administrative headquarters of this district. ... For other uses, see Bihar (disambiguation). ... Maithili is of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. ... Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan He was born Kedarnath Pande on 9 April 1893. ... Swami Sahajananad Saraswati (1889-1950), was born in a Jujhoutia Bhumihar Brahmin family of Gazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic Dandi sanyasi as well as a peasant leader of eastern India. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Jayaprakash Narayan. ... The Indian Emergency of (1975 - 77) is a 18-month period between 1975 and 1977, when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing her the power to rule by decree, suspending... Delhi   (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, Punjabi: ) is a metropolis in northern India. ... Districts :Darbhanga Division (derbÅ­ng´ge) , city (1991 pop. ...

Style and Influence

The subjects of his poetry are varied. Effects of both his wandering tendencies and activism, is evident in his middle and later works. His famous poems like Badal ko Ghirate Dekha hai (बादल को घिरते देखा है), is a travelogue in its own right. He often wrote on contemporary social and political issues. His famous poem Mantra Kavita (मंत्र कविता), is widely considered the most accurate reflection of a whole generation's mindset in India. Another such poem is Aao Rani Ham Dhoenge Palaki (आओ रानी हम ढोएंगे पालकी), which sarcastically humiliates the then prime minister of India, Pt. Nehru, for the extravagant welcome thrown by him for Queen Elizabeth. Jawaharlal Nehru (जवाहरलाल नेहरू) (November 14, 1889 - May 27, 1964), also called Pandit (Teacher) Nehru, was the leader of the (moderately) socialist wing of the Indian National Congress during and after Indias struggle for independence from the British... Queen Elizabeth may refer to: Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (born 1926), queen regnant of the United Kingdom and numerous other Commonwealth Realms: daughter of George VI of the United Kingdom. ...

Besides these accepted subjects of poetry, Nagarjun found poetic beauty in unconventional subjects. One of his most astonishing works is a poem based on a female pig (मादा सूअर) called paine daanto wali (पैने दाँतो वाली). Another such creation is a series of poems on a full-grown jack fruit (कटहल). Binomial name Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. ...

Because of the breadth of his poetry, Nagarjun is considered the only Hindi poet, after Tulsidas, to have an audience ranging from the rural sections of society to the elite. He effectively freed poetry from the bounds of elitism. Gosvāmī Tulsīdās (1532-1623; Devanāgarī: तुलसीदास) was an Awadhi poet and philosopher. ...

Language

Maithili was his mother tongue and he authored many poems, essays and novels in Maithili. He was educated in Sanskrit, Pali, and Hindi. Hindi remained the language of the bulk of his literature. The Hindi of his works varies from highly sanskritized to vernacular forms. He was a poet of the masses, and preferred to write in the language of immediate local impact. Therefore he never adhered to specific bounds of languages. Maithili is of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. ... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ... Pali may refer to: Pāli, a Middle Indo-Aryan language Pali, Rajasthan, a town and district in Rajasthan, western India Pali, a Hawaiian word, meaning cliffs Nuuanu Pali, a region on the Hawaiian island of Oahu Ballaleshwar Pali, the Ganapati temple of pali and place in Maharastra This is... Hindi (हिन्दी or हिंदी in Devanagari; pronunciation: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union government of India [1][2]. It is part of a dialect continuum of the Indic family, bounded on the northwest and west by Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu, and... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ... Look up Vernacular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

He also had good grasp of the Bengali language and used to write for Bengali newspapers. Bengali or Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit. ...

Awards

He was given the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1969 for his historic book Patarheen Nagna Gachh. He was also honored by the Sahitya Akademi by appointing him its fellow in 1994. The Sahitya Akademi is an Indian organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. ...

Major Literary Works

Poetry

• Yugdhara
• Satrange Pankhon Wali
• Talab ki Maghhliyan
• Khichri
• Vipalva Dekha Humne
• Hazar Hazar Bahon Wali
• Purani Juliyon Ka Course
• Tumne Kaha Tha
• Akhir Aisa Kaya Kah Diya Maine
• Is Gubare Ki Chhaya Mein.
• Om Mantra

Novels

• Rati Nath Ki Chachi
• Balachnama
• Baba Bateshar Nath
• Nai Paudh
• Varun Ke Bete
• Dukh Mochan
• Ugratara
• Jamania Ka Baba
• Kumbhi Pak
• Paro and Asman Mein Chanda Tare.

Essay Collections

• Anan Hinam Kriyanam.

Maithili Works

• Patrahin Nagna Gachh (collection of poems)
• Hirak Jayanti (novel)

His work on culture has been published in the form of books entitled Desh Dashkam and Krishak Dashkam.

External links

• Poems By Nagarjun
• Nagarjun and other hindi poets
• Nagarjun at Kavita Kosh
• Nagarjun at Anubhuti
• Baba Nagarjun
• Nagarjun's poems: Badal ko ghirate dekha hai
• Nagarjun's poems: Kal Aur Aaj at geeta-kavita.com