Devendra Satyarthi (28 May 1908 – 2003) was an Indian folklorist and writer of

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

literature. Born at Bhaduar (

Barnala Barnala is a city in the state of Punjab of India. Barnala city serves as the headquarters of the Barnala district which was formed in 2006. Prior to formation of Barnala district, this city was located in Sangrur district. It is situated ne ...

) he did not complete his education and started travelling from 1927 collecting folk songs which he published in his first folk song anthology in 1935 under the name ''Giddha'', which is considered by many as a seminal work. Satyarthi published over 50 books composed of novels, short stories, poems, essays and folksong anthologies in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and

languages, but reportedly on advice from

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, he wrote mostly in Punjabi language towards the end. ''Mere Saakshatkaar'', ''Miss Folklore'', ''Meet My People - Indian Folk Poetry'', ''Pañjābī loka-sāhita wica sainika'', ''Lanka Desa hai Kolambu'', ''Brahmaputra'', and ''Rath ke Pahiye'' are some of his notable works. A winner of the Hindi Sahitya Sadhna Samman, Satyarthi was awarded the fourth highest Indian civilian award of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 1977. He died on 12 February 2003, at the age of 94, succumbing to old age illnesses. ''Pancham'', a monthly magazine published from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

, brought out a 300-page special issue on him in April 2003 and his life has been documented in a biography, ''Satyarthi – Ik Dant-katha'', written by

Nirmal Arpan Nirmal is a town and the district headquarters of Nirmal district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is famed for its toys made out of wood. The district headquarters is located in the town of Nirmal. It borders the Telangana districts of ...

References

Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education 1908 births 2003 deaths People from Sangrur Punjabi people Indian folklorists Indian male novelists Indian male essayists Indian male short story writers 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian short story writers Writers from Punjab, India 20th-century Indian male writers {{India-writer-stub

See also

References