Dharamvir Bharati (25 December 1926 – 4 September 1997) was a renowned

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India. He was the chief editor of the popular Hindi weekly magazine ''

Dharmayug ''Dharmyug'' was a Hindi pictorial weekly published by The Times of India Group from year 1949 till 1993. History The magazine was originally published by a Dalmia press in Bombay from 1949, just after independence of India, however it inco ...

'', from 1960 till 1987.The Illustrated weekly of India: Volume 108, Issues 39–50, 1987. Bharati was awarded the

Padma Shree The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

for literature in 1972 by the Government of India. His novel '' Gunaho Ka Devta'' became a classic. Bharati's '' Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda'' is considered a unique experiment in story-telling and was made into a

National Film Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

-winning movie by the same name in 1992 by

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...

. ''

Andha Yug ''Andha Yug'' (Hindi: अंधा युग, ''The Age of Blindness'' or ''The Blind Age'') is a 1953 verse play written in Hindi, by renowned novelist, poet, and playwright Dharamvir Bharati (1926–1997). Set in the last day of the Great Ma ...

'', a play set immediately after the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

war, is a classic that is frequently performed in public by drama groups He was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in Playwriting (Hindi) in 1988, given by

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama.

Early life

Dharamvir Bharati was born on 25 December 1926 in a Kayastha Family of

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

to Chiranji Lal and Chanda devi. The family underwent considerable financial hardships after his father died early. He had a sister, Dr. Veerbala. He did his MA in Hindi from

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

in 1946 and won the "Chintamani Ghosh Award" for securing highest marks in Hindi. Dharamvir Bharati was the sub-editor for magazines ''Abhyudaya'' and ''Sangam'' during this period. He completed his PhD in 1954 under Dr. Dhirendra Verma on the topic of "Siddha Sahitya" and was appointed lecturer in

at Allahabad University. The 1950s were the most creative period in Bharati's life: He wrote many novels, dramas, poems, essays, and critical works during this phase.

Journalism (Mumbai)

In 1960 he was appointed as chief-editor of the popular

weekly magazine ''

'' by the

Times Group Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), d/b/a the Times Group, is an Indian media conglomerate based in Mumbai. Notable media properties owned and operated by the group include India's largest selling daily English-language newspaper ''The ...

and moved to Bombay. He remained the editor of ''Dharmayug'' till 1987. During this long phase the magazine became the most popular Hindi weekly of the country and reached new heights in Hindi journalism. As a field reporter, Bharati personally covered the Indo-Pak war that resulted in the liberation of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Personal life

Dr Bharati married in 1954 and later divorced Kanta Bharati with whom he had a daughter: Parmita. A few years later he remarried and had a son Kinshuk Bharati and a daughter Pragya Bharati with

Pushpa Bharati Pushpa Bharati (born 1935) is an Indian writer and author known for her contributions to Hindi literature. She has authored 17 books in Hindi Language. Biography Pushpa was born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 1935. She pursued her Master of Ar ...

. Bharati developed heart ailments and died after a brief illness in 1997.

Prominent works

Novels

*'' Gunaho Ka Devta'' (गुनाहों का देवता) (1949) *'' Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda'' (सूरज का सातवां घोड़ा, 1952) (The Seventh Steed of the Sun) — A short novel published in 1952 that may be viewed as a set of connected mini-narratives can be called one of the foremost instances of

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

in 20th century Hindi literature. The protagonist is a young man named

Manik Mulla Manik may refer to: * ''Manik'' (2005 film), a 2005 Indian Bengali-language film * ''Manik'' (1961 film), a 1961 Indian Bengali-language film *Manik or T. J. Perkins (born 1984), American professional wrestler People with the surname Manik * Moo ...

who recounts these tales to his friends. The name of the work is an allusion to Hindu mythology according to which the chariot of the Sun-God

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

is said to be drawn by seven horses. (viz. seven days in a week). This novella has been translated into Bengali by poet

Malay Roy Choudhury Malay Roy Choudhury (29 October 1939 – 26 October 2023) was an Indian Bengali poet, playwright, short story writer, essayist and novelist who founded the Hungryalist movement in the 1960s. Early life and education Malay Roy Choudhury was ...

Hungry generation The Hungry Generation () was a literary movement in the Bengali language launched by what is known today as the Hungryalist quartet, i.e. Shakti Chattopadhyay, Malay Roy Choudhury, Samir Roychoudhury and Debi Roy (''alias'' Haradhon Dhara), du ...

fame, for which he was bestowed with the Sahitya Academy Award.

's film by the same name (1992), based on the novel, won the National Film Award for Best Actor. *''Gyarah sapno ka desh'' (ग्यारह सपनों का देश) *''Prarambh va Samapan'' (प्रारंभ व समापन)

Poetry

Kanupriya, Thanda Loha, Saat Geet Varsh, Sapana Abhi Bhi and Toota Pahiya are amongst his most popular works of poetry. Toota Pahiya tells a story of how a broken wheel helped Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata war.

Play in poetry

'' (The Age of Blindness) is a poetic play. Structured on events in the

, ''

'' focuses on the last day of the Mahabharata war. It is a powerful metaphorical work. It has been directed by

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was a Saudi Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them ...

, Raj Bisaria, M.K. Raina,

Ratan Thiyam Ratan Thiyam (born 20 January 1948) is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, one of leading figures of the "''theatre of roots''" movement in Indian theatre, which started in the 197 ...

Arvind Gaur Arvind Gaur is an Indian theatre director, actor trainer, social activist, street theatre worker and story teller. He is known for socially and politically relevant plays in India. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connec ...

Ram Gopal Bajaj Ram Gopal Bajaj is an Indian theatre director, academic, and a Hindi film actor. He has also been a faculty member and a former director of National School of Drama, New Delhi (November 1995 – September 2001). He was awarded the Padma Shri in ...

, Mohan Maharishi, Bhanu Bharti ravin kumar gunjan nd many other Indian theatre directors.

Story collections

Drow Ka gaon (र्दों का गाव), Swarg aur Prathvhi (स्वर्ग और पृथ्वी), Chand aur Tute hue Log (चाँद और टूटे हुए लोग), Band gali Ka Aakhkri Makaan (बंद गली का आखिरी मकान), Saas ki Kalam se (सास की कलम से), Samasta Kahaniya ek Saath (समस्त कहानियाँ एक साथ)

Essays

Thele par Himalayas (ठेले पर हिमालय), Pashyanti stories: Ankahi (पश्यंती कहानियाँ :अनकही), The river was thirsty (नदी प्यासी थी), Neel Lake (नील झील), Human values and literature (मानव मूल्य और साहित्य), Cold iron (ठंडा लोहा)

Film about Bharati

''Dr. Bharati'': documentary directed by young story writer Uday Prakash for Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, 1999

Awards

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

by the Government of India, 1972 *Rajendra Prasad Shikhar Samman *Bharat Bharati Samman *Maharashtra Gaurav, 1994 *Kaudiya Nyas *Vyasa Samman *1984, Valley turmeric best journalism awards *1988, best playwright Maharana Mewar Foundation Award *1989, the

, Delhi

Translations

* ''Andha Yug'': Dharamvir Bharati, translated in English by Alok Bhalla, published by Oxford University Press. ,

References

External links

Official website of Dharamvir Bharati

Dharamvir Bharti at Kavita Kosh
(Hindi)
Remembring Bharati Ji: An article by his sister Dr. Veerbala: यादें भैया की

Remembering Bharati Ji: An article by Prof. Rajiv Krishna Saxena: मामा जीः कुछ संस्मरण
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharati, Dharamvir 1926 births 1997 deaths Writers from Prayagraj University of Allahabad alumni Hindi-language writers Hindi-language journalists Hindi-language poets Hindi theatre Hindi dramatists and playwrights Academic staff of the University of Allahabad Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male journalists Indian magazine editors Indian male novelists Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male poets Poets from Uttar Pradesh Journalists from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian journalists Dramatists and playwrights from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers