Shardha Ram Phillauri (September 1837 Singh Bedi, Harmohinder. ''Shardha Ram Granthawali''. Nirmal Publisher. (A three-volume work by the dean and head of the

Guru Nanak Dev University Guru Nanak Dev University is a Public State University in Amritsar, India. It also offers many higher studies degree courses online. The university's campus is spread over . Campus Guru Nanak Dev University campus is spread over 500 acres (2 ...

Hindi Department.) – 24 June 1881) was an Indian writer, poet and

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

er, known for his contributions to

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 ...

and

Punjabi literature Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab of present-day Pakistan and India and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which th ...

. He is best known for his Hindu religious hymn

Om Jai Jagdish Hare Om Jai Jagdish Hare () is a Hindu religious song written by Shardha Ram Phillauri. It is a Hindi-language composition dedicated to the deity Vishnu, popularly sung during the ritual of '' arti''. It has been described as a "film ''arti''" due ...

and ''

Bhagyawati ''Bhagyawati'' is an 1888 novel by Shardha Ram Phillauri. The book is now acknowledged as one of the first novels in Standard Hindi. Previously, Lala Sri Niwas had written his Hindi novel Pariksha guru, which was published in 1882. ''Bhagyawati' ...

'', one of the first novels in Hindi. Phillauri has also been called the "father of modern Punjabi prose". Born in

Phillaur Phillaur is a town and a municipal council as well as a tehsil in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. The city is situated 20 km from Ludhiana, 45 km from Jalandhar and 140 km from Amritsar. It is situated on the border of the Doa ...

, he visited cities across Punjab and died in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1881.

Biography

Shardha Ram was born in September 1837, to a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the third-largest religious g ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family in the town of

in the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

under the reign of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

.Walia, Varinda
"Hindi novel’s first cradle."
''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) * ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' *''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune' ...

'' (17 March 2005).Maitray, Mohan
"The creator of Om Jai Jagdish Hare."
''

'' (27 September 1998). His father, Jai Dyalu, was an

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

. Their gotra was Moudgil. He did not have any formal education as such. By age ten, he had studied

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, astrology, and music. Later, he was also a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

of traditional Hinduism ( Sanatana dharma). In his books, Shardha Ram documented Punjabi culture and language. Shardha Ram gave forceful lectures on 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 ...

, and because of this was charged with conducting

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

against the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

in 1865. As a result, he was

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

d temporarily from his home town, Phillaur. Sharda Ram often visited

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

and adjoining

, especially in connection with astrology. During this time, he earned a reputation as an astrologer and wrote several books in Hindi. In 1886, ''Sikhan De Raj Di Vithia'' ( Punjabi:''The Story of Sikh Rule'') he published, an account of Sikh religion and the rule of

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

. The last of its three chapters documents

Punjabi culture Punjabi culture grew out of the settlements along the five rivers (the name ''Punjab'', is derived from two Persian words, ''Panj'' meaning "Five" and ''Âb'' meaning "Water") which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the an ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, including its customs, usages, and folk songs. The book was often prescribed as a text book. Shardha Ram has recently been acknowledged as having written the first novel in Hindi.Previously, Lala Sri Niwas was credited with this achievement; his '' Pariksha Guru'' was written in 1902. Walia, Varinda
"Hindi novel’s first cradle."
''

''. His novel ''

'', believed to have been written mainly in Amritsar, was first published in 1888, after Shardha Ram's death. The novel's portrayal of women and women's rights was progressive for its day. Shardha Ram died on 24 June 1881, aged 43, at

Works

Notes and references

External links

Painting of Shardha Ram Phillauri.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillauri, Shardha 1837 births 1881 deaths Indian male novelists Hindu poets Indian Hindu missionaries Punjabi-language writers Indian social reformers 19th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian novelists Indian male poets 19th-century Indian male writers Poets from Punjab, India Novelists from Punjab, India Punjabi Hindus Punjabi-language poets People from Punjab Province (British India)

Biography

Works

Notes and references

Further reading

External links