Modern Literature

Hindi

• Bhartendu Harishchandra wrote his most famous drama Andher Nagari; major play on political satire
• His other famous work is Bharat Durdasha. He is known as the Father of Modern Hindu Literature
• Another major writer- Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi
• The movement to make Hindi the national language, which would link all regions, was spearheaded by Swami Dayanand
• His most famous work in Hindi- Satyarth Prakash
• Premchand wrote many anthologies in Hindi and Urdu and his famous works include Godan, Karmabhoomi etc.
• One of the most famous female writers- Mahadevi Verma
• Jaishankar Prasad’s Kamayani is considered as the magnum opus of Chhayavaad genre

Bengali, Odia and Assamese Literature

• It was the nationalist fervor reaching Bengal that literature took a definite turn
• Raja Rammohan Roy was among the first to write in Bengali and English
• His contemporary writers- Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Akshay Kumar Dutt
• The zenith was achieved by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, who wrote Anandamath; from where our national song, Vande Mataram has been taken
• The first Indian to win a nobel prize was also a Bengali writer, Rabindranath Tagore; for Geetanjali
• Others- Sharat Chandra Chatterjee, Qazi Nazrul Islam, R C Dutt
• Assamese literature was dominated by the buranjis in the medieval period
• Sankardev composed devotional poetry in Assamese
• Modern era- Padmanath Gohain Baruah, Lakshminath Bezbaroa
• First work of Odia literature- by Sarala Das
• Medieval period- Upendra Bhanja
• Modern period- Radhanath Ray and Fakir Mohan Senapati

Gujarati, Rajasthani and Sindhi Literature

• Narsinh Mehta combined devotional songs of Lord Krishna with local folk Traditions
• Narmad wrote poetry, and Govardhan Ram wrote prose which includes Saraswati Chandra
• Dr K M Munshi has written fiction and non-fiction; one of the finest being Prithvi Vallabh
• Medieval Rajasthani literature- two main forms of fictional writing called Dingal and Pingal
• Most famous text- Dhola Maru
• The stories of rajasthani writers were usually oral in nature and were spread by bards who sang the virkavya
• Literature in Sindhi is lyrical and meant to be sung
• Two prominent names- Dewan Kauramal and Mirza Kalich Beg

Kashmiri Literature

• One of the earliest texts- Kalhana’s Rajataringini written in Sanskrit
• Influenced from Persian and Hindi dialects
• During Bhakti movement, Kashmiri language saw its first female poetess, Lal Ded, who was a Shaivite mystic
• Noor Din, also known as Nund Rishi, was purported to bring the Hindi and Islamic elements together in his poetry
• With the political power being passed to the Dogra family, Dogri language has eclipsed Kashmiri

Punjabi Literature

• There are two major scripts- Persian and Gurmukhi
• One of the greatest religious text of the world is Adi Granth and majority of it is in Gurmukhi
• It also comprises dohas of Kabir, Dadu and Nanak in Hindi and Braj
• Guru Gobind Singh, had also written Savaiye in Punjabi
• Love stories and epics- Sohni-Mahiwal, Sassi-Punnu, Heer-Ranjha (by Waris Shah)
• Sufi poetry of Baba Farid and Bulley Shah became popular with the masses as well as the rulers
• They composed many songs or classical compositions called Kafi(s)
• Modern era- Bhagat Singh’s ‘Rang de Basanti Chola’
• Bhai Vir Singh wrote Rana Surat Singh

Marathi Literature

• Oldest known work by Saint Jnaneshwar- he is credited to begin the kirtan and has written a detailed commentary on Bhagavad Gita in Marathi
• Oldest known female writer- Janabai
• Most famous saint- Eknath, wrote commentaries on Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana
• Tukaram and Ramdas are other Bhakti poets
• One of the great nationalistic figures, Bal Gangadhar tilak, started his newspaper, Kesari, in Marathi
• Contemporary poets include- M G Ranade, K T Telang, G T Madkholkar