Modern Literature

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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

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