Makhanlal
Chaturvedi:
He was born on April 4, 1989, in Bavai village of
Madhya Pradesh. Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi was an eminent poet of Hindi
literature. He was the editor of national journals like ‘Prabha’ and
‘Karmaveer’. The collection of his poems include, ‘Him Tarangini’, ‘Samarpan’,
‘Yug Charan’, ‘Dip se Dip Jale’, ‘Sahitya Devta’, ‘Kaisa Chand Bana Deti
Hai’, and ‘Pushp Ki Abhilasa’. He was the first recipient of the prestigious
Sahitya Akademy Award, for his work ‘Him Tarangini’, in 1954. He passed away on
January 30, 1968.
Harivansh Rai Bachchan:
This torch-bearer of Chayavad (romantic) generation was born on
November 27, 1907 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. He is known for ‘Madhushala’ – a
book of verses. He worked very hard in promoting Hindi as the official language
of India. During his stint at the External Affairs Ministry, he translated some
of the major works into Hindi, including Othello, Macbeth, Bhagawad Gita,
Rubaiyat and the works of W.B. Yeats. Apart from his other acclaimed works, the
four-part serial biography, ‘Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon’, ‘Need Ka Nirmaan
Phir’, ‘Basere Se Door’, and the last ‘Dashdwaar Se Sopaan Tak’, also need a
mention. He died on January 18, 2003.
Mahadevi Verma:
She was one of the prominent poets of romanticism
in Chayavad era. Born in 1907, in Farrukhabad, Uttar
Pradesh, Mahadevi Verma was popularly known as Modern Meera. The poet was the
first headmistress of the Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth. Some of her poetry work
includes, ‘Deepshikha’, ‘Himalaya’, ‘Neerja’, ‘Nihar’ and ‘Rashmi Geet’. Her
outstanding poetry collection, ‘Yama’, received the prestigious Jnanpith award
in 1940. She was deeply influenced by Buddhism. She died in 1987.
