Sumitranandan Pant
Sumitranandan Pant (20 May 1900 – 28 December
1977)[1] was an Indian poet. He was one of the most Sumitranandan Pant
celebrated 20th century poets of the Hindi language
and was known for romanticism in his poems which
were inspired by nature, people and beauty within.[2]
Early life
His father served as the manager of a local tea garden,
and was also a landholder, so Pant was never in want Born 20 May 1900
financially growing up. He grew up in the same village Kausani, North-Western
and always cherished a love for the beauty and flavor Provinces, British India
of rural India, which is evident in all his major works. Died 28 December 1977 (aged 77)
Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh,
Pant enrolled in Queens College in Banaras in 1918. India
There he began reading the works of Sarojini Naidu Occupation Writer, poet
and Rabindranath Tagore, as well as English Romantic Nationality Indian
poets. These figures would all have a powerful Education
Hindi Literature
influence on his writing.[2] In 1919 he moved to
Subject Sanskrit
Allahabad to study at Muir College. As an anti-British
gesture he only attended for two years. He then Notable Padma Bhushan (1961)
awards Jnanpith Award (1968)
focused more on poetry, publishing Pallav in 1926.
This collection established him as a literary giant of the
Literature portal
Hindi renaissance that had begun with Jaishankar
Prasad. In the introduction to the book, Pant expressed
dissatisfaction that Hindi speakers "think in one language and express themselves in another."[2] He felt
that Braj was out of date and sought to help usher in a new national language.
Pant moved to Kalakankar in 1931. For nine years he lived a secluded life close to nature. Simultaneously
he grew enamored with the works and thinking of Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi, dedicating several
verses to them in the poetry he produced during this time.[1] Pant returned to Almora in 1941 where he
attended drama classes at the Uday Shankar Cultural Centre. He also read Sri Aurobindo's The Life
Divine, which heavily influenced him. Three years later he moved to Madras and then to Pondicherry,
attending Aurobindo's ashram. In 1946 he returned to Allahabad to resume his role among the country's
other leading writers.
Literary career
He is considered one of the major poets of the Chhayavaadi school of Hindi literature.[1] Pant mostly
wrote in Sanskritized Hindi. Pant authored twenty-eight published works including poetry, verse plays
and essays.
Apart from Chhayavaadi poems, Pant also wrote progressive, socialist, humanist poems and[3]
philosophical (influenced by Sri Aurobindo) poems. Pant eventually moved beyond this style. As the late
scholar and translator of Pant, David Rubin, writes, "In the early forties the new psychological and
experimental "schools" were emerging. It was typical of both Nirala and Pant that they themselves
anticipated these trends and, by the time the new approaches were in vogue, they had already moved on
to newer areas of experimentation."[2]
Mahapran Nirala once remarked:
The most powerful thing in Pant Ji is that, like Shelley, he makes his composition mellifluous
and tender by enriching it with numerous similes and metaphors.
— Mahapran Nirala, [1]
Awards
In 1960, Pant received the Sahitya Academy award, given by India's Academy of Letters, for Kala Aur
Budhdha Chand.[1]
In 1968, Pant became the first Hindi poet to receive the Jnanpith Award, considered to be India's highest
accolade for literature. This was awarded to him for a collection of his most famous poems titled
Chidambara.[1][4]
The Indian Government honored him with Padma Bhushan in 1961.[5][1]
Sumitra Nandan Pant composed the Kulgeet of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee " -Jayati
Vidya Sansthan ([Link]
Death
Pant died on 28 December 1977, at Allahabad (Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, India. His childhood house in
Kausani has been converted into a museum. This museum displays his daily use articles, drafts of his
poems, letters, his awards,books,stories etc.
References
1. "पर्वत प्रदेश में पावास" ([Link]
[Link]/class_10.[Link]/[Link]) (PDF). स्पर्श भाग 2 (in Hindi). NCERT. p. 25.
ISBN 81-7450-647-0. Archived from the original ([Link]
_10.[Link]/[Link]) (PDF) on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
2. Rubin, David (1993). The Return of Sarasvati: Four Hindi Poets. Oxford University Press.
pp. 105–106. ISBN 978-0195643695
3. "Chhayavaadi Poet Sumitranandan Pant" ([Link]
U). Youtube.
4. "Jnanpith Laureates Official listings" ([Link]
[Link]/laureates/[Link]). Jnanpith Website. Archived from the original ([Link]
net/laureates/[Link]) on 13 October 2007.
5. "Padma Awards" ([Link]
(PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
Retrieved from "[Link]
