This Day Then: September 91 min read

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Birth of Bharatendu Harishchandra

Father of modern hindi literature and theatre

Born in Varanasi, in 1850, to a poet father, Harishchandra was a writer, poet, and translator who spent his life working to better Hindi literature. In fact, his contributions earned him the title ‘Bharatendu‘ in 1880. He wrote under the pen name ‘Rasa’ or essence.

Harishchandra wrote many poems, dramas, sketches, and translated other literary works, such as Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice (Durlabh Bandu), in Hindi. He was well-versed in Gujarathi, Punjabi, Marwari, and Bengali too.

His writing centered around social issues like poverty, middle-class unrest, and patriotism. In fact, he was the first to preach the importance of using Indian-made products in 1874, when he was the editor of the magazine Kavi Vachan Sudha. He later went on to edit Harishchandra Patrika also. Some of his notable works include Bhagat Sarvagya, Vaidiki Himsa Hitnsa Na Bhavati, and Vinya Prem Pachassa.

To read some poems by HarishChandra, go here.