Ramdhari Singh Dinkar: One of the greatest modern Hindi poets

Born to Babu Ravi Singh and Manroop Devi in Simaria village in Bihar’s Begusarai district on September 23, 1908, Dinkar studied at the Mokama High School. Most of this childhood was spent in extreme poverty. As a student, he had a keen interest in history, philosophy, and politics. At school and later in college, he studied Hindi, Sanskrit, Maithili, Bengali, Urdu, and English literature. He did matriculation in 1929 and entered Patna College where he completed graduation. 

Career and major works 

His first major poetic work, titled Vijay Sandesh (Message of Victory), which comprised 10 poems based on the peasant’s satyagraha led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was published in 1928. 

A year later, Dinkar composed Pran Bhang and in 1935 his another collection of poems titled Renuka was published. In 1946, he composed the famous narrative poem titled Kurukshetra. 

His works in the late 1940s included Dhoop Chhah, Saamdheni, Baapu, and Mitti Ki Or. In addition, Rashmirathi, Urvashi, Hunkar, Parashuram Ki Pratiksha, Samar Shesh Hai, and Krishna Ki Chaetavani are among his major poetic works while Sanskriti Ke Chaar Adhyaay, Raashtrabhaasha aur Raashtriya Ekta, Shuddh Kavitaa Ki Khoj, Ardhanaarishwar, and He Ram! are among his prominent prose works. Divided into four vast chapters and published in 1956, Sanskriti Ke Char Adhyaya stresses on the spirit of unity in India despite the nation being a land of several cultures. He Ram! consists of the metaphors that have been written on the lives of great men like Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda. His contributions in literary criticism were also highly appreciated. Dinkar got married in Tabhka, a village in Bihar’s Samastipur district. However, the name of his wife is not known. 

He entered politics during the time of India’s struggle for freedom from British rule. 

Awards and achievements 

In 1959, the Sahitya Akademi Award for his work, Sanskriti Ke Char Adhyay, and the Jnanpith Award in 1972 for Urvashi were among the major awards conferred on him. Dinkar was elected to the Rajya Sabha and served in the House from 1952 to 1964. 

He was awarded the LLD degree by the Bhagalpur University and felicitated as Sahitya-Chudamani by Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur.

In 1999, he was featured on a set of commemorative postal stamps released by the Union government to celebrate the Linguistic Harmony of India. 

During 1964 and 1965, the poet was appointed to the post of vice-chancellor at the Bhagalpur University in Bihar. From 1965 to 1971, he served as the Hindi advisor to the Union government. Dinkar Chowk in Patna was named after him. In 2013, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar laid the foundation stone of the Rastrakavi Ramdhari Singh Dinkar College of Engineering in Begusarai district, where the poet was born. The legendary poet died in Begusarai on April 24, 1974.

Interesting facts

• While studying at the Mokama High School, Dinkar was unable to stay on till the school which closed at 4 pm as he had to leave the class after the lunch break to take the steamer back home. 

• During the freedom struggle, he initially supported the revolutionary movement but then became a Gandhian. He called himself a ‘Bad Gandhian’ due to empathy for the feelings of indignation among the youth.  During the Emergency in 1975, freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan recited Dinkar’s poem titled Singhasan Khaali Karo Ke Janata Aaati Hai (Vacate the throne as the people are coming). 

• He was greatly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore, Iqbal, Keats, and Milton and translated the works of Tagore from Bengali to Hindi. Historian Kashi Prasad Jaiswal loved Dinkar like a son and was the first person to appreciate the historical sense in his poetry. Renowned poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan wrote that Dinkar deserved four Jnanpith Awards – for poetry, prose, language, and for his service to Hindi.

Source: Famouspeople.com,wikipedia, jivani.org