Kanhaiyalal Sethia
Encyclopedia
Kanhaiyalal Sethia (September 11, 1919 - ) was a well known Rajasthani and Hindi poet. He was born in Sujangarh, Churu District
in the Indian state of Rajasthan
. He was a passionate supporter of making Rajasthani
, the mother tongue of the people of Rajasthan
at the union level. He was a government-recognized freedom fighter, social worker, reformer, philanthropist and environmentalist.
He died in Kolkata
, West Bengal
.
His other books of Rajasthani poems are Minjhara, Kum kum, Lilatamsa, Dhara kuncham dhara majalam, Mayada Ro Helo, Sabada, Satavani, Aghori kala, Leek Lakodia, Hemani, Kakko Kod Ro, Deeth .
His book of poetic prose is Gala-gachiya.
He has written 18 Books in Hindi: Vanphool (1941), Agniveena (1942), Mera Yug (1948), Deepkiran (1954), Pratibimb (3rd edition), (1996), Aaj Himalaya Bola (1962), Khuli Krirkiyan Chaure Raaste( 1967), Pranam (1970), Marm (1973), Anam (1974), Nirgranth ( 1976), Swagat(1986), Deh Videh (1986), Akask Ganga (1990), Vaaman - Viraat (1991), Nishpatti (1993), Shreyas (1997), Trayee (1998), 14 Books in Rajasthani and 2 books in Urdu Taj Mahal (1975) & Gulchi (2001).
His two Rajasthani poems are world famous and have attained cult status. "Dharti Dhoran Ri" is recognized as the Anthem Song of Rajasthan
throughout the world. Internationally acclaimed film maker Gautam Ghosh has made a documentary based on this poem Titled "Land Of The Sand Dunes" which was awarded the "Swarna Kamal" (Golden Lotus) by the Government of India
.
His other poems which are extremely well known are "Pathal 'R' Pithal", "Kun Jameen Ro Dhani" which are in the hearts of more than 100 Million Rajasthanis living throughout the world.
The United States Library of Congress has chosen him as one of the literary geniuses of the 20th century. His books have been archived by the Library, and his recordings are available on the Internet.
His works have been translated in the following languages:
for his work Lilatamsa. He also received Jnanapitha Moortidevi Award in 1986 and Surajmal Misrana Sekhar Award in 1987.
He was conferred Padma Shri
award in 2004. He was awarded the prestigious "Sahithya Vascahpati" by the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, the prestigious "Sahitya Manishi" by the Sahitya Academy, Udaipur.
He was also a nationalist and a social activist.
Churu district
Churu is a district of Rajasthan state of western India. The town of Churu is the administrative headquarters of the district.Churu lies in the Jangladesh region of northern Rajasthan...
in the Indian state of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
. He was a passionate supporter of making Rajasthani
Rajasthani language
Rajasthani Rajasthani Rajasthani (Devanagari: , Perso-Arabic: is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by 50 million people in Rajasthan and other states of India and in some areas of Pakistan. The number of speakers may be up to 80 million worldwide...
, the mother tongue of the people of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
at the union level. He was a government-recognized freedom fighter, social worker, reformer, philanthropist and environmentalist.
He died in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
.
Family
His father's name was Chhagan Mal Sethia and mother was Smt. Manohari Devi. He has two sons Jay Prakash and Vinay Prakash and also a daughter named Smt Sampat Devi Dugar.Poetry
The poetry of Kanhaiyalal shows his patriotic fervor for Rajasthan. His poems reflect the silent changes taking place in rural life of Rajasthan.His poetry is the meting pot of elements like Nature, Universal Humanism, Philosophy, Humility & Devotion, which find unparalled life like expression through his magical, miraculous and superflous command over the language where every word seems to have been appropriately generated to suit the meaning of what the poet wants to convey to his readers. Some of his poems are full of religious and spiritual overtones.His poetry has insight and a feeling of intense human sensitivity.His poetry emphasizes the sublime,selfless & righteous aspects of life which have the power to soothe the frayed nerves of society which is trapped in the whirlpool of confusion & uncertainty.Work
His first collection Ramaniyai ra soratha, was written in the traditional style of didactic poetry rich in images and similes.His other books of Rajasthani poems are Minjhara, Kum kum, Lilatamsa, Dhara kuncham dhara majalam, Mayada Ro Helo, Sabada, Satavani, Aghori kala, Leek Lakodia, Hemani, Kakko Kod Ro, Deeth .
His book of poetic prose is Gala-gachiya.
He has written 18 Books in Hindi: Vanphool (1941), Agniveena (1942), Mera Yug (1948), Deepkiran (1954), Pratibimb (3rd edition), (1996), Aaj Himalaya Bola (1962), Khuli Krirkiyan Chaure Raaste( 1967), Pranam (1970), Marm (1973), Anam (1974), Nirgranth ( 1976), Swagat(1986), Deh Videh (1986), Akask Ganga (1990), Vaaman - Viraat (1991), Nishpatti (1993), Shreyas (1997), Trayee (1998), 14 Books in Rajasthani and 2 books in Urdu Taj Mahal (1975) & Gulchi (2001).
His two Rajasthani poems are world famous and have attained cult status. "Dharti Dhoran Ri" is recognized as the Anthem Song of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
throughout the world. Internationally acclaimed film maker Gautam Ghosh has made a documentary based on this poem Titled "Land Of The Sand Dunes" which was awarded the "Swarna Kamal" (Golden Lotus) by the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
.
His other poems which are extremely well known are "Pathal 'R' Pithal", "Kun Jameen Ro Dhani" which are in the hearts of more than 100 Million Rajasthanis living throughout the world.
The United States Library of Congress has chosen him as one of the literary geniuses of the 20th century. His books have been archived by the Library, and his recordings are available on the Internet.
His works have been translated in the following languages:
- Pratibimb - Reflections In A Mirror -1973 - English,
- Nirgranth - Nirgranth - 1984 - Bengali,
- Nirgranth - Nirgranth - 2007 - English,
- Selected Rajasthani Poems - Anuvartan-1994 - Hindi,
- Leeltans - The Blue Jay - 1995 - English,
- Leeltans - Leeltans - 1995 - Hindi,
- Khuli Khirkiyan Chaure Raaste - Khuli Khirkiyan Chaure Raaste-Marathi,
Awards
Kanhaiyalal Sethia was awarded the Sahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
for his work Lilatamsa. He also received Jnanapitha Moortidevi Award in 1986 and Surajmal Misrana Sekhar Award in 1987.
He was conferred Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
award in 2004. He was awarded the prestigious "Sahithya Vascahpati" by the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, the prestigious "Sahitya Manishi" by the Sahitya Academy, Udaipur.
He was also a nationalist and a social activist.