Kedar Nath Singh is one of the most prominent modern poets writing Hindi. He is also an eminent critic and essayist. He was awarded the 1989 Sahitya Akademi Award

Sahitya 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,...

 in Hindi for his poetry collection, Akaal Mein Saras (loose translation into English: Cranes in Drought).

Early life

He was born in village chakia of Ballia

Ballia

Ballia is a city with a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of the Ganges and the Ghaghara...

 district in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 in the year of 7 July 1934. He passed M.A from Kashi Hindu Vidyalaya and did P.H.D. from the same college.In Gorakhpur, he spen sometime as a Hindi Teacher and went to Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he served as a professor of Hindi Language in Indian Languages Center and retired as a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...

, New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

.Today, he lives in New Delhi.

Poetic Style

Kedar Nath Singh's poetry is characterized by simple, everyday language and images that string together to convey complex themes. One of his major poems is Bagh, a long poem with the tiger as its central character. Published in the early 1990s, the poem remains one of the most widely read long poems in Hindi literature and is included in many university curricula. At some level, Bagh bears a striking resemblance to Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...

' Crow

Crow (poetry)

Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow is a literary work by Ted Hughes and one of Hughes' most important works.It is a collection of poems based around the character Crow, which borrow extensively from many world mythologies, notably Christian mythology...

, but the two remain independent in their treatment and scope.

Major works

• Poem Collection : Abhi Bilkul Abhi, Zameen pak Rahi Hai, Yahan se Dekho, Akaal mein Saaras, Baagh,Tolstoy aur cycle
• Essay and Stories : Mere Samay ke Shabd,Kalpana aur chhayavad, Hindi kavita mein bimb vidhan, Kabristan mein Panchayat
• Others : Taana Baana

Awards and honours

He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award, the Kumaran Aashan, and the Vyas Award, among others.

External links

• Kedarnath Singh at Kavita Kosh (Hindi)