Nirmal Verma
Encyclopedia
Nirmal Verma also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: निर्मल वर्मा; 3 April 1929 25 October 2005) was a Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
writer, novelist, activist and translator. He is credited as being one of pioneers of ‘Nayi Kahani’ (New Story) literary movement of Hindi literature
Hindi literature
Hindi literature , is broadly divided into four prominent forms or styles, being Bhakti ; Shringar ; Veer-Gatha ; and Adhunik...
, wherein his first collection of stories, ‘Parinde’ (Birds) is considered its first signature.
In his career spanning five decades and various forms of literature, like story, travelogue and essays, he penned five novels, eight short-story collections and nine books of non fiction, including essays and travelogues
Biography
Nirmal Verma was born on (3 April 1929 in ShimlaShimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
, where his father worked as an officer in the Defense Department of the British Indian Government. He was the fifth child among his eight siblings. One of his brothers is one of India's greatest artists Ram Kumar.
He wrote his first story for a students' magazine in the early 1950s. He did M.A. in History from St. Stephen’s College
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located in Delhi, India. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates, and awards degrees under the purview of the University. Famous for its rich history and many traditions, St...
, Delhi University. Thereafter he started teaching in Delhi and writing for various literary magazines.
His activism streak was visible even during his student days; in 1947-48, he regularly attended Mahatma Gandhiji's morning prayer meetings in Delhi, even though he was a card holding member of Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
, which he resigned in 1956, after Soviet invasion of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. The very activism was soon to be reflected in his stories, which added a whole new dimension to the Indian literary scene.
He stayed in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
for 10 years, where he was invited by Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute, ASCR
The Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is a research institution specialising in the field of Oriental and African studies . The Institute collaborates with Czech universities providing teaching of relevant subjects, training junior researchers and taking part in...
to initiate a program of translation of modern Czech writers like Karel Capek, Milan Kundera, and Bohumil Hrabal, to Hindi; he also learnt the Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, and translated nine world classics to Hindi, before returning home in 1968, as the result of Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
.
During his stay in Prague he travelled widely across Europe, and the result was seven travelogues, including Cheeron Par Chandni (1962), Har Barish Mein (1970) and Dhund Se Uthti Dhun and his first novel, based on his student days in Prague, titled, “Ve Din” (Those Days) (1964). On his return from Prague, he was disillusioned by Communism and later became highly vocal against Indian Emergency (1975–1977), and an advocate for the Tibetan independence movement. His subsequent writing reflected his concerted relooking of Indian traditions, which he found to be innately modern, compared with external modernity reflected in the western viewpoints and cultural milieu, which were being imposed on Indian ethos, all around, so much so that later his views were confused as pro-Hindutva as well.
From 1980-83, Verma served as chairman of Nirala creative writing chair in Bharat Bhavan
Bharat Bhavan
thumb|350px|Bharat Bhavan, [[Bhopal]]Bharat Bhavan is a multi-arts complex without parallel in Bhopal, India housing a museum of the arts, an art gallery, a workshop for fine arts, a repertory theater, indoor and outdoor auditoria, rehearsal room, and libraries of Indian poetry, classical and folk...
, Bhopal. In 1988-90 he was director of Yashpal Creative Writing Chair in Shimla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
. A film based on his story, Maya Darpan (1972), directed by Kumar Shahani, won theFilmfare Critics Award for Best Film.
In his popular novel A Torn Happiness, August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
looms large over the heads of many characters.
He died on 25 October 2005 in New Delhi.
Awards and milestones
- Jnanpith AwardJnanpith AwardThe Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, it is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country...
in 1999, the highest literary award for Indian writers. - 'Kavve aur Kala Pani', A collection of seven short stories, won the Sahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi AwardSahitya 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 1985. - Padma BhushanPadma BhushanThe Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
in 2002. - Jnanapith TrustJnanapith TrustBharatiya Jnanpith a literary and research organization, was founded on February 18, 1944 by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain family and his wife Rama Jain to undertake systematic research and publication of Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali and Apabhramsha texts.Its research and publication...
's “Murtidevi Award” for his book of essays, Bharat Aur Europe: Pratishruti Ke Kshetra (1991). - Jury member Lettre Ulysses AwardLettre Ulysses AwardThe Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage has been given annually since 2003 for the best texts in the genre of literary reportage, which must have been first published during the previous two years...
for the art of Reportage -2003. - He was a fellow with the International Institute for Asian Studies.
- Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
catalogues most of the works of Nirmal Verma in its collection. - India's highest literary award, for lifetime achievement, the Sahitya Akademi FellowshipSahitya Akademi FellowshipThe Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India. Awarded by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, to the "immortals of literature," and limited to twenty one individuals at any given time, it is the highest literary honour conferred by the Government of India...
in 2005. - On the publication of his book, “The World Elsewhere”, in 1988, by the Readers International in London, BBC Channel FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
telecasted a film on his life and works. - Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres (France) 2005
Nayi Kahani movement
Nirmal Verma, together with Mohan RakeshMohan Rakesh
Mohan Rakesh was one of the pioneers of the Nai Kahani literary movement of the Hindi literature in the 1950s. He wrote the first modern Hindi play, Ashadh Ka Ek Din , which won a competition organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi...
, Bhisham Sahni
Bhisham Sahni
Bhisham Sahni भीष्म साहनी was a Hindi writer, playwright, and actor, most famous for his novel and television screenplay Tamas , a powerful and passionate account of the Partition of India...
, Kamleshwar
Kamleshwar
Kamleshwar was a prominent 20th-century Hindi writer, and script and dialogue writer for Hindi cinema and television...
, Amarkant, Rajendra Yadav
Rajendra Yadav
Rajendra Yadav is one of the eminent Hindi fiction writers, and one of the pioneers of Nayi Kahani, Hindi literary movement...
and others, is the founder of the Nayi Kahani (new short story) in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
literature.
Nirmal Verma is best known for his short stories and his best known story, 'Parinde' (Birds) (1959) is supposed to be the pioneer of the Nai Kahani Movement in Hindi literature
Hindi literature
Hindi literature , is broadly divided into four prominent forms or styles, being Bhakti ; Shringar ; Veer-Gatha ; and Adhunik...
. Nirmal Verma's other notable stories are Andhere Mein, Dedh Inch Upar, and Kavve Aur Kala Pani.
Nirmal Verma's last story was published in "Naya Gyanodaya" August 2005 issue, titled "Ab Kuchh Nahin".
Nirmal Verma experimented vividly with theme as well as technique of the Hindi short story in the 60s and 70s.
A collection of his letters written to Ramkumar (well known artist and his brother) has been published by Bhartiya Jnanpith, titled "Priya Ram" (Dear Ram). His books have been translated into several European languages such as English, Russian, German, Icelandic, Polish, Italian and French.
Novels
- Ve Din – His first novel, set in Prague, former Czechoslovakia (1964),
- Antima Aranya (The Last Wilderness)
- Ek Chithara Sukh (1979)
- Lal Teen Ki Chhat (Red Tin Roof), (1974)
- Raat ka Reporter (1989)
Story anthologies
- 'Parinde' (Birds) (1959)
- Jalti Jhari (1965)
- London ki raat *Pichli Garmiyon Mein (1968)
- Andhere Mein
- Dedh Inch Upar
- Beech Bahas Mein (1973)
- Meri Priya Kahanian (1973)
- Pratinidhi Kahaniyan (1988)
- Kavve aur Kala Pani (1983)
- Sookha aur Anya Kahaniyan (1995).
- Dhage (2003)
Reportage and travelogues
- Cheeron Par Chandni (1962)
- Har Barish Mein (1970)
- Dhund Se Uthti Dhun.
Essays and literary criticism
- Shabda aur Smriti (1976) – Literary essay
- Kala Ka Jokhima (1981) - investigation of the Indic arts in the 20th century
- Dhundha Se Uthati Dhun - written like a diary on issues related to Hindi literature. – Literary criticism
- Dhalan se Utarate Huye - Literary criticism
- Bharat Aur Europe: Pratishruti Ke Kshetra (1991) - Essay.
Further reading
- Encyclpopaedia of Indian Literature, 1992, Sahitya AkademiSahitya AkademiThe Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
, Page 4503-4. - The lost stream by Nirmal Verma (short story)
- A Day's Guest by Nirmal Verma (short story)
- Dhage (धागे) by Nirmal Verma