Shiv Kumar
Encyclopedia
Shiv K. Kumar is an India
n poet
, playwright
, novelist, and short story writer
.
in 1921, and was matriculated from Dayanand Anglo-Vedic High School (1937) and did his M.A. at Forman Christian College
, Lahore
(1943).
In 1943, he joined D.A.V. College Lahore as a lecturer, but moved to Delhi during the partition. After brief stints teaching at Hansraj College
and at All India Radio
, Delhi
, he left to join the Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
, in 1950. In 1956, he received his PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University.
at Osmania University
and the University of Hyderabad
, besides being a Visiting Professor at various British
and American universities. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
, London
during his stay in England as Commonwealth
Visiting Professor of English at the University of Kent
at Canterbury
. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award
in 1987 for his collection of poems Trapfalls in the Sky . In 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to literature.
He lives in Hyderabad and is married to Madhu: they have two children.
collections of poetry :
The volume Trapfalls in the Sky has also been translated into Urdu and Hindi.
a play:
novels and short stories:
poetry translation :
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, novelist, and short story writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Early life and education
Shiv K Kumar was born in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in 1921, and was matriculated from Dayanand Anglo-Vedic High School (1937) and did his M.A. at Forman Christian College
Forman Christian College
Forman Christian College University, or FCCU, is a chartered university in Lahore, Pakistan, named after its American-born founder, Dr. Charles William Forman.- History :...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
(1943).
In 1943, he joined D.A.V. College Lahore as a lecturer, but moved to Delhi during the partition. After brief stints teaching at Hansraj College
Hansraj College
Hans Raj College is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Delhi. This co- educational Institute offers education in all the three streams- arts, science and commerce, and is located on the Mahatma Hans Raj College Road, Kamla Nagar, in the Delhi University’s North campus, and...
and at All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, he left to join the Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, in 1950. In 1956, he received his PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University.
Career
From 1959 to 1986, Shiv K. Kumar taught English literatureEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Osmania University
Osmania University
Osmania University , , since 1918, is a public university located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established and named after the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. It is one of the oldest modern universities in India. It is the first Indian University to have Urdu and...
and the University of Hyderabad
University of Hyderabad
The University of Hyderabad is a post-graduate teaching and research institute in India. It was established by an act of the Parliament in 1974 as a Central University. The university also offers courses under distance learning programs...
, besides being a Visiting Professor at various British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and American universities. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during his stay in England as Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
Visiting Professor of English at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
at Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. He received the 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 1987 for his collection of poems Trapfalls in the Sky . In 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to literature.
He lives in Hyderabad and is married to Madhu: they have two children.
Works
His published works include:collections of poetry :
- Articulate Silences, Writers WorkshopWriters WorkshopWriters Workshop is a Calcutta-based literary publisher founded by the poet-professor P. Lal in 1958. Over the next few decades it published many new authors in urban literature of the post-independence period. These authors later became big names.-History:...
, 1970 - Cobwebs in the Sun, Tata McGraw-Hill (1974)
- Subterfuges, Oxford University Press (1976) (includes the oft anthologized poem Indian Women)
- Woodpeckers, Sidgwick & Jackson (1976)
- Trapfalls in the Sky, MacMillian (1986) (Sahitya Akademi Award for English, 1987)
- Woolgathering, Orient Longman (1998)
- Thus Spake the Buddha 2002
- Losing My Way: Poems, Peacock Books (2008)
The volume Trapfalls in the Sky has also been translated into Urdu and Hindi.
a play:
- The Last Wedding Anniversary in 1975
novels and short stories:
- A River with Three Banks (1998)
- Nude Before God
- To Nun with Love
- Two Mirrors at the Ashram
- The Bone’s Prayer in 1979
- Infatuation-The Crescent and the Vermilion (2000)
poetry translation :
- Faiz Ahmed Faiz: Selected Poems (Urdu to English)
- The Best of Faiz
External links
See also
- Indian English LiteratureIndian English literatureIndian English literature refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora, such as V.S...
- Indian Writing in English