Essay on Indian Literature

Essay on Indian Literature!

Literature # 1. Sanskrit:

Sanskrit literature made tremendous progress during the later part of the eighteenth century and early part of the nineteenth century. This progress was largely due to the efforts of the foreign scholars who translated the various Sanskrit works and published them.

Some of the Indian scholars followed suit and undertook similar works. As a result the glory of the ancient culture and civilization was projected before the entire world.

The growth of the religious awakening and patriotism also contributed a great deal to the revival of the Sanskrit literature. Organisations like Arya Samaj and Deccan Education Society paid special attention to the study of Sanskrit and made its study obliga­tory in their educational institutions. Gradually even the government started encouraging the study of the Sanskrit in schools and colleges.

Many Sanskrit academies and research institutes were also set up to carry on research in Sanskrit literature. Some of these institutes even edited and published the ancient Sanskrit texts. Some of the prominent institutions of this type were the Bhandarkar Institute of Poona, the Vedic Samsodhana Mandal of Poona, the Rajasthan Puratatva Mandir, the Swadhyaya Mandal of Pardi, K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute of Bihar, the Deccan Post-Graduates Research Institute, the International Academy of Indian Culture at Nagpur, and the Vishveshwaranand Vedic Research Institute of Hoshiarpur.

These institutions rendered valuable service to the revival and popularization of the Sanskrit literature. For example the Bhandarkar Research Institute at Poona alone edited and published about 130 Sanskrit works. Some of the prominent works published by this institute include Rigveda with Sayan’s Bhashya and a fresh Bhashya of Rigveda. the Arseya Samhita, Vyakaran Mahabhashya, Mimamsa Sutras and other ancient texts.

The prominent scholars who rendered valuable contributions to the growth of Sanskrit literature in modern times included Dr. Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, Kashinath Trimbak Telang, V.S. Abhyankar, Dr. V. Raghvan, Anantakrishna Shastri and Narayan Shastri. In modern times original poetry dramas and short stories were also written in Sanskrit.

A number of Sanskrit journals and weeklies were started which rendered valuable contribution to the promotion of study of Sanskrit in India. Amongst the prominent journals and weeklies of Sanskrit mention may be made of Bhavitvya a weekly of Nagpur, Sanskrit Sahitya Parishad Patrika from Calcutta and Sanskrit Sanjivnam published from Bihar.

Prof. S.K. Chatterji attaches special importance to the develop­ment of the Sanskrit literature and says “The primary importance of Sanskrit lies not only in developing the Indian languages but also in strengthening Indian culture and political unity.

Sanskrit has been, and still continues to be, the one great unifying factor for the people of India. India is a multi-racial and polyglot country, and in spite of a basic Indianism which embraces all, there is a bewildering diversity (though in non-essentials) in the spiritual approach to the Indian peoples. But the basic character of India, her Indianism, her Bharat- dharma, or Bharatayana is linked with Sanskrit”.

Literature # 2. Hindi:

Though the Hindi literature has been thriving for the last many centuries, it took its modern shape only in the closing years of the nineteenth century. During this period Hindi was secularised and new vision was introduced. The prose also developed during this period.

Lallulalji and Sadal Mishra wrote Simhasan Battisi and Nasiketopakhyan respectively in prose. The Christian missionaries brought out the complete Bible in Hindi, which provided a stimulus to the study of Hindi.

The missionaries were also the first to publish school and college text books in Hindi which greatly contributed to its popularity. In 1830 Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded Bangaduia, a newspaper in Hindi which rendered great service to the spread of this language.

The develop­ment of the Press and newspapers and educational institutions also played an important role in the popularisation of Hindi. The two outstanding literary figures who renuered valuable service to the cause of Hindi literature were Raja Shiv Prasad and Lakshman Singh. These two scholars also became the leaders of the two schools who favoured pure Hindi and Urdu form of Hindi respectively.

The appearance of Bhartendu Harish Chandra on the scene marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Hindi literature. He is even now regarded as the father of Hindi prose. He was a versatile genius and wrote both prose and poetry with felicity. In the field of drama also he made outstanding contributions.

In addition to writing original dramas like Chandrawali, Andher Nagri, Saiya Harishchandra and Bharat Durdasha, he translated a number of Sanskrit dramas like Karpar Manjari. Mudraraksha etc. in Hindi. Bhartendu Harish Chandra wrote so extensively that he is credited with the authorship of over 238 books, covering a vast field of literature, religion and history.

He also founded and edited two monthly papers viz. Ravi-Bachan-Sudha and Harish Chandrika. But probably the most important contribution of Bhartendu to Hindi literature was that he inspired a generation of young writers to produce Hindi literature.

Some of the prominent young scholars who continued the tradition of Bhartendu included Pratap Narain Misra, Bal Krishan Bhatt; Pandit Badrinarain, Lala Shri Niwas, and Gadadhar Singh. All these writers used Khari Boli and raised this language to the level of a literary language.

A new phase in the development of the Hindi literature in India started in 1870’s when it became more inclined towards Bengali and a number of Bengali works were translated in Hindi. The scholars started paying greater attention to the grammar and purity of language. In addition to the Bengali dramas and novels a number of English and Sanskrit dramas and novels were also translated in Hindi.

The pioneer in the field was Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi. Some of the modern techniques of Hindi were developed by him. He was also the first to produce literary criticism. The other scholars who produced valuable works on literary criticism included the Mishra brothers and Padma Singh Sharma Certain original novels were written and the most important novelists of this period were Devaki Nandan Khattri and Kishorilal Goswami.

For the popularisation and propagation of modern Hindi a number of institutions made their appearance. The Arya Samaj played a pioneers role in this regard. In 1894 the Kashi Nagri Pracharini Sabha was founded at Madras by scholars like Babu Shyam Sunder Das, Pandit Ram Narain Mishra with a view to popularise Hindi.

The Sabha published a number of dramas, novels, essays, histories and books on criticism in Hindi. It was mainly due to the efforts of this Sabha that the Khari Boli literature assumed a definite shape.

The dawn of the twentieth century marked the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Hindi literature. Almost all the branches of Hindi literature witnessed great progress. Though during the initial period the western influence continued to dominate the Hindi dramas, novels, essays, criticism and poetry, but gradually certain original techniques also made their appearance.

The two most prominent Hindi novelists of this period were Devaki Nandan Khattri, who was a pioneer in detective fiction, and Goswami, who was the first to introduce the study of human character in Hindi novels. The other prominent novelists who followed them were Prem Chand, Jayashankar Prasad, Jainendra Kumar, Sudershan, Chatursen Shastri and Rai Krishnadas.

Prem Chand was the most outstanding of all these novelists and his advent was an epoch-making event in the development of Hindi literature. Some of the prominent novels of Prem Chand include Seva Sadan, Premarhram, Rangabhoomi, Kayak alpa, Varadan, Karma- bhoomi, Godan, Gaban. He also wrote about 250 short stories, some of which rank amongst the finest short stories in the world, and are compared with those of Tolstoy, Gorky and Tagore.

The works of Prem Chand form a part of the rich treasure of Hindi literature. Writing about the contributions of Prem Chand one scholar says “Prem Chand gave to Hindi fiction a new social awareness, a new sense of purpose. Premchand was an idealist who desired to mould life according to dreams, but he did not close his eyes to the harsh, ugly truths of life. He mitigated nothing; condoned nothing. He was truly a people’s writer who write about the common fold in a language they could understand.”

In the field of drama though the lead was provided by the Bengali plays, which were translated into Hindi, certain original works were also produced. The most notable contribution in this field was made by Jayasankar Prasad and Harikrishna Premi.

The best specimens of the modern Hindi dramas produced by these two scholars include Skanda Gupta, Janmejaya ka Nagyajna, Dhruvaswamini and Chandragupta by Jayasankar Prasad and Raksha Bandhan of Harikrishna Premi.

Prasad depicted the social, political, philosophical and cultural conditions of ancient India in his dramas in a realistic manner and showed himself as a master of the dramatic technique. Certain scholars like Rama Kumar Varma wrote one-act plays which gained great popularity.

In the field of poetry, it was only in the twentieth century that the old traditions of composing poetry in Brij Bhasha were abando­ned and poetry was produced in Khari Boli. The poets who provided a lead in this regard included Ayodhya Singh Upadhyaya, Ramcharit Upadhyaya, and Maithili Saran Gupt.

The last named poet was without doubt the doyen among the Hindi poets and has been the poet laureate of Hindi. He wrote Saketa and Yasodhara. In the first work he elaborates the character of Urmila, the wife of Lakshmana, which was neglected by Valmiki. Yasodhara, on the other hand provides a new dimension to the story of Buddha by revealing the greatness of his deserted wife Yasodhara.

Maithili Saran gave a new dimension to Hindi literature and is considered the representative poet of his age. His works are noted for purity of language, sweet melody of verses, mysticism and synthesis between the old and the new literary trends.

After the First World War the Hindi poetry came under the influence of Hindu religion and philosophy and a sort of progressive mysticism, romanticism and idealism made its appearance which is known in literature as Rahasyavad and Chhayavad. The most prominent poems of these schools were Jayasankar Prasad, Suryakant Tripathi (Nirala), Sumitra Nandan Pant and Mahadevi Varma.

Prasad displayed his poetic talent in Ansu, Lahar and Kamayani. Kamayani of Prasad was perhaps the greatest epics of the last half century and depicts man’s eternal struggle against fate in masterly manner, which ultimately results in the emancipation of man and the realization of God.

Nirala showed mastery over free verse and produced Tulsidas, a masterpiece of philosophical writings. Sumitra Nandan Pant wrote Pallava, Gunjan, Yugant and Yugvani and is considered as the best lyric poet of Hindi literature. Mahadevi Varma’s poetry is characterized by sweet melody, new humanism and spiritualism. Her works display great pathos and depth of feeling and have won for her the title of a ‘nightingale of modern Hindi poetry’.

With the popularity of Hindi language and literature a large number of scholars took to writings in various fields. Some of the prominent scholars who have rendered great service to the enrichment of the Hindi literature during the past many years include Vrindavan Lal Varma, Dr. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Rahul Sankritayana, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.

The development of Hindi literature received a special impetus after the attainment of independence and adoption of Hindi as the national language of the country under the new constitution.

Literature # 3. Urdu:

The decline of the Mughal rule in India also marked the decline of the Urdu literature. However, Shah Alam the last Mughal ruler not only continued to patronise scholars of Urdu “but also himself wrote poems in Urdu under the pen name ‘Jafar’. but most of the Urdu scholars sought refuge in the courts of Nawabs of Oudh at Lucknow and continued to create new compositions.

As a result Lucknow came to be known as the literary centre of Urdu. The poets of Lucknow produced Marsias or elegies, which were recited in the memory of departed persons. They also wrote long poems depicting in a brilliant way the natural scenes and human emotions. The two important literary figures of Lucknow who specialised in this technique included Anis and Dabir.

After the decline of Lucknow as a centre of Urdu literature, the rulers of Rampur, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Patna, Tonk, Farukkhabad, Murshidabad etc. continued to patronise the learned scholars and poets of Urdu. With the spread of English language the Urdu poetry was given a new turn viz. it was modernized and secularized. The Mussadas and Masnavis took the place of Ghazals. 

A new epoch in the history of Urdu literature was inaugurated with the emergence of Mohammed Azad and Altaf Hussain Ali. Azad was a poet as a prose-writer and occupies a unique position in Urdu literature. He not only introduced new form and subject matter in poetry but also wrote literary criticism.

He also deserves appreciation for initiating the practice of organizing Mushairas or literary recitations. Hali was another prominent poet, critic and prose writer. His works contain a tinge of realism as well idealism. He dealt with the current social problems in his poetry.

The other prominent poets who made valuable contribution to the development and enrichment of Urdu poetry during the next few decades included important literary personalities like Akbar Allahabadi (1846-1921), Dr. Sir Mohammed Iqbal (1876-1938), Hafiz Jalandhari and Josh Malihabadi.

In the field of Urdu prose valuable contributions were made by Dr. Gilchrist, the principal of the Fort William College at Calcutta. He got a number of Urdu text-books written by scholars and thus earned the title of ‘father of Urdu prose’. Urdu gained popularity at a very great speed after 1839, when it replaced Persian as the language of administration and law.

The newspapers in Urdu also played a significant role in popularising this language. Most notable contribution to Urdu prose was made by Mirza Ghalib, who adopted a new style in prose which was full of wit, pathos and directness.

Sir Saiyid Ahmad Khan made no less significant contributions. He wrote essays on various subjects in stirring language and greatly popularised the language. It was mainly because of his efforts that Aligarh grew as a center of Urdu literature. The other scholars who rendered valuable service to the popularisation and development of Urdu were Maulvi Altaf Hussain Hali, Maulana Shibli, etc.

Urdu novels were written by Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar and Maulvi Abdul Hamid. The novels of Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar are mown for remarkable word pictures, brilliant and appealing dialogues, and wonderful characterisation. Maulvi Abdul Hamid displayed his wonderful power of imagination in his historical novels.

The contact with the West provided an impetus to production of drama in Urdu. A number of Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and English dramas were translated into Urdu. Certain original dramas were also written. Some of the famous Urdu dramatists included Betab Kashmiri, Tulsidatta, Hari Krishna Jauhar, Munshi Jagat Kishore, Ibrahim etc.

A change in the trend of the Urdu literature can be noted in the years after the First Word War. In view of the various social and economic problems which existed in the country, we find more realism in the Urdu literary works. Munshi Dhanpat (also known as Prem Chand) became the torch-bearer of progressive Urdu literature which bore a very close relationship with the problems of the society.

Literature # 4. Bengali:

By the beginning of the eighteenth century the Bengali literature had made considerable progress. This was so because Bengal was the first province which came in close contact with the Britishers and fell under the influence of western literature.

A number of English books were translated into Bengali. The Bengali literature produced during the early years was in verse. The two prominent Bengali poets of this period were Ramprasad and Bharat Chandra Roy. The growth of the Bengali prose began only in the early nineteenth century when the Christian Missionaries of Serampore published certain books in Bengali for the education of children.

The expansion of the Bengali printing press and journalism also went a long way in popularising Bengali prose. But a powerful prose style in Bengali literature was evolved by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who is considered as the father of modern Bengali literary prose.

However, the writings of Raja Ram Mohan Roy were predominated by Persian words. It was Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar who purified the Bengali prose and used Sanskrit words in place of Persian words. He was a powerful writer who wrote on numerous topics of education and social reforms.

Another promi­nent Bengali prose writer was Akshay Kumar Dutta who wrote essays in Bengali and ranks as high as Vidyasagar. Certain other scholars, who were members of the Brahmo Samaj, like Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, Keshav Chandra Sen, Vijendranath Tagore, Pandit Shivanath Shastri produced religious and philosophical Bengali literature which compares favourably with the best prose literature produced in Bengali.

It was only in the middle of the nineteenth century that the Bengali literature took a new turn. By this time the Bengalis had come under the influence of British education, dress, diet, manners, customs etc. which found its reflection in the literature of the period.

One of the greatest-prose writers and novelist of Bengali literature during this period was Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, who tried to “Wing about a happy synthesis between the old and the new in his works.

He used a very polished style and produced a number of romantic, social and political novels. According to R.W. Frazer Bankim Chandra Chatterji was the first great creative genius of modern India. His novels reveal the inward spirit of the Indian life. Bande Matram, the national song of India, was also written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and formed a part of his famous novel Ananda Math.

The other prominent literary figures who dominated the world of Bengali fiction included Ramesh Chandra Datt, Shrimati Svarna Kumari Ghosal, Tarachandra Ganguli, Pandit Shivnath Shastri etc.

In the subsequent years two other great literary figures — Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, dominated the field of Bengali fiction. Their works won world popularity and were translated into a number of foreign languages.

Sarat Chandra mainly dealt with tales of social importance. His novels paint a true picture of the Bengali social life. He particularly out shown himself in the characterization of the women characters of his novels.

Rabindranath Tagore also made very valuable contribution to the Bengali literature. In fact he occupies a prominent position not only in Bengali literature but in the whole of Indian literature. He was a man of versatile genius and wrote poems, novels, dramas, essays and books on criticism. He continued to serve the Bengali literature for nearly 50 years and was awarded Nobel Prize in literature for his Gitanjali.

The Gitanjali is a collection of songs offered to the Supreme Spirit. It contains 102 short poems that echo the inner urge of a spiritual soul. Written in simple style, these poems catch the ima­gination of the reader and reach his innermost self.

They deal with various aspects of the Supreme Being and at the same time do not lose sight of the joys and sorrows of the mundane world. His Sup­reme Being is not to be found in temples or Mathas, but in the hard work of labourers; God is to be realised not through chanting and rituals but through hard work and universal attention. Tagore says that man’s life is not his own but belongs to the Supreme Being.

Everything a man does or feel is really. His doing or feeling. He is the spirit behind this entire Universe. He creates it, puts life into it and invests it with a purpose and goal. But he chooses to remain beyond it. He is eternal absolute and final.

He pervades the creation and moves everything in it. The poet feels that there is divine prompting inside his heart. It may be noted that Tagore reiterates the teachings of the Vedas, the Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita and other mystic saints of India in his poems.

The plays written by Tagore were also quite meaningful. Some of the prominent plays of Tagore include Chitra, The King of the Dark Chamber, The Post Office, Chitrangada, Kama-Kunti Samvada etc. In these plays Tagore covered diverse fields.

For example Chitra is a romantic comedy of the seers; The King, of the Dark Chamber is an adventure of the human soul seeking the Divine; the Post Office tries to show that he who chooses to take the path of devotion has already been chosen by the Divine.

Chitrangada and Karna-Kunti Samvada both dealt with the episodes and situations taken from the Epics. Amongst the novels of Rabindranath Tagore the Wreck and Gora are the most popular. They are highly thought provoking and deal with certain social problems in a highly literary manner. In his essays also Tagore dealt with the social, ethical and cultural problems. Amongst the most prominent essays of Tagore, Sadhana Personality, The Religion of Man, Universal Man etc. are some of the notable ones.

In addition to some of the prominent scholars of Bengali literature about which a reference has been made above, there were host of others which render valuable service to the growth and popularization of Bengali literature. It is not possible to refer to all of them and their literary works due to paucity of space. However, it would be desirable to make at least a brief reference to some of them.

Rameshchandra Trivedi wrote in simple and direct Bengali language on science and philosophy. Adindranath Tagore composed autobiographical works; Satinath Bhaduri specialised in fiction; Michael Madhusudan Datt introduced blank verse and sonnet in Bengali poetry and his poetry is known for the deep feeling for humanity; Premankur Atrati and Shrimati Bani Ray introduced new styles in their writings and adopted new themes.

Kazi Nazrul Islam, a soldier poet who revolted against the traditional literary forms. Certain Bengali scholars also produced outstanding works in English prose and poetry. Some of the outstanding scholars who distinguished themselves in this field include Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Madhusudan Datt, Taru Dutt, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, H.N. Chatterjee, Rabindranath Tagore etc.

Literature # 5. Marathi:

Marathi language which has a rich literary tradition also made great progress in the early nineteenth century under inspiration from English literature. Broadly speaking the growth of the modern Marathi literature can be divided into three phases, each noted for certain specific achievements.

The first phase lasted from 1818 to 1874 and is noted for the production of first Marathi grammar, first dictionary and the first novel. The second phase lasted from 1874 to 1934 and was mainly dominated by Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar, who is considered the father of modern Marathi literature. He broke Hew grounds in Marathi literature and laid the foundations of Marathi prose.

He regularly contributed essays to Nibandhamala, a prominent Marathi journal. Through these essays Chiplunkar not only tried to revive the Indian culture and literature in Maharashtra but also tried to bring about social awakening amongst the people of Maharashtra. In keeping with the spirit of nationalism and social reforms, a number of nationalist journals were started during this phase.

These journals included Kesari, Maratha Sandesh and Kal. Prominent Marathi scholars like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Agarkar, Haribhau Apte, Shripad Kolhatkar, Shivram Paranjape etc. contributed regularly to these journals and greatly enriched the Marathi literature. They also produced indepen­dent works in almost all the field of Marathi literature, and tried to offer solutions to the various social and political problems.

Another name which stands out distinctly in the history of Marathi literature is that of N.C. Kelkar who wrote essays, poetry, dramas, histories etc. His dramas particularly constitute a rich treasure in Marathi literature and even today the people of Maharashtra feel proud of his works. The other prominent play-writes were Deval, Khadilkar, Kirloskar, Kolhatkar, Gadhkari and Atre. Subsequently even one- act plays were also written.

In the realm of short story the name of H.B. Apte stands out and he is considered as the father of the modern Marathi story. The other writers to follow his foot-steps were Gurjar, N.H. Apte and Deshpande. In course of time socialism, realism, rationalism and progressivism were incorporated in the art of story-writing. Far reaching changes in the art of story writing were introduced by Kolhatkar, V.M. Joshi, Phadke and Khandekar.

The Maratha poetry flourished in two forms—traditional and modern. While Tilak, Vinayak, Savarkar, Paranjpe, Kelkar and Shekhar were the representatives of the former school, Keshav Suta,. R.G. Gadkai, Anand Tambe, Thomare, Acharya Atre etc. belong to the latter school. The credit for liberating the Marathi poetry from the traditional forms and contents goes to Keshav Suta, who is described as the father of modern Marathi poetry.

The other note­worthy poets who made some contribution to the extension of the field of Marathi poetry include Girish, Yeshwant and Madhav Julian (they introduced romanticism in Marathi literature) ; P.S. Rege, B.S. Mardhekar, V.V. Shirwadka, Mangesh Padgaonkar (they introduced secularism and realism in Marathi literature). In the field of literary criticism valuable contributions were made by Gadgil, Kelkar, Prof. N.S. Phadke, N.R. Phatak etc.

Literature # 6. Gujarati:

The Gujarati literature could not make much progress in the eighteenth century due to uncertain political conditions prevailing in the state of Gujarat. However, the saints continued to create devotional songs or Bhajans. The devotees of Swami Narayan sect particularly rendered great service to the popularization of Gujarati poetry. The important saint poets of Gujarati were Parmanand and Brahmanand.

These saint poets popularised the Garbha literature. Garbha is a sort of fascinating dance performed by the young girls and women. Vallabha and Haridas produced extensive Garbha literature on Krishna, Amba (Kali). In the middle of nineteenth century Girdhar composed Ramayana in Gujarati.

Another outstanding literary figure in Gujarati literature was Dayaram, who has been compared with the noted poet Hafiz of Persian language, Surdas of Hindi and Byron of English. He is said to have composed thousands of verses in Gujarati and is credited with over two hundred books.

His love lyrics were really of an excellent quality. Certain other poets and writers wrote heroic ballads (Dohas and Sorthas) which occupy an important position in Gujarati literature.

The modern Gujarati poetry started with Narmada Shankar and Dalpat Ram. Narmada Shankar was a versatile genius. He raised voice against traditionalism in Gujarati literature and introduced new techniques and forms both in poetry and prose.

Dalpat Ram was another outstanding poet who ‘ excelled in his description of the beauties of nature. He used very easy and appealing language. But, probably the most outstanding poet of Gujarati was Nandlal, who is considered as the Tagore of Gujarati literature. He composed sweet and melodious lyrics.

It was only in the nineteenth century, after the introduction of the English language, that the Gujarati prose literature made real progress. The Christian Missionaries not only translated Bible in Gujarati but also got a number of text-books written in this language. In 1848 Forbes founded the Gujarati Vernacular Society for the promotion of Gujarati language.

But real modern Gujarati prose had its beginning with Narmada Shankar. He is regarded as the father of modern Gujarati prose and introduced new themes in his works. His Ragrang is considered as a work of high literary merit. Naval Ram, was another outstanding scholar of Gujarati prose who purified the Gujarati language and produced literary criticism.

The other prominent scholars who made valuable contributions to the various branches of the Gujarati literature include Nana Shankar ThuljaShankar, Gordhan Ram Tripathi (the author of famous novel Saraswati Chandra), Narsinghrao, Manilal, Kanhaiyalal Maniklal Munshi, Ramanlal Basantlal Desai, Chandrabadan Mehta, Mahadev Desai, Chunnilal, Balwantrai Acharya. Of all these Kanhaiyalal Munshi was without doubt the most versatile literary figure in Gujarati literature.

He wrote novels, short stories, social dramas, essays, biographies as well as criticisms. He made Gujarati language elastic and tried to provide it a perfect form. Kanhaiyalal Munshi tried to revive the ancient glories of Gujarat in his novels and ushered in the golden age of the modern Gujarati literature.

The Parsi scholars also made valuable contribution to the growth of Gujarati literature. Khabardar, a parsi poet introduced blank verse in Gujarati. But the credit for bringing the Gujarati literature into the life of the common people goes to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

He wrote letters, essays and autobiography in simple language in an independent manner, which greatly influenced the common people. Kaka Kalelkar and Kishorilal Mashruwala continued the literary traditions of Mahatma Gandhi. As a result of the efforts of all these scholars the Gujarati literature assumed a new form and completely freed itself from the traditional limitations.

Literature # 7. Other Languages:

The other languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannad, Oriya, Malyalam, Punjabi, Sindhi, Assami, and Maithili also made great progress during the British rule. Tamil, which is the oldest and the richest language of the South, received encouragement from Christian missionaries who published a number of Tamil books in the eighteenth century.

They also started a Tamil journal Tamil Patrika in 1831. This inspired the Indian scholars like Anumuga Nalvar to bring out the prose versions of the ancient Tamil classics.

The other prominent figures of Tamil literature who rendered valuable service in various fields like novels, dramas include V.P.P. Mudaliar, Rajan Iyer, Sarvan Pillai, Kappuswan.y, Suryanarain Shastri, Pudumaippittan Kalki, Sundaram Pillai, Parthasarthy etc.

The scholars who made notable contribution to Tamil prose include Srinivas Ayangar, Srinivas Shastri, Rajagopalachari, etc. In the field of Tamil poetry the most outstanding names include those of Ramlingaswamy, Vedanayangam Pillai, Kunan Kuti Mastan, Subrahma Bharati, Deshigavinayagam Pillai, Shuddhananda Bharti Dasan etc.

The Telugu language also came under the influence of western literature and developed in the nineteenth century. The pioneering work in Telugu language was done by C.P. Brown, an Englishman, in 1824 when he edited and published the ancient Telugu works.

Certain Telugu writers also rendered valuable contribution in the field of prose, novels, histories, poetry, dramas, short stories, biographies etc. The outstanding scholars who rendered service in the various spheres of Telgu literature included Viresalingm, Laxmi Narsimhan, Vasurya Kavi, Venkata P. Kavulu, Appa Rao, Gidugu, Talla Vajjhula Siva- sankar Shastri, Chinta, Rajamannar, Vishwanath Satya Nasain, Shri Rang, Shri Niwas Rao, Tummala Seetharama Moorty Chaudhary etc.

In Kannada also original works of high literary quality were written. But the Kannada literature assumed the modern shape only in the twenties of the present century. In Sindhi, the romanticism was abandoned and the various social, economic and domestic problems facing the country were dealt with.

Thus a sort of realism was introduced. The Oriya literature grew at the hands of scholars like Radhanath Roy, Madhusudan Rao and Fakir Mohan Senapati. In the Assamese literature the outstanding figures were Laxmi Earua, Chandrakumar and Hemchandra Goswami.

Similar progress was also made by other provincial languages. In the progress of the vernacular literature the daily, weekly and monthly papers played an important role. The all-round development of the literature also influenced the mind of the people and the feeling of nationalism and political consciousness received a greater impetus.

According to Frazer, “Men such as Ram Mohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, Michael Madhusudan Datta, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Kashinath Trimbak Telang are no bastard bantlings of a western civilization, they were creative geniuses worthy to be reck­oned in the history of India with such men of old as Kalidasa, Chaitanya, Jayadeva, Tulsidas and Sankaracharya and destined in the future to shine clearly as the first glowing sparks, sent out in “fiery furnace when new and’ old were fusing.”