Mahadevi Varma

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Mahadevi Varma (1907-1987)

Mahadevi Varma (Hindi: महादेवी वर्मा, 1907 - September 11, 1987) was one of the most famous modern Hindi poets. She is widely regarded^{[citation needed]} as the 'modern Meera. She was a major poet of the Chhayavaad generation, a period of romanticism in Modern Hindi poetry.

She was awarded, India's highest literary award, for lifetime achievement, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1976, followed by the Jnanpith award in 1982.

1 Life
2 Poetic theme
- 2.1 Feminism
3 Bibliography
4 Awards and Honours
5 Further reading
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Life

Mahadevi was born in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh in a family of lawyers. She was educated at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. She was the eldest child and had 2 brothers and 1 sister. She was married in 1914 with Dr Swarup Narain Varma in Indore at a tender age of 9. She stayed with her parents while her husband studied in Lucknow to complete his education, during which time, she received her higher education at the Allahabad University and completed her M.A. in Sanskrit. She later joined her husband in the princely state of Tamkoi around 1920 and later moved to Allahabad to pursue her interest in poetry with agreement from her husband, as she refused to accept her marriage with him in childhood. Mahadevi Varma and her husband mostly lived separately pursuing their respective interests and use to meet occasionally.

After the death of her husband in 1966, she moved permanently to Allahabad and lived there until she died. Mahadevi Varma was deeply affected by Buddhism and also contributed to the Indian freedom movement. She even tried to become a Buddhist bhikshuni.

Mahadevi was appointed as the first headmistress of Allahabad (Prayag) Mahila Vidyapeeth, which was started with a view to imparting cultural and literary education to girls through Hindi medium. Later, she became the chancellor of the institute.

She died on September 14, 1987 at 9:27 pm. Her bunglaw still stands at Ashok Nagar colony in Allahabad. It is under possession of descendants of her deceased secretary, Pt. Ganga Prasad Pandey. On her birth centenary year (2007), they have recreated a room dedicated to her memory.

[edit] Poetic theme

The principle theme of Mahadevi Varma's poetry is pain, the pain of separation from the beloved Supreme Being. Many critics compare her to Meerabai, the 16th century Saint Poet. Like Meera, Mahadevi also decided at an early age of fifteen to turn her back on the traditional married life and devote herself to writing. In spite of these two overwhelming similarities, there are striking differences between these two poets. Mahadevi moved Chhayavaad movement one step further by introducing the elements of mysticism in her poetry. This mysticism sets her apart from Meera. Mahadevi's poem Main Neerbhari dukh ki badli (I am a nimbus cloud of sorrow) best describes her poetic identity:

Tujko peeda mein dhundhungi, (तुझको पीड़ा में ढूंढूंगी)

Tujme dhundhungi peeda (तुझमें ढूंढूंगी पीड़ा)

(I'll search you in pain,

I'll search pain in you)

In her poems she believed in a lover who is unique and far away (often critics link it with God). Her poems were waiting for an eternal lover, whom she was intimate with. Her priyatam (lover), however, remained always quiet. Her language was nourished with Tatsam and Tatdav words. By writing in Dipshikhak, which contained 51 peculiar lyrics, She ushered a new era in Hindi Literature - Rahasyavaad. She is often compared with Meera Bai. She however had a different outlook about the lord of the universe.

Mahadevi's prose works show no signs of this painstricken personality. She was a social reformer, a women's advocate, a cultural and political leader. Her prose reflects her strength in all these areas. The original editor of Mahadevi Sahitya Samagra, Omkar Sharad remarks about her in the introduction: "...being close to Mahadevi, I have also seen the images of Lakshmibai and Meerabai together in one form." Lakshmibai was the eighteenth century queen of Jhansi, who is well known for her fierce fighting spirit, who struggled against British to save her empire. This dual personality is the key to the meld of mysticism and optimism in her poetry. This becomes evident as we follow her poetic journey. Having rebelled against the tradition and having devoted her life to the quest for learning, eventually this quest became a form of abstract worship for her.

[edit] Feminism

Mahadevi Varma was also a fervent woman activist, but not 'antagonistically feminist'. In fact, her writings and essays mark the beginning of "feminist" writing in Hindi. Her classic work Srinkhalaa kee kadiyaan is still rated as one of the best collections of concise and pointed thoughts about the condition of Indian women, the cause of their pathetic condition and the possible "Indian" solution to this problem, not a forced or copied solution.

Going a step beyond that, she herself lived a life that exemplified that solution. She renounced her child marriage, an act which is difficult for an Indian woman even today, eight decades after her act of refusal. Refusing the proposals to remarry etc., she continued to pursue her spiritual quest alone. She wandered amongst Himalayas long with her servant-maid, Bhaktin. Her poems convey her deep longing for the supreme soul, God; and her literature is a treasure house of deepest of truths unfolded by Indian Philosophy

[edit] Bibliography

Mahadevi is considered as one of the four major poets of the Chhayavaadi school of the Hindi literature, others being Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Jaishankar Prasad and Sumitranandan Pant. She was also a noted painter. She drew a number of illustrations for her poetic works like Deepshikha and Yama.

Poetry

Neehar (1930)
Rashmi (1932)
Neerajaa (1934)
Saandhyageet (1936)
Deepshikha (1942)
Saptaparna(1960)
Agnirekha (1990, published after her death)

Prose

Ateet Ke chalchitra (1941)
Shrinkhla ki kadiya (1942)
Smriti Ki Rekhayen (1943)
Path ke Saathi (1956)
Kshanda' (1956)
Sahityakaar ki Asatha (1960)
Sankalpita (1969)
Mera Parivaar (1971)
Sambhashan (1974)

Her poems have been published under a number of other titles as well, but they contain the poems from the above collections only. They include

Collections (संकलन)

Yama (1936)
Sandhini (1964)
Geetparva (1970)
Parikrama (1974)
Smarika
Smritichitra
Mahadevi sahitya
Meri Priya Kavitaayen
Deepgeet
Aatmika
Neelambaraa'
Himalaya is a collection of poems by many poets edited by her

[edit] Awards and Honours

Mahadevi Varma's creative talents and sharp intellect soon earned her a prominent place in Hindi Literary world. She is considered among the four pillars of the Chaayavad movement. Her poetry collection Yama (यामा)(1940) received the Jnanpith Award, one of the highest Indian literary award.

In 1956, Indian Government bestowed her with the title of Padma Bhushan. She was the first woman to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, in 1979 ^[1]. In 1988, Indian Government bestowed her with the title of Padma Vibhushan ^[2].