Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
Encyclopedia
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was an India
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 poetess famous for her emotionally charged 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...

 songs.

Early life

Born in Nihalpur village in Allahabad District
Allahabad District
Allahabad district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Allahabad town is the district headquarters. Allahabad district is a part of Allahabad Division.As of 2011 it is the most populous district of Uttar Pradesh ....

 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...

. She initially studied in the Crosthwaite Girls’ School in Allahabad and passed the middle-school examination in 1919. After her marriage to Thakur Lakshman Singh Chauhan of Khandwa
Khandwa
Khandwa is a town in the Nimaad region of Madhya Pradesh, an Administrative State in central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Khandwa District, formerly known as East Nimar District.Khandwa is an ancient town, with many places of worship, like many other towns in India...

 in the same year, she moved to Jabalpur.his father name is dileep chouhan.

Family

She had five children.Sudha Chauhan (now deceased), Ajay Chauhan (now deceased), Vijay Chauhan (now deceased), Ashok Chauhan (now deceased) and Mamta Chauhan(Bhargava),currently residing in Buffalo, New York. The Spouses of Ajay and Ashok Chauahn currently live in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Career

Shubhadra Kumari Chauhan joined the Non-Cooperation Movement
Non-cooperation movement
The non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule which lasted for years. This movement, which lasted from September 1920 to February 1922 and was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist...

 in 1921 and was the first woman Satyagrahi to court arrest in Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

. She was jailed twice for her involvement in protests against the British rule in 1923 and 1942.

Writing career

She has authored a number of popular works 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...

 poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

. Her most famous composition is Jhansi Ki Rani, an emotionally charged poem describing the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai. The poem is one of the most recited and sung poems in Hindi literature. This and her other poems, Veeron Ka Kaisa Ho Basant, Rakhi Ki Chunauti and Vida, openly talk about the freedom movement. They are said to have inspired great numbers of Indian youth to participate in the Indian Freedom Movement. Here is the opening stanza of Jhansi ki Rani:

Original Hindi text:

सिंहासन हिल उठे राजवंशों ने भृकुटी तानी थी,
बूढ़े भारत में आई फिर से नयी जवानी थी,
गुमी हुई आज़ादी की कीमत सबने पहचानी थी,
दूर फिरंगी को करने की सबने मन में ठानी थी।
चमक उठी सन सत्तावन में, वह तलवार पुरानी थी,
बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी,
खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।।


Roman transliteration using ITRANS:

simhasan hil uthe, rajavanshon ne bhrikuti tani thi,
boodhhe bharat mein aayi, phir se nayi jawaani thi,
gumi hui azadI ki keemat sab ne pahachani thi,
door firangi ko karne ki sab ne man mein thani thi.
chamak uthi san sattawan mein, woh talwaar puraani thi,
bundele harbolon ke munh ham ne sunI kahani thi,
khoob la di mardani woh to jhansI wali rani thi.


English translation:

The thrones shook and royalties scowled
Old India was re-invigorated with new youth
People realised the value of lost freedom
Everybody was determined to throw the foreigners out
The old sword glistened again in 1857
This story we heard from the mouths of Bundel bards
Like a man she fought, she was the Queen of Jhansi


Subhadra Kumari Chauhan wrote in the Khariboli
Khariboli
Khariboli , also Khari Boli, Khadiboli, Khadi Boli or simply Khari, is a Western Hindi dialect spoken mainly in the rural surroundings of Delhi, the northern areas of Western Uttar Pradesh and the southern areas of Uttarakhand in India...

 dialect of Hindi, in a simple, clear style. Apart from heroic poems, she also wrote poems for children. She wrote some short stories based on the life of the middle class too.

Death

She died in 1948 in a car accident near kalbodi (in Seoni,MP). An Indian Coast Guard
Indian Coast Guard
The Indian Coast Guard is a branch of the Indian Armed Forces. Its mission is the protection of India's maritime interests and maritime law enforcement with jurisdiction over both territorial and international waters....

 ship has been named after her. http://mod.nic.in/samachar/june1-06/h11.htm
A Statue of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan has been installed by the M.P Govt.in front of the Municipal Corporation office of Jabalpur

Collections of poems

  • Tridhara
  • Mukul (1930)
  • Yeh Kadamb Ka Ped

These anthologies consist some of the well-known poems like Jhansi ki Raani, Veeron Ka Kaisa Ho Basant and Yeh Kadamb Ka Ped.

Collections of short stories

  • Bhikhre Moti (1932)
  • Unmadini (1934)
  • Seedhe-Saade Chitra (1946)
  • Seedhe-saade Chitra(1946)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK