A journey which began 100 years ago

Vishnu Prabhakar (विष्‍णु प्रभाकर) (June 21, 1912 – April 11, 2009) was a veteran Hindi writer who wrote in almost all the genres such as short stories, novels, plays, biography, travelogues and even poetry. He was a true Gandhian and stood for human and moral values throughtout his life.This blog is a personal tribute to a man who lived his life the same way as he preached.

(Pl. Click above for enlagement)

Today is the begining of his centenary celebrations. To mark the year long celebrations, a function was held in the auditorium of Sahitya Academy, New Delhi, in the evening, attended by luminaries in the field of arts and literature, notably, Dr.Mahip Singh, Dr.Asgar Wajahat, Dr. Raj Kumar Saini, Dr. Prabhakar Shotriya, Dr. Ashok Chakradhar, Sh.P.N.Chaturvedi, Sh.Ved Prakash Vaidic, Sh.Surendra Sharma,Dr. Ram Sharan Gaur, Dr. Urmil Satya Bhushan, Dr. Sarojani Pritam, Dr. Govind Vyas, Dr.Arvind Kumar, Dr. Rekha Vyas, Dr.Meena Paliwal, Dr.Nutan Kapoor, Sh.Prabhat Kumar, Sh.Seemab Sultanpuri, Sh.Dinesh Nautiyal, Dr. Rekha Vyas, Dr. Anil Joshi, Ms.Munnawar Khanam, Ms.Nisha Nishant alogwith family members of Prabhakarji- Sh.Atul Prabhakar (Son), Ah.Amit Aggarwal (Son), Ms.Archana Prabhakar (Daughter)...

His contribution to Hindi literature for over eight decades was remembered, sprinkled with personal, fond memories and his cherished ideals. Relishing was the reading of one of his stories, "Jeevan Ka Ek Aur Naam" by his daughter Ms.Archana Prabhakar who is a gifted Radio and TV artist.

Life Sketch -

Born in a middle class Vaish family of Sh.Durga Prasad and Smt.Mahadevi, on 21^st June, 1911 in Mirapur village , District Muzaffarpur of Northern Province of British India, now Uttar Pradesh, he passed Matriculation, Hindi Bhushan, Pragya, Hindi Prabhakar and degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Initially he worked for nearly 15 years from May 1929 to June 1944 in Government Cattle Farm, now Livestock Form, in different capacities of Dafftari (Office Assistant) and Clerk and as accountant in “Akhil Bhartiya Ayurved Mahamandal”. Later he joined All India Radio, Delhi (Akaashwani) as Play Director at the invitation of the government. He remained associated with Indian National Congress till 1950.

There is also one most unfortunate incident in his life when he was implicated in Mahatma Gandhi assassination case for nearly two months but was later on cleared by Intelligence agencies. What a tragic irony that a real Gandhian implicated in the murder of Gandhi!

Marriage-

He was married to Ms.Sushila at the age of 26 years, on 30^th May’1938. After seeing lack of education among masses particularly elders she got herself involved in adult literacy and was awarded for her contributions. She left this mundane world on 08^th Jan’1980 at the age of 60 years. They were bestowed with four children namely, Anita, Atul, Amit and Archana who are all well educated, married and well settled.

Literary career –

Started in the year 1926 at an early age with the publication of a letter in ‘Bal Sakha’, later in 1931 with the publication of a story ‘Diwali Ke Din’ in ‘Hindi Milap’, Lahore; his literary career spanning over eight decades covered almost all genres in Hindi Literature i.e. stories, short stories, plays, essays, biographies, autobiography, poetry, children books etc.

‘Aawara Masiha’- biography of Sharat Chandra Chatterjee and ‘Ardhnarishwar’ remain the most popular and awarded works which have also been translated into numerous Indian and foreign languages.

His works will be dealt extensively in the future posts which is the main and specific purpose of this blog, as a tribute to the man and his works, at the same time enriching both Hindi and English readers and admirers of Vishnuji through mutual interaction .

He was an avid traveler and travelled extensively in India and abroad; particularly his travels on the trail of Sharat Babu lead to the creation of his masterpiece ‘Aawara Masiha’ which not only established him firmly into literary firmament but also induced in him the ‘Aawargi’ of ‘Aawara Masiha’.