A daughter of the Devabhasha (language of the Gods) Sanskrit, Hindi in the modern world is the representative of India’s composite and rich culture. A medium of expression for the common people and some of the greatest poets of all times, Hindi with its ever-growing vocabulary is a language for everyone, every mood, and every genre.
This balance of grandeur and simplicity of Hindi is best reflected in the literature- poems, stories, and other written material, by writers belonging to different periods and regions. Let us celebrate this Hindi Diwas with a list of 10 books in Hindi that have been loved by readers and critics, making them the recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in Hindi.
14 September every year is celebrated as Hindi Diwas. The day is observed to remember the historic date of 14 September 1949, when during the drafting of the Indian Constitution, a middle ground was struck between the supporters of Hindi and English. While those in favor of Hindi wanted it to be declared the “Raashtrabhasha”, the other groups wanted English to be the language of modern India’s official exchanges.
A solution came in the form of the “Munshi-Ayyangar Formula” between K.M. Munshi and N. Gopalswamy Ayyangar. The decision thus reached included three important points-
1. Hindi became the official language of India’s federal government.
2. English was declared an associate official language for 15 years, while Hindi’s formal lexicon was to be developed.
3. Hindu-Arabic numerals were to be used as the official numerals of the nation.
Articles 343-351 include this resolution between the proponents of Hindi and English, and this is how Hindi became a representative of independent, modern India. In 1965, 15 years after the resolution was completed, the Government of India announced that English would be the “defacto language of India”.
Inaugurated on 12 March 1954, the Sahitya Akademi is a National Academy of Letters, an organization devoted to preserving and nurturing Indian languages. The idea of the country having its own academy dedicated to the literary traditions of the country was first discussed under the British government, which went on to take a formidable shape as the Akademi in independent India.
Since its arrival in the world of Indian literature, Sahitya Akademi has released over 6000 books, “releasing one book every 19 hours” (according to their official website), conducted various national and international seminars, and has bestowed awards on Indian authors. The Sahitya Akademi Award is an especially prestigious one, starting from 1955, given to writers working in Indian languages. In the beginning, the award prize included 5000 rupees as a cash prize, which was increased in 2009 to 1 lakh rupees.
Over the years, Sahitya Akademi has picked some gems from the treasure of Hindi literature and has awarded them with the Sahitya Akademi Award. We have curated a list of 10 influential works by award-winning Hindi books, which you can pick up as your next reads.
Located in the Partition of India, Tamas is unarguably the most famous work by Bhishma Sahni. The story is a narration of the lives of Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim families with the social, political, and personal turmoils that the communities of India and Pakistan faced in the backdrop.
Though a tale of only five days, the book was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1975 and was later used as the screenplay for a telefilm by Govind Nihlani in 1987 because of its ability to capture the soul of newly independent India, with all its hopes and anxieties.
A satirical work on the condition of politics of post-independence India, this work was written by Shukla in 1968 and received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989. The novel is a story of the hopelessness that the intelligentsia of the country faced as the political system became ridden with corruption.
A striking commentary in lucid language, Rag Darbari follows a history scholar Ranganath, who witnesses the local Panchayat of his uncle’s village, whose functioning makes him question the ideals and theories learned during his university education- a brilliant underlining of the gap between ideologies and reality.
Considered an authoritative work on the philosophy and ideals of Buddhism, written in pure Hindi, this book gives an extensive study of one of the most influential religious traditions to have emerged from India. Acharya Narendra Dev, an active member of the Hindi Movement, the vice chancellor of Banaras Hindu Vishwavidyala, and a member of the Congress Socialist Party, received a Sahitya Akademi Award for this book in 1957.
The famous translator of “We Shall Overcome” into Hindi as “Ham Honge Kamyaab”, Girija Kumar Mathur received the Sahitya Akademi Award (1991) as well as the Vyaas Samman (awarded by K.K. Birla Foundation), for this collection of poetry. Containing several popular poems of Mathur, this book represents the modern approach of the author, who is seen as one of the proponents of making Hindi a contemporary language.
A story of a Hindu husband and Christian wife, this novel is based on the 1942 Quit India Movement and reflects upon the many changes that the nation and its people were going through. Hailed for its truthful presentation of not only the social but also emotional and individual realities during the nationwide movement for Independence, the book received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1976. A follower of Gandhian philosophy, the Congress, and ideas of socialism, Yashpal is one of the most famous authors of Hindi, who also received the prestigious Padma Bhushan.
A discussion on the questions of existence of life beyond earth and other such queries of cosmical nature, this book by Shiv Prasad Singh won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1991, Saraswati Samman in 1992, and Vyas Samman in 1993. A writer who used historical, material and artifacts resources to formulate intriguing stories, Singh is hailed by readers of Hindi for this story based in medieval Kashi.
A leading voice in the Nai Kahani Movement in the Hindi literary arena, Nirmal Verma is a loved author among modern Hindi readers for the evocative, simple yet touching tales that he weaves around everyday life. This book is a collection of short stories written by Verma, located in India and Europe, reflecting on a shared experience of human beings that transcends the boundaries of time and region, taking the reader on an exploration of self and life. The book received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985.
Based in Shahpur, a small village in undivided Punjab, Zindginama is considered the magnum opus of the popular Hindi writer Krishna Sobti, for which she received a Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980. The story narrates the life of the common folk of the village whose life of hard work and simple pleasures, remains unchanged under British rule.
With the Ghadar Movement and India’s struggle for independence in its backdrop, the work by Sobti unveils how the time was for the farmers, focusing not on the political ideologies, but on the mundane Zindagi (life) of the people of India, giving the reader an entirely different perspective on the years leading up to the Independence of India.
The story of a lower-middle-class protagonist and his life, this novel was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999. As Shukl himself says, there is no great reason for this story to become a favorite among so many readers, however, critics believe that the simplicity with which everyday human emotions are revealed by Shukl makes this his masterpiece. A fruit of the modernization of literature, where abstract expressions were given definitions by the writers, this novel is seen as a guidebook by many young, aspiring writers of the Hindi language.
Popular among the audience as the scriptwriter of the first Indian television series “Hum Log” (1984), the famous serial “Buniyaad” (1987), and the satire titled “Kakaji Kahin”, Joshi received the Sahitya Akademi for Kyap in 2006. This is a collection of stories including themes of drama, mystery, wonder, and thrill- the term “Kyap” (used for something weird and unexplainable) borrowed from Kumaon’s local language, where Joshi originally hailed from. Written in simple Hindi, the stories give an interestingly fresh read, containing elements of contemporary world literature while maintaining its roots in Indian society.
The world of Hindi literature is like an unfathomable ocean. Beginning with Sanskrit, the language has gone on to develop with regional tongues of India, as well as Urdu and European languages, giving it a rootedness in Indian culture while making it a medium fit for modern expression that can be appreciated by a global audience. Innumerable works written in Hindi are examples of the relatability, lucidity, and superbness that the language manages to balance.
Thanks to the many authors who have written, and many who continue to write in Hindi, it is not possible to pick the “best” works or make an exhaustive list of Hindi books for the readers. The ten books here are a beginning for the new readers and an emotional stroll down the memory lane for the seasoned ones, who want to celebrate this Hindi Diwas with some of the best writers that Hindi and the sphere of world literature has ever seen!
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