DEVENDRA NATH SHARMA WAS A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR:Dr. ANIL SULABH

DEVENDRA NATH SHARMA WAS A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR:Dr. ANIL SULABH

8-JULY-ENG 4

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-----------------------------Acharya Devendranath Sharma, an eminent scholar of Hindi and Sanskrit, was a scientific interpreter of ancient Indian knowledge. He possessed a profound understanding of Indian philosophy and Vedic literature. A renowned scholar in the fields of linguistics and literary criticism, Acharya Sharma also served as the Vice-Chancellor of Patna University and Darbhanga Sanskrit University. His books on poetics, rhetoric, and literary criticism remain exemplary texts for students to this day.

Dr. Anil Sulabh, President of the Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, made these remarks on Tuesday while presiding over a solo storytelling session and short-story symposium organized to mark Acharya Sharma's birth anniversary. He stated that Acharya Sharma was one of those rare, distinguished figures who dedicated their entire lives to the preservation and advancement of elements most valuable to humanity—such as education, literature, culture, art, and music. He was, in the true sense, a 'man of culture' (*Sanskriti-Purush*). The literary community also remains indebted to him for his services as the President of the Sahitya Sammelan.

On this occasion, Dr. Sulabh honored storyteller Chittaranjan Lal Bharti—invited for the 'Solo Storytelling' session as part of the Sammelan's ongoing 'Kathayami Katha' series—by presenting him with an *Angavastram* (ceremonial shawl). Prior to the storytelling session, Kumar Anupam, the Treasurer of the Sammelan, read out a biographical sketch of Mr. Bharti. Shri Bharti read six of his short stories—titled ‘Achha Kaun’, ‘Aam Janta Ke Liye’, ‘Peecha Karti Drishti’, ‘Srishti’, ‘Zyada Zaroori’, and ‘Haan, Theek Hai’—upon which senior litterateurs Dr. Ratneshwar Singh, Vibharani Srivastava, and Sagarika Rai presented their immediate critiques.

During the short story session, other writers also read their works: Vibharani Srivastava read ‘Dhundhli Drishti’, Dr. Pushpa Jamuar read ‘Ehsaas Jee Utha’, Sagarika Rai read ‘Lakshmi’, Er. Ashok Kumar read ‘Budhape Ka Sahara’, Shama Kausar ‘Shama’ read ‘Mapdand’, Surya Prakash Upadhyay read ‘Thati’, B.K. Bihari read ‘Antar Ki Yatra’, and Indu Bhushan Sahay read ‘Mahal Udas’.

Retired IAS officer Bachcha Thakur, Dr. Manoj Govardhanpuri, Pt. Ganesh Jha, and Chanda Mishra also shared their views.

The proceedings were conducted by poet Brahmanand Pandey. Distinguished guests present included the invited storyteller’s wife Kumari Kranti, Govind Prasad Jaiswal, Naresh Kumar, Chandrabhushan Kumar, Prem Prakash, Ashok Kumar, Nitish Kumar, Aman Verma, Nandan Kumar Meet, and Bhaskar Tripathi.