DEHATI DUNIYA INTRODUCED THE ESSENCE OF REGIONAL SENSIBILITY TO HINDI LITERATURE FOR THE FIRST TIME:Dr. ANIL SULABH

DEHATI DUNIYA INTRODUCED THE ESSENCE OF REGIONAL SENSIBILITY TO HINDI LITERATURE FOR THE FIRST TIME:Dr. ANIL SULABH

10-AUG-ENG 7

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA--------------------------Acharya Shivpujan Sahay's magnum opus, 'Dehati Duniya', has completed one hundred years since its publication. This milestone is being celebrated across the country. It is a seminal work of modern Hindi literature through which the Hindi world was first introduced to the fragrance and flavor of 'regional sensibility'. Acharya-ji’s literary stature was as towering as the Himalayas. He served the Hindi language with the dedication of an ascetic; much like the sage Dadhichi, he sacrificed his very self for the cause of Hindi.

These remarks were made by Dr. Anil Sulabh, President of the Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, while presiding over the birth anniversary celebration and literary symposium held at the Sammelan premises on Sunday. He noted that Acharya Shiv-ji wielded the chisel and hammer of an editor, transforming many unhewn stones of literature into beautiful sculptures. As the founding secretary and later director of the Rashtrabhasha Parishad, he resided within the Sahitya Sammelan complex for a total of nine years, from 1950 to 1959. During that period, the Parishad's office operated from the Sammelan building itself; this was the golden era of the Sahitya Sammelan. Writers from across the country would come here to show their manuscripts to Acharya-ji; among them were literary giants like Munshi Premchand—the 'Emperor of Fiction' (*Katha-Samrat*)—and Mahakavi Jaishankar Prasad, the creator of the epic 'Kamayani'. On the other hand, Babu Ganga Sharan Singh was a standard-bearer for Hindi who, despite not authoring any literary works himself, made an unprecedented contribution to the propagation and promotion of the Hindi language.

The event's chief guest, Justice Sanjay Kumar (Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission), stated that the Hindi language drew immense vitality from the magnificent contributions of these two stalwarts of Hindi. Punita Sinha, granddaughter of Acharya Shivji, read out an article written by her father, Prof. Mangalmurti. Dr. Ratneshwar Singh described Acharya Shivji as a writer with a deep understanding of psychology.

Welcoming the guests, Dr. Shankar Prasad, Vice-President of the conference, remarked that Acharya-ji had dedicated his entire life to the cause of Hindi. The extent of his scholarship can be gauged from the fact that manuscripts from the country's leading litterateurs used to be sent to him for refinement.

On this occasion, the quarterly journal *Sahityik Spandan*—published by Lekhya-Manjusha, Patna, and edited by writer Vibharani Srivastava—was also launched. During the storytelling session, writer Ranjana Singh and Dr. Pramod Kumar presented impromptu reviews of the story 'Kritagyata' by senior writer Madhuresh Narayan. Asha Raghudev, Dr. Poonam Deva, Ravi Srivastava, Poonam Katariyar, and Dr. Sudha Sinha reviewed Nutan Sinha's story 'Kalam Ki Pukar'. A comprehensive discussion was held on the book *Neer-Ksheer* by the renowned Bhopal-based writer Kalpana Bhatt, featuring Dr. Dhruv Kumar, Dr. Anita Rakesh, Dr. Usha Sinha, and Prof. Sunil Kumar Upadhyay.

Dr. Sudha Sinha, Dr. Pushpa Jamuar, Shama Kausar Shama, Prabhat Dhawan, Kumar Anupam, Jyotsna, Anil Kumar, Indubhushan Sahay, and Raj Priya Rani presented readings of short stories. The proceedings were moderated by Vibharani Srivastava (President of Lekhya-Manjusha) and Brahmanand Pandey, while the vote of thanks was proposed by Er. Banke Bihari Sao.

Many distinguished individuals were present, including Dr. R. Pravesh, Chanda Mishra, Tanuja Sinha, Ashwini Kavita, and Vijay Kumar Sharma.