The birth centenary celebrations of Hindi litterateur Sachidananda Hiranand Vatsyayana “Agyeya” held here on Wednesday offered an insight into the life and works of the pioneer of modern trends in Hindi prose, poetry and journalism. The event was inaugurated here by Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
Describing the poet as one of the greatest figures in Hindi literature, Mr. Ansari said, Agyeya's works — like those of great writers — opened up manifold dimensions of reality.
Mr. Ansari said Agyeya, who had striven to make Hindi a vibrant, volatile and growing language, argued that a language could not be an artificial creation. He played a vital role in popularising the language, said the Vice President.
The Vice-President said Kolkata had provided “spiritual inspiration” to Agyeya, who was based in Delhi. He also referred to the famous Urdu poet, Mirza Asadullah Khan “Ghalib”, as another Delhi-based poet on whom the city had left a lasting impression.
“There is something unique about the ambience of the city [Kolkata] that it is considered the cultural capital of the country,” Mr. Ansari said, pointing out that it was natural that his birth centenary celebrations should be held here.
Referring to Agyeya's association with Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore and professors at Santiniketan, modern Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh said Bengal provided a new aspect to Agyeya's writings — at the core of which lay a deep humanism.
Mr. Singh said that while considerable studies have been done on the influence of Tagore on the celebrated Hindi poet Suryakanta Tripathi “Nirala” similar research should be done into the influence of Tagore on Agyeya.
Agyeya is often referred to as an initiator in the Experimental School (Prayogwaad) in Hindi literature and his oeuvre touches all forms of writings — novels, poems, travelogues, short stories and editorials.
Many believe that after Tagore, Agyeya stands out among writers in Indian languages who had excelled in all forms of writings.
On the occasion, Mr. Ansari released an anthology of memoirs Apne Apne Agyeya , edited by noted journalist Om Thanvi.
Revolutionary
Mr. Thanvi said the book dealt not only with the personality of Agyeya but also his contribution as a revolutionary in the Indian freedom struggle, including his roles as a novelist, poet, editor and critic in the eyes of his close associates.
Agyeya's contributions, Mr. Thanvi said, were not limited to Hindi literature; he changed the character of Hindi journalism, providing it a new language and bringing out a weekly magazine Dinman and a newspaper from the city Vishal Bharat .
