HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN Biography By:- Faguni Dhawan HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN

Introduction Born- November 27, 1907 Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh Died- January 18, 2003 (aged 95) Mumbai, India Occupation- Poet Spouse (s) – Shyama (1926-1936) - Teji Bachan (1941-2003) his death Sons- 1. Amitabh 2. Ajitabh Daughter – in- law – Jaya baduri HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN

PERSONAL LIFE Born in a Srivastaya Kayastha family,in the village of Babupatti in the district of Pratapgarh , U.P. near Allahabad in the United Provinces. He was the eldest son of Pratap Narayan Shrivastav and Saraswati Devi. He was called bachan at home. He received his formal schooling in a municipal school and followed the family traditions of attending Kayastha Paathshaalas to learn Urdu as the first step to a career in law. He later studied at the Allahabad University and banaras Hindu University . In this period ,he came under the influence of the independence movement, then under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN

CAREER Teaching career From 1941 to 1952 he taught English Litereature at Allahabad University , at Allahabad University and then spend two years at cambridge University, at St catharine`s college. There he studied with the famous English literature don, Thomas Rice Henn, and received a doctorate in English Literature for his work on the Irish poet W.B. Yeats and Occultism. It was there that he used Bachan as his last name instead of `srivastava. HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN

POPULAR CULTURE One of his inspirational poems, Agneepath (“Path of Fire”), was used as the theme (and itsw title as the title) for the 1991 blockbuster movie featuring his actor son Amitabh Bachchan, as a ruthless mafia don. This movie was failure commercially but earned Amitabh Bachchan a National Award for his performance. The poem describes the entire gamut of sufferings that the human race had gone through and is going through. HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN

AWARD AND HONORS Bachan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament in 1966, and recevied the Sahity Academy Award in 1969. In 1976, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan and the Sarswati Samman for his contribution to Hindi literature. In 1944,he was conferred with the “Yash Bharti” Samman by the govt, of Uttar Pradesh. HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN

LIST OF WORKS Madhushala Madhubala Madhukalash Kshan bhar Khaiyyam ki madhushala Sopaan Othello Kya bhooloon kya yaad karoon Jangeet Mcbeth Ekaant Nisha Nimantaran Akul Antar Tooti Chooti Kadiyan Jo beet gai so Bat gai HARIVANSHRAI BACHAN