Kunwar Narayan (English: Kunwar Narayan, born- 19 September, 1927, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh; died- 15 November, 2017, Delhi) was counted among the respected poets of Hindi. Kunwar ji’s prestige and respect is universally recognized beyond the terrible factionalism of Hindi literature. His fame is not only that of a writer, but also that of a romantic thinker with deep interest in many forms of art. Kunwar Narayan is known for looking at the present through history and myth in his creativity. His creative world is so vast and complex that it is not possible to give it any single name.
His articles on film reviews and other arts have also been published regularly in newspapers and magazines. He has translated poets from many other languages into Hindi and many translations of his own poems and stories have been published in various Indian and foreign languages. The Italian translation of ‘Atmajayee’ was published from Rome in 1989. Kunwar Narayan has also been on the editorial board of ‘Yugchetna’ and ‘Naya Prateek’ and ‘Chhayanat’.
Kunwar Narayan was born on September 19, 1927 in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh. Kunwar ji had received his education up to Intermediate as a science candidate, but due to his interest in literature, he later became a student of literature. He did M.A. in English Literature from ‘Lucknow University’ in 1951. Did. From 1973 to 1979, he was also the Vice-Chairman of ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi’. Kunwar ji also served as a member of the editorial board in the monthly magazine edited by Agyeya from 1975 to 1978. Kunwar Narayan’s mother, uncle and then sister died of TB untimely. Had died of disease. His sister Brijrani died of illness at the age of only 19. This had caused him great pain and sorrow. According to Kunwar Narayan –
This encounter with death was not only at the individual level but also at the collective level. After the end of World War II, I went to Poland in 1955. Vishwanath Pratap Singh also went with me. There I saw the devastation of war. I was twenty-seven years old then. That’s why I look for the will to live in my writing. Man’s desire for survival, his life, is a very real reality. After completing his Masters in English Literature from Lucknow University, Kunwar Narayan started working in the ancestral automobile business but later joined Acharya J. B. Influenced by Kripalani, Acharya Narendra Dev and Satyajit Ray, his interest in literature increased.
Kunwar Narayan is the best litterateur of this era. His poetic journey started with ‘Chakravyuh’. Along with this, he created a new kind of understanding among the Hindi poetry readers. Although Kunwar Narayan’s main genre has been poetry, apart from this he also wrote stories, articles and reviews as well as on cinema, theater and other arts. Due to this, while his writings became easily communicable, he also remained experimental. His poems and stories have also been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. He also translated the poems of Kavafi and Brockhes for ‘Tanav’ magazine. Kunwar Narayan is the best litterateur of our times. His poetic journey started with ‘Chakravyuh’. Along with this, he created a new kind of understanding among the Hindi poetry readers. Through his collection ‘Parivesh Hum Tum’, a rare interpretation of human relationships came before all of us.
In his treatise ‘Atmajayee’, he presented the eternal problem of death in front of us with a wonderful explanation through the medium of Kathopanishad. In this, Nachiketa, taking his father’s command, ‘Mritya Ve Tva Dadamiti’ i.e. I give you to death, goes to the door of Yama, where he remains hungry and thirsty for three days and waits for Yamraj to return home. Pleased with his sadhana, Yamraj allows him to ask for three boons. The first boon that Nachiketa asks for is that the anger of his father Vajashrava should end.
Created a new kind of understanding among Hindi poetry readers. Based on this statement of Nachiketa, in Kunwar Narayan’s work ‘Vajshrava ke Bahane’ which came out in 2008, he has poeticized the agitation going on in the mind of his father Vajshrava in highly sattvik terminology. The rare feature of this work is that by giving ‘abstract’ a very subtle sensory vocabulary, it has given voice to new enthusiasm and desire for life. While on one hand, Kunwar Narayan has discussed the topic of death in Atmajayi, on the contrary, in the work ‘Vajshrava Ke Bahane’, he has underlined the light of life with his positive sensitivity.
According to Kunwar Narayan- ‘When I became the Vice President of Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy, I got the opportunity to come closer in contact with the musicians. I have a long association with music. I often met Faiyaz Khan, Omkarnath Thakur, Achchan Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj etc. His association influenced my literary culture on many levels. I have also been writing on film festivals. Together with Vishnu Khare, Vinod Bhardwaj and Prayag Shukla, we thought that film reviews in Hindi were neglected. Actually, since childhood I was fond of watching movies. There were three cinema halls in Hazratganj (Lucknow) in which I used to watch movies every evening. This was in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.[1]
Hindi poet Kunwar Narayan was awarded Mahattar Membership by Sahitya Akademi on 20 December 2010 in New Delhi. Kunwar Narayan, a strong signator of the New Poetry Movement and awarded the Jnanpith Award in 2005, has been one of the prominent poets of ‘Third Saptak’ edited by Agyeya. Kunwar Narayan is known for looking at the present through history and myth in his creativity. Although Kunwar Narayan’s main genre has been poetry, apart from this he has also written stories, articles and reviews as well as on cinema, theater and other arts.
There is a special reason for Kunwar ji’s interest in films. Actually, Kunwar Narayan sees a lot of similarity between the medium of film and poetry. He says, ‘Just as shots are collected in films and later edited, poetry is composed in the same way. There is a similarity between the composition process of a film and the composition process of a poem. Arson Welles has also said that poetry is like film. I never write poetry as a narrative but in pieces. Greece’s famous filmmaker Louis Maal used to roam on the streets, first shooting and then making the script. My favorite filmmakers are Krzysztof Klisowski, Igor Bergman, Tarkovsky, Andrei Vazda, etc. Of these, I like Tarkovsky the most. I consider him the poet of films. We use words, he uses images, but both create. Art, film, music all together create a culture, human culture, but each has its own place from where it can communicate with other arts. Literature also has its own corner, where its identity should remain strong. When we mix it with other arts or politics, we do not do justice to it. Do you understand what I am saying?[1]
published works
Poetry collections – Chakravyuh (1956), Teesra Saptak (1959), Parivesh: Hum-Tum (1961), Apne Samne (1979), Koi Doosra Nahi (1993), In Din (2002) Khand Kavya – Atmajayi (1965) and Vajshrava On the pretext of (2008) Story collection – Akaron ke Paayot (1973) Review thoughts – Today and before today (1998), My interviews (1999), Some interdisciplinary references of literature (2003) Anthology – Kunwar Narayan-Sansar (selected articles) Collection of) 2002, Kunwar Narayan Presence (Collection of Selected Writings, 2002), Kunwar Narayan Selected Poems (2007), Kunwar Narayan- Representative Poems (2008)
Through his collection ‘Parivesh Hum Tum’, a rare interpretation of human relationships came before everyone. In his treatise ‘Atmajayee’, he presented the eternal problem related to death with a wonderful explanation using Kathopanishad. The rare feature of this work is that by giving ‘abstract’ a very subtle sensory vocabulary, it has given voice to new enthusiasm and desire for life. While on one hand, in ‘Atmajayee’, Kunwar Narayan has discussed the topic of death, on the contrary, in the work ‘Vajshrava Ke Bahane’, he has underlined the light of life with his positive sensitivity. This work not only provides relief to the wandering mentality in today’s barbaric times, but also gives inspiration as to what could be a sensible way to maintain coordination between two generations. Reading him, it seems that Kunwar Narayan is probably the best poet in the last 55 years of Hindi poetry.
Kunwar Narayan was awarded the ‘Jnanpith Award’ for the year 2005 in 2009.[3] On October 6, President Pratibha Patil honored her with the country’s highest literary honour. Kunwar ji received ‘Sahitya Academy Award’, ‘Vyas Samman’, ‘Kumar Ashan Award’ of Kerala, ‘Premchand Award’, ‘Tulsi Award’, ‘Uttar Pradesh Hindi Institute Award’, ‘National Kabir Samman’, ‘Shalaka Samman’. , ‘Medal of Warsaw University’, ‘International Premio Ferenza Honor’ of Poland and Rome and ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2009.
Famous Hindi poet Kunwar Narayan passed away on November 15, 2017. He was 90 years old. Kunwar, originally from Faizabad, was associated with literature for the last 51 years. He breathed his last on Wednesday at his home in CR Park, Delhi. He lived in CR Park with his wife and son. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the death of poet Kuvnar Narayan. He tweeted that he condoles the demise of poet and litterateur Kunwar Narayan ji, who was honored with Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith Award, born in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. His contribution to literature will remain unforgettable. Poet Ashok Vajpayee wrote that litterateur Kunwar Narayan, who had command over music, cinema, poetry and philosophy, will always be remembered.