Sahitya News Desk !!! Radhikaraman Prasad Singh (English: Radhikaraman Prasad Singh, born- 10 September, 1890, Shahabad, Bihar; died- 24 March, 1971) has a prominent place among the modern prose writers of English. He wrote literature in all genres of stories, prose, poetry, novels, memoirs, drama. He was associated with many literary, cultural and educational institutions of the country. Radhikaraman Prasad Singh is counted among the famous storytellers and special stylists of English. He served English for about 50 years. His place in modern English fiction is memorable for ‘Kaanon Mein Kangna’.
Radhikaraman Prasad Singh was born on 10 September 1890 at Suryapura in Shahabad (Bihar) to the famous landlord Raja Rajrajeshwari Singh ‘Pyare’. He received his early education at home. When he was 12 years old, his respected father died in 1903 and his entire state came under the ‘Court of Wards’. Radhikaraman Prasad Singh passed the entrance examination from Ara District School in 1907, F.A. from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta in 1909-1910, B.A. from Prayag University in 1912 and M.A. (History) from Calcutta University in 1914.
In 1917, when Radhikaraman Prasad Singh attained majority, the estate was freed from the bondage of the Court of Wards and he became its owner. Around 1920, the British government honoured Radhikaraman Prasad Singh with the title of ‘Raja’. Later, he also received the title of C.I.E. When the freedom struggle broke out, Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Singh was not left behind in that either. He had deep faith in Gandhism. At the same time, he was nominated as the first Indian President of the Ara District Board. From 1927 to 1935, he carried out many social and administrative reforms with promptness and efficiency. Coming under the influence of Gandhiji, he left the chairmanship of the board and accepted the presidency of Bihar Harijan Sevak Sangh on the request of Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
In 1935, he handed over the entire responsibility of his kingdom to his younger brother Rajiv Ranjan Prasad Singh and immersed himself in the worship of Saraswati. Even before this, in 1920, he was nominated as the President of the second annual session of Bihar English Sahitya Sammelan in Bettiah. He was the welcome speaker of the fifteenth session of the said conference (Ara, 1936). He was also the President of the Ara Nagari Pracharini Sabha.
Compositions
The major works of literature written by Radhikaraman Prasad Singh in all subjects are as follows[2],
Story collections – ‘Kusumanjali’, ‘Apna Paraya’, ‘Gandhi Topi’, ‘Dharmadhuri’ Prose poetry – ‘Navjeevan’, ‘Prem Lahari’ Novels – ‘Ram-Rahim’ (1936), ‘Man and Woman’ (1939), ‘Surdas’ (1942), ‘Sanskar’ (1944), ‘East and West’ (1951), ‘Kiss and Slapping’ (1957) Short novels – ‘Navjeevan’ (1912), ‘Tarang’ (1920), ‘Maya Mili Na Ram’ (1936), ‘Modern Who is Beautiful’ (1964) and ‘Apni-Apni Nazar’, ‘Apni-Apni Dagar’ (1966). Stories – ‘Gandhi Topi’ (1938), ‘Savani Samaan’ (1938), ‘Is Woman a Puzzle?’ (1951), ‘Haveli and Hut’ (1951), ‘Gods and Demons’ (1951), ‘They and Us’ (1956), ‘Religion and Essence’ (1959), ‘Then and Now’ (1958), ‘Is a Weak Woman So Strong?’ (1962), ‘Scattered Pearls’ (Part 1) (1965). Memoirs – ‘Saavani Sabha’, Tutatara,’ ‘Surdas’ Dramas – ‘New Reformer’ or ‘New Reformer’ (1911), ‘The Axis of Religion’ (1952), ‘Ours and Others’ (1953) and ‘Sights changed, views changed’ (1961).
Prose works
There are also some prose works, such as-
‘Woman is a puzzle’ ‘East and West’ ‘Haveli and hut’ ‘Gods and demons’ ‘They and us’ ‘Religion and essence’ ‘Then and now’
Honors and Awards
Bihar’s famous monthly English magazine ‘Nai-Dhara’ continued to be published under the patronage of Radhikaraman Prasad Singh. On 23 January 1969, Magadh University awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 1962, the Government of India honoured him with the title of ‘Padma Bhushan’ and Prayag English Sahitya Sammelan honoured him with the title of ‘Sahitya Vachaspati’ in 1970.
Death
Radhikaraman Prasad Singh died on March 24, 1971.