Chandrasingh Birkali (English: Chandrasingh Birkali, born- 24 August, 1912, Hanumangarh district, Rajasthan; died- 14 September, 1992) was the most famous nature lover poet of modern Rajasthan. His most famous nature based works are ‘Loo’, ‘Dafar’ and ‘Badli’. Chandrasingh Birkali had translated many plays of great poet Kalidas into Rajasthani.[1] ‘Badli’ and ‘Loo’ are his two great poetic works, which attracted the attention of the whole country towards Rajasthan.
Chandrasingh Birkali was born on 24 August 1912 in a village named ‘Birkali’ in Nohar tehsil of Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. His creative work began at the young age of just seven years.
Chandrasingh Birkali, a leading writer of modern Rajasthani literature, was known as a poet for his poetic works like ‘Loo’ and ‘Badli’. Chandrasingh ji also wrote some stories, in which folk life is expressed in different forms. There is a good tradition of nature poetry in the creation of old Rajasthani literature, but in the modern era it started with Chandrasingh ji’s ‘Badli’. ‘Badli’ was published in 1941. It has 130 couplets. Its couplets describe the natural beauty of the rainy season of the desert. The poet has described the situation before the rains in ‘Badli’. Similarly, ‘Loo’, published in 1955, has 104 couplets. ‘Loo’ has the makeup and decoration of the heat. The poet is a resident of Rajasthan, so he is aware of this.
Chandrasingh Birkali’s fame as a poet started spreading with the publication of ‘Badli’. ‘Badli’ was written in 1941 and its first edition was published in Bikaner. Maharaja Sadul Singh of Bikaner state was the crown prince at that time, to whom the first edition was dedicated. In 1943, people read it and appreciated it so much that ‘Badli’ started being discussed everywhere. How the desert dwellers look at ‘Badli’, how much they wait and how much they desire the raindrops. Chandrasingh Birkali wrote this in a very interesting way in the common language.
‘Baadli’ and ‘Loo’ attracted the attention of not only the country but the world towards Rajasthani literature. Both these works have been translated into many other languages including English. What importance can rain have in a dry area like Rajasthan and the pain of heat waves in summer can only be understood by a farmer and the trees and plants standing in the sand. Chandrasingh Birkali has expressed these things through ‘Baadli’ and ‘Loo’.[2] He was so fond of nature that once someone asked him where and how he would like to build his house. His answer to this was that he has built a house with two rooms, clouds and the sky. His poetic composition named ‘Badli’ was published in 1941. It has 130 couplets. In Badli, the poet has described the condition of the desert before the rains. This composition of his became so famous that the Nagari Pracharani Sabha of Kashi honoured Chandrasingh Birkali by giving him the ‘Ratnakar Award’.
Chandrasingh Birkali was also honoured with the national level ‘Baldevdas Medal’ for ‘Baadli’. Among the modern Rajasthani works, ‘Baadli’ is perhaps the only work of poetry whose nine editions have been published so far. Great writers Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma and Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ gave their opinions on ‘Baadli’ and called it a priceless work. This priceless work has been taught in the syllabus of secondary classes for many years. Writers Rabindranath Tagore, Madan Mohan Malviya etc. also accepted Birkali ji as a great writer. The works ‘Baadli’ and ‘Loo’ inspired and encouraged many new poets. Some of Chandrasingh Birkali’s poems were also translated into English.
Soon after the publication of ‘Badli’, Birkali ji was honoured with the Ratnakar Award by the Nagari Pracharini Sabha of Kashi. Chandrasingh Birkali was also honoured with the national level Baldevdas Medal.
Among the modern Rajasthani works, ‘Badli’ is perhaps the only poetic work whose nine editions have been published so far. Great writers Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma and Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ gave their opinions on ‘Badli’ and called it a priceless work. This priceless work has been taught in the syllabus of secondary classes for many years. Writers Rabindranath Tagore, Madan Mohan Malviya etc. also accepted Chandrasingh Birkali as a great writer.[3]
Chandrasingh Birkali is called the pioneer of modern Rajasthani literature. He translated many plays of Mahakavi Kalidas in Marwari language. He also wanted to translate Valmiki Ramayana in Rajasthani language and wanted to open a research center of Rajasthani language in his village Birkali, but his wish was not fulfilled. He said goodbye to this world before this.
With the help of Vat Saraswat, Chandrasingh Birkali formed Rajasthani Bhasha Prachar Sabha and started publishing a monthly magazine named ‘Maruvani’ in Rajasthani. Starting the publication of ‘Maruvani’ was an important event in the history of modern Rajasthani. Through this magazine, which was published for about two decades, the best creations of Rajasthani language came to the fore in an important and influential form. Select writers of Rajasthani were associated with ‘Maruvani’. Famous Sanskrit poems were translated into Rajasthani, which was possible only through Chandrasingh ji and ‘Maruvani’.
Chandrasingh Birkali died on 14 September 1992.
