The phase of Modern literature is also known as Adhunik Kaal Sahitya. It is a term mostly used in Hindi. Although Hindi became one of the major languages in Northern India, several other languages, such as Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Rajasthani, Gujarati, and so on also made their mark. In this article, we will learn about the various literary works produced under different languages of that time which will helpful for the preparation of the UPSC IAS exam.

Hindi Literature

• The focus of literature shifted with the arrival of the British.
• This shift was especially noticeable in Hindi prose writing, where there was a desire to return to the classics and be inspired by Sanskrit.
• This zeal was combined with nationalistic zeal.
• In the 1850s, Bharatendu Harishchandra wrote his most famous drama, Andher Nagari (City of Darkness), which became a major play and has been reproduced several times.
• Bharat Durdasha is another well-known nationalist work.
• Another significant writer from this era is Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, after whom an entire period of Hindi writing is named.
• There are four subsections in the modern period of Hindi known as Adhunik kaal:

• Swami Dayanand spearheaded the movement to make Hindi the national language, which would connect all regions. Although he wrote extensively in Gujarati, Satyartha Prakash is his most well-known work in Hindi.
• Several Hindi authors, including Munshi Prem Chand, Surya Kant Tripathi 'Nirala,' and Maithili Sharan Gupt, challenged societal norms.
• Prem Chand wrote many anthologies in Hindi and Urdu, and some of his best-known works include Godan, Bade Bhhaiya, and others.
• Sumitranandan Pant, Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar,' and Harivansha Rai Bachchan, who wrote Madhushala, are other notable Hindi writers.
• Mahadevi Verma was a well-known female Hindi writer of the twentieth century. She was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in Hindi for her writing and how it highlighted the plight of women in society.

Bengali, Odia, and Assamese Literature

Bengali Literature

• Bengali literature developed alongside Urdu and Hindi in the twentieth century.
• The establishment of the Baptist Mission Press in Serampore, Bengal by the Englishman William Carey in 1800 facilitated the distribution of this literature.
• Carey was also in charge of writing a book on Bengali grammar and publishing an English-Bengali dictionary.
• With the arrival of nationalist fervor in Bengal, the literature took a clear turn toward the concerns of the common man's suffering and the nation's plight under British rule.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of the first to write in both Bengali and English, and his work was widely read.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Akshay Kumar Dutta were two of his contemporaries.
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's writing, however, was the pinnacle of nationalist Bengali literature.
  • His novel Anand Math was a huge success, so much so that Vande Mataram, our national anthem, is based on an excerpt from it.
• Rabindranath Tagore, the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize, was also a Bengali writer. In 1913, he received this award for his Bengali masterpiece Geetanjali.
• Important contributions to Bengali literature have been made by Sharat Chandra Chatterjee, Qazi Nazrul Islam, and R. C. Dutta.

Assamese Literature

• Buranjis (court chronicles) dominated Assamese literature during the medieval period.
• In addition to these official works, Shankardev wrote devotional poetry in Assamese.
• Padmanaba Gohain Barua and Lakshmi Nath Bezbarua have made significant contributions to modern Assamese literature.

Odia Literature

• Odia literature has a sizable corpus from the east of India.
• Sarala Das created the first piece.
• Upendra Bhanja, who wrote in 1700, was a notable writer during the Medieval period.
• Radha Nath Ray and Fakirmohan Senapati have made their mark in the modern era with their work's nationalistic tone.

Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Sindhi Literature

Gujarati Literature

• The Bhakti movement was at its peak in Gujarat, which influenced the literature written there.
• Narsinh Mehta is a well-known name in this region for fusing devotional songs for Lord Krishna with local folk traditions.
• Later works included poetry by Narmad and prose by Govardhan Ram, who wrote the classic Gujarati novel Saraswati Chandra, which was recently adapted into a television series.
• Dr. K.M Munshi, who has written both fiction and non-fiction (historical) work, reached the pinnacle of success in Gujarati literature. Prithvi Vallabha is one of his best novels.

Rajasthani Literature

• The medieval Rajasthani literature was rife with dialects, and there are two main forms of fictional writing known as Dingal and Pingal.
• Dhola Maru is the most well-known text in this context.
• Mirabai's writings in Braj have become well-known.
• In this region, several other saints wrote devotional poetry.
• Rajasthani writers' stories were typically oral, spread by bards who sang the virkavya (victory poetic songs).

Sindhi Literature

• Sindhi literature has been heavily influenced by the two neighboring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Because Sindh was always on India's border, it was among the first to come into contact with Islamic settlers in India, which explains the influence of Islam and Sufism on poetry.
• Dewan Kauramal and Mirza Kalish Beg are two well-known names in Sindhi literature.

Kashmiri Literature

• One of the earliest texts from Kashmir was Kalhan's Rajatarangani, which was written in Sanskrit.
• The locals spoke Kashmiri, which was influenced by Persian and Hindi dialects.
• When the Bhakti movement was at its peak in the early medieval period, the Kashmiri language saw its first female poetess, Lal Ded, a Shaivite mystic.
• However, the major spread occurred after the arrival of Islam and Sufism in Kashmir, as well as the publication of several major writers such as Sufi Ghulam Muhammad, Zinda Kaul, Mahjoor, and others.
• Another intriguing figure in Kashmiri literature is Noor Din, also known as Nand Rishi, who was said to have combined Hindi and Islamic elements in his poetry.
• With the Dogra family gaining political power in Jammu in 1846, the Kashmiri language was eclipsed by the Dogri language.

Punjabi Literature

• Recently, there has been renewed interest in reviving the language.
• Several regional and geographical influences affected not only Punjabi politics but also its literature, which was written in two major scripts: Persian and Gurmukhi.
• The religious book of the Sikhs, the Adi Granth, is one of the greatest texts in the world, with the majority of it written in Gurmukhi.
• It also includes Dohas by Kabir, Dadu, and Nanak in Hindi or Braj, but it is a very layered text.
• Guru Gobind Singh, who contributed to the Adi Granth, also wrote Punjabi Savaiyyas (poetry).
• Love stories and epics such as Sohni-Mahiwal, Sassi-Punnu, and Waris Shah's famous Heer-Ranjha were heavily influenced by local literature.
• The Sufi poetry of Baba Farid and Bulley Shah became popular with both the masses and the region's rulers.
• They wrote many songs or classical compositions known as Kafi(s), which were usually sung by the people.
• Nationalistic writing influenced modern Punjabi literature as well, and Bhagat Singh's legendary 'Rang de Basanti Chola' is a classic example of this trend.

Marathi Literature

• Although we refer to it as the Marathi language, Maharashtra has several dialects, and literature is written in all of them.
• Saint Jnaneshwar's 13th-century work is the oldest known work in Marathi (also known as Gyaneshwar).
  • He is credited with establishing kirtan in Maharashtra and has written a detailed Marathi commentary on the Bhagavata Gita.
• Apart from him, several saints such as Namdev, Sena, and Gora were well-known during the same period. Janabai is the oldest known female writer.
• However, the most famous Maharashtrian saint of the sixteenth century was Eknath, who wrote commentaries on the Bhagwat Purana and Ramayana as well as works in the vernacular language.
• Other notable Bhakti poets include Tukaram and Ramdas.
• The nationalist movement had an impact on Marathi's poetry and prose writing as well.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of our greatest nationalists, published his regional newspaper Kesari in Marathi. This publication criticized the British and their policies, as well as tracts written by leading revolutionaries of the time.
• With the works of Hari Narayan Apte, V.S. Chiplunkar, and Keshav Sut, Marathi's prose writing took a turn for the better.
• M.G. Ranade, G.T. Madholkar, and K.T Telang are examples of contemporary Marathi poets.

Conclusion

The most significant literary event that revolutionized literature was the emergence of literary prose in all modern Indian languages, as well as the invention of the printing press in Serampore, Bengal, under the patronage of an Englishman, William Carey (1761-1834). Between 1800 and 1850, the birth of newspapers and periodicals in Indian languages was extremely important for the development of prose. and the Serampore missionaries launched Bengali journalism on its path. The emergence of prose as a powerful medium brought about a type of change that coincided with the modernization process.