This Day In History

[Bodhi]

3 August 1886 - National Poet Maithili Sharan Gupt was born at Chirgaon UP.

A true inheritor of Bharatendu Harishchandra, he devoted his whole life to creating a mass of literature full of patriotic warmth. Every Hindi-knower remembers these immortal lines of his:

jo bhara nahee hai bhavon se
behtee jisme rasadhaar nahee
wah hridaya nahee hai prastar hai
jisame swadesh kaa pyaar nahee

{that which is not vibrant with emotions,
in which flow not the streams of nectar,
that heart is not a heart but a mere stone,
which is not filled with the love for one's country}

It is difficult to mention all of his contributions, but literature-wise he proved Bharatendu wrong that khadiboli (aka Hindi) was not suitable for poetry. He created so much of poetry in Khadiboli of the top rate quality, all dedicated to motherland before he died. His work also remains a milestone reflecting a true Hindu Revivalism in literature that began in 1920s. His work 'Hindu!' is worth reading by every Hindi knowing Hindu.

He died in 1965. His last lines were:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->प्राण न पागल हो तुम यों, पृथ्वी पर वह प्रेम कहाँ..
मोहमयी छलना भर है, भटको न अहो अब और यहाँ..
ऊपर को निरखो अब तो बस मिलता है चिरमेल वहाँ..
स्वर्ग वहीं, अपवर्ग वहीं, सुखसर्ग वहीं, निजवर्ग जहाँ..

Hey Life!! Don't get crazy for this mortal world. You can't find true love here. This is a beautiful trap so stop wandering here. Look upward (towards heaven) dear. That's the only place where you can find long lasting relations. There's the swarga and apawarga, there's the source of ultimate pleasure where you have your own people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maithili_Sharan_Gupt
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7 August 1941 - Rabindranath Tagore died.