Shivpujan Sahay

Acharya Shivpujan Sahay is an eminent Hindi litterateur, a novelist (Dehati Duniya 1926), a short story writer (Vibhuti 1935),highly regarded editor (Matwala 1923,Madhuri 1924,Ganga 1931,Jagaran 1932,Himalaya 1946, Sahitya 1950- )is famous as a master prose writer. He was born in a middle class Kayastha land-owning family in a village(Unwans)near Buxar on 9 August 1893.After his early education and a short stint as a Hindi teacher at Ara (1903-1921)he went to Calcutta and joined 'Matwala' as an editor. He went to Lucknow in 1924 in the editorial department of Madhuri where he worked with Premchand and edited his 'Rangbhumi' and some of his stories also.After a year he returned to Calcutta editing short-lived journals like Samanway', 'Mauji', 'Golmal','Upanyas Tarang',etc. finally moving to Kashi (Varanasi)to work as a freelance editor. For a short period he went to Sultanganj near Bhagalpur to edit 'Ganga' but returned to Kashi where he was asked to edit 'Jagaran', a literary fortnightly brought out by Jayashankar Prasad and his circle of friends.There he also worked with Premchand and was a respected member of the town's literary circle,and the Nagari Pracharini Sabha.In 1935 he moved to Laheria Sarai(Darbhanga)to work as editor of 'Balak' and other publications of Pustak Bhandar owned by Ramlochan Sharan.In 1939 he joined Rajendra College,Chhapra as Professor of Hindi.In 1946, on a year's leave, he moved to Patna to edit 'Himalaya', a landmark literary monthly.In 1949 he finally came to Patna to work as Secretary of Bihar Rashtra Bhasha Parished, a government academy where he edited and published more than 50 precious volumes of Hindi reference works.Later he became Director of the Parishad and compiled and edited "Hindi Sahitya Aur Bihar' a monumental literary history. His own works were compiled and published in 4 volumes of 'Shipujan Rachanavali'(1956). Shivpujan Sahay is also remembered for his editing of several literary commemoration volumes, chiefly 'Dwivedi Abhinandan Granth'(1933),'Rajendra Abhinandan Granth'(1950)and 'Jayanti Smarak Granth'(1942).He also edited Dr Rajendra Prasad's 'Atmakatha'.He died in Patna on 21 January, 1963. His posthmously published books are 'Wey Din Wey Loug'(1965), 'Mera Jeevan'(1985),'Smritishesh'(1994),'Hindi Bhasha Aur Sahitya'(1996),"Gram Sudhar' (2007).He was awarded 'Padmabhushan' in 1960. Source:'Shivpujan Sahay' by Mangal Murty,Published by Sahitya Academy, 35 Phirozshah Marg, New Delhi,India