Chandrakant Devtale – The most prolific poet in Hindi after Raghuvir Sahay

Chandrakant Devtale (1936-2017) was a Hindi writer, poet and translator. He authored more than 500 poems during his lifetime, which earned him honours like Makhanlal Chaturvedi Award and National Maithilisharan Gupt Award. Most of his works were published during 1970s-1990s which include – Bhookhand Tap Raha Ha, Uske Sapne, Lakadbaggha Hans Raha Hai, Haddiyon Mein Chhipa Jwar, Deewaron Par Khoon Se, Roshni Ke Maidan Ki Taraf, Aag Har Cheez Mein Batai Gai Thi, Patthar Ki Bench etc.

He hailed from Jaulkhera village of Bhetul district of Madhya Pradesh, and was born before independence. His family members largely comprised of farmers and rural revenue servants. After studies he taught at different educational institutions. He was a professor at Government Arts and Commerce College, Indore and retired as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Devi Ahilyabai University Indore. He passed away on the Independence Day of 2017 aged 81. He has been an active participant in Poetry festivals and literary seminars during his active years in writing. He served as the Vice-President of the Madhya Pradesh Sahitya Parishad and was a member of National Book Trust.

Chandrakant Devtale – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. As a child he got his creative inspiration from his mother, friends, primary school teachers and local people of his rural village.

2. He was a journalist during his student days and also served as a professor in Hindi literature.

3. His reviews and poems were regularly published in literal magazines.

4. He completed PhD based on the research work on the famous poet, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh.

5. He translated many works in English, Urdu, Malayalam and Bengali to Hindi, including many of the noted works of Marathi poet Dilip Chitre.

6. He belonged to the great humanist tradition of Hindi poetry and wrote against fascism.

7. He is also known as the most political poet in Hindi after Raghuvir Sahay.