ACHARYA SHRIRANJAN SRIDEV WAS A LIVING LEXICON OF HIS TIME

ACHARYA SHRIRANJAN SRIDEV WAS A LIVING LEXICON OF HIS TIME

29-OCT-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA---------------------------Acharya Shriranjan Suridev was a living lexicon of his era. He was a profound scholar of Sanskrit and various other Indian languages, and a foremost authority on the ‘Prakrit’ and ‘Apabhramsha’ linguistic traditions. He was a celebrated devotee of Saraswati—a true ‘literary sage’—who dedicated himself to literature with the devotion of a saint. Also remembered is the venerable litterateur of an earlier generation, Babu Raghuvir Narayan, a poet whose lyrical composition ‘Batohiya’ immortalized him in the literary world.

These observations were made by Dr. Anil Sulabh, President of the Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, while presiding over a birth anniversary celebration and poets’ gathering (kavi-sammelan) held at the institution on Wednesday. Dr. Sulabh noted that Acharya-ji, who remained immersed in literary pursuits for over 70 years, first became associated with the Sammelan in his youth as a proofreader for its journal, ‘Sahitya,’ and later served with distinction as the organization’s General Secretary (Pradhan Mantri). He passed away at the age of 92, yet remained actively engaged in literary service until just six months before his death. His birth centenary year begins today, and the next session of the Sammelan will be dedicated to his memory.

Senior litterateur Jialal Arya recalled that it was through the inspiration of Babu Raghuvir Narayan that Raja Kirtyanand Singh of Banaili provided a lump-sum donation of ten thousand rupees in 1938 for the construction of the Sahitya Sammelan’s building. The song ‘Batohiya’ was deeply cherished by both Mahatma Gandhi and Deshratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad. It was frequently performed as a devotional anthem during Congress events and was regarded as the ‘national song’ of the eastern region during the era of the freedom movement. Renowned litterateur Markandeya Shardey remarked that Suridev Ji was not merely a great writer himself, but also a significant mentor and refine-r of other literary figures. He wrote extensively, yet he contributed even more by nurturing and encouraging fellow writers, and by penning prefaces for numerous books. He was a truly great servant of literature and a source of pride for Bihar.

Senior journalist Gyanvardhan Mishra suggested that the Government of Bihar should institute an official language award (*Rajbhasha Puraskar*) in the name of Acharya Shriranjan Suridev. Other prominent figures—including senior litterateurs Dr. Ratneshwar Singh, Dr. Sumedha Pathak, Dr. Samarendra Narayan Arya, Dr. Mehta Nagendra Singh, Abhijit Kashyap, and Suman Kumar Mishra, along with Shri Suridev’s son, Sangam Kumar Ranjan, and daughter-in-law, Vibha Ranjan—also shared their reflections.

The *kavi-sammelan* (poetic symposium) held on this occasion commenced with an invocation to the Goddess of Speech (*Vani-vandana*) by Chanda Mishra. Poets and poetesses—including Prof. Sunil Kumar Upadhyay, Chittaranjan Bharti, Sunil Kumar Malang, Dr. Om Prakash Pandey, Siddheshwar, Vidya Chaudhary, Sunita Ranjan, Tanuja Sinha, Jai Prakash Pujari, and Nehal Kumar Singh ‘Nirmal’—offered a poetic tribute (*kavyanjali*) through their compositions. The guests were welcomed by the event’s organizing secretary, Engineer Ashok Kumar; the proceedings were moderated by Brahmanand Pandey; and the vote of thanks was delivered by Krishna Ranjan Singh.

Other distinguished attendees included Dr. Nageshwar Prasad Yadav (Library Secretary of the association), Engineer Banke Bihari Sao, Shankar Sharan Madhukar, Dr. Mithilesh Kumar, Parvez Alam, Abhiram Buddhawaha, Kausar Jahan, and Suman Kumar Mishra.