Dharmaveer Bharati dead

One of the giants of Hindi literature died in Bombay early on Thursday morning.

The son of Chiranjivlal Verma and Chandadevi, Dharmaveer Bharati was born on Christmas day, 1926, at Prayag, Allahabad. A brilliant student, he bagged a master's degree in Hindi literature in 1947 before pursuing a Ph D in Siddha Sahitya (Accomplished Literature).

He took the pen name Bharati and became a trend-setter in Hindi poetry, prose and journalism.

Bharati began his stint in journalism with periodicals like Abhyudaya and Sangam. Later he served as deputy secretary to the Hindustani Academy and took over as head of Prayag University's Hindi department.

Besides writing his own stories and poems, Bharati had also translated the short stories of Oscar Wilde as Deshantar.

He joined Dharamyug in 1960 where he served as editor till 1987.The magazine gained in popularity during his time. Reacting to his death, educationist Tribhuvan Rai said Andha Yug, Bharati's famous play, is a milestone in Hindi literature.