Upendranath Ashk

{{Short description|Indian novelist, short story writer and playwright (1910-1996)}} {{More citations needed|date= July 2020}} {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Upendranath Ashk | image = | caption = Upendranath Ashk (1910–1996) | birth_date = 14 December 1910 | birth_place = Jalandhar, Punjab, British India | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1996|01|19|1910|12|14}} | death_place = Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | years_active = | birth_name = | occupation = novelist, short story writer and playwright | website = | awards = Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1965), Soviet Land Nehru Award (1972), Iqbal Award (1996)<ref name="Upendra Nath Ashk">{{cite web|title=Upendra Nath Ashk|url=http://www.harpercollins.co.in/author.asp?Author_Code=1991|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers India|access-date=15 January 2013|archive-date=22 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222083614/http://harpercollins.co.in/Author.asp?Author_Code=1991|url-status=live}}</ref> | }}

'''Upendranath Sharma "Ashk"''', (14 December 1910 – 19 January 1996)<ref>[http://www.iccrindia.net/iccr-annualreport-2010-11/ICCR%20Annual%20Report%202010-2011.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101042850/http://www.iccrindia.net/iccr-annualreport-2010-11/ICCR%20Annual%20Report%202010-2011.pdf |date=1 January 2014 }} INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS, Annual Report April 2010 – March 2011</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ashk, Upendra Nath|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Ashk,+Upendra+Nath|access-date=14 January 2013|archive-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601083133/http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Ashk%2C%20Upendra%20Nath|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Atal Behari Bajpai you said? |author=Kuldip Kalia |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000130/spectrum/books.htm#3 |newspaper=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India |date=30 January 2000 |access-date=14 January 2013 |archive-date=14 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014212441/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000130/spectrum/books.htm#3 |url-status=live }}</ref> was an Indian novelist, short story writer and playwright.<ref name="Datta1987">{{cite book|author=Amaresh Datta|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&pg=PA244|access-date=15 January 2013|year=1987|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1803-1|page=244}}</ref> He was born in Jalandhar, Punjab.<ref>{{cite web|title=Upendranath Ashk|url=http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashk.html|access-date=14 January 2013|archive-date=27 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327061711/http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashk.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1933 he wrote his second short story collection in Urdu called ''Aurat Ki Fitrat'', the foreword of which was written by Munshi Premchand. Ashk began his literary career writing in Urdu but he switched to Hindi on the advice of Munshi Premchand. He joined All India Radio in 1941<ref name="Datta1987"/> where Krishan Chander, Patras Bokhari and Saadat Hasan Manto<ref name="Das1995">{{cite book|author=Sisir Kumar Das|title=History of Indian Literature: 1911–1956, struggle for freedom : triumph and tragedy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqBjpV9OzcsC&pg=PA169|access-date=17 January 2013|date=1 January 1995|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-7201-798-9|pages=169–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='Main chalta phirta Bumbai hoon': Manto and Mumbai|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rakhshandajalil/3279/64151/main-chalta-phirta-bumbai-hoon-manto-and-mumbai.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221084455/http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rakhshandajalil/3279/64151/main-chalta-phirta-bumbai-hoon-manto-and-mumbai.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-12-21|publisher=IBN Live}}</ref> were among his colleagues. He settled in Allahabad in the late 1940s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Urdu and Persian Literature in Allahabad|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/txt_allahabad.html|access-date=16 January 2013|author=Shamsur Rahman Faruqi|archive-date=26 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026133746/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/txt_allahabad.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was the first Hindi dramatist<ref name="Upendra Nath Ashk"/> to receive the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for playwriting in 1965.<ref>{{cite web|title=Theatre – Playwriting (Language-wise) – Hindi|url=http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist.htm|publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi|access-date=17 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217185616/http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist.htm|archive-date=17 February 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Biography ==

=== Early life === Upendranath Ashk was born Upendranath Sharma to a Saraswat Brahmin<ref name="Rockwell(Society)2004">{{cite book|author1=Daisy Rockwell|author2=Kathā (Society)|title=Upendranath Ashk: a critical biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5oLAQAAMAAJ|access-date=18 January 2013|date=30 March 2004|publisher=Katha|isbn=978-81-89020-00-2}}</ref> family in Jalandhar, Panjab. Ashk began composing Panjabi couplets at the age of 11,<ref>{{cite book|last=Ashk|first=Upendranath|title=Ashk 75|year=1988|publisher=Neelabh Prakashan}}</ref> and began writing in Urdu in 1926, under the tutelage of the Jalandhari poet Mohammad Ali "Azar". His first Urdu poem was published in the Sunday supplement of the popular Lahore-based Urdu daily ''Milap''. In 1930, while still in college, he published his first collection of short stories, titled Nau Ratan. It was during this phase that he adopted the nom de plume 'Ashk' ('teardrop' in Urdu) in keeping with the Urdu tradition of taking a ''takhallus''. The takhallus was chosen in honour of a childhood friend, whose death left a lasting impression on him. After graduating from college in 1931, Ashk taught at his alma mater for a few months before leaving for Lahore with the poet-journalist Mela Ram "Wafa". For the next three years he worked for Lala Lajpat Rai's newspaper Vande Mataram as a reporter, and then worked his way up as a translator and then assistant editor for the Daily ''Veer Bharat'' and the weekly ''Bhoochal''. During this time he continued to publish poems and short stories in local journals. He also married his first wife, Sheela Devi, in 1932. In 1932, on the advice of the celebrated Hindi author Premchand with whom he maintained a correspondence, Ashk switched to writing in Hindi, painstakingly writing each story in Urdu first and then translating it into Hindi. His second collection of short stories, ''Aurat ki Fitrat'', was published in Hindi in 1933, with an introduction by Premchand. In 1934, financial and other problems in his family made Ashk decide that he must adopt a more secure career path. He resolved to study for a law degree and become a sub-judge (magistrate). But just as he completed his degree, his wife, Sheela Devi, died from tuberculosis. In a state of profound grief, Ashk abandoned his plan to enter the legal profession and resolved to become a full-time independent author. At this juncture he also resolved to write realistically about suffering and poverty. In 1936, he published the short story "Ḍāchī" which was considered a milestone in progressive realism in Hindi-Urdu fiction.

His son, Neelabh Ashk, was also a poet and translator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/tongue-twisters/490828/0|title=Tongue Twisters - Indian Express|website=archive.indianexpress.com|access-date=2016-07-23|archive-date=27 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427102359/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/tongue-twisters/490828/0|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Work for All India Radio ===  In 1941, after living for two years at the commune Preetnagar near Amritsar, where he edited the Hindi-Urdu journal Preet Lari, Ashk was hired at All India Radio (AIR) as a playwright and Hindi adviser.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Other writers associated with AIR at that time included Sa'adat Hasan Manto, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Meeraji, Noon Meem Rashid, Krishan Chander and Rajinder Singh Bedi.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} Also living in Delhi at the time were Hindi authors Agyeya, Shivdan Singh Chauhan, Jainendra Kumar, Banarsi Das Chaturvedi, Vishnu Prabhakar and Girija Kumar Mathur. During this period, Ashk began work on his semi-autobiographical novel ''Girtī Dīvārẽ'' ('Falling Walls'). In 1941, Ashk separated from his second wife with whom he had had a short-lived marriage, and married Kaushalya Devi.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

=== Work for Filmistan === In 1944, Ashk moved to Bombay to write dialogue and screenplays for the production company Filmistan. At Filmistan, Ashk worked closely with Shashdhar Mukherji and the director Nitin Bose. He wrote dialogues, stories and songs and even acted in two films: Mazdoor, directed by Nitin Bose, and Aath Din, directed by Ashok Kumar. While in Bombay, Ashk became involved with IPTA and wrote one of his most noted plays, ''Tūfān se Pahale'', which was produced for the stage by Balraj Sahni. The play, which was critical of communalism, was later banned by the British government. In 1946, Ashk contracted Tuberculosis and in early 1947, he was moved the Bel Air Sanatorium in Panchgani. Ashk remained in the sanatorium for two years, during which time Girtī Dīvārẽ was first published, in 1947, and he also composed his well-known poem "Barghad kī Beṭī".

=== Move to Allahabad === In 1948, Ashk and Hindi poet Nirala each received Rs. 5000 from the government of Uttar Pradesh to support them through illness.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} This enabled Ashk to move to Allahabad, where he lived until his death in 1996.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

== Selected works == His books include:<ref>[https://harpercollins.co.in/author-details/upendra-nath-ashk/ Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207005127/https://harpercollins.co.in/author-details/upendra-nath-ashk/ |date=7 February 2018 }} on HarperCollins India</ref>

=== Novels === *''Sitārõ Ke Khel (ستاروں کے کھیل, सितारों के खेल)'', 1937 *''Girtī Dīvārẽ (گرتی دیواریں, गिरती दीवारें)'', 1947 *''Garam Rākh (گرم راکھ, गर्म राख)'', 1952 *''Baṛī-Baṛī Ānkhẽ (بڑی بڑی آنکھیں, बड़ी बड़ी आँखें)'', 1954 *''Śahar Mẽ Ghūmtā Āīnā (شہر میں گھومتا آئینہ, शहर में घूमता आईना)'', 1963

=== Short story collections === *''Judāī Kī Shām Ke Gīt (جدائی کی شام کے گیت, जुदाई की शाम के गीत)'', 1933 *''Kāle Sāhab (کالے صاحب, काले साहब)'', 1950 *'' Sukhi Dali''

=== Plays === *''Jay Parājay (جے پراجے, जय पराजय)'', 1937 *''Swarg Kī Jhalak (سورگ کی جھلک, स्वर्ग की झलक)'', 1938 *''Lakṣmī Kā Swāgat (لکشمی کا سواگت, लक्ष्मी का स्वागत)'',1941–43 *''Qaid (قید, क़ैद)'', 1943–45 *''Uṛān (اڑان, उड़ान)'', 1943–45 *''Alag-Alag Rāste (الگ الگ راستے, अलग अलग रास्ते)'', 1944–53 *''Chaṭhā Beṭā (چھٹا بیٹا, छठा बेटा)'', 1948 *''Anjo Dīdī (انجو دیدی, अंजो दीदी)'', 1953–54

=== Collections of poems === * ''Dīp Jalegā (دیپ جلے گا, दीप जलेगा)'', 1950 * ''Chāndnī Rāt Aur Ajgar (چاندنی رات اور اجگر, चांदनी रात और अजगर)'', 1952

=== Memoirs === * ''Manṭo Merā Dushman (منٹو میرا دشمں, मंटो मेरा दुश्मन)'', 1956 * ''Chehre Anek (چہرے انیک, चेहेरे अनेक)'', 1985

==Further reading== * Romesh K. Shonek, ''Upendra Nath Ashk: A Brief Biography and the Theme of Society and Self in His Semi-autobiographical Trilogy'', 1975 * Diana Dimitrova: ''Upendranāth Aśk's dramatic work : women and gender in modern Hindi drama as revealed in the plays of Upendranāth Aśk'', Heidelberg 2000 (Thesis) * Diana Dimitrova, ''Western Tradition and Naturalistic Hindi Theatre'', Peter Lang. {{ISBN|978-0-8204-6822-8}}. * Daisy Rockwell, ''Upendranath Ashk: A Critical Biography'', Katha, 2004. {{ISBN|978-81-89020-02-6}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashk, Upendranath}} Category:Hindi-language Indian writers Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Category:1910 births Category:1996 deaths Category:All India Radio people Category:Urdu-language short story writers Category:Urdu-language novelists Category:Indian male short story writers Category:Indian male novelists Category:20th-century Indian novelists Category:Urdu-language Indian writers Category:20th-century Indian short story writers Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights Category:Novelists from Punjab, India Category:Writers from Jalandhar Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Punjab, India Category:20th-century Indian male writers