SSC
Who wrote the famous Hindi poem 'Madhushala'?
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Answer: Option A — Harivansh Rai Bachchan
Detailed Solution
"Madhushala" ("The House of Wine" or "The Tavern") is a famous Hindi poem by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, published in 1935.
About Madhushala:
- It consists of 135 quatrains (rubaiyat), each ending with the word "madhushala".
- It was inspired by the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam", the Persian poet's work, which Bachchan had read in Edward FitzGerald's English translation.
The wine (madhu), the cup (pyala), the wine-server (saqi) and the tavern (madhushala) are symbols for life, its joys and sorrows, and the search for meaning. The poem also carries messages of communal harmony.
It became extremely popular, and Bachchan's recitations drew large audiences. It is linked with the "Halavad" (poetry of exuberance) trend in Hindi poetry.
It was followed by "Madhubala" (1936) and "Madhukalash" (1937).
About Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907-2003):
He was born in Babupatti village, Pratapgarh district (near Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh.
He earned a PhD from Cambridge University on the Irish poet W. B. Yeats.
He taught English at Allahabad University and later worked in the Ministry of External Affairs.
He translated Shakespeare's plays (such as "Macbeth" and "Othello") into Hindi.
His four-volume autobiography, "Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon", "Needa Ka Nirman Phir", "Basere Se Door" and "Dashdwar Se Sopan Tak", is regarded as a classic of Hindi prose.
He received the Sahitya Akademi Award (1968) for "Do Chattanen", the Padma Bhushan (1976) and the Saraswati Samman (1991).
He was the father of the film star Amitabh Bachchan.
Other famous Hindi poets:
- Ramdhari Singh "Dinkar": "Rashmirathi", "Urvashi" (Jnanpith); called the "Rashtrakavi".
- Maithili Sharan Gupt: "Bharat Bharati", "Saket"; also called "Rashtrakavi".
- Sumitranandan Pant: "Chidambara" (Jnanpith, 1968).
- Jaishankar Prasad: "Kamayani".
Why not the other options?
- ✗Ramdhari Singh "Dinkar" wrote "Rashmirathi" and "Urvashi".
- ✗Maithili Sharan Gupt wrote "Bharat Bharati" and "Saket".
- ✗Sumitranandan Pant wrote "Chidambara".
Quick tip
Remember: "Madhushala" (1935, 135 rubaiyat, inspired by Omar Khayyam) = Harivansh Rai Bachchan, father of Amitabh Bachchan; "Rashmirathi" = Dinkar; "Kamayani" = Jaishankar Prasad.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.