Nirmal Verma

Nirmal Verma is an Indian activist, writer, and translator who predominantly wrote in Hindi. He was born on April 3, 1929, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. His father used to serve as an officer in Civil and Services Department of the British Indian Government. He has total seven siblings.

He had a Masters in History and was a student of St. Stephen's College, Delhi. In 1950, his first article got published in a student's magazine. From thereon, he embarked on his journey of writing which spanned for glorious twenty-five years. While writing, his was actively involved in politics.

Though he was a member of Communist Party of India, he would attend morning prayer meetings of Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi. However, in 1956, after the invasion of Hungary, he resigned from the party. His activism and political views were reflected in his writings as well.

Oriental Institute, Prague, invited him to start a program with the intention of translating books of Bohumil Hrabal, Karel Capek, and Milan Kundera, all writers of Czech, into Hindi. He stayed there for ten years, learned their language and translates their nine classics.

While living there, he also traveled and explored the Europe. The countries that he traveled inspired him so much that he documented them in his seven novels. Some of them are Ve Din, Cheeron Par Chandni, Dhund Se Uthti Dhun, and Har Barish Mein.

After returning to India, he openly opposed the Indian Emergency and became an advocate of the Tibetan independence movement. His writing reflected his changed communist views and high regard for Indian traditions so much that people began to consider him as a pro-Hindutva writer.

For three years he headed Nirala, a committee of writers in Bharat Bhavan. After that, he became the head of Yashpal Creative Writing Chair, Shimla. Kumar Shahani Kumar Shahani is a renowned director. He was born >> Read More... , a filmmaker, adapted one of his story named Maya Darpan for the silver screen and it won the Film fare Award in the critic's category.

Verma collaborated with Rajendra Yadav Rajendra Yadav is one of the most famous Indian Hi >> Read More... , Mohan Rakesh, Amarkant, Kamleshwar, and Bhisham Sahni Bio coming soon... >> Read More... and together they started a movement named Nayi Kahani in the Hindi literature. The names of some of his other notable works which he published are Andhere Mein, Meri Priya Kahanian, Ab Kuchh Nahin, Kavve Aur Kala Pani, Lal Teen Ki Chhat, Beech Bahas Mein, and Dedh Inch Upar. He has also won the Jnanpith Award, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, and Padma Bhushan. In 1988, BBC Channel Four telecasted a film on him.