Bhagwati Charan Verma

Bhagwati Charan Verma Biography

Bhagwati Charan Verma was a great writer of Hindi literature who lived in the 20^th century. He is best known for his novel - Chitralekha published in 1934, which has been made into two successful Bollywood films, 1941 and 1964 with the same title. Bhoole Bisre Chitra – his epic novel, published in 5 parts received Sahitya Akademi Award. Or his outstanding contributions to Indian literature, he was honoured by Padma Bhushan by government of India in 1970. Verma is also remembered in Bollywood for rechristening Yusuf Khan to Dileep Kumar, who went on to become one of the greatest stars Indian cinema has ever witnessed.

Verma was born on 30 August 1903 in Safipur, Uttar Pradesh in British India. He spent a few years of his childhood in his ancestral home in Patkapur. He completed both B.A. and L.L.B. from Allahabad University and started practising as a lawyer at Kanpur and later at Hamirpur. Though he worked as a lawyer he was fully involved with his literary pieces and he wrote his celebrated work Chitralekha, while his stay at Hamirpur. It was a historic novel published in 1934 which gave him instant popularity. From there on, he became fully involved with writing and published 17 novels thereafter. Chitralekha was his first published novel.

He worked in Calcutta Film Corporation for a while. He was also associated with a few magazines as a writer and editor and also served as a Hindi advisor at All India Radio, Lucknow. Chitralekha, Sabahin Nachawat Ram Gosain, Yuvraj Choonda, Sabhin Nachavat Ram Gosai, Rekha, Kahi na Jay ka Kahiye, Bhule Bisre Chitra, Samarthya Aur Seema, Do Banke, Sidhi Sachchi Baten, Woh Phir Nahi Aai, Tedhey Medhey Rastey and Sampooran Natak are his published works. He passed away on 5 October 1981 aged 78.

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Updated: December 11, 2015