Harishankar Parsai

Harishankar Parsai Biography

Harishankar Parsai was a well-known Hindi satirist and writer from Hoshangabad who lived during the period, 22 August 1924 – 10 August 1995. His name is always placed among the top satirists and humorists of modern Hindi literature, and he reached and well-connected with common man through his simple words and non-complex writing style. He also authored short stories and many of his works were translated to English and other languages. He won Sahitya Akademi Award in 1982, for his satire work, "Viklaang Shraddha Ka Daur". Parsai revolutionized the art of satire writing in Hindi, and is indisputably the greatest satirist of the language.

Harishankar Parsai was born on 22 August 1924 in Hoshangabad District of present-day Madhya Pradesh in British India. His village Jamani belongs to Itarsi taluka. He completed MA in Hindi literature from Nagpur University, and then joined government service. For the first few years he carried his profession and writings together. But later he quit his job and dedicated his whole life for writings.

He then settled in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh where he turned a full-fledged writer. Throughout his life, he lived in Jabalpur. Even in the face of serious financial difficulties he set up a literature magazine called Vasudha, soon after he got settled in Jabalpur. Despite getting good reviews for the published works through his magazine, he finally wound up the magazine, after suffering huge financial loss.

As a writer, most of his works belonged to satire and humour genre. He also published essays and novels. Rani Naagphani Ki Kahani is his lengthiest novel, and he also published short novels such as Tut Ki Khoj, Viklaang Shraddhaa ka daur etc. His Satire Collections include - Premchand Ke Phate Jootey, Bus ki Yatra, Vaishnav Ki Fislan, Hanste Hai Rote Hai, Tab Ki baat etc.

Published: September 29, 2018

Updated: September 29, 2018