Draft:Prayag Shukla

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  • Comment: Too many refs. Please use a third party independent source or official sources for Sahitya Akademi award. Currently, the award is mentioned on rajkamalprakashan.com website which is a publishing house and can't be considered as a reliable source. Avoid using too many sources if possible. TheBirdsShedTears (talk) 10:34, 18 August 2025 (UTC)
Prayag Shukla
प्रयाग शुक्ल
File:Prayag Shukla Pic.jpg
Born (1940-05-28) May 28, 1940 (age 85)
Calcutta, India
Years active1963–present
AwardsKruti Award Dwijdev Samman

Prayag Shukla is a Hindi poet.[1], writer, art critic, and curator who has made significant contributions to Indian literature[2] as well as the visual and performing arts. [3][4][5]He has been associated with institutions such as the Sangeet Natak Akademi, National School of Drama[6] [7]and Lalit Kala Akademi[8], and the founder editor of their official journals Sangna, Rang Prasang[9] and Samkalin Kala[8] respectively.

His awards include Delhi Akademi’s Kruti Award and Dwijdev Samman[10]. He was awarded The Sahitya Akademi award for the translation of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s selected essays into Hindi.[10]

Early life

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Prayag Shukla[11] was born on 28 May 1940 in Calcutta[10], and spent his early years in his ancestral village Tiwaripur in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh[12], where he received his early education. He later graduated from the University of Calcutta[13]. Drawn early to literature, he joined the editorial board of the Hindi magazine Kalpana (Hyderabad) at age 23[14][10], which introduced him to the broader world of the arts. In 1964, he moved to Delhi and, while freelancing, lived temporarily in the studio of painter Ram Kumar[15], where he regularly met and engaged with artists like M. F. Husain and Tyeb Mehta, Manjit Bawa and Krishna Khanna.[14]

Personal life:

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Prayag Shukla was married to Jyoti Ahluwalia, and the couple had two daughters. Their younger daughter, Varishta, died of cancer on January 10, 2020[16][17]. His wife Jyoti Ahluwalia also dies in 2022.[18]

Career

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Over the years, Prayag Shukla served on editorial boards of notable Hindi publications including various publications of The Times of India group Dinman, Navbharat Times, Hindi Femina and Parag writing regular columns for more than a decade. His writings laid the foundation for distinctive critical vocabulary in Hindi art discourse.[14]

He curated several art exhibitions, including Drawing 94[19][20] and Drawing 2014[21], as well as a show of Ram Kumar’s drawings[22].

His anthology Kala Ki Duniya Mein, published in 2019, collates over five decades of his art criticism: essays, reviews, interviews, and memoirs on prominent Indian modernists. It was lauded for articulating a new critical language for Hindi art writing and providing a comprehensive history of modern Indian art through his lens.[23]

In 1984, he represented Hindi literature in the Iowa International Writing Program[24][25], and later traveled across countries including France, UK, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Japan and China on literary and cultural engagements[26][27]

Published works

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Poetry collections

  • Kavita Sambhav
  • Yeh Ek Din Hai
  • Adhoori Cheezen Tamaam
  • Beete Kitne Baras
  • Yeh Jo Hara Hai
  • Yahan Kahan Thi Chhaya
  • Is Prishth Par
  • Sunayana Phir Yeh Na Kehna
  • Yaani Kai Varsh
  • Pachas Kavitayein
  • While a Plane Zooms Past (English)[28][29]

Short-story collections

  • Akeli Aakritiyan
  • Iske Baad
  • Chhayaen Tatha Anya Kahaniyan
  • Kaai
  • Computer Screen par mor[29]

Novels

  • Gathri
  • Aaj aur Kal
  • Loutkar aane vale din[29]

Travelogues

  • Sam Par Suryast
  • Suragaanv Banjaari
  • Trandaim Mein Tram
  • Helen Ganly Ki Notebook

Essays

  • Ghar Aur Bahar
  • Haat Aur Samaj
  • Kala Samay Samaj (Notable Publication of Lalit Kala Akademi)[31][29]

Memoirs

  • Sajha Samay
  • Smritiyan Bahuteri[29]

Criticism

  • Ardh Viram
  • Aaj Ki Kala
  • Satyajit Ray: Ek Filmmakar Ki Oonchai
  • Ram Kumar: Lines and Colors
  • Jeevan Ko Gadhati Filme<[32]

Translations:

Children’s literature:

  • Dhammak Dhammak
  • Hakka Bakkā
  • Chamcham Bijli Jhamjham Pāni
  • Kahaan Naav Ke Paanv
  • Oont Chala Bhai Oont Chala
  • Mishka Jhool Rahi Hai Jhoola
  • Dhoop Khili Hai Hawa Chali Hai
  • Udna Aasmaan Mein Udna
  • Keral Ke Kele
  • Phool Raha Hai Jhool
  • Vasant Sena

Edited anthologies

References

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  1. ^ "प्रयाग शुक्ल की चुनिंदा कविताएं..." Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  2. ^ "साहित्य के पास निदान नहीं होता, वह केवल सजग कर सकता है- प्रयाग शुक्ल". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  3. ^ "Remembering Ambadas with art critic Prayag Shukla". dagworld.com. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  4. ^ "Prayag Shukla | The Raza Foundation". Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  5. ^ "प्रयाग शुक्ल का रचना-संसार │ हिन्दवी". Hindwi (in Hindi). Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  6. ^ National School of Drama, New Delhi. Rang Prasang ( Hindi) A Quarterly Journal Of Indian Theatre And Related Arts, April June 2006, Editor Prayag Shukla National School Of Drama, New Delhi.
  7. ^ Shukla, Prayag; National School of Drama (New Delhi), eds. (2001). Rang prasang: January-June 2001. New Delhi: Rashtriya Natya Vidyalaya.
  8. ^ a b "Bibliography of Modern and Contemporary Art Writing of South Asia". aaabibliography.org. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  9. ^ "The Foundation - Ushaarth Art Foundation". ushaarth.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  10. ^ a b c d "SAHITYA : Akademi Awards". Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  11. ^ "विशेष बातचीत: प्रख्यात साहित्यकार प्रयाग शुक्ल बोले- शब्द वही, लेकिन लिखने का माध्यम बदला". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  12. ^ "प्रयाग शुक्ल - भारतकोश, ज्ञान का हिन्दी महासागर". bharatdiscovery.org. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  13. ^ "प्रयाग शुक्ल का रचना-संसार │ हिन्दवी". Hindwi (in Hindi). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  14. ^ a b c Kumar, Kuldeep (2019-08-15). "The long-standing concerns of critic Prayag Shukla". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  15. ^ "Black and White Memories". The Indian Express. 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  16. ^ "बेटी की कमी को चित्रों ने पूरा किया : प्रयाग शुक्ल". Patrika News (in Hindi). Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  17. ^ "Varshita Venkatesh Encouragement Fund | Sakhi for Girls Education". Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  18. ^ "Remembering Ambadas with art critic Prayag Shukla". dagworld.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  19. ^ "Drawing '94". Gallery Espace. 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  20. ^ Modi, Renu (2021-12-24). "The Art of Being". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  21. ^ Goel, Poonam (2014-11-12). "Drawing 2014". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  22. ^ "Ram Kumar's paintings speak to us in an intimate manner, says art critic Prayag Shukla". The Indian Express. 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  23. ^ "'The support that I am getting from the art community is heartening': Prayag Shukla". The Indian Express. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  24. ^ https://therazafoundation.org/fellowships/prayag-shukla/
  25. ^ "The International Writing Program | Graduate College | The University of Iowa". iwp.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  26. ^ "criticalcollective.in". criticalcollective.in. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  27. ^ Chaki, Bijay (2019-08-11). "A treasure trove of Indian art writing". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  28. ^ a b "प्रयाग शुक्ल - भारतकोश, ज्ञान का हिन्दी महासागर". bharatdiscovery.org. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h "लेखक प्रयाग शुक्ल का व्यक्तित्व Prayag Shukla". www.hindisamay.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  30. ^ "Album By Prayag Shukla हिंदी साहित्य कथा, उपन्यास भारतीय नयी हिंदी पुस्तकें प्रकाशन Buy Hindi Sahitya Novel Books online SetuPrakashan.com - Buy Hindi Sahitya Books Online". SetuPrakashan.com - Buy Hindi Sahitya Books Online. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  31. ^ Chaki, Bijay (2019-06-29). "On how art critics' feel about art and critique it". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  32. ^ "Books authored by Prayag Shukla". www.exoticindiaart.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  33. ^ https://www.library.niti.gov.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=ccl=au%3A%22Shukla%2C%22&sort_by=relevance_dsc&count=20&limit=au:Shukla,%20Prayag
  34. ^ "A Twining of Tongues". The Indian Express. 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2025-08-05.

References

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