Sumitranandan Pant – The Poet of Kausani

Sumitranandan Pant (सुमित्रानन्दन पन्त) – The Poet of Kausani, Uttarakhand, India

Kausani, a town surrounded by the magnificence of the snow-clad Himalayan peaks and bedecked by forests of Pine and Deodhar is a place that seems straight out of a poet’s imagination. The cool Himalayan breeze seems to hum a sonata in your ears while the fragrance of the air fuels your romantic thoughts. The clouds too join in waltzing across the blue skies. Nature seems to have erupted in a frenzy of divine joy in this beautiful town tucked away in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. The place seems ideal for any romantic to lose themselves in the enchanting embrace of nature. So it is no wonder that one of the greatest of Hindi poets known for his unabashed romanticism was born here. The poet is none other than Sumitranandan Pant whose poems most of us in India would have studied in school at some stage or the other. Sumitranandan Pant who was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1961 and the Jnanapith award in 1968 was born in the picturesque surroundings of Kausani and spent his early formative years here. His creative genius indeed seems to have been nurtured by the benign presence of the Himalayas and the beautiful green meadows that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Visiting The House Where Sumitranandan Pant Was Born

We were in Kausani as part of our 8-day discovery of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand that took us on a road trip to discover some of the lesser-known gems. After a magical stay at the TRH of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), we set out to explore some of the attractions of Kausani including the Anasakti Ashram and the place where Sumitranandan Pant was born.

We descended a narrow alley that tapered downwards along with the natural contour of the land. Quaint shops lined both sides. Bread Pakodas, Paranthas, Momos, said a board that displayed its enticing wares.

A wizened old man wearing the traditional Kumaoni Topi sat bent over a sewing machine in a small tailoring shop. A postman huffed up the narrow alley clutching a bunch of letters, which would be delivered to eager hands.

A group of three men sat huddled together, their entire attention on a chessboard and completely oblivious to the activities of the street. Right next to where these gentlemen indulged in the game that India invented, stood an old building. A few stairs led up to it from the street level. A board in Hindi said, “Sumitranandan Pant Government Museum”.

Inside The Sumitranandan Pant Government Museum

The house where the poet Sumitranandan Pant was born is today a museum dedicated to his memory. The place provides spectacular views of the distant mountains and the carpet of green that envelops the valley below.

A window looks out to the beautiful landscapes and one wonders about the words that would have fallen into place in the poet’s mind as he woke up to these views.

The starkly bare rooms where the great poet must have wandered as a young boy now has its walls decorated with black and white photographs that depict important events of his life.

A fading black and white group photograph with a dark, tall, and handsome man has your attention riveted. A closer look at the picture and you realize that it Bollywood’s superstar Amitabh Bachchan in his younger days. We learned that Amitabh Bachchan’s father the noted poet Harivanshrai Bachchan and Sumitrananadan Pant were friends. In fact, the name Amitabh was suggested by Sumitranandan Pant. The man the world knows as Amitabh Bachchan was initially named as Inquilab but later at the suggestion of Sumitranandan Pant, the name was changed to Amitabh. Bachchan was the pen name of Harivanshrai Bachchan which the actor later adopted as a surname. Thus the boy known as Inquilab Srivastava became the legendary Amitabh Bachchan.

A huge library is located towards one end of the house. Steel cupboards filled with books line the walls. The huge collection includes books of Sumitrananadan Pant as well as other literary works. The library looks out to the beautiful valley that stretches out below in emerald splendor.

About Sumitranandan Pant

Sumitranandan Pant if one of the shining stars of Hindi poetry and literature whose lustre will never fade. He was born in the beautiful village of Kausani located in the Almora district of Uttarakhand. In a cruel travesty of fate, the poet’s mother died immediately after giving birth to him. Thus he grew up without the love of a mother and probably adopted Mother Nature as his mother. This is very much evident in his poems. His first book was, “Pallav”, a collection of poems that give full vent for his love for nature. This book heralded the arrival of Sumitranandan Pant as a giant of the Hindi renaissance.

Poet Sumitranandan Pant in Hindi literature is one of the glittering stars who is regarded as one of the most influential poets of the Chaayavaadi school of Hindi literature. This was an era of romanticism in poetry characterized by romantic expressions of nature and personal experiences. In later years Sumitranandan Pant was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and Aurobindo and this too becomes evident in his writings.

In 1968 Sumitrananadan Pant was honored with the Jnanpith award, the first for a Hindi poet. This award is arguably the highest award for Indian literature. The award for his work, “Chidambara”, a collection of some of his best poems. Sumitranandan Pant was also honored with the Sahitya Academy award for his work, “Kaala Aur Burhaa Chand”. The poet was also honored with the third-highest civilian honor of India, the Padma Bhushan award in the year 1961.

The poet of Kausani merged with his beloved mother nature and breathed his last in the year 1977 at Prayagraj, then known as Allahabad.

He left behind an invaluable legacy of poems that are his shining footprints on the sands of time.

Some Famous Sumitranandan Pant Poems

The legacy of Sumitranandan Pant includes gems like Chidambara, Pallav, Hans Aur Rajkumari, Sumitranandan Pant Ke Gadya Sahitya, Sumitranandan Pant Granthavali(all poems of Sumitranandan Pant in Hindi), Gunjan, and many more.

Places To Visit In And Around Kausani

Kausani, a picturesque village that comes alive in the poems of Sumitranandan Pant was described by Mahatma Gandhi as the Switzerland of India. He stayed here for a couple of weeks at the Anasakti Ashram. There are many places of interest in and around Kausani apart from the spectacular views of the Himalayan ranges.

• Anasakti Ashram
• Kausani Tea Estate
• Baijnath Temple

Kausani is a glittering gem of Uttarakhand that has seen the footfalls of some of the greatest minds of the country from different spheres of life, be it Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, or Sumitranandan Pant. The land is indeed a land of Gods that have been the sanctuary of saints over the ages. Do check out our blogs on Uttarakhand to experience some of the different destinations of this beautiful region of India.

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