Biography
Kaka Hathrasi was born on 18 September 1906 in Hathras, a town in Hathras district (present Mahamaya Nagar district) in Uttar Pradesh. Hathrasi wrote very sharp satires on social, religious and political evils, greed and corruption engulfing India at that time. His style of humour and satire made him popular and inspired new humourists.
Hathrasi was honored with the Padma Shri award in 1985 and in total he had 42 books of humorous verse to his credit. He also participated in a radio programme, Meethi Meethi Hasaiyan, that ran for 786 episodes over an eleven-year period. This was the longest-running programme in India.
In 1932, Hathrasi established Sangeet Karyalaya, originally known as Garg and Co., at Hathras.Now it is run by his son Lakhminarayan Garg whom directed Brijbhashi film Jamuna Kinare(1984) Its main goal was to revive and breathe new life in Indian classical music which at that time was closeted in palaces and temples, with access limited only to the rich and affluent. Hathrasi gathered works of great artists and kings in various languages and analyzed and rewrote those classics in the language of the layman.
In 1935, Kaka started a monthly magazine Sangeet under the banner of Sangeet Karyalaya. This publication elaborated on the nuances and intricacies of various classical forms of music such as dhrupad, dhamaar, thumri, and taraanaa, and popular forms such as geet, ghazal, quawwali, folk music and film music. The magazine continued after his death. He also published his autobiography, Mera Jeevan : A-One in 1993.
Hathrasi started "Kaka Hathrasi Puraskaar", a prestigious award that is given annually to the best humorous poet/writer of the year and "Kaka Hathrasi Sangeet Sammaan" given to a distinguished musician/musicologist.
Hathrasi died on his birthday, September 18, 1995 at the age of 89. September 18 was declared “Hasya Divas” (Humour Day) in his memory and a park in New Delhi was named “Kaka Hathrasi Udyaan.”
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