Chhayavad

Chhayavad Yug dates from 1918 to 1937. It was preceded by Bharatendu Yug (1868–1900) and Dwivedi Yug (1900–1918) and was followed by the Contemporary Period from 1937 onward.^[1][2]

Chhayavad continued until the latter half of the 1930s, when the golden era of modern Hindi poetry was gradually replaced by social didacticism inspired by rising nationalist fervour. Some of the later poets of this era, like Dinkar, Mahadevi and Bachchan took nationalist and social critiquing within their poetry.

Jaishankar Prasad, Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Sumitranandan Pant and Mahadevi Varma^[3] are considered as the four pillars of the Chhayavadi school of Hindi literature. Other important figures of this literary movement were Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Makhanlal Chaturvedi and Pandit Narendra Sharma.

Harivansh Rai Bachchan became excessively critical of Chhayavad later in his career and was associated with other genres like Rahasyavaad, Pragativaad and Haalaavaad.

Jaishankar Prasad's Kamayani (1936) is considered an important work of this school, followed by Mahadevi Varma's Nihar (Mist, 1930) and Harivansh Rai Bachchan's Madhushala (1935).

Initially, Chhayavad was very well received by readers and critics alike. However, subsequent scholars have criticized Chhayavad for excessive use of decorative language, romanticism aloof from contemporary social and economic malaise, and setting stricter rules on meter and rhyme.^{[citation needed]}

• Romantic Poetry in the Era of Convention
• Chhayavad study in The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Jul 1, 2001
• 1 Now available in Vani Prakashan, New Delhi

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