Gajendra Thakur

A PARALLEL HISTORY OF MITHILA & MAITHILI LITERATURE- PART 39

Rajnandan Lal Das Devoted Servant of the Maithili Language Editor, Karnamrit � Author � Maithili Literary Activist

Rajnandan Lal Das

Devoted Servant of the Maithili Language

Editor, Karnamrit  �  Author  �  Maithili Literary Activist

 

AT A GLANCE

Full Name:  Rajnandan Lal Das (राजनन्दन लाल दास)

Born:  5 January 1934

Maternal Birthplace:  Patori, Panchagachia, Saharsa, Bihar

Paternal Village:  Gonoun (Gonon), Ghanshyampur, Darbhanga, Bihar

Father:  Late Mani Lal Das (worked at Madhubani Court; later in electricity dept., Pandaul)

Mother:  Late Vidyadevi (devout and skilled homemaker)

Wife:  Rajeshwari Devi (died 24 December 2015, at age 74, in Kolkata)

Children:  Three sons, two daughters; also two daughters who remained celibate to care for parents

Education:  Matriculation 1949; M.A. Political Science, Calcutta University, 1960;  Diploma in Sales Management & Market Research, School of Business Management, Calcutta University

Career:  Sales Officer/Representative, prestigious engineering/consulting equipment company, Kolkata; later Sales Manager

Passed Away:  4 July 2021 (04-07-2021), at his Kolkata residence, at the age of 87

Primary Journal:  Karnamrit (कर्णामृत) � Maithili fortnightly, 1981�2019, 156 issues

Earlier Journal:  Akhar (आखर) � 1967, ran for approximately one year; co-published with others

ISBNed Source:  Videha Rajnandan Lal Das Visheshank, ISBN 978-93-340-1588-1

 

 

Rajnandan Lal Das (राजनन्दन लाल दास) stands among the most selfless, dedicated, and quietly consequential figures in the history of modern Maithili literature. For over four decades, from 1981 until 2019, he single-handedly edited, published, marketed, and sustained the Maithili fortnightly journal Karnamrit (कर्णामृत) � 156 issues � from Kolkata, doing so without any institutional financial backing and without any expectation of reward or recognition.

The Videha Rajnandan Lal Das Visheshank (विदेह राजनन्दन लाल दास विशेषांक, ISBN 978-93-340-1588-1) � a 185-page commemorative special issue compiled by Videha editor Gajendra Thakur and published by the First Maithili Fortnightly eJournal � serves as the primary and most authoritative source for this report. It comprises 28 essays and tributes by scholars, journalists, nephews, editors, readers, and contemporaries who knew Rajnandan Lal Das personally. The sheer number and diversity of these testimonies constitute a rich, multi-perspectival portrait of a man who was, in the words of one contributor, 'Maithilaak Dadhichi' � the Dadhichi of Mithila, who sacrificed everything for his language.

This expanded report synthesises all available information from the Videha Visheshank along with other published sources into a comprehensive account of his life, work, philosophy, and legacy.

 

Rajnandan Lal Das was born on 5 January 1934 in Patori, Panchagachia, Saharsa district � his mother's village (maatrika graam). His ancestral (paitrik) village was Gonoun (Gonon) in Ghanshyampur, Darbhanga � the cultural heartland of Mithila. The Visheshank records that even before his birth, the family had suffered financial difficulty: 'khet pathar gaahi birahi bilaat gelai' (fields and stones crumbled; poverty prevailed).

His father, Mani Lal Das, worked initially at Madhubani Court as a legal practitioner and later took up employment in the electricity department at Pandaul Circle under the then-Raj Darbhanga. A maternal uncle (pita's elder brother � pititti Buccheelal Das) was a Dewan in the household of a Muslim zamindar in Sakri. Despite financial pressures, the family maintained its dignity and the children were encouraged to pursue education.

His mother, Vidyadevi, is described in the Visheshank as 'a skilled homemaker and deeply devout woman' � the kind of steadying presence that provided moral orientation in a household buffeted by economic uncertainty.

Rajnandan Lal Das received his primary education at his village school and for some time at Madhubani. For classes 4 through 7, he studied at Pandaul Middle School. Classes 8 through 11 were completed at S.K.H.E. School, Pandaul. It was during class 8, when Maithili became his elective subject, that the decisive seed was planted.

This poem's impact on the young Rajnandan was transformative. According to multiple contributors to the Visheshank, this is the moment his lifelong devotion to Maithili was kindled. He passed his Matriculation examination in 1949.

 

After passing matriculation in 1949, Rajnandan Lal Das wished to pursue further education but the family's financial situation was precarious. His elder brother wrote to a maternal relative � Modan Narayan Das � who was living in Kolkata and tutoring the children of a wealthy family. Modan Narayan agreed to take Rajnandan in. The elder brother gave him Rs. 115 and sent him to Kolkata with a simple blessing.

He arrived in Kolkata and settled in Rajendra Babu Nivas on College Street, where many Bihari students and Maithili-speaking residents lived. He supported himself by giving tuition and enrolled at Vidyasagar College, attending evening classes. The principal of Vidyasagar College is described as 'extremely kind and a great supporter of intelligent students.' This environment of scholarly aspiration shaped his intellectual direction.

Rajnandan Lal Das completed his Master of Arts in Political Science from Calcutta University in 1960. He then went on to earn a Diploma in Sales Management and Market Research from the School of Business Management, Calcutta University � a qualification that would later serve his career and, crucially, enable him to market and distribute Karnamrit across India.

The Visheshank notes that in College Street, apart from intellectual discussions, conversations about the development and upliftment of the Maithili language and Mithila culture were constant � and the influence of towering Maithili figures like Babu Saheb Chaudhary, Devanandlal Jha, and Dr. Prabodh Narayan Singh upon the young Rajnandan was profound and decisive.

 

Upon completing his education, Rajnandan Lal Das joined a prestigious private consulting equipment company in Kolkata as a Sales Officer/Representative. He rose to become a Sales Manager � a position he held at multiple consulting/construction equipment companies in Kolkata over the course of his professional career.

His nephew Ramesh Lal Das, writing in the Visheshank, provides a remarkable account of how Rajnandan Lal Das turned his corporate career into an instrument of Maithili literature promotion:

His business travel across India � required by his corporate role � became a vehicle for expanding Karnamrit's subscriber base. On every trip to any city, he would visit Maithili-speaking diaspora communities, cultivate interest in Maithili literature, and secure new subscribers. The Visheshank records that he would spend entire months traveling, city by city, in this double mission. The result was that Karnamrit had readers in every state of India and in some parts of Nepal.

His nephew further notes that Rajnandan Lal Das was universally accepted and respected in Kolkata � 'by Maithils, Bengalis, and company officers equally' � attributing this to his 'unpretentious, selfless, pure-hearted manner of dealing with everyone.'

 

Well before founding Karnamrit, Rajnandan Lal Das was deeply involved in the organizational work of the Maithili movement. In 1958, he enrolled as a volunteer (swayamsevak) in the then Mithila Lok Sangh. This organization later merged with another, and on 26 January 1958 both united as the Akhil Bharatiya Mithila Sangh (All India Mithila Association). The credit for this merger went to Dr. Lakshman Jha, Dr. Brajkishore Verma 'Manipadma', and Dr. Harimohan Jha.

Rajnandan Lal Das served as Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Mithila Sangh � 1962 onward. This was a democratically recognized position, which the Visheshank describes as a mark of his popularity within the Maithili literary and cultural community of Kolkata.

He served as Secretary of Mithila Darshan Pra. Ltd. Company � 1963 onward � a publishing entity associated with the Maithili journal Mithila Darshan. In 1967, he participated in the founding of the 'Akhar' (आखर) journal, along with others including Kirtinanarayan Mishra and Birendra Mallik. Akhar ran for approximately one year � the Visheshank notes it was 'very popular for a while, but like most Maithili journals, it was short-lived.' This experience taught Rajnandan Lal Das that the survival of a Maithili journal required extraordinary commitment and resilience.

He was also associated with the Maithili Sangram Samiti � 1967 � an activist organization working for Maithili's rights in education and official recognition. His consistent association with multiple organizations across two decades before founding Karnamrit demonstrates that his commitment to the Maithili cause was deep-rooted and long-standing � not a late-life avocation.

 

The founding of Karnamrit (कर्णामृत) in 1981 marked the beginning of Rajnandan Lal Das's most sustained and consequential contribution to Maithili letters. The journal was founded under the auspices of the Karnagoshti (कर्णगोष्ठी) � an association representing the Karna Kayastha community of Mithila. The founding editor was Arjunlal Karna, who handed over the responsibility to Rajnandan Lal Das, trusting him completely.

Initially, some accused Rajnandan Lal Das of publishing only Karna Kayastha writers in the journal. This charge was comprehensively refuted � a 2016 interview in Karnamrit itself, with Laxman Jha Sagar, demonstrated that the journal had consistently published writers from all communities and all castes. The accusation was 'proven false on the basis of evidence,' as the Visheshank records.

Karnamrit's philosophy, as reflected in Rajnandan Lal Das's own editorials, was clear: Maithili is the folk language (lok bhasha) of Mithila � carrier of the consciousness of all its people � and must not remain the exclusive domain of any one caste or class. He declared: 'Maithili Mithilaak lok bhasha chhai, lok chetanaak sanvaahak chhai' � Maithili is the people's language of Mithila, the carrier of popular consciousness.

Karnamrit was a fortnightly (dwaimas) journal. It became particularly celebrated for its Shaaradiya Visheshank � the annual autumn/Shaarad special issue published in October�December � which was considered a landmark literary publication each year, gathering the best of Maithili poetry, fiction, drama, and Mithila art. These seasonal special issues were collector's items, eagerly awaited by subscribers across India.

The journal also published special thematic issues � issues devoted to folk art, women's writing, drama, children's literature. Importantly, Rajnandan Lal Das used the journal as a platform not just to publish established writers, but to actively discover and nurture new voices. The Visheshank notes that 'many a writer's first Maithili composition was published in Karnamrit,' and these writers later went on to become significant contributors to the language.

A defining feature was the covers: Mithila painting (Madhubani art) consistently graced the cover of Karnamrit, making visual promotion of the traditional art form an intrinsic part of the journal's identity.

Between 1981 and 2019, Rajnandan Lal Das edited 156 issues of Karnamrit � a span of nearly four decades. The journal ran without any institutional financial support, sustained entirely through subscriptions, community donations, and Rajnandan Lal Das's own labour and resources. Multiple contributors to the Visheshank describe how he managed this against enormous odds:

▸     He traveled all over India on his corporate sales rounds, using every trip to visit local Maithili communities and add new subscribers, personally collecting subscription fees.

▸     He absorbed many costs himself � including printing costs � often at personal financial sacrifice.

▸     He faced health crises several times (including a brain haemorrhage mentioned in the Visheshank) but returned each time to continue the journal.

▸     He bore the devastating blow of his wife Rajeshwari Devi's death (24 December 2015, at age 74) and continued uninterrupted.

▸     He also edited Akhar (आखर) alongside his other responsibilities at various points.

Even in his final years, Rajnandan Lal Das continued to innovate. A special Nepal issue of Karnamrit � edited in association with the then-assistant editor Chandresh � was received with great acclaim. This demonstrated his vision of Maithili as a transnational language spanning India and Nepal, not confined to any one administrative boundary.

At 85 years old, he wrote in one of his editorials: 'Maithili kein ekta aur Bhagirath chaahi' � Maithili needs one more Bhagirath (the sage who brought the Ganga to earth, a metaphor for the need for a heroic saviour for the language).

 

Despite devoting the overwhelming majority of his energy to Karnamrit, Rajnandan Lal Das authored several original works:

▸     Santo (सन्तो) � A Maithili play (natak), 1970. Described in the Visheshank as a 'revolutionary play for the various rights of Maithilis' (Maithilik vibhinn adhikaar hetu kraantikari natak). Its successful stage performances are documented. The play reflects his Marxist/socialist intellectual orientation of the era and his belief in the power of theatre as a vehicle for social consciousness-raising.

▸     Chitra-Vichitra (चित्रा-विचित्रा) � An essay and article collection (aalekh sangrah), 2006. Multiple contributors to the Visheshank discuss this work, noting that it reflects his views on Maithili literature, society, and culture.

▸     Prabodh Narayan Singh (Vinibandh) � A biographical-critical essay on the life and work of Dr. Prabodh Narayan Singh, published by the Sahitya Akademi in 2012. This is significant: the Sahitya Akademi imprimatur lends institutional recognition to his scholarly work.

▸     Mithila-Maithili ke Vikasme Karnagoshti evam Karnamrit ka Yogdan (1974�2011) � A research monograph documenting the contribution of the Karnagoshti organisation and Karnamrit journal to the development of Mithila and Maithili. The publication year is not confirmed.

▸     Mithilak Dadhichi Bhola Lal Das evam Rajeshwar Jha: Vyaktitva o Krititva (1978) � A volume on the personality and works of Bhola Lal Das and Rajeshwar Jha, two foundational figures in modern Maithili.

▸     Munshi Raghunanadan Das: Vyaktitva o Krititva (1983) � A biographical-critical volume on Munshi Raghunanandan Das, who lived 1860�1945 and wrote the Maithili work Subhadra Haran.

▸     Karnamrit (fortnightly journal) � 1981 to present, 156 issues edited.

The Visheshank also records that Rajnandan Lal Das played a significant facilitating role in the publication of works by other Maithili writers � including the famous novelist Manipadma and poet Ramanand Renu (author of Dudh-Phool) � through the Karnagoshti publication wing. He helped writers get their manuscripts published, often partially subsidising the costs himself.

 

The Visheshank makes a careful and nuanced observation: Rajnandan Lal Das was, up until 1967, a card-holding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI). His study of Marxist-Leninist thought and the Russian Revolution during his time at Calcutta University � where left-wing politics was the dominant intellectual current � shaped his early political formation.

However, the Visheshank's critical essay by Ashish Anchinhaar notes that 'not a single article in Chitra-Vichitra shows any trace of his leftist form.' The assessment is that the pressures of livelihood and the conservative cultural world of Maithili literary advocacy gradually displaced his explicit socialist politics, even while he retained a genuine concern for the common people and a distaste for caste discrimination.

Rajnandan Lal Das's most concrete and practically significant anti-caste contribution was the consistent, deliberate editorial policy of Karnamrit: the journal published writers from all castes and communities without discrimination. In a Maithili literary world long dominated by Maithil Brahmins and, to a lesser degree, Karna Kayasthas, this was a meaningful and consequential editorial stance.

He strongly advocated the idea that Maithili is a lok bhasha � the language of all the people of Mithila � and not the exclusive property of any one caste or community. His editorials repeatedly argued against the casteisation of Maithili culture and for an inclusive literary ecology.

One of the causes closest to Rajnandan Lal Das's heart was the introduction of Maithili as the medium of primary school education in Bihar. He continued to agitate for this cause even in his final years. At the age of 84, on 14 February 2017, he wrote a petition to the President of India requesting that Maithili be made the medium of primary education. The President of India directed Bihar's Chief Secretary to take cognisance of the petition. Despite sympathetic political responses from Maithili legislators and state-level advocacy, the goal remained unrealised during his lifetime.

The Visheshank's essay by Dilip Kumar Jha records that Rajnandan Lal Das was one of three towering figures who consistently championed this cause � the others being Dr. Jaykant Mishra and Pandit Chandranath Mishra 'Amar'. He agitated through letters, journal editorials, and personal advocacy whenever opportunities arose.

 

Rajnandan Lal Das received recognition from multiple institutions across the Maithili-speaking world, though the Visheshank notes that he was always indifferent to personal honours, preferring the publication of a book over being garland-draped on a stage:

▸     Mithila Vibhuti � Vidyapati Seva Sansthan, Darbhanga � Honour and citation, 1999

▸     Kalyan Pathadayini Hutoun � Honour and citation, 2003

▸     Karnagoshti, Dhanbad � Honour and citation, 2004

▸     Mithila Sanskritik Parishad, Jamshedpur � Honour, 2004

▸     Chitragupta Sabha, Patna � Honour and citation, 2004

▸     Vidyapati Smarak Manch, Kolkata � Honour and citation, 2008

The Visheshank also records that the Mumbai Karnagoshti invited him to be honoured at their function, but Rajnandan Lal Das proposed instead that the money allocated for the function be used to publish a book. The Mumbai Karnagoshti agreed, and the book was published � a telling illustration of his priority of substance over ceremony.

The Visheshank notes further that Rajnandan Lal Das himself produced 18 posthumous commemorative special issues of Karnamrit honouring deceased Maithili literary figures � demonstrating that he spent his energy honouring others rather than seeking honour for himself.

 

Rajnandan Lal Das married Rajeshwari Devi, who became his steadfast companion and, according to multiple contributors, a silent partner in his literary mission. She passed away on 24 December 2015 at their Kolkata home, at the age of 74. The Visheshank records the apprehension felt by friends and observers when she died � fearing that such a devastating personal blow might interrupt his work � but Rajnandan Lal Das's resolve proved 'uninterrupted' (apratihat).

He had five children in total � three sons and two daughters. Two of his daughters chose to remain celibate lifelong in order to care for their parents � a devotion noted with deep respect in the Visheshank.

The 28 essays in the Visheshank, spanning a vast range of relationships � nephew, subscriber, fellow traveller, rival, critic, admirer � converge on a consistent portrait:

▸     Simplicity (saralata) and warmth: He welcomed anyone who arrived at his Kolkata home, regardless of their status. Ajit Kumar Jha (Visheshank) recalls arriving unannounced and being invited to stay and eat � even though Rajnandan Lal Das was himself recovering from a brain haemorrhage at the time.

▸     Tirelessness in service: He walked the streets of Kolkata distributing Karnamrit, attended meetings and functions where he promoted Maithili literature, and held conversations for hours about the state of the language.

▸     Financial self-sacrifice: The journal never paid its editor. Every rupee collected from subscribers went towards printing and distribution. His personal resources were used to cover shortfalls.

▸     Absence of self-promotion: He published no photographs of himself in the journal, sought no personal publicity, and consistently deflected praise towards the language and the cause.

▸     Mentorship: He is credited by numerous contributors as having actively encouraged young writers � several of whom credit their literary careers to his personal encouragement.

▸     Health resilience: He suffered a brain haemorrhage and recovered; he suffered other serious illnesses over the years � and each time returned to Karnamrit.

 

Rajnandan Lal Das's biographical and scholarly work about the Karna community is one of the distinctive threads of his contribution. His research monograph 'Mithila-Maithili ke Vikasme Karnagoshti evam Karnamrit ka Yogdan' documented the Karna Kayastha community's contributions to Mithila's development � an effort at recovering a history that had been partially overshadowed by the dominant narrative of Maithil Brahmin literary culture.

His biographical essays on Bhola Lal Das and Munshi Raghunanadan Lal Das similarly centre figures who, while significant in Maithili literary history, had not received the scholarly attention they deserved. By writing their biographies, Rajnandan Lal Das performed an act of cultural recuperation � bringing overlooked contributors back into the record.

This aspect of his work aligns with the Videha journal's broader parallel history project � the effort to write a more inclusive, democratised history of Maithili literature that acknowledges contributions beyond the dominant caste groups.

 

Kolkata has been one of the most important centres of Maithili literary and cultural activity outside of the Mithila heartland. Bihar's economic underdevelopment � especially in the Darbhanga-Madhubani-Saharsa belt � drove large-scale migration to Kolkata from the 19th century onward. The Maithili diaspora in Kolkata established cultural and literary organisations, journals, and networks that kept the language alive far from home.

Rajnandan Lal Das was inspired by the cultural vitality of Bengalis around him. Multiple contributors to the Visheshank note that the passion of Bengali speakers for their language � their book fairs, their literary culture, their willingness to buy books and support writers � was a model that Rajnandan Lal Das wished to replicate for Maithili. He found in Kolkata both a home and a challenge: could Maithili-speakers achieve the same cultural self-confidence and institutional richness?

His answer was to try � with Karnamrit, with book publishing, with community organising, with campaigning for Maithili education rights. The Visheshank's account of his work in Kolkata is simultaneously a history of the Maithili diaspora community's cultural aspirations across several decades.

 

Rajnandan Lal Das passed away at his Kolkata residence on 4 July 2021 (04-07-2021), at the age of 87. The Visheshank records:

The obituary note published by Maithil Manch (maithilmanch.in), written by Dr. Ravindra Kumar Chaudhary, had earlier confirmed the more specific time as 'around 1 PM at his Kolkata residence' � the Visheshank confirms the date as 4 July 2021. He was referred to as 'Maithili ka Dadhichi' � the Dadhichi of Maithili, a mythological analogy for a being who sacrifices everything for a higher cause.

▸     156 issues of Karnamrit (1981�2019) � an unmatched record of Maithili journal publication from a single editor-publisher

▸     18 posthumous commemorative special issues of Karnamrit for deceased Maithili luminaries

▸     Published works including the revolutionary play Santo (1970), essay collection Chitra-Vichitra (2006), and the Sahitya Akademi-published monograph on Prabodh Narayan Singh (2012)

▸     Edited biographical volumes on Bhola Lal Das (1978) and Munshi Raghunanandan Das (1983)

▸     Research monograph on Karnagoshti's contribution to Maithili development

▸     Direct mentorship and encouragement of a generation of Maithili writers across India

▸     Continuous advocacy � through editorials, letters, and personal activism � for Maithili primary education

▸     Promotion of Mithila painting through Karnamrit's covers and special features

▸     Building a pan-India (and partially Nepal) subscriber network for a Maithili journal purely through personal effort

His final aspiration, expressed in an editorial at age 85, was that Maithili needs 'one more Bhagirath' � a heroic figure to secure the language's rightful place in public life, especially in education. He himself was that Bhagirath for his generation, even if he would never have accepted the title.

 

The Videha Rajnandan Lal Das Visheshank (ISBN 978-93-340-1588-1), published by Videha � First Maithili Fortnightly eJournal (www.videha.co.in, ISSN 2229-547X, edited by Gajendra Thakur) � is a 185-page special issue entirely devoted to Rajnandan Lal Das. It is a print-on-demand volume available through Videha and is the most comprehensive primary document on his life and work available.

The volume contains 28 essays and memoirs by contributors including: Mukesh Dutta, Dilip Kumar Jha, Ajit Jha, Ashok, Jagdish Chander Thakur 'Anil', Chandana Dutta, Amod Jha, Akhilesh Kumar Jha, Chandresh, Jitendra Nath Dutta, Kanchan Kanth, Laxman Jha 'Sagar', Ramesh Lal Das (nephew), Sharadanand Das Parimal, Nabonarayan Mishra, Surendra Thakur, Sudhir, Kameshwar Jha 'Kamal', Pradeep Bihari, Arvind Thakur (on Chitra-Vichitra), Vijay Issar 'Vats', Shashi Shankar Srinivas (on his drama), Shailendra Mishra, Ashish Neeraj, Munnaji, Ashish Anuchinhaar, and Nabonarayan Mishra (Appendix from Videha Sadeha 18).

The editor, Gajendra Thakur, notes in his preface that the special issue was announced while Rajnandan Lal Das was still alive, but by the time of publication he had passed away. He writes: 'Whatever could be done should be understood as a humble offering. In the future, we will certainly digitise the handwritten contributions that could not be typed in time.'

 

 

 

Name:  Rajnandan Lal Das  |  राजनन्दन लाल दास

Born:  5 January 1934, Patori, Panchagachia, Saharsa, Bihar (maternal village)

Paternal Home:  Gonoun, Ghanshyampur, Darbhanga, Bihar

Father:  Late Mani Lal Das (court practitioner, electricity dept.)

Mother:  Late Vidyadevi

Schooling:  Village school, Madhubani; Pandaul Middle School; S.K.H.E. School Pandaul (Matric 1949)

College:  Vidyasagar College, Kolkata (evening, self-supported via tuition)

Degrees:  M.A. Political Science, Calcutta University, 1960; Diploma Sales Mgmt & Market Research, Calcutta University

Career:  Sales Representative/Manager, consulting/equipment companies, Kolkata

Wife:  Rajeshwari Devi (d. 24 December 2015, aged 74, Kolkata)

Children:  3 sons, 2 daughters; 2 daughters lifelong celibate for parents' service

Died:  4 July 2021, Kolkata residence, aged 87

Languages:  Maithili (primary), Hindi, Bengali (comprehension)

Original Books:  Santo (1970, play); Chitra-Vichitra (2006, essays); Prabodh Narayan Singh (2012, biography, Sahitya Akademi); Karnagoshti-Karnamrit Yogdan 1974-2011 (research)

Edited Books:  Bhola Lal Das & Rajeshwar Jha biographies (1978); Munshi Raghunanandan Das biography (1983)

Journal Founded:  Akhar (आखर), 1967 (co-founder); Karnamrit (कर्णामृत), 1981�2019, 156 issues

Organisations:  Akhil Bharatiya Mithila Sangh (Secretary, 1962); Mithila Sangram Samiti (1967); Mithila Darshan Pra. Ltd. (Secretary, 1963)

Political History:  CPI card-holder until 1967; later non-partisan Maithili activist

Awards:  Mithila Vibhuti (1999); Kalyan Pathadayini Hutoun (2003); Karnagoshti Dhanbad (2004); Mithila Sanskritik Parishad Jamshedpur (2004); Chitragupta Sabha Patna (2004); Vidyapati Smarak Manch Kolkata (2008)

Legacy Title:  Maithilaak Dadhichi � The Dadhichi of Mithila

Primary Source:  Videha Rajnandan Lal Das Visheshank, 185 pp., ISBN 978-93-340-1588-1, Editor Gajendra Thakur, Videha (ISSN 2229-547X)

 

 

Born: 25 January 1934, Ghanshyampur-Gonoun, Darbhanga, Bihar

Died: July 2021, Kolkata (aged ~87)

Education: M.A., Political Science, University of Calcutta

Profession: Marketing Manager (corporate); Editor & Writer (literary)

Primary Journal: Karnamrit (कर्णामृत), Kolkata-based Maithili journal

Editorial Span: 1981�2019, 156 issues edited

Other Journal: Akhar (आखर), also edited

Literary Genre: Drama (Natak), Essays (Aalekh), Biography (Vinibandh)

Key Books: Santo (drama); Chitra-Vichitra (essays); Karnagoshti; biographies of Bhola Lal Das, Raghunanandan Lal Das, Dr. Prabodh Narayan Singh

Community: Karna Kayastha (Mithila)

Epithet: Maithilīk Ananya Sevak � Devoted/Incomparable Servant of Maithili

 

▸     Videha Rajnandan Lal Das Visheshank (Primary) � 185-page special issue, ISBN 978-93-340-1588-1, Editor: Gajendra Thakur, Videha � First Maithili Fortnightly eJournal (www.videha.co.in, ISSN 2229-547X). Contains 28 essays by scholars, contemporaries, family members.

▸     Maithil Manch (maithilmanch.in) � Obituary by Dr. Ravindra Kumar Chaudhary, July 2021.

▸     Videha Pothi Archive (www.videha.co.in/pothi.htm) � Maithili Books Archive where Rajnandan Lal Das's works are listed.

▸     Videha Parallel History of Maithili Literature � Gajendra Thakur, www.videha.co.in, for wider Maithili literary-historical context.

▸     Wikipedia and standard sources on Maithili language and literature for background context.