User:Winstonpie/sandbox

Gopal Sharan Singh
Gopal Sharan Singh or Thakur Saheb Gopal Sharan Singh was an aristocrat of Nai Garhi zamindari and an influential poet of the 20th century. He along with Maithili Sharan Gupt is considered an avant-garde of Khari Boli poetry. He was also an expert in the Braj Bhasha dialect of poetry which can be perceived in his early creative works where he infused simplicity and sweetness of Brajbhasa. A glimpse of Chhayavaadi romanticism can also be found in his poems. For his eminent work in the field of poetry, he was honored with the title of 'Kaviratna'.

Early life
He was born in a reputed aristocrat family of Nai Garhi as the eldest son of Thakur Jagat Bahadur Singh in 1891. The zamindari of Nai Garhi was ruled by Sengar clan of Rajputs who remained under the princely state of Rewa for a brief period of their history. He completed his education in Rewa and Prayag. He wrote his first poem in 1911 at the age of 21. Being the eldest son of an aristocrat family came with responsibilities and he soon succeeded his father as the new head of the zamindari. Although this did not deviate him from the path of his interests which was poetry.

Literary works
The first monthly magazine of India known as Saraswati virtually published more than one poem of Gopal Sharan Singh in its monthly issue. Some of his eminent works published in Saraswati were 'Kurang', 'Upavan', 'Shishir Saptak', 'Bharat Mata', 'Prem' and 'Rewa Naresh ki Prashasti'. These poems are deemed to be of worth reading for their depth of feeling and technical perfection. Some of his other famous works were published in the initial issues of another perodical called Sudha which was launched in Lucknow. Those poems launched in Sudha included 'Pyasa', 'Lochan', 'Smriti', 'Visphot' and 'Agyan'.

The most popular of his works were the collections of poems named 'Madhavi', 'Manavi' (poems about women), Kadambani (lyrical poetry), Suman, Jyotishmati and Sanchita.

Death and legacy
Thakur Gopal Sharan died in 1960 and his death was mourned by many great poets including Maithili Sharan Gupt, Mahadevi Verma, Harivansh Rai Bachchan to say the least. He was a liberal educationist who promoted education in the region of his zamindari. The government school in Nai Garhi is named in his honor as Thakur Gopal Sharan Singh High School. Some famous collections of his poems have earned a well-deserved place in the course syllabus of colleges and universities in the state of Madhya Pradesh.