Kuber Nath Rai | |
|---|---|
 Rai on a 2019 stamp of India | |
| Born | 26 March 1933 Matsa Village, Dildarnagar Kamsar, Ghazipur, United Provinces, British India |
| Died | 5 June 1996 (aged 63) |
| Occupation | Writer, essayist, scholar, poet |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | Gandha Madan, Priya neel-kanti, Ras Aakhetak, Vishad Yog |
| Notable awards | Bharatiya Jnanpith |
Kuber Nath Rai (26 March 1933 – 5 June 1996), also written as Kubernath Ray and Kuber Nath Ray, was a writer and scholar of Hindi literature and Sanskrit.
Kuber Nath Rai was born in Bhumihar Brahmin family in Matsa village of Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh, India. His father's name was Vakunth Narayan Rai. He got his early education at village Matsa. However he did his matriculation from Queen's College, Varanasi. For higher studies he got enrolled in Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He did his masters in English Literature from Calcutta University. As an academician he started his career with Vikram Vishvavidyalaya but after a short period he moved to Nalbari, Assam as a lecturer of English literature. He retired from Swami Sahajanand Mahavidyalaya as its principal.
From 1958 to 1986 he was in Nalbari College, Assam as a lecturer in English Department. From 1986 to 1995 he was in Swami Sahajanand Saraswati PG College, Ghazipur, UP as a Principal. He got the Moortidevi Award from Bharatiya Jnanpith[1] and many awards from UP,[1][2] WB[1][2] and Assam Government.[1][2]
Kuber Nath Rai dedicated his writing entirely to the form of the essay.[3]
His collections of essays Gandha Madan, Priya neel-kanti, Ras Aakhetak, Vishad Yog, Nishad Bansuri, Parna mukut have enormously enriched the form of essay.[3] A scholar of Indian culture and western literature, he was proud of Indian heritage.[3] His love for natural beauty and Indian folk literatures and preference for agricultural society over the age of machines, his romantic outlook, aesthetic sensibility, his keen eye on contemporary reality and classical style place him very high among contemporary essayists in Hindi.[3]
