Sushil Siddharth (2 July 1958 – 17 March 2018) was a Hindi prose and poetry writer, critic, editor, and satirist. He was a journalist and columnist and the co-editor of several periodicals. He was awarded the Madhuban Vyanga Shri Samman in 2017 for his satirical works.
Born in the village of Bheera, Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh, on 2 July 1958, Sushil Siddharth did his Ph.D. from the University of Lucknow. [1]
After finishing his higher education, Siddharth became involved in the literary circles of Lucknow while continuing as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. [2] He considered Gyan Chaturvedi the father of satire, and his personal mentor. [3] He also co-edited the Hindi periodicals Tadbhav and Kathakrama. [1] His column in the latter, titled Raag Lantrani, brought him recognition. During 1988–90, Siddharth and Ram Bahadur Mishra jointly edited and published Birwa, a quarterly magazine dedicated to promoting the Awadhi language. [2] Siddharth was additionally a guest faculty at the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University, and also wrote plays for television and radio. [1] Since its inception, he had been a regular contributor to Indraprastha Bharti, a magazine of the Hindi Academy in New Delhi, where his column Kataaksh was highly popular. [4] He wrote four collections of satire: Preeti Na Kariyo Koy, Mo Sam Kaun, Naarad Ki Chinta, Maalish Mahapurana; and contributed two anthologies of poems: Eka and Bagan Bagan Kahe Chiriya in Awadhi. [5]
The Uttar Pradesh Hindi Institute twice nominated Siddharth for its Best satire and Best Awadhi poem awards. [4] In 2017, he was awarded the Madhuban Vyanga Shri Samman for his satirical works. [6] Siddharth worked as an editor for the Rajkamal Prakashan group before joining Kitabghar Prakashan, where he served till his death. [7] He edited the book series Vyanga Samay. [8] For his work in literary criticism, Siddharth was awarded by Bhopal's Spandan Sanstha. [4]
Siddharth stayed alone in Delhi while his family lived in Lucknow. He died on 17 March 2018 from complications arising after a heart attack. [7] His body was cremated the following day in Lucknow's Bhainsakund Crematorium. [9] A condolence ceremony in his memory was held at Gopal Chaturvedi 's residence. Fellow writer Dayanand Pandey said that satire was the oxygen in Siddharth's life. [a] [10] Novelist Maitreyi Pushpa was of the view that Siddharth's talent was never properly treasured in his lifetime, and that publishers for whom he worked took advantage of his financial condition. [b] [4]