Kailash Vajpeyi

Literary career Vajpeyi began his career writing articles for magazines as a journalist, and later wrote poems on politics through his publications such as "Sankranta" in 1964, "Teesra Andhera", and "Dehant se Hatkar". His poetic work was primarily focused on political systems, mysticism, tradition and spirituality. During his last days, his poetry was themed on "death". He criticised the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru in his poem titled "Rajdhani". He wrote eponymous poems during 1970s. One of his poems was banned by the government of India for its controversial lines, stating to sing a new national anthem.

After he wrote some critic poems he went to Mexico and Dallas. He returned to India in 1980s with a new field of poetry and started writing about Hindu saints, musicians and with the theoretical aspects of a subject such as Jain-Buddhism, advaita vedanta, hinayana, and Sufi philosophy. His poem Rajdhani remained the subject of a dispute among the parliament members that sparked a controversy in the parliament, and later the federal government banned his numerous poems, including "Rajdhani". It is believed his poetic style was changed after visiting the U.S. He was influenced by the different mysticism and philosophical literature such as Zen Buddhism, Sufism and Vedanta. He was also involved in writing anti-establishment poetry and lyrics, and later changed his initial poetic views citing "poetry make nothing happen, it is a signature in the wind."

Awards and recognitions Vajpeyi was the recipient of numerous literary awards and honours, including Sahitya Akademi Award, S.S. Millennium Award, Vyas Samman, the World Hindi Literature Award, and Human Care Trust Award in recognition of his contribution to the Hindi and Indic literature (English). He died at Max Healthcare on 1 April 2015 of heart attack.