Narasinha Mehta (15th century) is the most celebrated poet of the Gujarati language. Narasinha lived most of his life in the city of Junagadh in Saurashtra. He was an ardent devotee of Krishna. A large number of popular Narasinha lyrics are based on Krishna's life in Vraj.
His composition “Vaiṣṇavajana to tene re kahīe” (Call only that one a Vaishnava) is Gandhi's favorite devotional song. It defines a religious person in terms of compassion and moral integrity. Gandhi considered it as having the same authority as scriptures.
Narasinha Mehta enjoys an iconic status in Gujarat. He is honored as both the most important saint-poet of the region and the first poet (ādikavi) of the Gujarati language. A prestigious award in Gujarati poetry is named after him; lakes and roads bear his name; and his statues in devotional singing poses are found in important cities of Gujarat. The picture is a 17th century manuscript of Narsinha Mehta’s compositions.
Source and Picture Credit: Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat, by Neelima Shukla – Bhatt

Tyagaraja lived in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was born at Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu and was named after the deity of the town. His family later shifted to nearby Thiruvaiyaru. As a child Tygaraja learnt to play the Veena and also was initiated into Rama Bhakti. He composed his first song at the age of thirteen. For Tygaraja, music was the pathway to Rama. He composed countless songs on Rama. During his life, he is believed to have composed more than 24,000 songs though only 700 remain.
The Tygaraja Aradhana festival is held in Thiruvaiyaru in Tamil Nadu for a week every year in January-February. On the day of the Samadhi of Tyagaraja, Carnatic musicians and common people gather at Thiruvaiyaru for a grand community singing of the five gems of Carnatic Music (Pancharatna kritis). Similar festivals are held in other parts of India and in USA.
Tyagaraja is considered the head of the trinity of Carnatic music and is worshipped as a Guru and deity. A crater in mercury is named after him. The Tyagaraja Indoor Stadium in New Delhi built for commonwealth games is named after him.
Source: Sri Vivekananda Ashrama
Picture is of Tyagaraja Aradhana from The Hindu

Sant Dnynaeshwar’s is considered as the first saint of the Varkari movement. Varkaris worship Vithala in Pandharpur. The name Varkari is considered to mean those who undertake Wari or the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.
Sant Dnyaneshwar lived for only 21 years in the late 13th century. He was born in Alandi near Pune and his father was already a devoted saint. His family was initiated into the Nath Sampradaya. Sant Dnyaneshwar composed Dyaneshwari which is a commentary on Bhagavad Gita. It is considered the first literary work in Marathi. His devotional poems are called abhangs which are deep expressions of bhakti. After a pilgrimage to the north, Sant Dnyaneshwar decided to voluntarily give up his life and attain Jiva Samadhi, at the age of just 21. He started the great tradition of poet saints of Maharashtra.
The primary starting point for the Pandharpur Yatra is Alandi. Sant Dnyaneshwar’s padhukas are carried in a palkhi (palanquin). The Yatra is about 250 kms long and lasts 21 days.
Picture is the Palkhi of Alandi by Mahesh Lonkar.

Dama Dam Mast Qalandar is believed to have been written by Amir Khusrau originally and it was modified and made popular by Bulleh Shah.
Bulleh Shah was born in late 17th century. His family was considered a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad. He learnt Persian and Arabic and was a disciple of sufi saint Shah Inayat Qadiri who was a farmer/ gardener. He stayed devoted to his master even though people ridiculed that a high ranking Bulleh Shah had taken a gardener as his Guru.
He wrote extensively in Punjabi (in persian script) in the style called Kaafi which is also popular in Sindhi poetry. His poems were intense and he wrote disapprovingly of ritualistic religion. He used simple language to convey oneness of God, social equality and love towards God. He is considered as the greatest Punjabi sufi poet. The picture is a transliteration of one of his famous poems.
Because of his views, he was considered a kafir and was refused a burial in community graveyard.
Source: Bulleh Shah, Radha Saomi Satsang Beas.

In 1875, a series of poems written by the Vaishnavite poet Bhanusimha appeared on the Calcutta literary scene. Written in an obscure Bengali dialect, Brajabuli, the poetry was striking. Later it emerged that it was the work of the young scion of the Tagore family, renowned for their reformist zeal. The poems themselves owe a lot to the ecstatic Bhakti tradition of eastern India. The tradition was started by Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda in the 12th century. It was followed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and a string of poets Chandidasa, Ramprasad Sen & many others. They switched to Bengali from Sanskrit from the 15th century onwards. But there is also anger and rebellion in Tagore’s poems. Sample this, “How long must I go on waiting under the secretive awning of the trees? When will he call the long notes of my name with his flute.”
Tagore was sixteen when he wrote these poems. The picture is a sketch of Tagore at that age by Gaganendranath Tagore.

Basaveshwara or Basavanna, of Karnataka, was a saint, a poet and an ardent social reformer. He is among the great spiritual teachers of India.
Basavanna was born in a high-placed Brahmin family in Bijapur District of Karnataka around the year A.D. 1131. His poetry to Shiva as “lord of the meeting rivers” earned him a place at the front rank of Kannada and Bhakti literature bhakti. He composed several hundred vacanas, which are Kannada devotional writings that are supposed to be sung. Vacana literally means prose. He is considered to be a master of vacanas.
He established a socioreligious academy called Anubhava-Mantapa. It was an open forum for spiritual discussions. It attracted hundreds of saints and spiritual aspirants from all over the country.
Basava opposed caste & jati distinctions, child marriage and ill treatment of widows. In these areas, he anticipated the Hindu social reform movements of the 19th century by several centuries.
Source and Picture Credit: Basaveshwara, Sahitya Akademi.

Bhartendu Harischandra was the descendant of financiers to the Maharaha of Benares. By the age of 5 he could explain verses in Brajbhasha and by 12 he had expanded the concept of Rasas to 14 instead of the traditional 9. He studied in Queen’s college. He lived lavishly, spent his time with common people in the streets of Banaras and freely gave away money and material. He even refused to listen to the Maharaja who disapproved his wasteful habits.
He learnt Sanskrit, Persian and English and by 17 he had already established his reputation as a poet. He opposed the traditional languages and wanted to propagate a language close to the spoken language of the common people. He started two journals, Kavi Vachan Sudha (1867) and Harishchandra Chandrika (1873). The language used in these journals was colloquial Hindi. These became tremendously popular and marked the beginning of modern Hindi journalism. His most important contribution was to Hindi drama where he focused on basic values and traditions of Hindi society. He took on the western and Parsi theatre which was making inroads at that time. Harishchandra was also an ardent follower of Vaishnavism.
Source: Remembering Bharatendu Harishchandra, Madan Gopal, Indian Literature
Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Vidyapati (14th century AD) is known as Maithili Kavi Kokil. His songs relating to the divine love of Krishna and Radha became very popular. His influence spread to Bengal, Assam and Uttar Pradesh too. His compositions are popular and are sung on festive occasions, especially marriages. He is also a composer of Vaishnava and Shiva poems.
His early work in Maithili was predominantly love songs. It was the first time Maithili language had been used for literary work. His literary style became popular and was copied by many. This led to the development of Brajbauli as a specialized literary language by 16th century. It is Maithili with its forms made to look like Bengali. There are about 5000 poems in Brijbauli that survive.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu adored his songs and they gained high status and wide circulation in Bengal. In fact, Bengalis consider him as their own poet. Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee also wrote poems following Vidyapati’s style in Brajbauli.
Source: Songs of Vidyapati, Subhadra Jha
Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Atibadi means very great. Jagannatha Das (late 15th century) is considered among the five great poets of Orissa and was given this title. The Sahitya Akademi Orissa’s highest literature award is given in his name. Jagannatha Das became an icon for his translation of Bhagavatam into Odia. The book is worshipped in many Odia homes. Atibadi Jagannatha Das was also a friend of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Sankaradeva (15th century) was a prominent spiritual leader, social reformer, and versatile visionary in Assam. He started the unique school of pure devotion to Krishna known as the Eka Sarana Hari Nama. Sankaradeva's theology was based entirely on a bhaktic (pure devotion) philosophy. He rejected the traditional varna and ashrama systems. He translated and distilled the essence of the Vedanta into vernacular languages like early Assamese and Vrajawali, while also writing authoritative Sanskrit texts (like the Bhakti Ratnakara). He composed devotional poems (Kirttanas), devotional songs set to classical ragas (Baragitas), and trendsetting popular plays (Ankiya Nata). He also pioneered the construction of Nama-gharas (spacious community prayer houses) for congregational singing. It spurred the development of manuscript illustration and painting. He also started the monasteries of Vaishnavites in Assam, called Sattras. Majuli is a major centre of Sattras.
Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (16th century) translated the Sanskrit Adhyatma Ramayana to Malayalam. His version is the most popular Malayalam translation. He wrote it in the style of a parrot narrating the story and is therefore called Kilippattu (Parrot song) genre.
Kerala observes a unique tradition during the monsoon months of July and August - Ramayana Masam (Karkidakam). With heavy rains flooding the fields and farming at a standstill, families traditionally spend more time indoors. In the past, elders would use this time to share the Ramayana story with younger generations. Ezhuthachan’s Ramayana was the popular version that was read during the Ramayana Masam.
Ezhuthachan is also considered the father of modern Malayalam language. He standardized the Malayalam alphabet that is in use today which is derived from the Sanskrit granthi.
Source: Ezuthachan and his Age, Chelnat Achyuta Menon
Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

He is the most celebrated modern Tamil poet. He lived in the late 19th and early 20th century. He wrote in simple Tamil and his poetry brought out the focus clearly, whether it is devotion, nationalism, love or anguish. His patriotic poetry had a heavy influence on the youth. The British Government arrested him and Bharati fled to the French Pondicherry. He studied in Varanasi briefly and the Tamil chair in Banaras Hindu University has been named after him.
Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons