About the Author
Anand Kumar Ashodhiya
(Poet, Literary Critic, Translator, Folklore Scholar, and Linguistic Researcher)
Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is a contemporary Hindi and Haryanvi author, linguistic researcher, translator, and scholar of folk culture. In literary circles, he is also known by the pen name “Anand Shahpur.” His areas of specialization include folk language studies, Haryanvi Ragni traditions, Pingal-based prosody, language standardization, and the documentation of Indian folk-cultural heritage.
He served in the Indian Air Force for nearly 32 years as a Warrant Officer. During his military service, he made significant contributions to the promotion and official use of Hindi as a Rajbhasha (Official Language) and received the Rajbhasha Protsahan Samman for eight consecutive years in recognition of his efforts.
Holding a Master’s degree in English Literature (M.A.) from Annamalai University, Ashodhiya has been actively engaged in comparative language studies, translation, trans-creation, and linguistic adaptation across Hindi, Haryanvi, and English. His academic interests particularly focus on the structural study, preservation, and documentation of regional languages.
He maintains a deep connection with the folk-cultural traditions of his ancestral village, Shahpur Turk, located in the Sonipat district of Haryana, India. Rural life, oral traditions, Ragni performance culture, village chaupals, and indigenous modes of expression form the foundation of his literary and research pursuits.
Ashodhiya’s creative and scholarly work is multidisciplinary in nature. He has authored more than 380 literary and academic works, including poetry, couplets, songs, ghazals, folk literature, metrical compositions, short fiction, cultural studies, and linguistic research. His contributions to the study of Haryanvi folk poetry and Pingal-based literary criticism are particularly noteworthy.
His major publications include Adharajan, Avikavani, Kissa Bhagat Puranmal, Heer Ranjha, Draupadi: A Folk Consciousness, Ath Marjarika Uvach, Thara Mudda Thari Baat, Prem Ke Sau Rang, Saket: An English Trans-creation, Antaryātrā – The Inner Journey, and Haryanvi: From Boli to Bhasha — Linguistic Capacity, Standardization and Social Acceptance: A Study.
His present work, “Haryanvi Grammar: A Standard & Authentic Manual,” represents a significant research-based contribution toward the grammatical documentation, linguistic standardization, sociolinguistic study, and academic codification of the Haryanvi language.
For his contributions to literature, folk culture, and language preservation, he has been honored with several recognitions, including the Haryana Sanskriti Gaurav Ratna, Kargil Gaurav Vijay Samman, and Haryanvi Sahitya Ratna (2025).
He is currently based in Mumbai, India, where he continues to pursue independent writing and research focused on Indian folk languages, cultural documentation, and linguistic studies.