Ramdeo Dwivedi ‘Almast’- Championing the unsung, silent hero of Literature

SAGAR SURAJ

MOTIHARI: Ever wondered why the people of his own soil didn’t remember Him even after lapses of 34 years of his death. Also pondering what were the emotions that drove this unsung hero of litteratur of champaran who opted for literature to attack on British ruler and also that of a monarch of Himalyan kingdom. Perhaps, just so their coming generations could breathe in free air. Yes, talking about late Ramdeo Dwivedi- a poet, dramatist and prose writer, better known by his pen name ‘Almast’, who born and brought up in a nondescript village of East Champaran named “Dubey Tola’ falls under Sangrampur police station and enlightened the world of Hindi and Bhojpuri literature.

                           An writter of timless patriotic Verses

His timeless patriotic poems, prose and literary works are still relevant, even after 74 years of the freedom movement. His words inspired the young guns of then British India to revolt against then foreign rulers. East Champaran has also been the birth place of millennium English writer George Orwell. Like George Orwell, Ramdeo ‘Almast’ had also been missing from media glare until recently. Most controversial parts of ‘Almast’s life was a shoot- at- sight order issued against him by them Nepal’s king. The order however snatched his job as lecturer in a college located in Birgunj in Nepal. He was posted their as Hindi teacher after completing master in Hindi in 1952. He wrote a Bhojpuri poem ‘ e kanha raja vinas kaelakh desh ke” ( this blind king destruct the country ). Then he was posted as teacher in a high school in Sahebgunj and after that he got his retirement from a workers college in Jamshedpur. 

                                                Ramdeo ji Alamst

 Shockingly enough, government of free India could not provide even Almast’s retirement benefits and also the pension to Almast ji’s widow despite constant attempts by his wife and his alone daughter Hemlata Devi.     

 His dramas ‘swang sammelan’ and poems Bagula Bhagat and Bili Bhagtin were among his most celebrated works that is still read in literary gathering. His folk song “Tohra Garwa me ghusal ba chor ajor kar ke dekha bhaiya’ was a strong attack on British kingdom.These lines are still popular in bordering villages.

Finally, “ Akhil Bhartiye Jan Sahityik Forum’ organization based on Sahebgunj  under Muzaffarpur district in Bihar, which finally step up to remember the works of Ramdeo Dwivedi ‘Almast’. 

 Doughter of Ramdeo Almast and other literati while inaugurating 'Yadgare Almast'

A poet gathering cum Musaira organised in  Bihar's Sahebgung to commemorate Almast Ji 

 In a poet gathering cum Musayara’ organized in a Dharmshala in Sahebgunj, the poets and literati’s participated this gathering underlined Almast ji’s works of Hindi and Bhojpuri literature. Dr Ajimullah Ansari, Shashi Ranjan Shashi, Dr Jaykant Singh Jay, Dr Brajbhusan Mishra, Kaushal Muhabbatpuri, Kameshwar Mishra ‘Ghumakkad’, Sudama Prasad Sarraf, Binda Ray ‘ Bagi’, Bigan Ray, Sohan Lal Diwana, Ramnath Paswan, Baidhnath Vidhyarthi, Farrokh Sahebgunjavi also participated the event. Ramdeo Dwivedi Almast son- in-law Amarnath Pandey told BNM that his father inlaw Almast ji had done much for Bhojpuri and Hindi literature and motivated youths from his numbers of verseS during freedom movement. His truth snatched his job in nepal. He has to return in Bihar for job . He got job as teacher in Bihar in government school but they did not got pension and retirement benifit yet.