Hindi literature

Hindi literature (Hindi: हिंदी साहित्य, romanized: hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Central Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Hindi, some of which have different writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃśa such as Awadhi. Hindi literature is composed in three broad styles- prose (गद्य, gadya), poetry (पद्य, padya), and prosimetrum (चंपू, campū).^[1] Inspired by Bengali literature, Bharatendu Harishchandra started the modern Hindi literary practices.^[2][3][4] In terms of historical development, it is broadly classified into five prominent forms (genres) based on the date of production. They are:

• Ādi Kāl /Vīr-Gāthā Kāl (आदि काल/वीरगाथा काल), prior to & including 14th century CE
• Bhakti Kāl (भक्ति काल), 14th–18th century CE
• Rīti Kāl /Śṛṅgār Kāl (रीति काल/ शृंगार काल), 18th–20th century CE
• Ādhunik Kāl (आधुनिक काल, 'modern literature'), from 1850 CE onwards
• Navyottar Kāl (Hindi: नव्योत्तर काल, lit. 'post-modern literature'), from 1980 CE onwards

The literature was produced in languages and dialects such as Khariboli, Braj, Bundeli, Awadhi, Kannauji, as well as Chhattisgarhi.^[5] From the 20th century, works produced in Modern Standard Hindi, a register of Hindustani written in the Devanagari script, are sometimes regarded as the only basis of modern literature in Hindi (excluding Urdu literature of Hindustani language).^[6]