Chattopadhyay, a poet and singer, is famous for poems such as
Noon and
Shaper Shaped. His father earned a Doctorate of Science from the
University of Edinburgh, and settled in
Hyderabad State, where he founded and acted as head of the Hyderabad College, which later became the Nizam's College in Hyderabad. His mother was a poet and used to write poetry in
Bengali. His other interests were politics, music, theatre and cinema. His first book of poems,
The Feast of Youth, was published when he was 19 years old, and received praise from
Arthur Quiller-Couch and
James Henry Cousins. He wrote in English but of topics relating to ancient Indian culture and
Vedic ideas. He was awarded
Padma Bhushan in 1973. He married
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, a socialist and leader of women, who created the
All India Women's Conference, the
Indian Cooperative Union, and also was the inspiration for the
All Indian Handicraft's Board, a body which revived many Indian handicrafts (such as pottery and weaving) decimated by the
Industrial Revolution in Britain in the 19th century. They had two sons together, one of which died in 2008. Kamaladevi and Harin's divorce was the first legal separation granted by the courts of India. It was amicable. Harindranath Chattopadhyay often recited his poem
Rail Gaadi on
All India Radio (
Akashavani). The song was memorably sung by
Ashok Kumar in the film . He himself wrote the lyrics, composed the music and sang a few songs, notable among which were
Surya Ast Ho Gaya and
Tarun Arun Se Ranjit Dharani. He penned the first English song in any Hindi Film, and it became an all time hit – "My Heart Is Beating" – in
Julie, which launched the Film Playback singing career of Preeti Sagar. He also wrote a number of poems for children in Hindi. His poems were appreciated by the Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore. In 1951 Lok Sabha elections, Harindranath Chattopadhyay won from Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency in
Madras State as an independent candidate, supported by the
Communist Party of India. He was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from 14 April 1952 to 4 April 1957. ==Poems==