Hathrasi was born as Prabhu Lal Garg. He wrote under the pen name
Kaka Hathrasi. He chose "Kaka", as he played the character in a play which made him popular, and "Hathrasi" after the name of his hometown
Hathras. He has 42 works to his credit, comprising a collection of humorous and satirical poems, prose and plays published by various publishers. He also wrote three books on Indian classical music under the pen name "Vasant". In 1932, he established
Sangeet Karyalaya (initially Garg and Co.), a publishing house for the books on Indian classical music and dance and started publishing a monthly magazine
Sangeet in 1935.
Sangeet is the only periodical on Indian classical music and dance that has been continuously published for over 78 years. He was awarded
Padma Shri by the
government of India in 1985. Every year, the Delhi-based "Hindi Academy" awards the annual
Kaka Hathrasi Award for outstanding contribution in the literary field. ==Works==