Chandrakant Sheth (born 3 February 1938) is a
Gujarati poet, essayist, critic, translator and compiler from
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. His pen names include Aryaputra, Nand Samavedi, Balchadra and Daksh Prajapati. He won the
Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati
Sahitya Akademi Award to Gujarati Writers by Sahitya Akademi. No Awards were conferred in 1957, 1959, 1966 and 1972. In 1969, Swami Anand, in 1983, Suresh Joshi, and in 2009 Shirish Panchal refused this award.
Recipients
References
...
in 1986 for his book ''Dhoolmani Paglio''.
Biography
Sheth was born on 3 February 1938 in
Kalol, a village in
Panchmahal district
Panchmahal, also known as Panch Mahals, is a district in the eastern portion of Gujarat State western India. ''Panch-mahal'' means "five tehsils/talukas" (5 sub-divisions), and refers to the five sub-divisions that were transferred by the Maharaj ...
to Trikamlal. His family is native to Thasra village of
Kheda
Kheda, also known as Kaira, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was former administrative capital of Kheda district. India's First Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel Was Born In Kheda District of Gujarat State ...
. He
matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
in 1954, completed
BA in 1958, and
MA in 1961 from
Gujarat University
The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the postgraduate level. It is accredited B++ by NA ...
with Gujarati and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
as his core subjects. He completed his Ph.D. in 1979 from
Gujarat Vidyapith
Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, and deemed a university in 1963.
Etymology
"Vidyapith," in many languages of ...
with a research thesis on
Umashankar Joshi.
He served as a part-time lecturer at
St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad in 1961–62. He served as a professor at different colleges in Gujarat including Kapadvanj College (1962–63),
Gujarat Vidyapith
Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, and deemed a university in 1963.
Etymology
"Vidyapith," in many languages of ...
(1963–1966), Bhakta Vallabh Dhola College (1966–1972) and again Gujarat Vidyapith (1972–1979). From 1979 to 1984, he served as the manager of K. L. Swadhyay Mandir, run by
Gujarati Sahitya Parishad
Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society an ...
, and also worked as a co-editor of ''Gujarati Sahityakosh''. He again joined Gujarat Vidyapith and retired as the head of Gujarati Department. He serves as an honorary at Gujarati Vishwkosh Trust, Ahmedabad.
Works
Sheth has published several poetry collections, ''Pavan Rooperi'' (1972) and ''Ughadati Diwalo'' (1974) are his early collections of poetry. ''Padagha ni Pele Par'' (1948) and ''Gagan Kholati Bari'' (1990) are his collections of
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...
s, ''Ek Tahuko Pandma'' (1986) is collection of
ghazals while ''Chandaliya ni Gadi'' (1980) and ''Hu To Chalu Mari Jem!'' (2001) are his collections of
children's poetry. His other collections are ''Shaksharata Geeto'' (1990), ''Shage Ek Zalhalie'' (1999), ''Undanmathi Ave, Unchanma Lai Jay'' (2004) and ''Jal Vadal Ane Veej'' (2005). Ramesh M. Trivedi has edited selected poems as ''Chandrakant Sheth na Kavyo'' (2001).
[
Sheth is a prolific essayist. His ''Nand Samvedi'' (1980, 2001) is a collection of modernist essays; ''Chehra Bhitar Chehra'' (1986) is a collection of 21 biographical essays; ''Het ane Halvash'' (1980) and ''Vahal ane Vinod'' (1995) have 33 and 24 essays respectively with light humour; ''Vaninu Sat, Vanini Shakti'' (1997) is a collection of short essays on words of Veda and Upnishad while ''Gun ane Garima'' (1997) is a collection of 31 essays. Labhshankar Thakar edited and published selected essays as ''Aa-nand Parva'' (2002). His other collections of humorous essays are ''Halavi Kalamna Ful'' (2005) and ''Chandrakant Shethni Pratinidhi Hasyarachnao'' (2007).][
''Dhoolmani Pagalio'' (1984) is his autobiographical work about his childhood; ''Dharatina Chand, Dharatina Sooraj'' (1996,1997) is a collection of biographical essays; ''America Bhas Abhas'' (2001) is a travelogue; ''Swapnapinjar'' (1983) is a collection of one-act plays; ''E Balconyvali Chhokari Ane...'' (1995) is a collection of stories while''E Ane Hu'' (1991) is a humour story.][
His works of criticism include ''Kavyapratyaksh'' (1976), ''Arthantar'' (1978), ''Ramnarayan V. Pathak'' (1979), ''Irony nu Swarup ane Sahityama Teno Viniyog'' (1984), ''Kavitani Trijyama'' (1986), ''Kant'' (1990), ''Sahitya: Pran ane Pravartan'' (1998), ''Swami Anand'' (1998) and ''Shabda Deshno, Shabda Videshno'' (2002). His other works are ''Swaminarayan Santkavita: Aswad ane Avbodh'' (1984), ''Gujaratima Viramchihno'' (with Mohanbhai Patel, 1973), ''Mahadev Desai: Satva ane Sadhana'' (1994), ''Gujarati Gamnam-suchi'' (1996), ''Umashankar Joshi: Zalak ane Zankhi'' (2003), ''Umashankar no Vagvaibhav'' (2008) and ''Sahitya- Prabhav ane Prati-bhav'' (2006).][
He has translated and adapted many works which include ''Pandit Bhatkhande'' (1967), ''Malayalam Sahityani Rooprekha'' (1978), ''Athamni Rat'' (1994), ''Anu Naam Zindagi'' (1995) and ''Lakhmi'' (1995). He edited ''Brihad Gujarati Kavya Parichay'' Part I and II (1973, 1995), ''Brihad Gujarati Gadya Parichay'' Part I and II (1973, 1995) and ''Bhasha Sahitya Dwara Rashtriy Ekta'' (1977) with Mohanbhai Patel. He also edited ''Priyakant Maniar na Kavyo'' (1998), ''Chunteli Kavita: Sundaram'' (2000), ''Manhariyat'' (2000) and ''Amargeeto'' (2000). He edited, with others, ''Dampatyamangal'' (1979), ''Matrudarshan'' (1981), ''Pushtidarshan'' (1986), ''Hemchandracharya'' (1989), ''Yugdrashta Umashankar Joshi'' (1995), ''Adhit: Pramukhiy Pravachano'' (1997), ''Pratyayan: Swatantrya Suvarna Jayanti Visheshank'' (1998), ''Gurjar Adyatan Kavya Sanchay'' (1998), ''Gurjar Pranay Kavya Sanchay'' (1998), ''Gurjar Geet Sanchay'' (1998), ''Gurjar Gazal Sangrah'' (1998) and ''Gurjar Kavya Vaibhav'' (2005). ''Sankhya Nirdeshak Shabda Sangnyao'' (1983) is also his work.][
]
Recognition
He won Kumar Chandrak
Kumar Suvarana Chandrak or the Kumar Gold Medal is a literary award given by Kumar Trust, Ahmedabad, India since 1944. The medal is annually conferred to a Gujarati author for his contribution in '' Kumar'' magazine published by Kumar Trust. In 1 ...
in 1964, Narmad Suvarna Chandrak in 1964, Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1985, Narsinh Mehta Award in 2005 and Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar in 2006. His book ''Dhoolmani Paglio'' (1984) was awarded the Uma-Snehrashmi Prize (1984–85) and Sahitya Akademi Award (1986). In 1986, he received Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak which he shared with Rajendra Shah, a Gujarati poet. He has also received the Chandrashekhar Thakkur Prize (1973), Ramprasad Bakshi Prize (1998), Anantrai Raval Vivechan Award (2000) and Natwarlal Malvi Prize (2001). In 2018, the Sahitya Akademi awarded him Balsahitya Puraskar for his contribution in Gujarati children's literature.
See also
* List of Gujarati-language writers
References
External Links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheth, Chandrakant
Modernist writers
Indian literary critics
1938 births
Living people
20th-century Indian poets
Gujarati-language writers
People from Kheda district
Poets from Gujarat
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati
Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak