Rajendra Keshavlal Shah (28 January 1913 – 2 January 2010) was a lyrical poet who wrote in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

. Born in Kapadvanj, he authored more than 20 collections of poems and songs, mainly on the themes of the beauty of nature, and about the everyday lives of indigenous peoples and fisherfolk communities. In his poems using Sanskrit metrics, he was influenced by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. He is considered one of the giants of post Gandhi-era in

Gujarati literature The history of Gujarati literature ( gu, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય) may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, othe ...

. Among his various professions, Shah was also a publisher in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, where he launched the poetry magazine '' Kavilok'' in 1957. The press itself became an important Sunday meeting-place for Gujarati poets. Apart from writing poetry, Shah also translated into Gujarati Tagore's poetry collection ''Balaaka''; Jayadeva's '' Gita Govinda''; Coleridge's ''

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (originally ''The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere'') is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–1798 and published in 1798 in the first edition of '' Lyrical Ball ...

''; and

Dante's Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music. Dante's is housed in an unreinforced masonr ...

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

''. Shah won the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

for 2001.

Biography

Shah was born in 1913 in

Kapadvanj Kapadvanj (Karpat – Vanjiyam or "The Land of Textile") is a town as well as one of the Taluka of the Kheda district in the Gujarat India. It is located on bank of river Mohar. It is 65 km away from Ahmedabad and 93 km away from Vadod ...

, a town in the erstwhile

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(in present-day

Kheda district Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...

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). After attending Wilson College in

, he graduated with a degree in philosophy from the

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence ...

. Shah's first poem came in print in ''Wilsonian'', the college magazine of the Wilson College, in 1933. In 1930, he discontinued from the study, as he was arrested in

Civil disobedience movement The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a ...

and sentenced to the jail. In 1931, he married Manjula Agrawal. Later, in 1934, he earned his bachelor's degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

from The

Maharaja Sayajirao University The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, and thereafter, started his career by teaching school students in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

. He died on 2 January 2010 in Mumbai.

Bibliography

Poetry collections

* ''Dhvani'' (1951) * ''Andolan'' (1952) * ''Shruti'' (1957) * ''Morpinchh'' (1959) * ''Shant Kolahal'' (1962) * ''Chitrana'' (1967) * ''Kshan je Chirantan'' (1968) * ''Vishadne Saad'' (1968) * ''Madhyama'' (1978) * ''Ikshana'' (1979) * ''Udgiti'' (1979) * ''Patralekha'' (1981) * ''Prasang Saptak'' (1982) * ''Dwasupama'' (1983) * ''Panch Parva'' (1983) * ''Vibhavan'' (1983) * ''Chandan Bhini and Anamik'' (1987) * ''Aranyak'' (1992) * ''Smritisamvedana'' (1998) * ''Virahmadhuri'' (1999) * ''Vrajvaikunthe'' (2002) * ''Ha... Hu Sakshi Chhu (2003) * ''Premno Paryay'' (2004) * ''Aa Gagan'' (2005)

Awards

Poet Rajendra Keshavlal Shah Library Ahmedabad

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 195 ...

in 1947,

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...

in 1956. He received

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

(1963) for his book ''Shant Kolahal''. He is also a recipient of Aurobindo Suvarna Chandrak presented (1980) 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 ...

Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar The Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar (Gujarati: સાહિત્ય ગૌરવ પુરસ્કાર), also known as Sahitya Gaurav Award, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India. The award is conferred by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi and Government of ...

(1992) and

Narsinh Mehta Award Narsinh Mehta Award ( Gujarati: નરસિંહ મહેતા પુરસ્કાર) is one of the highest awards of Gujarati literature. The award is conferred upon Gujarati language author by Adyakavi Narsinh Mehta Sahitya Nidhi, Junagadh ...

(1999). He received

, considered to be India's highest literary award, in 2001. The judges noted, "his intensity of emotion and innovation in form and expression which set him apart as a poet of great significance. The mystical tone of his poetry stems from the tradition of great medieval masters like

Narsinh Mehta Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh became a devotee of K ...

Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...

and

Akho Akha Bhagat (commonly known as Akho; ) or Akha Rahiyadas Soni was a mediaeval Gujarati poet who wrote in the tradition of the Bhakti movement. He wrote his poems in a literary form called ''Chhappa'' (six stanza satirical poems). Life His ex ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Rajendra Keshavlal 1913 births 2010 deaths Gujarati-language writers Gujarati-language poets Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni 20th-century Indian translators Indian editors Writers from Gujarat 20th-century Indian poets Recipients of the Jnanpith Award Indian independence activists from Gujarat Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati