Ramnarayan V. Pathak

Ramnarayan Vishwanath Pathak was a Gujarati poet and writer from India. Profoundly influenced by Gandhian thought, Pathak wrote criticism, poetry, drama, metrics and short stories. He edited and translated literary works. He was appointed the president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (Gujarati Literary Council) in 1946. He was awarded the Gujarati literary prizes Narmad Suvarna Chandrak for ''Prachin Gujarati Chhando'' in 1949 and Sahitya Akademi Award for ''Bruhat Pingal'' in 1956.

Early life

Ramnarayan Vishwanath Pathak was born on 8 April 1887 in Ganol, a village in Gujarat (now in Dholka Taluka, Ahmedabad district). He completed primary and secondary education from Jetpur, Rajkot, Jamkhambhaliya and Bhavnagar. In 1904, he matriculated and enrolled at Samaldas College, Bhavnagar, receiving scholarship. Then he joined Wilson College, Mumbai (then Bombay), and in 1908 completed a Bachelor of Arts in logic and morale philosophy, for which he received a fellowship.

Career and activism

Pathak taught Sanskrit at Wilson College. In 1911, he completed a Bachelor of Laws from Bombay University and worked as a legal advocate in Ahmedabad and Sadra for seven years. Later, when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, he left the legal practice and settled in Sadra in 1919. On invitation by Indulal Yagnik, he briefly worked as the principal of J. L. New English School of Gujarat Kelvani Mandal in 1920. During the non-cooperation movement in 1920, he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi which led him to join Gujarat Vidyapith along with Rasiklal Parikh as a professor in 1921. He taught logic, epistemology and literature there until 1928. During this time, his articles on education and literature were published in magazines ''Sabarmati'', ''Puratatva'', ''Yugdharma'' and ''Gujarat''. He left Gujarat Vidyapith and served as an editor of ''Prasthan'', a Gujarati magazine founded in 1926. He participated in different movements led by Gandhi for which he was jailed.

From 1935, he joined SNDT University, Bombay as a professor. He also taught at L. D. Arts College, Ahmedabad; at Bhavan's College and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay; and at the post-graduate department of Gujarat Vidhya Sabha until 1952. He was engaged with teaching and research activities at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, until his death. In 1953, he served as an adviser to Gujarati department of Bombay Radio Station. He served as the president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (Gujarati Literary Council) in 1946.

He died on 21 August 1955 in Bombay following a cardiac arrest.

Personal life

Pathak married twice. His second marriage was to Heera Pathak, who was also poet and literary critic. The couple had no children. She wrote ''Paraloke Patra'' (1978), a collection of poems addressed to her deceased husband Ramnarayan. She also wrote highly appreciated critical works, such as ''Apanu Vivechansahitya'' and ''Kavyabhavan''.

Works

Pathak was a prolific writer of criticism, poetry, drama, metrics and short stories, and also edited and translated works of others. Pathak was profoundly influenced by Gandhian thought but retained his originality and literary exuberance. He wrote short stories under the pen name "Dwiref", poems under "Shesh" and essays under "Swairvihari". His literary career began with a critical article, "The poems of poet Balashankar Ullasram Kantharia", published in the first issue of ''Sabarmati'' in 1922. He also wrote literary observations for ''Yugdharm''.

Pathak is well known for his Gujarati short stories. He published three volumes of short stories entitled ''Dwirefni Vato'' (1928, 1935, 1942). His most acclaimed stories are ''Mukundrai'', ''Khemi'' and ''Jakshani''. The first of these suggests that modern education degenerates human values; the second is of love between two members of the lower castes considered to be his most memorable characters; the third reflects his subtle sense of humor. His stories are emotionally linked with life.

He published a collection of 68 poems, ''Sheshna Kavyo'' (1938), expanded to 73 in a second edition (1951). ''Visheshna Kavyo'', his other collection of poems, was published posthumously in 1959.

He considered criticism as an act of social responsibility. His critical works include ''Arvachin Kavya Sahityana Vaheno'' (1935) and ''Sahityavimarsha'' (1939). His other critical works include ''Arvachin Gujarati Kavyasahitya'' (1933), ''Kavya Ni Shakti'' (1939), ''Aalochana'' (1944), ''Narmadashankar Kavi'' (1936), ''Narmad: Arvachin Gadya Padya No Aadya Praneta'' (1945), ''Sahityalok'' (1954), ''Nabhovihar'' (1961) and ''Aakalan'' (1964). He wrote a critical introduction for ''Sharadsamiksha'' (1980), and translated stories of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Some of his critical articles are also published in ''Kavyaparishilan'' (1965).

''Kulangar ane Biji Krutio'' (1959, posthumous) is a collection of dramas while ''Swairvihar part 1-2-3'' (1931, 1937), ''Nitya no Aachar'' (1945) and ''Manovihar'' (1956) are collections of his essays.

Pathak did extensive research in metres of poetry published as ''Brihat Pingal'', for which he was recognized with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1956. It is a scientific presentation of structure and history of Gujarati prosody. He co-edited several works with Umashankar Joshi; ''Kavyatatvavichar'' (1939), ''Sahityavichar'' (1942), ''Digdarshan'' (1942), ''Vicharmadhuri: Part 1'' (1946). He also edited annotated edition of ''Purvalap'', ''Apno Dharma'' (3rd edition, 1942), ''Ras Ane Garba'' (with Govardhan Panchal, 1954), ''Govindgaman'' (with Narhari Parikh, for textbook, 1923). He also edited ''Kavyasammuchchay'' Part 1-2 (1924) and ''Kavyaparichay'' (with Nagindas Parekh, 1928).

He co-translated several works including Mammata Bhatta's ''Kavyaprakash 1-6'' (with Rasiklal Parikh, 1924), ''Dhammapad'' (with Dharmanand Kosambi, 1924) and ''Chumban ane Biji Vartao'' (as ''Vama'' in second edition, with Nagindas Parekh, 1928). His other works include ''Pramanpraveshika'' (1922) and ''Nityano Achar'' (1945).

In his book ''Politics and the Novel in India'', Gopalan V. Gopalan wrote that Pathak's 1937 ''Aavtikal'' (Lit. ''Tomorrow'') is characterised by the Gandhian principle of non-violence, trade unionism and the Gandhian ideal of cottage and village industries. But, according to ''Gujarati Sahityakosh'' (Encyclopedia of Gujarati literature) Vol. 2, Pathak had never written any novel. According to ''Gujarati Sahityakosh'', the novel ''Aavtikal'', published in 1936, was written by Ramnarayan Nagardas Pathak (1905–1988), another Gujarati writer associated with Gandhi's satyagraha movement.

Recognition

Umashankar Joshi honoured him as ''Sahitya Guru'' of the Gandhian era and Yashvant Shukla considers him "the highest peak of Gujarati short stories".

He was awarded Motisinhji Mahida Gold Medal in 1943 for his short story ''Uttar Marg no Lop'' (1940), Hargovinddas Kantawala Award and Narmad Suvarna Chandrak for ''Prachin Gujarati Chhando'' in 1949 and Sahitya Akademi Award for ''Bruhat Pingal'' in 1956.

Further reading

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See also

* List of Gujarati-language writers

References

External links

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Speech on Ramnarayan Pathak
by Raghuveer Chaudhari

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathak, Ramnarayan V.
1887 births
1955 deaths
20th-century Indian essayists
Gujarati-language poets
20th-century Indian short story writers
20th-century Indian poets
20th-century Indian translators
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati
Gujarati-language writers
Indian literary critics
People from Ahmedabad district