Anil Joshi ( gu, અનિલ જોશી) is a

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Guj ...

poet and essayist 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 nin ...

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 ...

. He won Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1990 for his essay collection ''Statue'' (1988). His significant works include ''Kadach'' (1970; Collection of poems), ''Barafna Pankhi'' (1981; Collection of poems) and ''Pavan Ni Vyaspithe'' (1988; Collection of Essay).

Early life

Joshi was born on 28 July 1940 in Gondal to Ramanath and Tarabahen. His father was a high level officer in education department. He completed his schooling in Gondal and

Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. ...

. He completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1964 from U.N. Mehta Arts College, Morbi and H.K. Arts College, Ahmedabad with

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- ...

and

Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as ...

. He got his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in 1966 from Arts and Commerce College,

Modasa Modasa is a town and a municipality in Aravalli district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Modasa was named after the Bhil chieftain Malaji Bhil, who ruled in Modasa during 1466. Modasa became headquarters of new Aravalli district, carved o ...

and School of Language located at

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 N ...

, Ahmedabad. Joshi married Bharatiben on 15 July 1975, and they have a son and daughter, Sanket and Rachna.

Career

Initially he wanted to become a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er. He started his career as a teacher of Gujarati at My Own High School,

Himatnagar Himatnagar or Himmatnagar is a municipality in Sabarkantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. The city is on the bank of the river Hathmati. History Himatnagar was founded in 1426 b ...

in 1962. He served as a teacher at K.K. Parekh Vidyalay,

Amreli Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat. History It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''Am ...

from 1968 to 1969. From 1971 to 1976, he served as a personal assistant of

Vadilal Dagli Vadilal Jechand Dagli (1926-1985) was Gujarati poet, essayist, leading economist and journalist of India. Life Vadilal Dagli was born on 20 November 1926 in Rojid village near Dhandhuka to Jechandbhai and Champaben Dagli. He completed his primar ...

, an editor of ''Commerce''. During 1976 to 1977, he worked as a co-editor at Parichay Trust. In 1977, he joined Language Development Project of Mumbai Municipal Corporation and served there till retirement as an Advisor of Gujarati language. It was 1962, when his poem ''Parigho'' (Circumferences) came out for first time in ''Kumar'', a Gujarati literary magazine. He was associated with Re Math, a modernist literary movement in Gujarati. When his father was transferred to Amreli, he met

Ramesh Parekh Ramesh Parekh (1940-2006) was a Gujarati poet and lyricist from Gujarat, India. He was one of the most popular poets of modern Gujarati poetry. Though government servant by profession, he had deep interest in literature and music. He contributed ...

. They became very close friends.

Works

''Kadach'' (may be), his first anthology of poems, was published in 1970, followed by ''Ame Barafna Pankhi'' (1981) and ''Paniman Ganth Padi Joi'' (2012). He has worked in different genres of poetry such as Geet,

Free Verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French '' vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Defini ...

and

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

s. But, he is mainly noted 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, oth ...

for his contribution in Geet. ''Statue'' (1988) and ''Pavan Ni Vyaspithe'' (1988) are two of his collections of Essays.

Recognition

He won

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 ...

for Gujarati in 1990 for his Essay collection ''Statue'' (1988). He announced in October 2015 that he will return award over killing of rationalist M. M. Kalburgi and others.

References

External links