Budh Sabha is a weekly literary workshop on

Gujarati poetry The history of Gujarati literature () 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, other than its composers. Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, ...

held on every Wednesday since 1932. It is currently presided by writer

Dhiru Parikh Dhiru Ishwarlal Parikh (31 August 1933 – 9 May 2021) was an Indian Gujarati poet, short story writer and critic. He was an editor of '' Kavilok'' and '' Kumar'', Gujarati literary magazines. Biography Dhiru Parikh was born on 31 August 1933 ...

and held at

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 and ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled 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 ...

History

During the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

Umashankar Joshi Umashankar Jethalal Joshi () (21 July 1911 – 19 December 1988) was an Indian poet, scholar and writer known for his contributions to Gujarati literature. He wrote most of his works in Gujarati. Biography Early years Umashankar Joshi was b ...

, Sundaram and Ramprasad Shukla used to go to office of '' Kumar'' magazine at night and used to discuss their poetry. During the same time, a photography club called Niharika used to gather there every week. Shivram Bhatt, a member of Niharika, suggested weekly poetry workshop on the same line. So the weekly Budh Sabha, literally Wednesday meet, was established in 1932 by

Bachubhai Ravat Bachubhai Popatbhai Ravat (27 February 1898 – 12 July 1980) was a Gujarati editor and art critic from India. Life Bachubhai Ravat was born on 27 February 1898 in Ahmedabad. He completed his primary and secondary education from Gondal. He a ...

, then editor of ''Kumar'' magazine. It used to be held at the office of ''Kumar'' at Raipur Chakla in

. A month before death of Ravat in July 1980, the venue was shifted to

which was then located in premises of H. K. Arts College and

become the president of Budh Sabha who had joined the Budh Sabha as a student in 1966. When the new building of Parishad was constructed on bank of

Sabarmati River The Sabarmati River is one of the major west-flowing rivers in India. It originates in the Aravalli Range of the Udaipur District of Rajasthan and meets the Gulf of Khambhat of the Arabian Sea after travelling in a south-westerly direction acr ...

(now

Riverfront A riverfront is a region along a river. Often in larger cities that are traversed or bordered by one or more rivers. The riverfronts are mostly lined with marinas, docks, cafes, museums, parks, or minor attractions. Today many riverfronts are a s ...

), the venue was shifted there. It was initially known as "Budhvariyun" which was later renamed "Budh Bethak" and finally "Budh Sabha". Taking inspiration from the meet, similar weekly meets are organised in other cities of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

including

Surendranagar Surendranagar is Municipal Corporation in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Climate Surendranagar Dudhrej, in common with most of Gujarat, has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSh'') with three seasons. The hot season l ...

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

and

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

. In Budh Sabha, the president Dhiru Parikh (Bachubhai Ravat formerly) collects poems from all attending poets first. Then each poem is recited and discussed without revealing the name of poet. If the poem deemed good after discussion, it gets published in poetry magazine Kavilok (in ''Kumar'' formerly). In 1998, similar workshop called Shani Sabha (Saturday Meet) is also started by Chinu Modi for the modern poets. Budh Sabha helped nurture several prominent Gujarati poets and writers like

, Rajendra Shah,

Harshad Trivedi Harshad Trivedi (born 17 July 1958) is a Gujarati language poet, short story writer, critic and editor from Gujarat, India. He was an editor of ''Shabdasrishti'', an organ of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, from 1995 to 2015. Trivedi has served in differ ...

, Chinu Modi,

Niranjan Bhagat Niranjan Narhari Bhagat (18 May 1926 – 1 February 2018) was an Indian Gujarati language poet, critic and translator who won the 1999 Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati language for his critical work ''Gujarati Sahiyta – Purvardha Uttarardh ...

Raghuveer Chaudhari Raghuveer ChaudhariSpelling of name is based on his signaturArchived herOther alternative spellings are Raghuvir Chaudhary and Raghuvir Chaudhari. is a novelist, poet and critic from Gujarat, India. He has also worked as a columnist for numerou ...

, Pravin Pandya, Rajendra Shukla, Rajesh Vyas, Bhavesh Bhatt,

Anil Chavda Anil Chavda is a Gujarati language poet, writer and columnist from Gujarat, India. Some of his works include ''Savaar Laine'' (Bringing the Dawn to You) (2012), a collection of ''ghazals'' (a poetic form), which won him the 2014 Yuva Puraska ...

and

Ashok Chavda Ashok Chavda, also known by his pen name Bedil, is a Gujarati language, Gujarati poet, writer and critic from Gujarat, India. His anthology of poetry, ''Dalkhi Thi Saav Chhutan (2012),'' was awarded the Yuva Puraskar by the Sahitya Akademi in ...

References

{{Reflist Literary circles Gujarati literature

History

See also

References