Jhaverchand or Zaverchand Kalidas Meghani ( – ) was an Indian poet, writer, social reformer and freedom fighter. He is a well-known name in the field of

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 ...

. He was born in

Chotila Chotila is a Hindu temple town and Taluka headquarters of Chotila Taluka, Surendranagar district, located near Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Nearby railway stations included Than & Rajkot. The distance from the Than junction to Chotila is 21 ...

where the Government College has been renamed for this literary figure as Raashtreeya Shaayar Zaverchand Meghani College, Chotila.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

spontaneously gave him the title of ''Raashtreeya Shaayar'' (National Poet). Besides this he received many awards like Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and ''Mahida Paaritoshik'' in literature. He authored more than 100 books. His first book was a translation work of

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 ...

's called ''Kathaa-u-Kaahinee'' titled ''Kurbani Ni Katha'' (Stories of martyrdom) which was first published in 1922. He contributed widely to Gujarati folk literature. He went from village to village in search of folk-lores and published them in various volumes of ''Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar''. He was also the Editor of Phulchhab Newspaper of Janmabhoomi group (which is being published till date from

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

). A sample of his collection of folk tales from Saurashtra has recently been published in English, with the translation done by his son Vinod Meghani. The three volumes published so far are titled ''A Noble Heritage'', ''A Shade Crimson'' and ''The Ruby Shattered''. His poems are taught as a part of syllabus in Gujarat Board Schools (GSEB).

Life

Jhaverchand Meghani was born in

, Gujarat to Kalidas and Dholima Meghani. His father Kalidas worked in the Police force and hence was often transferred to new places causing most of Jhaverchand's education to happen in

. He had two brothers Lalchand and Prabhashankar. He was married to a woman named Damyanti at the age of 24 and following the demise of his wife, he married Chitradevi at the age of 36. He had 9 children out of which 3 were girls namely Indu, Padmala and Murli, while 6 were boys, namely Mahendra, Mastan, Nanak, Vinod, Jayant and Ashok.

Early life

He lived a simple and sober life and his simplicity prompted his college mates to call him ''Raja Janak''. He habitually wore a white long coat, a dhoti reaching well down the knees and a turban typically tied around his head. He finished his matriculation in 1912 and completed his BA in 1917. He started his career in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and joined Jeevanlal and Co. in 1918 as Personal Assistant and was fondly called ''Paghadee Babu'' by his colleagues and workers alike. He was soon promoted as the Manager of the company's factory at Belur, Crown Aluminium. In 1919, he went to England for a four-month tour. After coming back to India, he continued to work in

for 2 and half-years. Later, he returned to Saurashtra and joined the editorial board of the weekly '' Saurashtra'' at

in 1922.

Contribution to the freedom struggle

In 1930, he was sentenced to 2 years in jail for writing the book ''Sindhudo'' that contained songs to inspire the youth of India that was participating in the struggle for Independence against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

. It is during this time that he wrote ''Kavya Triputi'' based on Gandhiji's visit to London for the Round Table conference. During this period, he also started writing short stories independently and served as editor for ''

Phoolchaab ''Phulchhab'' is the Gujarati daily published from Rajkot, Gujarat, India. RNI , Reg. No.72457/1999 , Name: PHULCHHAB , Link: http://rni.nic.in/registerdtitle_search/registeredtitle_ser.aspx It was founded in 1921 as a ''Saurashtra'' weekly. ...

'' magazine.Zaverchand Meghani
Sangeet Bhavan trust. Retrieved on 27 November 2018.

Publications

In 1926, he ventured into poetry with his book of children poems ''Veni Na Phool'' and started writing in

Janmabhumi ''Janmabhumi'' is an Indian Malayalam-language daily newspaper, owned by Mathruka Pracharanalayam Ltd. and headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It was launched as an evening paper from Kozhikode on 28 April 1977. From 14 November 1977 onwards it w ...

under the column ''Kalam Ane Kitaab''. He established his reputation as a critic by his independent novels. In 1936, he became the editor of ''Phoolchaab''. In 1942, he ventured into publishing with his book ''Marela Na Rudhir''. In 1945, after retiring from ''Phoolchaab'', he concentrated on personal writing. In 1946, his book ''Mansai Na Deeva'' was awarded the ''Mahida Award''. The same year, he was elected to head the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad's Sahitya Section. In 1929, he gave 6 lectures for ''Gyan Prasarak Mandali''. He also lectured at Santiniketan owing to his long association with

. Meghani was also known as a Manbhatt poet due to his significant contribution to folk ballads. A movie song ''Man Mor Bani Thangat Kare'' in the 2013 Hindi film

Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela ''Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela'' () or simply known as ''Ram-Leela'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language tragic romantic action film written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also composed its original soundtrack. The film was jointly ...

is written by him.

Folklores

* Doshi Ni Vato * Sorathi Baharvatiya 1 * Sorathi Baharvatiya 2 * Sorathi Baharvatiya 3-1929 * Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar 1 * Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar 2 * Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar 3 * Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar 4 * Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar 5 * Kankavati 1–1927 * Kankavati 2-1928 * Dadaji Ni Vato * Sorthi Santo-1928 * Sorthi Geetkathao-1931 * Puratan Jyot-1938 * Rang Che Barot-1945 * Loksahitya-1939 * Pagandino Panth-1942 * Charano Ane Charani-1943 * Dhartinu Dhavan-1944 * Loksahitya Nu Samalochan-1946

Poems

* Veni Na Phool-1927 * Killol-1930 * Sindhudo-1930 * * Ektaro-1940 * Bapuna Parna-1943 * Ravindra Veena-1944 * Midnight Lace-1946 * Chaud Varsh ni Charan Kanya-1931 * Chello Katoro Jer no aa pi Jajo Bapu-1930-1932 (From Round Table Conference in London)

Folk Songs

* Radhiyali Raat 1–1925 * Radhiyali Raat 2-1925 * Radhiyali Raat 3-1927 * Radhiyali Raat 4-1942 * Chundadi 1–1928 * Chundadi 2-1929 * Rutugeeto-1929 * Halarda-1929 * Sorthi Santvani-1947 * Sorthiya Duha-1947

Drama

* Rano Pratap (Translation)-1923 * Raja Rani-1924 * Shah Jahan (Translation)-1927 * Vanthela-1933

Travelogue

* Saurashtrana Khandaroma-1928 * Sorathne Tire Tire-1933 * Parkamma-1946 * Chellu Prayan-1947

Short Stories

* Kurbani Ni Kathao-1922 * Chinta Na Angara 1–1931 * Chinta Na Angara 2-1932 * * Dariyaparna Bahrvatiya-1932 * Pratimao-1932 * * Dhup Chaya-1935 * Meghanini Navlikao 1 and 2-1942 * Vilopan-1946 * Anu nam te dhani

Novels

* * ''Niranjan'' * ''Vasundharana Vahala Davla'' * ''Sorath, Tara Vaheta Pani'' * Samarangan-1928 * * Vevishal * ''Ra Gangajaliyo''-1 * ''Ra Gangajaliyo'' -2 * ''Bidela Dwar'' * Gujaratno Jay 1–1940 * Gujaratno Jay 2-1942 * Tulsi Kyaro-1940 * * Kalchakra-1947 * Garvi Gujarat

Biography

* Annie Besant-1927 * Hungary no Taaranahaar-1927 * Narvir Lalaji-1927 * Satyavir Shradhdhanand-1927 * Sorathee Santo-1928 * Puraatan Jyot −1938 * Thakkar Bapa-1939 * Akbar Ni Yaadma-1942 * Aapnu Ghar-1942 * Panch Varas Na Pankhida-1942 * Marelana Rudhir-1942 * Aapna Gharni Vadhu Vato-1943 * Dayanand Sarasvati-1944 * * Sant Deveedaas-1946 * Vasant-Rajab Smaarak Granth-1947

References

External links

* * *
aksharnaad.com – Some of Shri Jhaverchand Meghani's works for free download as an ebook

meghani.com – a Gujarati website principally aimed at providing information about Meghani's literary contributionsZaverchand Meghani Books , Novel , Stories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meghani, Jhaverchand Poets from Gujarat Indian male poets 1896 births 1947 deaths Gujarati-language writers Gujarati-language poets Indian independence activists from Gujarat Indian social reformers 20th-century Indian poets Prisoners and detainees of British India People from Surendranagar district People from Botad Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Indian historical novelists 20th-century Indian short story writers 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian male writers Translators of Rabindranath Tagore