Navalram Laxmiram Pandya ( Gujarati: નવલરામ) (9 March 1836 – 7 August 1888) was a Gujarati critic, playwright, poet, essayist, editor, educationist and a social reformer. He is considered to be a most important figure in modern

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 ...

. The first humourist, the first historical dramatist, the first critic and a leading scholar of his age, Navalram was the first to herald the new generation of writers like Manilal Dwivedi, Govardhanram Tripathi and

Narsinhrao Divetia Narsinhrao Divatia (Gujarati: નરસિંહરાવ ભોળાનાથ દિવેટિયા) (1859–1937) was a poet, linguist and critic of Gujarati literature. Life He was born on 3 September 1859 in Ahmedabad to Bholanath Div ...

. His writings covered numerous areas, including philosophy,

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

, reformation, education, journalism, grammar and literature.

Life

Navalram was born on 9 March 1836 in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is no ...

(now in

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 ...

) to Nandkor and Lakshmiram Pandya. Physically weak as a child, he didn't take much interest in games and was introvert in nature. At the age of eleven, he passed the final vernacular exam and got admission in an English school as a free merit scholar. He passed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

exam in 1853. Though he was a prodigy in mathematics he didn't go to college and joined as an Additional Teacher at the English High School in Surat in 1854. From there he went to Deesa and joined the Anglo Vernacular School. Then he became the assistant principal of Ahmedabad Training College and worked there from 1870 to 1876. In 1876, he became the Principal of

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 ...

Training College and lived there until his death on 7 August 1888. In 1847, at the age of 11, he married Shivagauri, who died after 10 months of marriage. His second marriage was with Manigauri in 1850. His son, Dhimatram, was born in 1867, while his daughter, Kamla, in 1871. Govardhanram Tripathi and

Vijayray Vaidya Vijayray Kalyanray Vaidya was a Gujarati critic, biographer and essayist. After studying languages, he was engaged in Gujarati literary journalism and later criticism. He edited several magazines and wrote works of criticism, biography and essays ...

published his biography as ''Navalram Lakshmiram Ni Jivankatha'' (1940) and ''Shukra Tarak'' (1944) respectively.

Works

In addition to writing literary essays and book reviews, Navalram was a critic of distinction. He started his writing career with a report on the '' Maharaj Libel Case'' (1863).

Plays

In 1867, he penned the Gujarati ''Bhatnu Bhopalu,'' based on

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

's '' The Mock Doctor'', a play which in its turn had been adapted from French playwright

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''

Le Médecin malgré lui ''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (; "The doctor/physician in spite of himself") is a farce by Molière first presented in 1666 (published as a manuscript in early 1667) at le théâtre du Palais-Royal by la Troupe du Roi. The play is one of seve ...

''. He wrote the historical play ''Veermati'' in 1869, based on the story of Jagdev Parmar, published in

Alexander Kinloch Forbes Alexander Kinloch Forbes (7 July 1821 – 31 August 1865) was a colonial administrator in British India. Early life Forbes was born in London on 7 July 1821 to John Forbes-Mitchell (1786-1822) of Thainston and Ann Powell (m. 1809 d. 1861). He was ...

' '' Ras Mala''.

Criticism

He reviewed the first Gujarati novel, ''

Karan Ghelo ''Karan Ghelo: Gujarat's Last Rajput King'' ( gu, કરણ ઘેલો: ગુજરાતનો છેલ્લો રજપૂત રાજા) is a Gujarati historical novel by Nandshankar Mehta. It was published in 1866 and was the first ...

'' in ''Gujarat Mitra'' daily in 1867, pioneering the criticism of Gujarati literature.

Prose

Navalram was an editor of ''Gujarat Shala Patra'', a periodical on education. He wrote serial commentary on poetry with humour titled ''Akbarshah ane Birbal Nimitte Hindi Hasyatarang'' in the periodical from 1860 to 1870. His other serialized writing in periodical ''Engrej Lok no Sankshipt Itihas'' (Concise History of Englishmen, 1880–1887) was later edited and published by Balwantray Thakore in 1924. He translated

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

's ''

Meghadūta } ''Meghadūta'' ( sa, मेघदूत literally ''Cloud Messenger'') is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa (c. 4th–5th century CE), considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. It describes how a '' yakṣa'' (or nature spirit), wh ...

'' (1870) in Gujarati and also discussed the methodology of translation in it. ''

Kavijivan ''Kavijivan'' () ( "The Life of a Poet") is a biographical work published in 1887 about Gujarati poet and writer, Narmadashankar Dave, popularly writing under the pen name Narmad. It was written by fellow Gujarati writer and critic Navalram Pandya. ...

'' (1888) is a biographical work on Gujarati poet and social reformer

Narmad Narmadashankar Lalshankar Dave () (24 August 1833 – 26 February 1886), popularly known as Narmad, was an Indian Gujarati-language poet, playwright, essayist, orator, lexicographer and reformer under the British Raj. He is considered to be th ...

based on his autobiography, ''

Mari Hakikat ''Mari Hakikat'' () is the autobiography of Narmadashankar Dave, popularly known as Narmad, a Gujarati author from Surat in 19th century India. It was the first autobiography to be written in the Gujarati language. Written in 1866, it was publish ...

''.

Others

His poetry collections ''Balalagnabatrisi'' (1876) criticized

child marriage Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...

while ''Balagarbavali'' (1877) is about ideals of life of women. He edited

Premanand Bhatt Premanand Krushanram Bhatt (Gujarati: પ્રેમાનંદ કૃષ્ણંરામ ભટ્ટ) (1636–1714), also known as Premanand, was a medieval Gujarati poet and ''Maanbhatt'' (professional story teller) known for his Akhyana ...

's ''Kunwarbai nu Mameru'' (1871). His ''Vyutpattipatha'' (1887) was a pioneer essay on

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

in Gujarati while ''Nibandh-riti'' was an essay on writing

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

s. His complete works are published under ''Navalgranthavali'' (1891), edited by Govardhanram Tripathi.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pandya, Navalram 1836 births 1888 deaths Gujarati-language writers Indian male essayists 19th-century Indian educational theorists Indian critics Indian male journalists Gujarati-language poets 19th-century Indian journalists Journalists from Gujarat Indian social reformers 19th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male poets 19th-century Indian essayists 19th-century Indian male writers Dramatists and playwrights from Gujarat Scholars from Gujarat Translators to Gujarati Translators of Kalidasa