Ramanbhai Neelkanth
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Ramanbhai Mahipatram Nilkanth (13 March 1868 – 6 March 1928) was a Gujarati novelist, essayist, literary critic from India. The Ramanlal Nilkanth Hasya Paritoshik is named after him.


Life

Ramanbhai Nilkanth was born on 13 March 1868 in
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 ...
to
Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth was a Gujarati educationist, reformer, novelist and biographer from 19th century India. Life He was born in Surat on 3 December 1829 to Vadnagara Nagar Brahmin family of Rupram Nilkanth and Girijagauri. He lost his m ...
and Rupkunwarba who were social reformers. He completed his primary and secondary education in Ahmedabad. He
matriculated 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 ...
in 1883. He joined Gujarat College, Ahmedabad in 1884 and completed his B.A. from
Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the edu ...
,
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
in 1887 and later obtained his LL.B. His first wife, Hansvadan, died at a young age and he married again to
Vidyagauri Nilkanth Vidyagauri Nilkanth (1876-1958) was an Indian social reformer, educationist, and writer. She was also one of the first two women graduates in Gujarat. Early life Vidyagauri Nilkanth was born on 1 June 1876 in Ahmedabad. She was the daughter o ...
, one of the first female graduates from state, in 1887. He worked as a clerk in the government office. He had later served as a Judge in
Godhra Godhra () is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from ''gou'' which means "cow" and "dhara"- which have two meanings depend ...
. He was awarded title of
Rai Bahadur Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the Empire. From 1911, the title was accompani ...
and later
knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in 1927. He served as the mayor of Ahmedabad. He was also the first secretary of the Ahmedabad Red Cross founded in 1923. He served as the president of
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 ...
in 1926. He died on 6 March 1928 at Ahmedabad. His daughters, Vinodini Nilkanth and Sarojini Mehta, were also writers. British travel writer
Pico Iyer Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is an English-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathman ...
is his great-grandson.


Works

His humour novel '' Bhadrambhadra'' (1900) was a satire on language and social puritans. It is influenced by ''
The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...
'' and ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
''. His other novel is ''Shodhma'' (1915, incomplete). He wrote classic play ''
Raino Parvat ''Raino Parvat'' ( a mountain out of a mustard seed) is a 1914 Gujarati play by Ramanbhai Neelkanth (1868–1928), written with an eye on social reform attempts to bring about a synthesis of the Sanskrit and English styles of drama. It is c ...
'' (1914). ''Hasyamandir'' (1915, with Vidyagauri) is collection of humour essays. His works of criticism are ''Vakyapruththakruti ane Nibandh Rachana'' (1903), '' Saraswatichandra nu Avlokan'' and ''Hridayveenanu Avlokan''. Two volumes of ''Dharm Ane Samaj'' (1932, 1935) are his philosophical work discussing religion and society. ''Kavita Ane Sahitya'' is his four volumes on poetry and prose. The Volume 1 (1904) contains articles on prosody and rhetoric; Volume 2 (1904) contains articles on practical criticism; Volume 3 (1928) contains occasional lectures and essays and Volume 4 (1929) contains some poems, short stories and essays on humour. ''Gujaratno Sankshipta Itihas'' (Short History of Gujarat) and ''Vivahvidhi'' (1889) are his other works. He also edited '' Gyansudha''. Through his criticism, he tried to formulate a theory of artistic and literary beauty, which was influenced by the theories of English critics of his time.


References


Further reading

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilkanth, Ramanbhai Gujarati-language poets Gujarati-language writers 1928 deaths 1868 births Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Rai Bahadurs Indian Knights Bachelor 19th-century Indian novelists 19th-century Indian essayists Indian literary critics 19th-century Indian politicians Mayors of Ahmedabad Indian social reformers Novelists from Gujarat 19th-century Indian poets Poets from Gujarat 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian novelists Dramatists and playwrights from Gujarat Nilkanth family Writers from British India Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad