Sanju Vala ( gu, સંજુ વાળા, b. 11 July 1960) is a Gujarati poet and critic of postmodernism from

Gujarat, India 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 ninth- ...

. He authored more than 10 books and received numerous literary awards.

Early life

Sanju Vala was born in Badhada (

Savarkundla There are 84 villages in Savarkundla tehsil, Vanshiyali, Vanda, Gadhakda, Ramgadh, Vijpadi, Chikhali, Piyava, Dhar, Juna Savar, Bhuva, Badhada, Vijyanagar, Likhala, Mota Zinzuda, Nana Zinzuda, Vadal, Khadsali, Nesadi, Kanatalav, Oliya, Charkhad ...

) village in

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 ...

district of Gujarat, to Naranbhai and Ranima. He completed his primary education from Badhada Primary School in 1976. He completed schooling in 1979 from J.V Modi Highschool, Savarkundla. He dropped out of college after studying for a year.

Career

Sanju Vala joined the revenue department of the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

in 1979. He served as a member in working committee 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 ...

from 2012 to 2014. He was a member of the working committee of Vali Gujarati Gazalkendra run by

Gujarat Sahitya Akademi The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi ( gu, ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી) or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India an ...

. He wrote columns for several newspapers, such as ''Janmabhoomi'' and ''

Phulchhab ''Phulchhab'' is the Gujarati daily published 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 ...

''. His poems were published in several literary magazines including ''

Shabdasrishti ''Shabdasrishti'' ( gu, શબ્દસૃષ્ટિ, Śabdasr̥ṣṭi, World of Words), the journal of the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, is a Gujarati literary magazine, published on the fifth of every month. The magazine was started in 1983, a y ...

'', ''Parab'', ''Sameepe'', ''Etad'', '' Parivesh'','' Navneet Samarpan'' and ''

Gazalvishwa ''Gazalvishwa'' ( Gujarati: ગઝલવિશ્વ) is a quarterly Gujarati ghazal poetry journal, published by Vali Gujarati Gazal Kendra from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India since 2006. The journal publishes ghazals, ghazal reviews, critical works ...

''. As a poet, he organised and participated in

mushaira ''Mushaira'' ( ur, , Mušā'ira) is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', Mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the ...

s, poet meetings and lectures on poetry appreciation and criticism. He has written poetry and its criticism. He has authored more than 10 books and received numerous literary awards.

Works

Vala started his career writing

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 and later ventured into other forms of poetry. His main contribution is towards Geet, ghazals and Achhandas (

free verse poetry 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. Definiti ...

Harish Meenashru Harish Krishnaram Dave ( Gujarati: હરીશ કૃષ્ણારામ દવે), better known by his pen name Harish Meenashru (Gujarati: હરીશ મીનાશ્રુ), is a Gujarati language poet and translator from Gujarat, Indi ...

and

Manilal H. Patel Manilal Haridas Patel (born 9 November 1949) is a Gujarati poet, essayist, novelist, and literary critic from Gujarat, India. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the 2007 Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak literary medal for hi ...

appreciated his style of

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed ...

by commenting that his songs are path-breaking and fresh among age-old patterns of rhythm. At that time when most of the ghazal-poets used to write in straightforward and loud tones, he wrote against flow of predominant style of writing ghazals and established poetry with fresh language.>

Recognition

He was awarded the Jayant Pathak Poetry Award for his anthology ''kaik/kashunk/athava to'' in 1990. For his contribution in Gujarati ghazal poetry, he was awarded by

Shayda Award Shayda Award (Gujarati:શયદા ઍવોર્ડ) is an annual award given to a young Gujarati ghazal poet. It was founded by the INT Aditya Birla Centre for Performing Arts & Research. The award is named after Gujarati ghazal poet Harji L ...

in 1999. He received R.V Pathak/Nanalal Kavita Paritoshik in 2003 and Dr.Bhanuprasad Pandya Award for his anthology ''Ragadhinam'' in 2007 by

, Darshak Sahitya Sanman-2014 by Vidhyaguru Ratilal Borisagar Sanskrutik Pratishthan, Kavishree Ramesh Parekh Sanman-2014 by Asmita Foundation, Rajkot and Harindra Dave Memorial Award in 2014.

Bibliography

*''Kaik/Kashunk/Athava To...'' (collection of poems), 1990 *''Atikrami Te Gazal'' (gazals of poets from Rajkot), 1990 *''Kinshukalay'' (Compilation of ghazals of new generation) *''Killebandhi'' (long poem and Freeverse), 2000 *''Ragadhinam'' (poem-songs), 2007 *''Ghar same sarovar'' (Collected poetry of Shyam Sadhu), 2009, Published by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. *''Kavitachayan''-2007 (Selected Gujarati poems of 2007) published by Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. *''Yaadno Rajyabhishek'' (Selected gazals of Shoonya Palanpuri), 2012, published by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. *''Manpanchamna Melama'' (Collected poetry of Ramesh Parekh), 2013, published by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. *''Kavita name sanjeevani'' (collection of gazals) 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vala, Sanju 1960 births Living people Poets from Gujarat Gujarati-language writers 20th-century Indian poets Gujarati-language poets People from Amreli district 21st-century Indian poets Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers