Saumya Joshi is an Indian poet, writer, playwright, director and actor associated with

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Guj ...

literature, theatre and films. He is known in

Gujarati theatre Gujarati theatre refers to theatre performed in the Gujarati language, including its dialects. Gujarati theatre is produced mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda, Surat and else where Gujarati diaspora ...

for his plays ''Welcome Zindagi'' and ''102 Not Out''. ''Greenroomma'' (2008; In the Greenroom) is his collection of poems. He has been awarded by Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta Award for his contribution to Gujarati theatre in 2013. He is also recipient of the Yuva Gaurav Puraskar (2007) and

Takhtasinh Parmar Prize The Takhtasinh Parmar Prize, also known as Shri Takhtasinh Parmar Paritoshik ( gu, શ્રી તખ્તસિંહ પરમાર પારિતોષિક), is a literary award presented by Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. The prize, which rec ...

(2008-09).

Early life

Joshi was born on 3 July 1973 in Ahmedabad,

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 Jayant Joshi and Neela Joshi. He completed his primary and secondary education from Vijaynagar High School, Ahmedabad in 1990. He completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from H. K. Arts College, Ahmedabad in 1993 and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

from School of Languages of

Gujarat University The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the postgraduate level. It is accredited B++ by N ...

in 1995 with

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

as one of his subjects.

Career

Joshi started his career as a Professor of English literature in his alma mater H. K. Arts College in 1995. In 2010, he founded the Fade-In Theatre with other young theatre people. He left his job as a professor in September 2011 to pursue the theatre. Joshi started to write poems at the age of 18. His first poem was published in '' Kavilok''. Subsequently, his poems were published in other Gujarati magazines including '' Shabdasrishti'', ''Kavita'', ''Shabdalay'', ''Navneet Samarpan'', and '' Kumar''. He debuted in Gujarati theatre with his play ''Rami Lo Ne Yaar!''.

Works

Poetry

''Greenroomma'' (In the Greenroom), his only collection of poems, was published in 2008. His poems are in different genres of poetry such as

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 ...

, Nazm, Geet and

Free verse 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. Defini ...

and on different subjects such as Sex Worker, the Rana deserted by Meera, the boy at the

Sivakasi Sivakasi () is a city and Municipal Corporation in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This city is known for its fireworks, firecracker, matchbox and printing industries. Sivakasi city alone meets about 90% fire cracker ...

fireworks factory, a shepherd named Jetho, the poor little sister, a labourer finding respite from the scorching sun beneath the gunny bag which he heaves. The book was critically acclaimed.

Plays

He debuted in Gujarati theatre with his play ''Rami Lo Ne Yaar!''. He got critically acclaimed for his play ''Dost Chokkas Ahin Ek Nagar Vastu Hatu'', a musical black comedy based on

2002 Gujarat riots The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hin ...

. This play prompted ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

'' magazine to name Joshi as one of the 50 rising stars of India in 2003. Soon after, his play ''Aathma Taaru Nu Aakash'' became the first play from Gujarat to be selected for the prestigious Prithvi Theatre Festival in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

in 2005. His other critically acclaimed and commercially successful plays are ''Welcome Zindagi'' and ''102 Not out''. ''102 Not out'' is about a 102-year-old father who wants to break the world record of a Chinese man who has lived for 120 years. His other plays include ''Munjaro'', ''Mahatma Bomb'', ''Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tara'' and ''Dharo Ke Tame Manji Chho''.

Films

His play ''102 Not Out'' is adapted as a Hindi language Indian film '' 102 Not Out'' directed by

Umesh Shukla Umesh Shukla is an Indian director who works in Bollywood films. He is best known for his work in the critically acclaimed comedy drama film '' Oh My God''. He made his directorial debut with UTV Motion Pictures' and Bindass' presentation '' Dh ...

. He is credited as a writer of the film. He also wrote dialogues and lyrics for 2018 Gujarati language film '' Hellaro''.

Recognition

Joshi won Yuva Gaurav Puraskar (2007) and

(2008-09) for his contribution in

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 received Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta Award, named after renowned Gujarati dramatist

Chandravadan Mehta Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta (6 April 1901 – 4 May 1991), popularly known as C. C. Mehta or Chan. Chi. Mehta, was a Gujarati playwright, theatre critic, bibliographer, poet, story writer, autobiographer, travel writer and broadcaster from Vadod ...

, in 2013 for his contribution in Gujarati theatre. He is also a recipient of the Ravji Patel Award, Balvantray Thakor Prize and Sadbhavna Award (2014).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Saumya 1973 births Living people Writers from Ahmedabad Poets from Gujarat Gujarati-language writers 21st-century Indian poets Gujarati-language poets People from Ahmedabad district Indian male poets Gujarat University alumni 21st-century Indian male writers