Saumya Joshi (born 3 July 1973) is an Indian poet, writer, playwright, director and actor associated with

Gujarati language Gujarati ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Western Rājasthāni, Old Gujarati (). In India, it is one of the 22 Languages with ...

literature, theatre and films. He is known in

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

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 (2008–09).

Early life

Joshi was born on 3 July 1973 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 ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

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 A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

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

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from School of Languages of Gujarat University in 1995 with

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

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 ''Shabdasrishti'' (), the journal of the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, is a Gujarati language, Gujarati literary magazine, published on the fifth of every month. The magazine was started in 1983, a year after the establishment of the Akademi. ''Shabda ...

'', ''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 ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

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

Sivakasi Sivakasi is a city in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city is known for firecrackers and match factories that produce 70% of the country's output. The printing industries in Sivakasi produce 30% of the total diaries ...

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. 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 ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

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. 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 Takhtasinh Parmar Prize (2008-09) for his contribution in

Gujarati literature The history of Gujarat, Gujarati literature () 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, other than its composers. Gujarat Vidhya S ...

. He received Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta Award, named after renowned Gujarati dramatist Chandravadan Mehta, 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