Sharifa Vijaliwala (born 4 August 1962) is an Indian

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 ...

writer, critic, translator and editor from

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

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 ...

, India. She is a recipient of a 2018

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for ''Vibhajanni Vyatha'', a collection of critical essays in Gujarati, and has won several

Gujarat Sahitya Akademi The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi () or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, i ...

awards for her literary work.

Biography

Sharifa Vijliwala was born to her parents, Kasambhai and Hajaraben, on 4 August 1962 in Amargadh, a village in Shihor, in the Bhavnagar district of

, India. She completed her primary education there, and passed her secondary and higher secondary board exams in 1978 and 1981 respectively. In 1985, she graduated from the Faculty of Technology and Engineering, at the

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a public university on April 30, 1949 and was renamed after ...

earning a

Bachelor of Pharmacy A Bachelor of Pharmacy (abbreviated BPharm or PharmB or BS Pharm) is a graduate academic degree in the field of pharmacy. In many countries, this degree is a prerequisite for registration to practice as a pharmacist. In most Western countries, ...

degree. She worked as a pharmacist for five years. Because of her interest in literature, she had also joined the university's Gujarati department to study

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 ...

in 1986. In 1990, she secured the first rank in the university and completed post graduation with a Kantawala Gold Medal. During her literature studies, she passed the

National Eligibility Test The National Eligibility Test (NET) is a standardised test conducted at the national level by various agencies of the Government of India. It assesses candidates' eligibility for research fellowships, specifically the Junior Research Fellowship ( ...

(UGC NET) examination and secured a

Junior Research Fellowship After completing a postgraduate degree, one of the options is to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) program. These Ph.D programs cost money and time. To help a scholar there are many Research Fellowship Schemes in India funded by either a gov ...

. In 1994, under the guidance of Shirish Panchal, she researched

narratology Narratology is the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect human perception. The term is an anglicisation of French ''narratologie'', coined by Tzvetan Todorov (''Grammaire du Décaméron'', 1969). Its theoretica ...

. Vijliwala received a PhD for her dissertation ''Point of View in Short Stories: A Critical Study with Particular Reference to Some Gujarati Short Stories''. She taught Gujarati literature at the M.T.B. Arts College,

from 1991 to 2013. Since 2013, Vijliwala has been a professor and head at the Department of Gujarati, at

Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Veer Narmad South Gujarat University is a public university located in the city of Surat, Gujarat, India. Previously known as South Gujarat University, it was renamed as Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) in 2004 in honour of the famo ...

in Surat.

Works

Vijliwala is a translator, critic and editor. She wrote her first article "Mara Bapu", published in ''Pitrutarpan'' compiled by Joseph Macwan in 1988. Her first work of criticism was''Tunki Vartama Kathankendra'' which was also her doctoral research. ''Varatasandarbh'', ''Sampratyay'', ''Naval Vishv'' and ''Vibhajanni Vyatha'' are her other collections of criticism. She has translated several literary works. She began literary translation in 1994 translating the best short stories of western literature. ''Ananya'' (15 foreign stories), ''Anusang'' (10 foreign stories), ''Tran Katha'' (Stories of

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...

), ''Vachan'' (Kannada Vachanas, co-translator), ''Gandhi ni Kedie'' (A brief translation of Sarla Behn's

Autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

) are her translations. She has made a significant contribution as a translator of literature based on the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. Her translations of Partition-oriented literature include ''Manto ni Vartao'' (22 Urdu stories by

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, , , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mainly in Urdu, he produc ...

), ''Vibhajan ni Vartao'' (Indian stories based on the Partition), ''Intizar Husain ni Vartao'' (18 Urdu stories by

Intizar Hussain Intizar Hussain or Intezar Hussain (; 21 December 1925 – 2 February 2016) was a Pakistani writer of Urdu novels, short stories, poetry and nonfiction. He is widely recognised as a leading literary figure of Pakistan. He was nominated for the ...

) ''Jene lahor Nathi Joyu E Janmyo J Nathi'' (A play by

Asghar Wajahat Syed Asghar Wajahat, popularly known as Asghar Wajahat (born 5 July 1946), is a Hindi scholar, fiction writer, novelist, playwright, an independent documentary filmmaker and a television scriptwriter, who is most known for his work, 'Saat Aasma ...

), ''Sukato Vad'' ( Manzoor Ahtesham's Hindi novel), '' Pinjar'' (A novel by

Amrita Pritam Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. A prominent figure in Punjabi literature, she is the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award. Her body o ...

), ''Basti'' (

's Urdu novel), ''Adha Gaon'' (A novel by

Rahi Masoom Raza Rahi Masoom Raza (1 September 1927 – 15 March 1992) was an Indian Urdu and Hindi poet and writer and a Bollywood lyricist. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue three times, for his work in '' Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'' (1979), ''Taw ...

) and ''Mahabhoj'' (

Mannu Bhandari Mannu Bhandari (3 April 1931 – 15 November 2021) was an Indian author, screenplay writer, teacher, and playwright. Primarily known for her two Hindi novels, ''Aap Ka Bunty'' (''Your Bunty'') and ''Mahabhoj'' (''Feast''), Bhandari also wrote ...

's political novel). She also completed a research project ''Analytical and Comparative Study of Literature Based on Partition Theme'' funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. Himanshi Shelat, a renowned Gujarati author, said that, "without losing the flavour of the source language the translated works of Sharifa Vijaliwala aim to preserve the lucidity of the target language. She works diligently to achieve the high standards of excellence in her translations." She has edited more than 20 books including: ''Bani Vatu''(1999) (A compilation of folk stories), ''Bakulesh ni Vartao'' (2004), ''2000 ni Vartao'', ''Shatrupa'' (2005) (A compilation of feminist Gujarati short stories), ''Jayant Khatri ni Gadhyasrushti'' (2009), ''Jayant Khatri no Vartavaibhav'' (2010), ''Varta Vishesh : Harish Nagrecha'' (2010), ''Varta Vishesh : Saroj Pathak'' (2012), ''Varta Vishesh : Himanshi Shelat'' (2012), ''Ratilal Anil na Uttam Chandrana'' (2014), ''Vibhajan ni Gujarati Vartao'' (2018), ''Himanshi Shelat Adhyayan Granth'' (2018), ''Bhagwatikumar Sharma no Varta Vaibhav'' (2019), ''Shirish Panchal Adhyayan Granth'' (2020), ''Umashankar Joshi no Varta Vaibhav'' (2020), ''Pannalal Patel no Varta Vishesh'' (2020), ''Meghni no Varta Vaibhav'' (2021), ''Varsha Adalja no Varta Vaibhav'' (2021), ''Ghanshyam Desai no Varta Vaibhav'' (2023), ''Mohan Parmar no Varta Vaibhav'' (2023), ''Chunilal Madia no Varta Vaibhav'' (2024) and ''Eva Dave no Varta Vaibhav'' (2024). ''Sammukh'' and ''Vyatha ni Katha'' are a compilation of her interviews. ''Sambandho nu Aakash'' is her collection of reminiscences. Her other works include ''Manto ni Vartasrushti'' – Introduction Booklet (2002), ''Komi Samasya ni Bhitarma'' (2010) (A brief introduction of "The communal triangle in India" by Achyut Patwardhan and

Asoka Mehta Asoka Mehta (24 October 1911, Bhavnagar – 10 December 1984, New Delhi) was an Indian political activist and socialist politician. He helped organize the socialist wing Congress Socialist Party of the Indian National Congress, along with Ramb ...

) and ''Harmony'' (2018).

Awards and recognition

Vijliwala has received many educational and literary awards. In 1988, she received the Pranjivan Charitable Trust Prize (State Level). She secured the first rank in the university and completed post graduation with a Kantawala Gold Medal. Her contributions to the field of literary criticism and translation have been recognised by the

. ''Ananya'' (2000), ''Ba Ni Vatun'' (2000), ''Varta Sandarbh'' (2002), ''Sampratyay'' (2003) and ''Manto ni Vartao'' (2003) have received a Gujarat Sahitya Akademi Award. A research paper by Vijaliwala, ''The Study of Some Stories through Feministic Point of View in Gujarati Language'', was awarded the Best Research Paper Award by the Bhaikaka Inter-University Trust (1998–99). Her PhD thesis, ''Point of View in Short Stories'', was awarded the Ramanlal Joshi Critic Award (2002) by

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 ...

. She was awarded the 2015

Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize or Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation is a literary honour in India, presented by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, given to "outstanding translations of creative and critical works" in 24 ...

for her translation ''Jene Lahor Nathi Joyu E Janmyo J Nathi'' and 2018 Sahitya Akademi Award for ''Vibhajanni Vyatha'', a collection of critical essays in Gujarati based on the partition of India. She has also received Soham Award (2016) by Navneet Samarpan,

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent institut ...

and Sadbhavana Puraskar (2017) by the Sadbhavana Trust, Mahuva.

Note

References

External links