Vinod Joshi
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Vinod Joshi (born 13 August 1955) is an Indian poet, writer and literary critic in
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 ...
from
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. His notable works include ''Parantu'', a collection of Geet (lyric poetry), ''Shikhandi'', a long narrative poem based on
Shikhandi Shikhandi () is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of th ...
, a character from the ''
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
'', ''Radio Natak: Swarup ane Siddhant'' (Radio Drama: Form and Theory, an abridged Ph.D. thesis), ''Tundil-tundika'', a form of ''padyavarta'', a Gujarati medieval literary genre, and ''Zalar Vage Zoothadi'', a collection of poems. He is the recipient of the Jayant Pathak Puraskar (1985), Critic's award (1986),
Kavishwar Dalpatram Award The Kavishwar Dalpatram Award ( Gujarati: કવિશ્વર દલપતરામ ઍવોર્ડ) is a literary honour in Gujarat, India given by Vardhman Vikas Seva Trust, Wadhwan. The award is conferred annually to the Gujarati language p ...
(2013),
Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar The Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar ( Gujarati: સાહિત્ય ગૌરવ પુરસ્કાર), also known as Sahitya Gaurav Award, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India. The award is conferred by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi and the Government ...
(2015), Narsinh Mehta Award (2018),
Kalapi Award The Kalapi Award (Gujarati:કલાપી ઍવોર્ડ) is an annual award given to Gujarati language, Gujarati ghazal poets. It was founded by the Indian National Theatre, INT Aditya Birla Centre for Performing Arts and Research. The award ...
(2018), Darshak Sahitya Sanman Award (2021), Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (2022) and
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 ...
(2023).


Early life

Vinod Joshi was born on 13 August 1955 in Bhoringda, a village of
Amreli district Amreli district is one of the 33 administrative districts of the state of 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 ...
of
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 ...
state. His family is a native of
Botad Botad, located in Gujarat's Saurashtra (region), is a significant city and district headquarters of the Botad district. Established as a separate district in 2013, Botad has developed into a key administrative and economic hub, connecting nearb ...
. His father, Hargovinddas Joshi, was a
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
scholar, and served as a '' Panchayat Mantri'' in rural
Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...
. Joshi has been influenced by the folkloric Gujarati language of his mother, Lilavati Joshi. Joshi completed his preschool education at Mohanlal Motichand Balmandir, Gadhada. He completed his primary education at the Government School of Turkha, a village in
Botad district Botad District is a district in the state of Gujarat, India. Botad District was formed on August 15, 2013 from the southwestern section of Ahmedabad District and the northwestern part of Bhavnagar District. Erstwhile, it was part of Bhavnagar ...
, from 1960 to 1966. He received secondary schooling from the N.T.M Government High School,
Surendranagar Surendranagar is Municipal Corporation in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Climate Surendranagar Dudhrej, in common with most of Gujarat, has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSh'') with three seasons. The hot season l ...
(1967–1968); Sarvoday Vidyalaya, Lathidad (1969), and from the Government High School, Botad (1970). Joshi earned 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 ...
degree 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 ...
at the Kavishri Botadkar Arts and Commerce College, Botad, in 1975. He completed his
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 ...
at the Gujarati Anusnatak Kendra (Gujarati Postgraduate Centre) at
Saurashtra University Saurashtra University is a conventional state university located in Rajkot, Gujarat, India. This university was established by ''The Saurashtra University Act'' of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly in the year 1965. History Saurashtra Universi ...
, Bhavnagar (1976), and the Gujarati Bhasha Sahitya Bhavan (Gujarati Language and Literature Department) at Saurashtra University (1977). He earned a Ph.D. in 1980 from the Gujarati Bhasha Sahitya Bhavan, Saurashtra University, for his research thesis ''Radio Nataknu Kalaswaroop Ane Gujaratima Teno Vikas'' (The Art of Radio Drama and its Development in the Gujarati Language) under the supervision of Ishwarlal R. Dave. He is married to Vimal Joshi, and they have a son, Aditya.


Career

Vinod Joshi began his career as a Professor of Gujarati literature in 1977 at the H.L. Patel Arts and Commerce College in Bhayavadar, a town near
Upleta Upleta is a city and tehsil in the Rajkot district of the state of Gujarat, India. It contains within it two towns and 49 villages. Geography Upleta is located at . It is about from Dhoraji, in the Rajkot district of Gujarat, on the banks of ...
. From 1978 to 1987, he was a professor at the Kapadia Mahila Arts College, Bhavnagar. He served as a professor and Head of the Gujarati Department at Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University from 1988 to 2017. He has also served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Vice-Chancellor of the same university. He was convener of Gujarati language at
Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...
,
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 ...
from 2008 to 2012, and has again been appointed convener at the same national institution for 2018 to 2022. Joshi started writing poetry during his school days. In Standard 10, he explored the Sanskrit metres and ventured into the metrical form. His poetry was first published in 1973 in '' Kumar'', a Gujarati language magazine. His poems have subsequently been published in other Gujarati periodicals, including '' Kavilok'', ''Kavita'', ''
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 ...
'', ''Parab'', ''Navneet Samarpan'', ''
Buddhiprakash (, English: Light of Knowledge) is a Gujarati language magazine published by Gujarat Vidya Sabha (formerly known as Gujarat Vernacular Society), Ahmedabad, India. History was established in 1850 as a lithotype fortnightly. The first issue ...
'', and ''Etad''.


Works

Vinod Joshi's poetry is infused with images of rural life, mainly through the portrayal of feminine sentiments 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 ...
.


Poetry

Joshi is critically acclaimed 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 ...
for the elegant female sensibility in the sounds, rhymes and rhythms of his Geets (songs). Motifs in his poetry include intense femininity, solitude, social status, and an indefinable individuality, conveyed in images of everyday reality and objects. ''Parantu'', his first anthology of poems, was published in 1984 by the Kavilok Trust. It has been considered to be significant contribution to the Modern Gujarati poetry. The critic Ramanlal Joshi notes the collection for its "artistic use of the subtleties of language to achieve poetry". ''Parantu'' was followed in 1985 by ''Shikhandi''. A long
narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need to rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may ...
, ''Shikhandi'' is composed in accordance with the rules of
Sanskrit prosody Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic met ...
. The poem deals with the psyche of
Shikhandi Shikhandi () is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of th ...
and
Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...
, characters from the ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
''. ''Tundil-tundika'' (1987), another long narrative poem, is a reinterpretation of the medieval Gujarati ''padyavaarta'' form in a modern context. ''Zalar Vage Zoothadi'' (1991) is Joshi's critically acclaimed collection of poems. In 2018, he published ''Sairandhri'', a metrical poem composed in
prabandha Prabandha is a literary genre of medieval Indian Sanskrit literature. The ''prabandha''s contain semi-historical anecdotes about the lives of famous persons. They were written primarily by Jain scholars of western India (Gujarat and Malwa) from 1 ...
form with seven cantos, 49 chapters and 1800 lines. It is based on
Draupadi Draupadi (), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the central heroine of the Indian epic poetry, ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. In the epic, she is the princess of Panchala Kingdom, who later becomes the empress of K ...
, one of the characters of Hindu epic
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, and depicts a distinct world of Draupadi's thoughts and feelings as a woman during her exiles, using various
meters The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
like Chopai and Dohra. Critic Radheshyam Sharma notes the poem for its musicality, figurative language and its depiction of
Sringara Sringara (, ) is one of the nine rasas, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical Indian arts including theatre, music, ...
(the romantic sentiments). Vinod Joshi's selected poems have been compiled as ''Kunchi Aapo, Baaijee!'' by Manilal H. Patel.


Criticism

* ''Sonnet'' (1984) * ''Abhipret'' (1986) * ''Amrut Ghayal: Vyaktimatta ane Vangmay'' (1988) (literary criticism of the work of Amrut Ghayal) * ''Udgreev'' (1995) * ''Nivesh'' (1995) * ''Radio Natak: Swaroop ane Siddhant'' (1986; Radio Drama: Form and Theory, an abridged Ph.D. thesis) * ''Vishad'' (2018) * ''Nirvivaad'' (2018) * ''Kavyapat'' (2018) * ''Kavyatat'' (2018) * ''Kavyarat'' (2018)


Compilations

* ''Neeraksheer'' (1984 to 2012) * ''Sahityano Aaswad'' (1992) * ''Raasatarangini'' (Poems of Botadkar),(1995) * ''Kismat Kureshi Ni 50 Ghazal'' (1999) * ''Kavyachayan'' (2006) * ''Aaj Andhar Khushbo bharyo Lagto'' (Poems of Prahlaad Parekh), (2002) * ''Vijayray Vaidya Smarak Grantha'' * ''Viraatna Pagthaare'' (Poems of Jagdeep Veerani), (2016) * ''Aahuti'' (regarding Morari Bapu) (2017) * ''Jagdeep Veerani Ni Kavyasrishti'' (2019)


Fiction

* ''Morpichchha'' (1999) - An
epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...
* ''Hava Ni Haveli'' (2018) (short stories) * ''Hathelima Hastakshar'' (2018) (short stories) * ''Sagapan Na Sarvala'' (2018) (short stories) * ''Moti Savva Lakh Na'' (2018) (short stories) * ''Ajwala Ni Aarati'' (2018) (short stories) * ''Khobama Jeevatar'' (2018) (short stories)


Recognition

Vinod Joshi was awarded the
Kavishwar Dalpatram Award The Kavishwar Dalpatram Award ( Gujarati: કવિશ્વર દલપતરામ ઍવોર્ડ) is a literary honour in Gujarat, India given by Vardhman Vikas Seva Trust, Wadhwan. The award is conferred annually to the Gujarati language p ...
in 2013, and was awarded the
Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar The Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar ( Gujarati: સાહિત્ય ગૌરવ પુરસ્કાર), also known as Sahitya Gaurav Award, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India. The award is conferred by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi and the Government ...
by the
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 ...
in 2015. His book of literary criticism, ''Nivesh'', won the Ramanlal Joshi Prize, instituted by the
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 ...
(Gujarati Literary Council), in 1994. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the Girnar Sahitya Shiromani Puraskar, awarded by the Indian public service broadcaster
Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...
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 ...
. He has also received the Umashankar Joshi Award (1986), the Jayant Pathak Poetry Award (1984), the Critics Award (1986), the Zaverchand Meghani Award (2011), the Rashtriya Kalakendra Appreciation Award (2014), and the Kala Ratna Award from the Gujarat Kala Pratishthan (2016). He was awarded the Narsinh Mehta Award in 2018 for his contribution to Gujarati poetry. He was awarded the Samarpan Sanman (2018) by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Educational Trust for his ''Prabandh-Kavya'' Sairandhree, and the
Kalapi Award The Kalapi Award (Gujarati:કલાપી ઍવોર્ડ) is an annual award given to Gujarati language, Gujarati ghazal poets. It was founded by the Indian National Theatre, INT Aditya Birla Centre for Performing Arts and Research. The award ...
(2018) by the Indian National Theatre (INT) for his contribution to Gujarati poetry. He is also awarded by the Gujarat Sahitya Academy for ''Sairandhri'' and ''Nirvivaad'' for the best books of poetry and criticism of 2018. He is felicitated with Manubhai Pancholi 'Darshak' Sahitya Samman-2021. In 2022, he was awarded Narmad Suvarna Chandrak for ''Sairandhri''. He received the 2023
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 the same book.


See also

*
List of Gujarati-language writers The following is an alphabetical list of Gujarati writers who has contributed in Gujarati literature; presenting an overview of notable authors, journalists, novelists, playwrights, poets and screenwriters who have released literary works in the Gu ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Vinod Indian literary critics 1955 births Living people Gujarati-language writers People from Amreli district Indian male poets Poets from Gujarat Novelists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati