Rajendra Shah (author)

For the Indian cricketer, see Rajendra Shah (cricketer).
Rajendra Shah
Born(1913-01-28)28 January 1913
Kapadvanj, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died2 January 2010(2010-01-02) (aged 96)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
OccupationAuthor
NationalityIndian
Alma materMSU Baroda
Period1947-2003
Notable works
  • Dhvani (1951)
  • Shant Kolahal (1962)
Notable awards

Rajendra Keshavlal Shah (28 January 1913 – 2 January 2010) was a lyrical poet who wrote in Gujarati. Born in Kapadvanj, he authored more than 20 collections of poems and songs, mainly on the themes of the beauty of nature, and about the everyday lives of indigenous peoples and fisherfolk communities. In his poems using Sanskrit metrics, he was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. He is considered one of the giants of post Gandhi-era in Gujarati literature.[1]

Among his various professions, Shah was also a publisher in Mumbai, where he launched the poetry magazine Kavilok in 1957.[2] The press itself became an important Sunday meeting-place for Gujarati poets. Apart from writing poetry, Shah also translated into Gujarati Tagore's poetry collection Balaaka; Jayadeva's Gita Govinda; Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; and Dante's The Divine Comedy.[3]

Shah won the Jnanpith Award for 2001.

  1. ^ Mehta, Deepak B. (August 2003). "In love with the world". Frontline. 20 (16).
  2. ^ Lal, Mohan, ed. (1992). "Shah, Rajendra Keshavlal". Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Vol. 5 (2001 ed.). Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 3944–45.
  3. ^ Shah, Rajendra Keshavlal (25 July 2003). "'I Write What My Inner Voice Says'". Outlook (Interview). Interviewed by Darshan Desai. Retrieved 9 January 2013.