Jhaverchand Meghani: Difference between revisions

'''Jhaverchand''' or '''Zaverchand Kalidas Meghani''' ({{Birth date |df=yes|1896|08|28}} – {{Death date |df=yes|1947|03|09}}) was an Indian poet, writer, social reformer and freedom fighter. He is a well-known name in the field of [[Gujarati literature]].  He was born in [[Chotila]] where the Government College has been renamed for this literary figure as Raashtreeya Shaayar Zaverchand Meghani College, Chotila.<ref>[https://www.deshgujarat.com/tag/chotila/ College renamed- Raashtreeya Shaayar Zaverchand Meghani College, Chotila  ] </ref> [[Mahatma Gandhi]] spontaneously gave him the title of ''Raashtreeya Shaayar'' (National Poet).<ref name=pinaki_honours>{{cite web | author = Pinaki Meghani| title = Jhaverchand Meghani – Honour received during his life-time | publisher = Meghani Family | date = 14 March 2009 | url = http://jhaverchandmeghani.com/honours.htm | access-date = 17 October 2009}}</ref> Besides this he received many awards like [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] and ''Mahida Paaritoshik'' in literature. He authored more than 100 books. His first book was a translation work of [[Rabindranath Tagore]]'s called ''Kathaa-u-Kaahinee'' titled ''Kurbani Ni Katha'' (Stories of martyrdom) which was first published in 1922. He contributed widely to Gujarati folk literature. He went from village to village in search of folk-lores and published them in various volumes of ''Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar''.<ref name="Desai2007">{{cite book|author=Anjali H. Desai|title=India Guide Gujarat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZR&pg=PA42|year=2007|publisher=India Guide Publications|isbn=978-0-9789517-0-2|page=42}}</ref> He was also the Editor of [[Phulchhab|Phulchhab Newspaper]] of Janmabhoomi group (which is being published till date from [[Rajkot]]).

He finished his matriculation in 1912 and completed his BA in 1917. He started his career in [[Kolkata]] and joined [[Jeewanlal Motichand Shah|Jeevanlal and Co.]] in 1918 as Personal Assistant and was fondly called ''Paghadee Babu'' by his colleagues and workers alike. He was soon promoted as the Manager of the company's factory at Belur, Crown Aluminium. In 1919, he went to England for a four-month tour. After coming back to India, he continued to work in [[Kolkata]] for 2 and half-years. Later, he returned to Saurashtra and joined the editorial board of the weekly ''[[Saurashtra Weekly|Saurashtra]]'' at [[Rajkot]] in 1922.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In 1930, he was sentenced to 2 years in jail for writing the book ''Sindhudo'' that contained songs to inspire the youth of India that was participating in the struggle for Independence against the [[British Raj]]. It is during this time that he wrote ''Kavya Triputi'' based on Gandhiji's visit to London for the Round Table conference. During this period, he also started writing short stories independently and served as editor for ''[[Phoolchaab]]'' magazine.<ref>[http://sangeetbhavantrust.com/zaverchand.html Zaverchand Meghani]. Sangeet Bhavan trust. Retrieved on 27 November 2018.</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2017}}

In 1926, he ventured into poetry with his book of children poems ''Veni Na Phool'' and started writing in [[Janmabhoomi (Gujarati newspaper)|Janmabhumi]] under the column ''Kalam Ane Kitaab''. He established his reputation as a critic by his independent novels. In 1936, he became the editor of ''Phoolchaab''. In 1942, he ventured into publishing with his book ''Marela Na Rudhir''. In 1945, after retiring from ''Phoolchaab'', he concentrated on personal writing. In 1946, his book ''Mansai Na Deeva'' was awarded the ''Mahida Award''. The same year, he was elected to head the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad's Sahitya Section. In 1929, he gave 6 lectures for ''Gyan Prasarak Mandali''. He also lectured at [[Santiniketan]] owing to his long association with [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. Meghani was also known as a Manbhatt poet due to his significant contribution to folk ballads.<ref name="Desai2007"/>{{Failed verification|date=April 2017}} A movie song ''Man Mor Bani Thangat Kare'' in the 2013 Hindi film [[Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela]] is written by him.<ref name="DNA 2013">{{cite web | title=Ram-Leela song Man mor bani thanghat kare: Original poet to get credit in film | website=Bollywoodlife.com | date=23 October 2013 | url=http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/ram-leela-song-man-mor-bani-thanghat-kare-original-poet-to-get-credit-in-film/ | access-date=19 May 2017}}</ref>

* Shah Jahan (Translation)-1927