Geeta Sooryakant Parikh (11 August 1929 – 7 April 2012) was an Indian poet who wrote in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

. Educated in philosophy, she had published two poetry collections and a biography collection.

Biography

Geeta Parikh was born on 11 August 1929 in

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...

in a

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

family of Vijayaben and Paramanand Kapadia. Her father was a social worker and independence activist. She completed her primary and secondary school education from the Fellowship School in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(now Mumbai). She

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1945. She completed BA in Entire Philosophy with second class in 1949 from the Wilson College and later MA in the same subject in 1952. In 1988, she received PhD for her thesis ''Arvachin Gujarati Kavayitrio'' (Modern Gujarati Women Poets) under

Dhiru Parikh Dhiru Ishwarlal Parikh (31 August 1933 – 9 May 2021) was an Indian Gujarati poet, short story writer and critic. He was an editor of ''Kavilok'' and ''Kumar'', Gujarati literary magazines. Biography Dhiru Parikh was born on 31 August 1933 at ...

. She briefly taught in a college. In 1953, she married

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

Sooryakant Parikh (9 January 1926 – 5 April 2019) who was active in

Bhoodan movement The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India. It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village, Pochampally The Bhoodan movement attempted ...

and supported him in his activities. After having children, she shifted her focus on the family. She worked with the English Club of Sharda Mandir school in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: 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 (per t ...

. She also learned classical and other forms of music starting 1974. She died on 7 April 2012.

Literary career

In 1950, Parikh learned

metres The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

from Ramnarayan V. Pathak and was guided by Rajendra Shah. She started developing interest in poetry and her first poem "Maru Lagna" (My Marriage) was published in ''

Kumar A coin, around 200 BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya">Yaudheyas.html" ;"title="BCE, of the Yaudheyas">BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya Kumar (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: wikt:कुमा ...

'' in 1951. Parikh had written almost all forms of poem. She had written more than 900 poems and selected one hundred were published in the collection ''Purvi'' in 1966. These poems focus on sentiments of love, married life, and philosophy. ''Purvi'' was awarded the first prize by the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciary ...

. In 1979, she published her second poetry collection, ''Bhinash'', which included poems on nature, family life, death of parents, and devotion. Parikh had also edited a brief biography collection titled ''Sitter Gujarati Kavayitrio ''(Seventy Gujarati Women Poets, 1985), which includes biographies from her thesis. ''Kavyaspandita'' (1988) is a collection of criticism. She co-edited essays of her father in ''Chintanyatra'' (1974) and translated poems of

Vimala Thakar Vimala Thakar (born 15 April 1921 Ramnavmi day at Bilaspur and died on 11 March 2009 at Falgun Poornima at Mt. Abu) was an Indian social activist and spiritual teacher. Born into a middle-class family living at Akola city in Maharashtra state in In ...

in ''Navo Palato'' (1963).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parikh, Geeta Gujarati-language writers People from Bhavnagar 1929 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Indian poets Indian editors Indian literary critics Indian women literary critics Indian women editors 20th-century Indian women writers Women writers from Gujarat Poets from Gujarat Indian women poets Indian translators 20th-century Indian biographers Indian women biographers Indian women non-fiction writers 20th-century translators

Biography

Literary career

See also

References