Neerav Patel (2 December 1950 – 15 May 2019) was a
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- ...
and
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
poet, translator and editor; primarily known for his contribution in Gujarati
Dalit literature such as ''Burning From Both The Ends'' (1980, English poems), ''What Did I Do To Be Black and Blue'' (1987, English poems) and ''Bahishkrut Phulo'' (2006, Gujarati). He edited ''Swaman'', a journal of
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
writings in Gujarati.
Biography
Neerav Patel was born in Bhuvaldi, a village in
Daskroi Taluka
Daskroi is a taluka of Ahmedabad District, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democr ...
of
Ahmedabad district
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ahmedabad District
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = District of Gujarat
, image_skyline = D ...
, in the Indian state of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. His birth name was Somo Hiro Chamar.
He changed his name to Neerav Patel because he faced atrocities due to
casteism
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
.
He earned a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
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** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in English literature. He served as a Bank Officer. After his retirement, he devoted his time to Dalit literature.
He started writing poetry in college, in 1967.
He wrote only Dalit poetry based on Dalit people who are suffering atrocities, exploitation, discrimination and segregation.
He pioneered the movement of Gujarati Dalit literature, publishing the first ever Gujarati Dalit literary magazine ''Akrosh'' in 1978 under the auspices of the
Dalit Panther
The Dalit Panthers are a social organisation that seeks to combat caste discrimination. It was led by a group of Mahar writers and poets, including Raja Dhale, Namdeo Dhasal, and J. V. Pawar in some time between the second and the third semes ...
of Gujarat. He edited short-lived Gujarati magazines with others namely ''Kalo Suraj'', ''Sarvanam'', ''Swaman'' and ''Vacha''.
He died on 15 May 2019 at
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 ...
following cancer.
Works
Patel explored Dalit sensibility in his poems.
He published two poetry collections in English, ''Burning From Both The Ends'' (1980) and ''What Did I Do To Be Black and Blue'' (1987). He published an anthology of Gujarati poems ''Bahishkrut Phulo'' in 2006.
His other works are ''Severed Tongue Speaks Out'' (2014) and ''Wanted Poets'' (2019, posthumous).
Recognition
He received the Mahendra Bhagat Prize (2004–2005) from
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 an ...
, and the Sant Kabir Dalit Sahitya Award (2005) from 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 ...
.
See also
*
List of Gujarati-language writers
Well known laureates of Gujarati literature are Hemchandracharya, Narsinh Mehta, Mirabai, Akho, Premanand Bhatt, Shamal Bhatt, Dayaram, Dalpatram, Narmad, Govardhanram Tripathi, Mahatma Gandhi, K. M. Munshi, Umashankar Joshi, Suresh Joshi, Pan ...
References
External links
Translated poems of Neerav Patel on FirstpostIn Conversation with Neerav Patel(Interview of Neerav Patel in 'Le Simplegadi')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Neerav
1950 births
2019 deaths
Poets from Gujarat
Gujarati-language writers
Indian male poets
Gujarati-language poets
People from Ahmedabad district
Indian magazine editors