Phoolchand Gupta (born 30 October 1958) is an Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Gu ...

poet, writer and translator. He hails from Himmatnagar, Gujarat, India. He made significant contributions to the Gujarati Dalit literature. Hindi Sahitya Akademi of

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

awarded him in 2013 for his book ''Khwabkhwahon Ki Sadi Hai''. He won the Shafdar Hashmi Prize (2000) for his book ''Isi Mahol Mein''.

Early life

Phoolchand Gupta was born to his parents, Jagatnarayan and Savitridevi, on 30 October 1958 at Amraigaon, a village in

Rudauli Rudauli is a town, tehsil and a municipal board in Faizabad district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. Rudauli is 50 km west of the district headquarters Ayodhya. Geography Rudauli is located at . It h ...

city of

Ayodhya district Faizabad district, officially Ayodhya district, is one of the 75 districts of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ayodhya, which is believed to be the birth place of Hindu deity Rama, is the administrative headquarters of the district. ...

in the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. He completed his primary education from Amraigaon Primary School in 1969. In 1970, he came to

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 ...

and completed his schooling (Old S.S.C.) from Janta Hindi High School,

Naroda Naroda is a fast-growing area in Ahmedabad, northeast of central Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. History With the establishment of the Naroda Industrial Area in the 1980s, the town flourished; it was incorporated into Ahmedabad in ...

in 1974. He got his

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

in 1978 from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Commerce Mahavidyalay, Ahmedabad. In 1982, he joined H. K. Arts College, Ahmedabad and got his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1985 in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. He did his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. Tho ...

in 1987 from School of Languages of

Gujarat University The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the postgraduate level. It is accredited B++ by N ...

. In the same year, he did

Postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

from Bhavan's Center, Ahmedabad. Again in 1993, he obtained

Hindi literature Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃ� ...

from Gujarat University. Under the guidance of Uttambhai Patel, he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

for his dissertation ''Ikkisvi Sadi Ke Pratham Dashak Ke Hindi Upanyas Me Dalit, Nari Evam Vargiya Chetna'' () in 2013 from

Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Veer Narmad South Gujarat University is a public university located in the city of Surat, Gujarat, India. Previously known as South Gujarat University, it was renamed as Veer Narmad South Gujarat University(VNSGU) in 2004 in honour of the famous ...

Career

Gupta started his career in 1980 as a clerk at a private transport company at Ahmedabad. From 1987 to 1988, he served as a journalist at ''Young India'', a daily. In 1989, he joined Sabargram Vidyapith, Sonasan in

Prantij Prantij is a town and a municipality in Sabarkantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Geography Prantij is located at . Average height from sea level is 98 Meters (328 feet). Demographics India census, Prantij had a population of 22,30 ...

as a professor of English literature. He started writing poems during his school days. His first poem was published in 1973. Subsequently, his writings were published in Gujarati and Hindi literary magazines including ''Hansa'', ''Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya'', ''English Literature'', ''Nirikshak'', ''Navneet Samarpan'' and ''

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 ...

''. He started writing in Gujarati after moving to Prantij.

Works

He has written poems, short stories and essays in Hindi and Gujarati. He is known as revolutionary poet in Hindi literature. ''Isi Mahol Me'', his first collection of poems in Hindi, was published in 1997, followed by ''Hey Ram'' (2002). ''Saansat Me Hai Kabootar'' (2003), ''Koi Nahi Sunata Aag Ke Sansmaran'' (2006), ''Rakh Ka Dher'' (2010), ''Kot Ki Jaib Se Jhankati Prithvi'' (2012), ''Dinu Aur Kauvve'' (2012), ''Jharne Ki Tarah'' (2013), ''Phool Aur Titli'' (2014) and ''Timir ka Durg'' (2021) are his collections of poetry. ''Khwabkhwaho Ki Sadi Hai'' (2009) and ''Aarzoo-E-Phoolchand'' (2015) are his collections of Gazals. ''Prayaschit Nahi Pratishodh'' is his story collection. ''Pratham Dashak ke Hindi Upanyas Aur Mukti Chetna'' (2016) is a collection of literary criticism. ''Gandhi Aantarman'' (2008, Gujarati), ''Mahagatha'' (2011) and ''GEMS on Grass Tips'' (2018, poems in prose) are his other literary collections. Gupta has translated several literary works including Gujarati language stories, poems, interviews, plays and critical essays. He translated Raghuvir Chaudhary's Gujarati novels: ''Lagani'', ''Ichhawar'' ''Uparwas'', ''Sahvas'' and ''Antarvas'' into

. He also translated Harish Mangalam's Gujarati story collection ''Talab''.

Recognition

Gupta's contributions to the field of Hindi literature have been recognised and he has received many literary awards. He won ''Shafdar Hashmi Puraskar'' in 2000 for his book ''Isi Mahol Me'' (1997).

Gujarat Sahitya Akademi The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi ( gu, ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી) or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India an ...

awarded him ''Gujarat Hindi Sahitya Akademi Award'' in 2014 for his book ''Phool Aur Titli''. He has also received ''Aravali Shikhar Sanman'' and ''Antarrashtriya Tathagat Sanman''.

Family

He married Shakun Gupta in 1982 and they have a daughter, Pallavi, and two sons, Siddhartha and Ruchir. He lives in Himmatnagar.

References