Priyakant Premachand Maniyar (24 January 1927 – 25 June 1976) 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- ...

poet from

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 ...

, India. He published seven collections of symbolic and

imagist Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized literary modernism, modernist literary movement in the English language. ...

poetry, and was awarded the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

posthumously in 1982 for ''Lilero Dhal'' (1979), a collection of love songs about

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Early life

Priyakant Maniyar was born to Premachand and Premakunwar in

Viramgam Viramgam is a town and former princely state in the Indian state of Gujarat. The town is located in the Ahmedabad district, which contains the city of Ahmedabad, the state's largest city. Gateway Distriparks notably flagged off the first export ...

(now in Gujarat, India) on 24 January 1927. His parents had migrated to Viramgam from

Amreli Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat. History It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''A ...

for business. He was the second of five children. He started his primary school education at

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, where he studied until second grade, however he dropped out of New High School in Ahmedabad a few years later. Around this time he wrote his first poem, ''Pankhi ane Dano'' (Lit. ''Bird and Bird-seed''), and submitted it for publication 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 ...

'' magazine. Bachubhai Ravat, an editor of ''Kumar'', suggested he join the Budh Sabha, a weekly literary workshop. Maniyar was a

bangle Bangles are traditionally rigid bracelets which are usually made of metal, wood, glass or plastic. These ornament are worn mostly by women in the Indian subcontinent, Southeastern Asia, Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. It is common to see a bride ...

-maker by profession.

Works

Priyankant Maniyar is considered as one of the four major poets of the Niranjan school, a literary school named after poet

Niranjan Bhagat Niranjan Narhari Bhagat (18 May 1926 – 1 February 2018) was an Indian Gujarati language poet and commentator who won the 1999 Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati language for his critical work ''Gujarati Sahiyta – Purvardha Uttarardha''. He ...

. Other major poets of this school include Hasmukh Pathak and Nalin Raval. Maniyar wrote symbolic and

poetry, and published seven collections of poems: ''Pratik'' (Sumbol; 1953), ''Ashabda Ratri'' (Silent Night; 1959), ''Sparsha'' (Touch; 1966), ''Sameep'' (Nearness; 1972), ''Prabal Gati'' (Powerful Speed; 1974), ''Vyom Lipi'' (Sky's Alphabet; 1979) and ''Lilero Dhal'' (Green Slope; 1979). His poems are composed in metrical, prosodic, orthometric and blank verses. ''Lilero Dhal'' is a collection of love songs of

and

. The book also contains songs that depict the beauty of nature, mountains, springs, clouds, and rainbows. The songs became very popular among poetry lovers, as they are melodious and composed in folk tunes.

Awards

He received the

Kumar Suvarna Chandrak Kumar Suvarana Chandrak or the Kumar Gold Medal is a literary award given by Kumar Trust, Ahmedabad, India since 1944. The medal is annually conferred to a Gujarati author for his contribution in ''Kumar'' magazine published by Kumar Trust. In 1950 ...

award in 1963, and the

Uma-Snehrashmi Prize Uma-Snehrashmi Prize, also known as Uma-Snehrashmi Paritoshik ( gu, ઉમા-સ્નેહરશ્મિ પારિતોષિક) is a literary award in Gujarat, India founded by Snehrashmi in 1963 in a remembrance of his deceased daughter ...

(1972-1973). He received the

posthumously in 1982 for his poetry collection ''Lilero Dhal''.

Personal life

Maniyar married Ranjan in April 1956. They had two daughters, Jui and Gauri, born in 1959 and 1960, and one son, Nigam, born in 1963. Maniyar died on 25 June 1976 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maniyar, Priyakant 1927 births 1976 deaths Writers from Ahmedabad Gujarati-language poets 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Gujarat Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati Symbolist poets Imagists