Raeesh Maniar (

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 ...

: રઇશ મનીઆર) is a

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 ...

ghazal

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

, playwright, columnist, compere,

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

and

script writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

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 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 democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. His significant works include ''Kafiyanagar'' (1989), ''Shabda Mara Swabhavma J Nathi'' (1998) and ''Aam Lakhvu Karave Alakh Ni Safar'' (2011). He has written two reference books for students of ghazals, ''Ghazal: Roop ane Rang'' (2006) and ''Ghazal Nu Chhandovidhan'' (2008). The later work contains original research that may be applicable to prosody of all north Indian languages. He has written lyrics for several Gujarati and Hindi language movies. The Indian National Theater of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

awarded him the Shayda Award for 2001 and the Kalapi Award for 2016 for his contributions to Gujarati ghazal poetry.

Early life

Maniar was born on 19 August 1966 in Killa Pardi,

Valsad district Valsad district is one of the 33 districts in the Western Indian state of Gujarat. It is bound by Navsari district to the north, Nashik district of Maharashtra state to the east, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli district of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli ...

, Gujarat. He took his secondary schooling from D.C.O. Killa in 1980 and completed higher secondary schooling at St. Xavier's School, Surat, in 1983. He completed his MD ( Pediatrics) in 1991 at Surat Medical College. He married Ami Patel in 1989. He currently lives in Surat.

Career

Raeesh Maniar started to write poems in 1977 as an 11-year-old child. In December 1981, he had a poem published for the first time in a daily newspaper, ''

Gujarat Samachar ''Gujarat Samachar'' is a Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. Its headquarters are in Ahmedabad with a branch in Surat. It is distributed from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Mehsana, Bhuj and New Y ...

''. He started his career as a medical doctor in 1993 at Surat. From 2008, he restricted his practice to developmental and behavioural child psychology. In 2013, he abandoned his clinical practice as a doctor and started to work full-time as a freelance writer, playwright, compere, lyricist and script writer. He has written songs for Gujarati films, including '' Kevi Rite Jaish'' (2012), ''Aa To Prem Chhe'', ''Vishwasghat'', ''Polampol'', ''Musafir'', ''Vitamin She'' and ''Je Pan Kahish Te Sachu Kahish''. In 2013, he penned the background song "Thai Dod Dod Gali Vaat Mod" for

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sanjay Leela Bhansali (; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and music composer who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfar ...

's ''

Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela ''Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela'' () or simply known as ''Ram-Leela'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language tragic romantic action film written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also composed its original soundtrack. The film was jointl ...

''. He also wrote the script for the popular Gujarati plays ''Antim Aparadh, Ek Anokho Karar'' and ''Love You Jindagi''. All three plays were among the winners in the Chitralekha competition. The ''

Sandesh Sandesh may refer to: * Sandesh (confectionery), a Bengali sweet prepared in Bangladesh and India * ''Sandesh'' (magazine), a children's magazine in West Bengal * ''Sandesh'' (Indian newspaper), a Gujarati newspaper * ''Sandesh'' (Pakistani newspa ...

'' newspaper published his column, "Aras-paras Ni Academy", every Sunday. Formerly, he wrote the column "Vaat Nu Vatesar", in the same newspaper from 2010 to 2014. He has also written a column called "Paraspar" for '' NavGujarat Samay'' since 2014. Now his humor column "Masti Amasti" is published in "Divya Bhaskar" newspaper since 2018.

Works

Raeesh Maniar is known for his ghazals and ''hazals'' (humorous ghazals) in

. ''Kafiyanagar'', his first book, was published in 1989, followed by '' Shabda Mara Swabhavma J Nathi'' (1998) and ''Aam Lakhvu Karaave Alakh Ni Safar'' (2011). He has translated major works by

Kaifi Azmi Kaifi Azmi (born Athar Husain Rizvi; 14 January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participate ...

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name (takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. His work influenced Indian cinema, i ...

and Javed Akhtar and published each of them as books. His other significant works include ''Mareez: Astitva Ane Vyaktitva'' (2001; a biography and criticism of the works of

Mareez Mareez, born Abbas Abdul Ali Vasi (22 February 1917 – 19 October 1983), was a Gujarati poet, mainly popular for his Ghazals. He is popularly known as ''Ghalib of Gujarat''. He left studies in young age and started working in rubber shoe fact ...

), "Mahol Mushayra No" an appreciation of selected Urdu poems. ''Ghazal: Roop Ane Rang'' (2006; criticism of the form and construction of ghazals) and ''Ghazal Nu Chhandovidhan'' (2008; research articles on meters of ghazal). His work in the field of child psychology and parenting includes ''Baal Uchher Ni Barakhadi'', ''Aapne Balkone Sha Mate Bhanaviye Chhiye'' and ''Tame ane Tamaru Nirogi Balak''. He also has written a novel called "Love You Lavanya" published in 2018. His translation of Ghalib's Urdu couplets into Gujarati is widely acclaimed. These translations are published as a book "Ghalibanama"(2019) and is unique in the sense that they maintain the prosody format of Urdu in Gujarati. It has drawn attention of Gulzarji. His short story collection "Doobkikhor" was published in 2021. Screenwriter Abhijat Joshi has written it's preface. Indian poetry anthology "A poem a day" compiled by Gulzarji features his poems translated by Gulzarji.

Recognition

He won the Shayda Award (2001) instituted by the Indian National Theater in

. In 2002, he won an award given by

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 ...

for the best translation of

's poetry into Gujarati. His book, ''Baal Uchher Ni Barakhadi'', was awarded a second-place B. N. Mankad Prize for 1998–1999 by Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. He received the Kalapi Award in 2016. He received the

Narmad Suvarna Chandrak Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (Gujarati: નર્મદ સુવર્ણ ચંદ્રક), also known as the Narmad Gold Medal or Narmad Chandrak, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India. It is bestowed by the organisation known as Narmad Sahitya Sa ...

award for 2012 for his book ''Aam Lakhvu Karave Alakhni Safar''.

References

External links