Rajendra Anantrai Shukla (born 12 October 1942) is 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. He taught at various places before voluntarily retiring. He published several poetry collections which won him several major Gujarati literary awards.

Life

Chinu Modi Madhav Ramanuj Rajendra Shukla Chandrakant Sheth

He was born on 12 October 1942 in Bantwa village near

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally ...

, Gujarat, India. His family is native of

Wadhwan Wadhwan, also spelled Vadhwan, is a city and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located on the banks of the Bhogavo River, around 3 km from Surendranagar and 111 km from Ahmedabad, Wadhwan is a ...

. He completed his primary education from Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Bantwa and Majevadi. He completed his secondary education from Junagadh and Ahmedabad. He started his college education from Bahauddin College, Junagadh. He completed B. A. in 1965 in Sanskrit and Prakrit from L. D. Arts College, Ahmedabad and M. A. in the same subjects in 1967 from School of Languages,

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 NA ...

. He taught at various institutions until 1982. Shukla is married to Nayana Jani, a Gujarati poet. After teaching Sanskrit at

Dahod Dahod is a city on the banks of the Dudhimati River in Dahod District in the State of Gujarat, India. It is said that it has taken its name from Saint Dadhichi, who had an Ashram on the bank of Dudhumati river. The city serves as District ...

, he left teaching voluntarily in 1982 to educate his children without schooling as an experiment. He resides in Ahmedabad.

Works

He studied poetry from Takhtasinhji Parmar along with

Manoj Khanderia Manoj Khanderia (6 July 1943 – 27 October 2003) was an Indian poet and a Ghazal writer of Gujarati language. Life He was born on 6 July 1943 in Junagadh, Gujarat to Vrajlal and Vijyabahen. He studied at various schools in various towns ...

and

Shyam Sadhu Shyam Sadhu, born Shamaldas Muldas Solanki, was a Gujarati poet from India. Life Sadhu was born on 15 June 1941 at Junagadh, Gujarat, to Muldas Solanki. His grandmother Motibai was a ''bhajan'' singer who had published a few audio records. He ...

. He is influenced by the poetry of Narasinh Mehta, a saint-poet of medieval Gujarat as well as modernist poetry of Re Math poets. His first poem was published in ''Kumar'' magazine in 1962. He has published several poetry collections: ''Komal Rishabh'' (1970), ''Antar Gandhar'' (1981) and five volumes of ''Gazal Samhita'' (2005). ''Swavachakni Shodh'' (1972) is his long poem.

Recognition

Shukla was awarded by the Government of Gujarat for the best anthology of poetry of 1970 for ''Komal Rishabh'' which he shared with poet

Ramesh Parekh Ramesh Parekh (1940-2006) was a Gujarati poet and lyricist from Gujarat, India. He was one of the most popular poets of modern Gujarati poetry. Though government servant by profession, he had deep interest in literature and music. He contributed ...

. He was again awarded by the Government of Gujarat for the best anthology of poetry of 1981 for ''Antar Gandhar''. He was also awarded Kavi Nhanalal Prize in 1981 and Uma-Snehrashmi Prize, 1980–1981 for ''Antar Gandhar''. He is a recipient of

Gujarat Sahitya Academy 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 ...

Award for ''Ghazal Samhita'' as the Best Anthology of Gujarati poetry in 2005. He also received the Narsinh Mehta Award, the highest award being given to contemporary poet in 2006. He was awarded Sanskar Chandrak in 1980 and

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...

in 2006. He also received

Sahitya Academy 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 ...

for ''Ghazal Samhita'' in 2007. He also received

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 ...

in 2008, Vali Gujarati Gazal Award in 2009, Lekharatna award and Kalapi Award in 2001.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Rajendra 1942 births Gujarati-language poets Living people Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati People from Junagadh Gujarat University alumni Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak