Ramesh Chandra Shah is an Indian poet, novelist, critic and the author of

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 ...

winning novel, ''Vinayak''. He was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 2004 with

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography

Ramesh Chandra Shah was born on 1937 in the hilly village of

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

in the Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

in family with moderate financial means and educational background. He graduated from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

and secured his masters (MA) in English literature from the same university in 1960. He obtained a doctoral degree (PhD) on the thesis, ''

Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish litera ...

and Eliot: Perspectives on India'', from

Agra University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after B. R. Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of t ...

. He began teaching in the high school at Barechhina (Uttaranchal) and later taught in remote colleges in the small towns of Sidhi and Panna in Madhya Pradesh before moving to Bhopal. He retired as HOD English Literature from Hamidia college in 1997. after which he chaired ''Nirala Srijnanpith'', a literary chair instituted by

Bharat Bhavan Bharat Bhavan is an autonomous multi-arts complex and museum in Bhopal, India, established and funded by the Government of Madhya Pradesh.The architect of the Bharat Bhavan is Charles Correa. Opened in 1982, facing the Upper Lake, Bhopal, it hous ...

till 2000. Shah is credited with several books composed of poems, short stories, travelogue, essays and novels. His first novel, ''Gobar Ganesh'', based on the lives of middle-class families in Almora, came out in 2004. ''Vinayak'', a 2011 work which is considered by many as an extension of his first novel, fetched him the

in 2014. Years earlier, the

honoured him with the civilian award of

. Shah survives his wife, Jyotsna Milan, a Mumbai born writer who died in 2014. He lives in Bhopal.

Books and publications

Novels * Gobarganesh * Kissa Gulam * Poorvapar * Aakhiri Din * Punarvaas * Aap Kahin Nahin Rehte Vibhooti Babu * Vinayak Short story anthologies * Jungle Mein Aag * Muhalle Mein Ravan * Maanpatr * Theater * Pratinidhi Kahaniyan * Katha Sanatan Poems * Kachue Ki Peeth Par * Harishchandra Aao * Nadi Bhaagti Aayi * Pyaare Muchkund Ko * Dekhte Hain Shabd Bhi Apna Samay * Chaak Par Samay * Bahuvacana Essays * Rachna Ke Badle * Shaitaan Ke Bahaane * Aadmi Ka Peda * Padhte Padhte * Svadharm Aur Kaalgati * Hindi Ki Duniya Mein * Ancestral Voices Plays * Maara Jaai Khusro * Matiyaburj Others * Ek Lambi Chaanh (travelogue) * Mere Sakshaatkaar (interviews)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Ramesh Chandra Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Indian male poets Poets from Uttarakhand People from Almora People from Almora district Indian male novelists Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Hindi 1937 births Living people 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian short story writers Indian male short story writers 20th-century Indian essayists Indian male essayists Novelists from Uttarakhand 20th-century Indian male writers

Biography

Books and publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links