Manilal Haridas Patel (born 9 November 1949) 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, essayist, novelist, and literary critic 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 has won numerous awards for his work, including the 2007 Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak literary medal for his significant contributions to Gujarati literature.

Life

Patel was born on 9 November 1949 in the village of Golana Palla near

Lunavada Lunavada (also transliterated as Lunawada) is a municipality in the Mahisagar district, formerly in the northern part of Gujarat state of India. Lunawada is the administrative headquarters of the Mahisagar district and one of most developing to ...

(now in the

Mahisagar district Mahisagar district is a district in the state of Gujarat in India that came into being on 26 January 2013, becoming the 28th district of the state. The district has been carved out of the Panchmahal district and the Kheda district. District Nam ...

) to Ambaben and Haridas, an agriculturist. He had five siblings. Patel studied at a school in his village until grade four, and then attended a school in the nearby village of Madhvas. He completed his

Secondary School Certificate The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC), Matriculation examination, is a public examination in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan conducted by educational boards for the successful completion of the seco ...

(S.S.C.) in 1967. He completed a

B. A. 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 yea ...

and English in 1971 and a

M. A. 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 Gujarati and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

in 1973. In 1979, Patel received a PhD for his thesis ''Arvachin Gujarati Kavitama Pranaynirupan'' (Depiction of Love in Modern Gujarati Poetry) under the guidance of

Dhirubhai Thaker Dhirubhai Premshankar Thaker (27 June 1918 – 22 January 2014) was an Indian Gujarati writer, who was best known for creating the ''Gujarati Vishwakosh'', a 25-volume encyclopedia of the Gujarati language. Life Thaker was born on 27 June 1918 ...

. He taught briefly at schools in Vadagam and Madhvas. He taught Gujarati at the Arts and Commerce College, Idar from 1973 to 1987. In 1987, Patel joined the

Sardar Patel University Sardar Patel University (SPU) is a public state university in Vallabh Vidyanagar, a town Gujarat, India. It is named after the iron man of India Vallabhbhai Patel, and was founded in October 1955 by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the then ...

Vallabh Vidyanagar Vallabh Vidyanagar, also known as V.V.Nagar, is a town and a municipality in Anand district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located between Ahmedabad and Vadodara, from the town of Anand. V.V.Nagar is renowned as an educational hub of Guj ...

as the Reader of Gujarati and was later promoted to professor and head of the department. He retired in 2012. He edited the ''Dasmo Dayko'', ''Paraspar 1-2-3'', ''Sheelshrutam'' and ''Pragnya'' magazines.

Works

His poetry is a combination of

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

and

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...

. He wrote poetry touching on his experiences in and around Idar, a town in Gujarat. ''Padma Vinana Deshma'' (1983) and ''Satami Ritu'' (1988), ''Dungar Kori Ghar Karya'' (1996), ''Patzar'' (1999, Hindi), ''Vichchhed'' (2006) and ''Mati ane Megh'' (2017) are his poetry collections. The novels Patel has written include: ''Tarasghar'' (1979), ''Ghero'' (1984), ''Killo'' (1986), ''Andharu'' (1990), ''Lalita'' (1995), and ''Anjal'' (2004). ''Ratvaso'' (1993) and ''Bapano Chhello Kagal'' (2001), ''Sadabahar Vartao Chayan'' (2002) and ''Sudha Ane Biji Varta'' (2007) are his story collections. ''Manilal H. Patelni Vartasrishti'' (2005) is a collection of his selected stories. Patel's essays have been collected and published in: ''Mukhomukh'' (1988), ''Vrikshalok'' (1997), ''Mativato'' (1993), ''Matina Manekhe'' (1993), ''Bhusata Gramchitro'' (2000), ''Malakni Maya'' (2002), ''Koi Saad Pade Chhe'' (1988), ''Aksharne Ajvale'' (1993), ''Vela Velani Vaat'' (2004), ''Aada Dungar Ubhi Vat'' (2006), and ''Sarjakno Samajlok'' (2007). ''Aranyoma Akash Dholay Chhe'' (1985) is a collection of narrative essays, some autobiographical in nature. ''Hu To Nitya Pravasi'' (1996) is a travelogue. ''Tarasya Malakno Megh'' (2007) is a biography of

Pannalal Patel Pannalal Nanalal Patel (7 May 1912 – 6 April 1989) was an Indian author known for his contributions in Gujarati literature. He wrote more than 20 short story collections, such as ''Sukhdukhna Sathi'' (1940) and ''Vatrakne Kanthe'' (1952), and ...

. He has translated Ramdarash Mishra's ''Apane Log'' from

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 ...

to Gujarati as ''Sagavhala''. ''Kavitanu Shikshan'' (co-written, 1979), ''Jivankatha'' (1986), '' Ishwar Petlikar'' (1984), ''Nibandhkar

Suresh Joshi Suresh Hariprasad Joshi ( gu, સુરેશ હરિપ્રસાદ જોષી) was an Indian novelist, short-story writer, literary critic, poet, translator, editor and academic in the Gujarati language. Along with his teaching career, h ...

'' (1989), ''Parishkrut Varta Ane Bija Lekho'' (1999), ''Sarjak Ravji Patel'' (2004), ''Gujarati Prem Kavita'' (1993) are his works of

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

. ''Parishkrut Gujarati Varta'' (1991), ''1996ni Shreshth Vartao'' (1997), ''1997ni shreshth Vartao'' (1998), ''Okhaharan'' (1998), ''Ratiragni Vartao'' (1999), ''

Himanshi Shelat Himanshi Indulal Shelat (Gujarati: હિમાંશી ઇન્દુલાલ શેલત; born 8 January 1947) is a Gujarati author from Gujarat, India. She received Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1996 for her short stories collect ...

ni Vartashrishti'' (1999), ''Raino Parvat'' are edited by him. Patel has also edited ''Gujarati Sonnet'' (with Dakshesh Thacker, 2002), ''

Suman Shah Suman Shah (Gujarati:સુમન શાહ) is a Gujarati language critic, short story writer, novelist, essayist, editor and translator from Gujarat, India. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 for his short story collection ''Fatfatiyun'' ...

ni Vartashrishti'' (2003), ''Ravji Patelni ''Kavita Chayan'' (2005), Kathashrishti'' (2005), ''Navi Varta Shrishti'' (2004), ''Gujarati Bhashanu Adhyayan'' (2006), ''Rag Parag'' (2007).

Awards

Patel was awarded the Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak literary medal in 2007 for his significant contributions to Gujarati literature. He was also awarded the Mudra Chandrak of Amreli, the Sahitya Setu Award from Kolkata for his novels, and the Critics Award for criticism. He also received an award for his works from the

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 ...

. He was awarded 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 ...

(1994–95) for ''Ratvaso'' and the

Ushnas Prize Ushnas Prize, also known as the Shri Ushnas Paritoshik (Gujarati: શ્રી ઉશનસ્ પારિતોષિક), is a literary award presented in Gujarat, India, by the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (Gujarati Literary Council). The award i ...

(1996–97) for ''Dungar Kori Ghar Karya'', both from the

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 ...

. Patel has also received the Upendra Pandya Prize, the Kaka Saheb Kalelkar Prize, the Nanabhai Surati prize, the Harilal Desai Prize and the Joseph Macwan Prize.

Personal life

He lives in

. He married Gopi ( born Ganga) in 1972 and they have two sons and a daughter.

References

External links