Prahlad Parekh

Prahlad Jethalal Parekh (22 October 1911 – 2 January 1962) was a Gujarati poet and translator from India whose works contributed to the rise of a modern poetry in the Gujarati literature.

Prahlad Parekh
Born	Prahlad Jethalal Parekh (1911-10-22)22 October 1911 Bhavnagar, British India
Died	2 January 1962(1962-01-02) (aged 50)
Occupation	Poet, translator
Language	Gujarati
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Gujarat Vidyapith, Santiniketan
Notable works	Bari Bahar (1940)

Biography

Parekh was born on 22 October 1911[1] in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Jethalal Parekh. He completed his primary and secondary education at Dakshinamurti, Bhavnagar. He later dropped out of high school in 1930 to join the independence movement against the British and was subsequently jailed. After completing his jail sentence, he rejoined Dakshinamurti and further studied at Gujarat Vidyapith and Santiniketan, where he was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. In 1937, he became a teacher at a Modern School in Vile Parle and in the following year, he worked for a Gharshala (homeschool) in Bhavnagar. Since 1945, he taught at a high school in Mumbai until his death on 2 January 1962.[2]

Works

Parekh was a poet of the post-Gandhian period. Unlike other poets whose poetry was influenced by Gandhian thoughts, Parekh remained unaffected by this trend and almost exclusively wrote lyrical poetry.[3] Parekh was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's musical metrics, his mysticism and lyricism as well as the old tradition of Gujarati bhajans.[4] Though a modest collection, his works are considered to have significantly contributed to the rise of the modern poetry in Gujarati literature.[5]

Gulab ane Sivali (1938), a prose tale, and Ruperi Sarovarne Kinare (1962), a translation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake, count among his notable works, as do his two collections of poetry, Bari Bahar (Out from the Window; 1940) and Sarwani (The Spring; 1948).[2][4] Parekh had also contributed to children's literature.[6] Rajkumarni Shodhma and Karunano Swayamvar are his children's long stories and Tanmaniya is his unpublished collection of children's poetry.[2] He translated one of Stefan Zweig's novels into Gujarati as Ajaninu Antar.[2] Shistni Samasya (1962) is his introductory book on discipline.[2]

Criticism

The publication of Bari Bahar made a great impact and is considered the turning point of the Gujarati poetry.[7][8] Gujarati writer and critic, Mansukhlal Jhaveri, noted in History of Gujarati literature that there is an undercurrent of sadness in Parekh's poetry.[3]

See also

• List of Gujarati-language writers

References

1. Kothari, Jayant; Anjaria, Sudha, eds. (1997). રેષાએ રેષાએ ભરી જ્ઞાનઝંખા Reshāe Reshāe Bharī Jñānajhankhā [Correspondence of Bhriguray Ajnjaria, Sketches of His Character and His Creative Writings] (in Gujarati) (1st ed.). Gandhinagar: Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. pp. 112–113. ISBN 81-7227-030-5. OCLC 499764385.
2. "સવિશેષ પરિચય: પ્રહલાદ પારેખ, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય પરિષદ". Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (in Gujarati). Retrieved 28 May 2018.
3. Mansukhlal Maganlal Jhaveri (1978). History of Gujarati Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 216–217.
4. Mohan Lal (2007). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Navaratri To Sarvasena. New Delh: Sahitya Akademi. p. 3093. ISBN 81-260-1003-1.CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
5. Broker, Gulabdas (1962). "Gujarati Literature". Indian Literature. 5 (2): 72. JSTOR 23329454. – via JSTOR (subscription required)
6. K. A. JAMUNA (1 June 2017). Children's Literature in Indian Languages. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. p. 57. ISBN 978-81-230-2456-1.
7. Rabindranath Tagore (1988). Rabindranath Tagore: a 125th birth anniversary volume. Govt. of West Bengal, Dept. of Information & Cultural Affairs. p. 50.
8. Amaresh Datta (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 388. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.