Eminent Gujarati poet Rajendra Keshavlal Shah was today named winner of the 37th Jnanpith Award for 2001.
‘‘His poems reveal his commitment to society at large, but it is the commitment of an artist,’’ a Bharatiya Jnanpith statement said.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a bronze replica of Vagdevi, the goddess of learning, the announcement said.
The Jnanpith called Shah, 90, a pioneer of the new trend in Gujarati poetry in the post-Independence period.
Shah was born in 1913 at Kapadvanaj in Kaira district of Gujarat. He lost his father when he was two and was brought up by his mother. After matriculating in his hometown, he joined Wilson College, Bombay, and graduated from MS University, Baroda. Shah has worked as a teacher, grocer and a businessman and currently runs a printing press.
His first poem was published in 1933 in The Wilsonian, the college magazine. Eighteen years later, Shah published his first collection of poems, Dhvani, creating a literary stir.
He has published 21 collections of poems, including Andolan (1951), Shruti (1957), Morpinchh (1959), Shant Kolahal (1962), Chitrana (1967), Kshan Je Chirantan (1968), Vishandne Sad (1968), Madhyama (1978), Udgiti (1979), Ikshana (1979), Patralekha (1981), Prasana Saptak (1982), Panch Parva (1983), Vibhavan (1983), Dwasuparna (1983), Chandan Bhini Anamik (1987), Aranyak (1992), Amblawya Mor (1988), and Rumzum (1989).
‘‘He is prominent as a lyrical poet. His excellence lies in his songs on love, nature, God, death, modern civilisation, myths, politics and the simple beauty of rural life,’’ the statement said. ‘‘His intensity of emotion and innovation in form and expression set him apart as a poet of great significance. The mystical tone of his poetry stems from the tradition of great masters like Narasimha Mohta, Kabir and Akho.’’
Shah’s work has earned him many laurels, including the Kumarchandrak in 1947, Rajitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1956, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1964, Mahakavi Nanatal Prize in 1968, Narmnad Chandrak in 1977, Aurobindo Suvarna Chandrak instituted by the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1980, Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award in 1985, Dhanaji Kanaji Suvarna Chandrak in 1986, Mardhanya Sahityakar Samman by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi in 1993 and the Gujarat government’s Narasimha Mehta Award in 1994.
Shah is the third Gujarati author to have won the Jnanpith Award. Uma Shanker Joshi won it in 1967 and Pannalal Patel in 1985.
He was selected by a board headed by scholar Laxmimal Singhvi. The Jnanpith Award, instituted on May 22, 1961, is given for the best creative literary writing by an Indian citizen in a language listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.