Veteran Gujarati poet Shri Rajendra Shah is no more. Shah passed away today morning in Mumbai. He was 97.

Born at Kapadvanj on January 28, 1913, Rajendra Shah authored more than 20 collections of poems and songs, mainly on the themes of the beauty of nature, and about the everyday lives of indigenous peoples and fisherfolk communities. In his poems using Sanskrit metrics, he had been greatly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore.

Among his various professions, Shah has also been a printer in Mumbai, where he launched the poetry magazine Kavilok. The press itself became an important Sunday meeting-place for Gujarati poets.

Apart from writing poetry, Shah also translated into Gujarati Tagore’s poetry collection Balaaka; Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda; Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; and Dante’s The Divine Comedy.

Shah won the Jnanpith — the Indian government’s most prestigious literary prize—for the year 2001. The judges noted, “his intensity of emotion and innovation in form and expression which set him apart as a poet of great significance. The mystical tone of his poetry stems from the tradition of great medieval masters like Kabir, Narsinh Mehta and literary giants like them”.

Poetry Collections

* Dhvani (1951)
* Andolan (1952)
* Shruti (1957)
* Morpinchh (1959)
* Shant Kolahal (1962)
* Chitrana (1967)
* Kshan je Chirantan (1968)
* Vishdne Sad (1968)
* Madhyama (1978)
* Udgiti (1979)
* Ikshana (1979)
* Patralekha (1981)
* Prasana Saptak (1982)
* Panch Parva (1983)
* Vibhavan (1983)
* Dwasupama (1983)
* Chandan Bhini and Anamik (1987)
* Aranyak (1992)

Awards

* Kumar Chandrak in 1947
* Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1956
* Sahitya Akademi Award in 1964
* Mahakavi Nanatal prize in 1968
* Narmad Chandrak in 1977
* Aurobindo Suvarna Chandrak by Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1980
* Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad award in 1985
* Dhanaji Kanaji Suvarna Chandrak in 1986
* Murdhanya Sahityakar Samman by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi in 1993
* Narasinh Mehta award in 1994
* Jnanpith in 2001
Source:Wikipedia
In love with the world
Third Gujarati to win Jnanpith
An interview with Shah
Video on Rajendra Shah
Rajendra Shah’s songs online listening