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 and cultivating a literary sense among the people. Many prominent people including Mahatma Gandhi and Kanaiyalal Munshi have presided over the organisation. Its headquarters, located on Ashram Road, is known as Govardhan Bhavan. It has a conference hall and library.
The history of Gujarati literature may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, other than its composers.
Kumarpal Balabhai Desai is an author, critic, editor, journalist, columnist and translator from Gujarat, India. He studied and later taught at the Gujarat University. He is associated with several social and Gujarati literary organisations such as Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. He has written and edited more than hundred books including biographies and several works on Jainism. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.
Bholabhai Patel was an Indian Gujarati author. He taught numerous languages at Gujarat University and did comparative studies of literature in different languages. He translated extensively and wrote essays and travelogues. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.
Ishwar Motibhai Patel, better known by his pen name Ishwar Petlikar, was an Indian Gujarati language author and journalist. Born and educated in villages of Gujarat, he taught in schools of villages before settling in Ahmedabad. Influenced by his experiences in villages and cities, his works talk about social culture and reforms.
Madhu Rye is a Gujarati playwright, novelist and story writer. Born in Gujarat and educated at Calcutta, he started writing in the 1960s and became known for his stories and plays. His experience at the University of Hawaii introduced him to experimental writing and improvisations as writing aid, which later led to a movement against absurd theatre. He moved to the US in 1974 and has lived there since. He chiefly wrote novels, short stories and plays. His plays were successful and have been adapted into several languages and media. He has adapted his novels into plays and some plays into novels. The most notable is Kimball Ravenswood, which was loosely adapted into a Hindi TV series Mr. Yogi (1989), and a Hindi film, What's Your Rashee? (2009).
Anwar Mohammadbhai Agewan was an Indian Gujarati-language biographer, folklorist and editor. Born in Akola and educated in Gujarat and Bombay, he edited several publications. He wrote on religious thought and various saints of Gujarat.
Kaajal Oza Vaidya is an author, screenwriter, radio personality and journalist from Ahmedabad, India. She initially worked as a journalist and actress. She has written more than 56 books including novels, short stories and essays. She has written stories, dialogues and scripts of soap operas and films. She writes columns in several publications and hosts a radio show.
Anil Chavda is a Gujarati language poet, writer and columnist from Gujarat, India.
Harji Lavji Damani, better known by his pen name Shayda was a Gujarati language poet, novelist, short-story writer and playwright from Gujarat, India. He is known as Ghazal Samrat, the king of ghazal poetry, as he established the Gujarati ghazal form in Gujarati literature.
Yogesh Joshi is a Gujarati language poet, short story writer, novelist, and editor from Gujarat, India. He is an editor of Parab, a publication of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. His significant works include Avaajnu Ajavalu, Samudi, Motiba and Adhakhuli Baari. He was awarded the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak award for his book Motiba.
Chandrakant Sheth was an Indian Gujarati poet, essayist, critic, translator and editor from Gujarat. His pen names include Aryaputra, Nand Samavedi, Balchadra and Daksh Prajapati. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1986 for his book Dhoolmani Paglio.
Kundanika Kapadia was an Indian novelist, story writer and essayist from Gujarat.
Fero is a Gujarati novel written by Radheshyam Sharma. It was published in 1968 by Rekha Prakashan in Ahmedabad. It is acclaimed in Gujarati literature for its experimental nature and is considered a literary milestone among modern Gujarati authors. It was followed by Sharma's similarly exploratory novel, Swapnatirtha.
Jayant Gokaldas Gadit was a Gujarati novelist, critic and professor from Gujarat, India. He received the Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak in 2008 and was awarded the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi prize twice.
Bhadrambhadra is a 1900 Gujarati satirical novel by Ramanbhai Neelkanth. It is regarded as the first humorous novel in Gujarati literature and as the first Gujarati novel written in the first person narrative. Ramanbhai used the novel to illustrate the ridiculousness of a highly orthodox view of Gujarati society and as a vehicle for social reform.
Amrita, also spelled Amruta, is a 1965 Gujarati novel by Raghuveer Chaudhari. Although criticized for its highly Sanskritised language and lengthy metaphysical discussion, it is regarded as a landmark in the development of the experimental novel in modern Gujarati literature. It has been referred to as a reflective existentialist novel.
Uttamlal Keshavlal Trivedi was a Gujarati writer and translator from India.
Hu Chandrakant Bakshi is a 2013 biographical one-man play about Gujarati writer Chandrakant Bakshi, starring Pratik Gandhi. The play is written by Shishir Ramavat and directed by Manoj Shah. It was premiered on 15 June 2013 at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai.
Prahlad Damodardas Brahmbhatt was an Indian Gujarati-language novelist, short story writer, biographer and journalist from Gujarat, India, known for his social novels. He authored more than 90 novels, some of which were adapted into films.
