Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or Adi Kavi, of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh became a devotee of Krishna, and dedicated his life to composing poetic works described as bhakti, or devotion towards Krishna. His bhajans have remained popular in Gujarat and Rajasthan for over 5 centuries. Most notably, his composition Vaishnav Jan To was Mahatma Gandhi's favorite and became popular with freedom fighters across India.
Rajendra Keshavlal Shah was a lyrical poet who wrote in Gujarati. Born in Kapadvanj, he 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 was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. He is considered one of the giants of post Gandhi-era in Gujarati literature.
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.
Dhirendra Pritamlal Mehta is a Gujarati novelist, poet, critic and editor who received the 2010 Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati language for his novel Chhavni.
Chinu Modi,, also known by his pen name Irshad, was a Gujarati language poet, novelist, short story writer and critic from Gujarat, India. Educated in languages, he taught at various institutions and established himself as a poet and author. He was a recipient of several awards including Sahitya Akademi Award, Vali Gujarati Award and Narsinh Mehta Award.
Ramanlal Jethalal Joshi was Gujarati language literary critic and editor from India. He studied and later taught at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. He served at several literary and educational institutions. He edited, authored and published criticism in more than forty-two books. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1984.
Dhiru Ishwarlal Parikh was an Indian Gujarati poet, short story writer and critic. He was an editor of Kavilok and Kumar, Gujarati literary magazines.
Nalin Chandrakant Raval was a Gujarati poet and short story writer from India. Born in Ahmedabad and educated in languages, he taught in colleges. He published five poetry collections along with short stories. He received several awards including Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak.
Rajesh Vyas, better known by his pen name Miskin, is a Gujarati poet from India. Born and brought up in Ahmedabad, he completed his doctorate in Gujarati literature. He writes ghazal poetry and columns in various publications.
Anil Chavda is a Gujarati language poet, writer and columnist from Gujarat, India.
Ashok Chavda, also known by his pen name Bedil, is a Gujarati poet, writer and critic from Gujarat, India. His anthology of poetry, Dalkhi Thi Saav Chhutan (2012), was awarded the Yuva Puraskar by the Sahitya Akademi in 2013. His collection of known writings include Pagla Talaavma (2003), Pagarav Talaavma (2012), Tu Kahu Ke Tame (2012), Pityo Ashko (2012), Shabdoday (2012), and Ghazalistan (2012), which is a translation of Urdu ghazals written by Indian and Pakistani poets. He is also a recipient of the Yuva Gaurav Award (2012) from the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, and the Dasi Jivan Award (2013–14) from the Government of Gujarat. He has appeared in several TV and radio programs on All India Radio and Doordarshan.
The Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar, also known as Sahitya Gaurav Award, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India. The award is conferred by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi and the Government of Gujarat to the Gujarati authors for their significant contribution in Gujarati literature. Established in 1983, the award comprises a plaque, shawl and a cash prize of ₹100,000. In 1985, Umashankar Joshi rejected the Sahitya Gaurav Award.
Vinod Joshi is an Indian poet, writer and literary critic in Gujarati language from Gujarat, India. His notable works include Parantu, a collection of Geet, Shikhandi, a long narrative poem based on Shikhandi, a character from the Mahābhārata, Radio Natak: Swarup ane Siddhant, Tundil-tundika, a form of padyavarta, a Gujarati medieval literary genre, and Zalar Vage Zoothadi, a collection of poems. He is the recipient of the Jayant Pathak Puraskar (1985), Critic's award (1986), Kavishwar Dalpatram Award (2013), Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar (2015), Narsinh Mehta Award (2018), Kalapi Award (2018), Darshak Sahitya Sanman Award (2021), Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (2022) and Sahitya Akademi Award (2023).
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.
Jayant Sukhlal Kothari was a Gujarati literary critic from India.
The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, is one of them; the others are Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, Sindhi and Urdu. As of 2022, Bhagyesh Jha is the chairman of the Akademi.
Vishnuprasad Ranchhodlal Trivedi was a Gujarati literary critic from India.
Jawahar Ravirai Bakshi is a Gujarati poet from Gujarat, India.
Khalil Ismail Makrani, popularly known by his pen-name, Khalil Dhantejvi was a poet and novelist from Gujarat, India. He wrote poems in Gujarati and Urdu. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2022 by the government of India.
