Neerav Patel
{{Short description|Gujarati and English language poet (1950–2019)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Neerav Patel
| image =
| caption = Poets Translating Poets @ Max Mueller Bhavan, Goethe-Institut Mumbai
| birth_date = {{birth date|1950|12|2|df=y}}{{cite web | title=Neerav Patel « The Shared Mirror | website=The Shared Mirror | date=2001-01-26 | url=http://roundtableindia.co.in/lit-blogs/?tag=neerav-patel | accessdate=2016-10-13 | archive-date=2016-10-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023212804/http://roundtableindia.co.in/lit-blogs/?tag=neerav-patel | url-status=live }}
| birth_place = Bhuvaldi, Daskroi Taluka, Gujarat, India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|5|15|1950|12|2|df=y}}
| death_place = Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
| occupation = Poet, translator, editor
| language = Gujarati, English
| nationality = Indian
| education = Ph.D.
| alma_mater =
| period =
| genre = Free verse
| subject =
| movement = Dalit literature in Gujarati
| notableworks = * Burning From Both The Ends (1980)
- What Did I Do To Be Black and Blue (1987)
- Bahishkrut Phulo (2006)
| spouse =
| children =
| awards =
| signature = Poet Neerav Patel Autograph.svg
| years_active =
| module = {{Infobox academic
| child = yes
| nocat_wdimage=yes
| doctoral_advisor = D. S. Mishra
| thesis_title = Gujarati Dalit Poetry 1978 to 2003: A study
| thesis_url= http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/7303
}}
}}
Neerav Patel (2 December 1950 – 15 May 2019) was a Gujarati and English language poet, translator and editor; primarily known for his contribution in Gujarati Dalit literature such as Burning From Both The Ends (1980, English poems), What Did I Do To Be Black and Blue (1987, English poems) and Bahishkrut Phulo (2006, Gujarati). He edited Swaman, a journal of Dalit writings in Gujarati.{{cite web | title=Welcome to Muse India | website=Welcome to Muse India | date=1950-10-02 | url=http://www.museindia.com/authprofile.asp?id=369 | accessdate=2016-08-02 | archive-date=2016-10-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023053918/http://www.museindia.com/authprofile.asp?id=369 | url-status=live }}
Biography
Neerav Patel was born in Bhuvaldi, a village in Daskroi Taluka of Ahmedabad district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. His birth name was Somo Hiro Chamar.{{cite journal|last1=Agarwal|first1=Beena|last2=Patel|first2=Neerav|title=Conversing With Neerav Patel|url=http://impressions.org.in/jul09/int_beenaa.html|journal=Impressions (A Bi-Annual Refereed e-Journal English Studies)|volume=III|issue=II|date=July 2009|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522130124/http://impressions.org.in/jul09/int_beenaa.html|archive-date=22 May 2019|issn=0974-892X}} He changed his name to Neerav Patel because he faced atrocities due to casteism. He earned a PhD in English literature. He served as a Bank Officer. After his retirement, he devoted his time to Dalit literature.
He started writing poetry in college, in 1967.{{cite web | title=Inequity of inequality: A lament in Gujarati | website=Firstpost | date=2017-01-30 | url=http://www.firstpost.com/long-reads/inequity-of-inequality-a-lament-in-gujarati-3514613.html | access-date=2017-06-04 | archive-date=2017-06-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606042552/http://www.firstpost.com/long-reads/inequity-of-inequality-a-lament-in-gujarati-3514613.html | url-status=live }} He wrote only Dalit poetry based on Dalit people who are suffering atrocities, exploitation, discrimination and segregation.
He pioneered the movement of Gujarati Dalit literature, publishing the first ever Gujarati Dalit literary magazine Akrosh in 1978 under the auspices of the Dalit Panther of Gujarat. He edited short-lived Gujarati magazines with others namely Kalo Suraj, Sarvanam, Swaman and Vacha.{{cite web | title=Poets translating Poets | website=Poets - Goethe-Institut | url=http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/lp/prj/ptp/dic/en14927356.htm | language=la | accessdate=2016-10-13 | archive-date=2016-10-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018200524/http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/lp/prj/ptp/dic/en14927356.htm | url-status=live }}
He died on 15 May 2019 at Ahmedabad following cancer.{{cite web|last=Maitreya|first=Yogesh|title=Neerav Patel, poet and pioneer of Dalit literature in Gujarat, passes away; but power of his verses lives on|website=Firstpost|date=21 May 2019|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/neerav-patel-poet-and-pioneer-of-dalit-literature-in-gujarat-passes-away-but-power-of-his-verses-lives-on-6670581.html|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-date=22 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522084926/https://www.firstpost.com/living/neerav-patel-poet-and-pioneer-of-dalit-literature-in-gujarat-passes-away-but-power-of-his-verses-lives-on-6670581.html|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last=Kothari|first=Rita|author-link=Rita Kothari|title=Farewell, Neeravbhai|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=54|issue=22|location=Mumbai|date=1 June 2019|url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/22/postscript/farewell-neeravbhai.html|pages=70–71|issn=0012-9976|eissn=2349-8846|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602103717/https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/22/postscript/farewell-neeravbhai.html|archive-date=2 June 2019}}
Works
Patel explored Dalit sensibility in his poems.{{cite web|url=http://museindia.com/focuscontent.asp?issid=59&id=5412|title=Welcome to Muse India|website=Welcome to Muse India|accessdate=2016-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820014728/http://museindia.com/focuscontent.asp?issid=59&id=5412|archive-date=2016-08-20|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bg0rOOqvBMkC&pg=PA156|title=Dalit Literature: A Critical Exploration|author1=Amar Nath Prasad|author2=M. B. Gaijan|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-817-3|location=New Delhi|page=156|accessdate=4 January 2017}} He published two poetry collections in English, Burning From Both The Ends (1980) and What Did I Do To Be Black and Blue (1987). He published an anthology of Gujarati poems Bahishkrut Phulo in 2006. His other works are Severed Tongue Speaks Out (2014) and Wanted Poets (2019, posthumous).
Recognition
He received the Mahendra Bhagat Prize (2004–2005) from Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, and the Sant Kabir Dalit Sahitya Award (2005) from the Government of Gujarat.{{cite book|last=Parmar|first=Manoj|title=Pratiti|date=October 2017|publisher=Rannade Prakashan|location=Ahmedabad|page=276|isbn=978-93-86685-28-5}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.firstpost.com/long-reads/inequity-of-inequality-a-lament-in-gujarati-3514613.html Translated poems of Neerav Patel on Firstpost]
- [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321971013_In_Conversation_with_Neerav_Patel In Conversation with Neerav Patel] (Interview of Neerav Patel in 'Le Simplegadi')
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Neerav}}
Category:Gujarati-language writers
Category:Gujarati-language poets