Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi

Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi Biography

Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi was a famous poet associated with Gujarati literature, fondly called "Kavishwar" by Gujarathis. He is also referred to by the name, Nhanalal. An integral personality associated with Gujarati’s social and cultural lives, he wrote the most popular prayer song, Asatyo mahe thi, which is still sung in many schools across Gujarat. He was the fourth son of Dalpatram, a pioneer of modern Gujarati Poetry. Vishva-Gita, Yug-Vandana, Jaya-Jayant, Ketlaak-Kaavyo, Nhana Nhana Raas and Hari Lilamrat are his contributions to Gujarati literature. He hailed Mahatma Gandhi as Hermit of Gujarat on the occasion of his 50^th birthday through a poem he composed in 1919.

Nanalal was born on March 16, 1877 in Ahmedabad as the fourth son of Dalpatram, who played a significant role in reviving Gujarati language through his poems and plays. Nanalal completed his Master’s in Arts before beginning his professional career as a school teacher. Later he become a college professor and taught students at Rajkumar College, Rajkot. Chief Justice of Rajkot in British India, followed by Education Officer Kathiawad in 1918 are the major roles he played later in his professional journey. A Gandhian, he participated in Non-Cooperation Movement in 1921, resigning his government job.

A lyrical poet he was also a romantic poet who has also written plays, novels, short stories, biography, essays and critic works and also attempted narrative poetry on epic scale. He owned a distinctive diction of his own and has authored more than 80 books belonging to different genres. A postal stamp was released by Indian Postage Department paying tribute to him. His career as a poet spanned to about 50 years in the pre-independent era. His first work, Ketlaak-Kaavyo, a collection of poems was published in 1903, and the last one, Hari samhita was published posthumously in 1959.

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Updated: March 06, 2016