Jhaverchand Meghani

Jhaverchand Meghani Biography

Jhaverchand Meghani was a noted writer and freedom fighter from Chotila, Gujarat. He was given the title Raashtreeya Shaayar (National Poet) by none other than Mahatma Gandhi. He has authored over 100 books in Gujarati language which includes – poetry, short stories and other works. Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and Mahida Paaritoshik are the major awards received by him and many of his works are included in academics. He served as the Editor of Phulchhab Newspaper of Janmabhoomi group and widely acknowledged for his works on Gujarati folk literature. In 1930, he was jailed for 2 years for writing the inspiration poems titled - 'Sindhudo'. He died at a comparatively young age of 50, a few months before Indian independence.

He was born on 17 August 1897 in Chotila, Gujarat. His father worked in police and due to his frequent transfers his education was done at different places. He married at the age of 24 to Damyanti and following her demise, he married for the second time at the age of 36 to Chitradevi. He had 9 children in total. He lived a simple life during his early days, which earned him the nickname Raja Janak, by his friends. He graduated in 1917 and the following year he joined Jeevanlal and Co as a personal assistant. Later he was promoted to be manager post. After a brief tour to England in 1919, he returned to Kolkata. But 1922, he joined the editorial board of the weekly Saurashtra.

His first book was published the same year and it was a translation work of Tagore’s ballad Kathaa-u-Kaahinee titled Kurbani Ni Katha. He is remembered for his outstanding contributions in publishing folklores related to Gujarati culture. He used to travel from one village to another in search of data and published in the weekly Saurashtra. He also wrote columns for several newspapers and magazines.

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Updated: December 24, 2015