Contributing Editor, Gujarati Literature
Dr Dilip Jhaveri, MBBS, born in 1943, is a practicing general physician. He writes in Gujarati and his published works are Pandukavyo ane Itar (1989), a collection of poems, and Vyaasochchvas, a play (2003). Its English translation A Breath of Vyas has been published by Seagull Books in 2006. He intends publishing 18-poem Khandit Kand, written after demolition of Babri Masjid, along with its translations in Hindi, Bengali and English.
He received the Critic Award, 1989, Jayant Pathak Award for Poetry, 1989, and the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Award in 1990. He has been invited to present his works by the Central and State Sahitya Akademis, Universities and literary groups in several parts of India. He was invited to Asian Poets’ Conference in Korea in 1986 and Taiwan in 1995. He has read his poems in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. His translated works have been included in several anthologies in Indian and Asian languages and in English.
Dr Jhaveri serves on the Editorial Board of Kobita Review, a bilingual journal in Bengali and English, published from Kolkata.
He can be reached at 301, Waldorf, Hiranandani Estate, Patlipada, Ghodbunder Road, Thane 400607, Maharashtra. His Telephone nos. are (022) 25861849 and (0)99692 76911.
Kamal Vora on Dilip Jhaveri
Leading Gujarati poet Kamal Vora has this to say on Dilip Jhaveri:
An era of poetry in any language is generally dominated by prominent contribution of one or two poets whose names become synonymous with poetry of that age. The modern Gujarati poetry of past four decades is privileged to have more. Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Labhshankar Thaker, Sitanshu Yashashchandra and Dileep Jhaveri are our leading poets. Dilip Jhaveri started writing and publishing poems at an early age and received attention of critics immediately. After publishing for a few years, when his maiden collection was awaited, he chose to embrace silence and went into self imposed oblivion for almost two decades. But he re-emerged to be in the same position where he belonged.
Dilip Jhaveri writes in meter, abandons it, uses Sanskrit diction, switches to spoken language - even typical Mumbai street language - and varies rhythms by extreme use of sound to prose-like structure and that too within a same poem. All these shiftings are done with sharp awareness, clear intention and definite purpose to evolve a design with razor-like precision. A reader can discover this design if he desires so. His mastery over Gujarati language and familiarity with Indian as well as world literature make him distinctly different. The originality of his poetry never fails to attract attention of the reader.
He has published only one book Pandukavyo ane etar but has material ready for many. He makes excessive use of references from mythologies but does not retell the myths or connect them to the present but fuses the two to offer an experience that is timeless. He creates his own unique idion. Besides poetry he has written short stories, criticism and travelogues. His travelogues have a special flavour and a reader can always enjoy his prose writings. Each genre is marked by varying uses of language, and distinctly different languages in different pieces. He is a very conscious writer for whom language is not means but an end.
For past few years he is deeply interested in Mahabharat and has a series of poems and a play titled Vyasochchvas and Khanditkand, the latter written after demolition of Babri Masjid. These stand out as important body of work not only in Gujarati but any language. He is amongst those for whom language can take pride.
