Suresh Joshi

Suresh Hariprasad Joshi (30 May 1921 – 6 September 1986) was an Indian novelist, short-story writer, literary critic, poet, translator, editor and academic in the Gujarati language. Along with his teaching career, he led the modernist movement in Gujarati literature. He was prolific writer and he transformed the field of literary criticism.

Life

He was born in Valod, a small town near Bardoli in South Gujarat on 30 May 1921. He did his schooling from Songadh and Gangadhara. He matriculated from Navsari in 1938. He completed his BA in 1943 and MA from Elphinstone College in 1945. In the same year, he started teaching at D. J. Singh College in Karachi and later joined Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar in 1947. From 1951, he served as a lecturer, professor and later as Head of the Gujarati Department at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara till his retirement in 1981.

His early life was spent at Songadh which influenced his life. At the age of eight, he secretly published his poem in Baljeevan magazine. He edited Falguni magazine in his college life. Upjati (1956) was his first published work. He had also edited Manisha, Kshitij, Etad and Uhapoh magazines.

Existentialism and phenomenology were prime interests of his. and as the leader of avant-garde writers in Gujarati. According to Gujarati critic Bharat Mehta, the period of Gujarati literature from 1975 to 2000 was highly influenced by Suresh Joshi.

Upjati (1956), Pratyancha (1961), Itara (1973) and Tathapi (1980) are his poetry collections. He withdrew his first publication Upjati on his second publication.

His four novels are collectively published as Kathachatushtay. Two of them, Chhinnapatra (1965) and Maranottar (1973) were already published before. Vidula and Kathachakra were published before with other short stories but Joshi considered them as novels and published again with other two.

He was very experimental in novellas. He transformed the genre in Gujarati literature by his continued experimentation and esthetics. Grihapravesh (1957), Biji Thodik Vartao (1958), Apich (1965), Na Tatra Suryo Bhati (1967), Ekda Naimisharanye (1980) are his collections of stories which include 62 novellas. His 21 stories were collected in Maniti Anmaniti (1982), edited by Shirish Panchal. Janantike was translated into English by V. Y. Kantak as Intimated Asides (1995).

He was a reformer in field of literary criticism. His first work of criticism Kinchit (1960) rebelled against established norms. Gujarati Kavitano Aswad (1962), Kavyacharcha (1971), Kathopkathan, Shrunavantu (1972), Arunyarudan (1976), Chintayami Manasa (1983), Ashtamoahyay (1984) are his other collections of criticism.