Saumya Joshi

Saumya Joshi
Saumya Joshi at Town Hall, Ahmedabad on 15 May 2012
Born Saumya Jayantbhai Joshi
(1973-07-03) July 3, 1973
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Occupation poet, writer, playwright, director, actor
Language Gujarati
Nationality Indian
Education Master of Arts
Alma mater Gujarat University
Genres Drama, Ghazal, Free verse, Geet
Notable works
Notable awards
Years active 1991 - present
Relatives Abhijat Joshi (elder brother)
Signature

Saumya Joshi is a Gujarati language poet, writer, playwright, director and actor from Gujarat, India. He is known in Gujarati theatre for his plays Welcome Zindagi and 102 Not Out. Greenroomma (2008; In the Greenroom) is his collection of poems. He has been awarded by Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta Award for his contribution to Gujarati theatre in 2013. He is also recipients of the Yuva Gaurav Puraskar (2007) and Takhtasinh Parmar Prize (2008-09).[1]

Early life

Joshi on mic, Ahmedabad, 1998

Joshi was born on 3 July 1973 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Jayant Joshi and Neela Joshi. He completed his primary and secondary education from Vijaynagar High School, Ahmedabad in 1990. He completed his Bachelor of Arts from H.K Arts College, Ahmedabad in 1993 and Master of Arts from School of Languages of Gujarat University in 1995 with English literature as one of his subjects.[2]

Career

H K Arts College of Ahmedabad where he taught English literature

Joshi started his career as a Professor of English literature in his alma mater H. K. Arts College in 1995. In 2010, he founded the Fade-In Theatre with other young theatre people. He left his job as a professor in September 2011 to pursue the theatre.

Joshi started to write poems at the age of 18. His first poem was published in Kavilok. Subsequently, his poems were published in other Gujarati magazines including Shabdasrishti, Kavita, Shabdalay, Navneet Samarpan, and Kumar. He debuted in Gujarati theatre with his play Rami Lo Ne Yaar!. [2][1][3]

Works

Poetry

Greenroomma (In the Greenroom), his only collection of poems, was published in 2008. His poems are in different genres of poetry such as Ghazal, Nazm, Geet and Free verse and on different subjects such as Sex Worker, the Rana deserted by Meera, the boy at the Sivakasi fireworks factory, a shepherd named Jetho, the poor little sister, a labourer finding respite from the scorching sun beneath the gunny bag which he heaves. The book was critically acclaimed.[1]

Plays

He debuted in Gujarati theatre with his play Rami Lo Ne Yaar!. He got critically acclaimed for his play Dost Chokkas Ahin Ek Nagar Vastu Hatu, a musical black comedy based on 2002 Gujarat riots. This play prompted The Week magazine to name Joshi as one of the 50 rising stars of India in 2003. Soon after, his play Aathma Taaru Nu Aakash became the first play from Gujarat to be selected for the prestigious Prithvi Theatre Festival in Mumbai in 2005. His other critically acclaimed and commercially successful plays are Welcome Zindagi and 102 Not out. 102 Not out is about a 102-year-old father who wants to break the world record of a Chinese man who has lived for 120 years. His other plays includes Munjaro, Mahatma Bomb, Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tara and Dharo Ke Tame Manji Chho.[3]

Films

His play 102 Not Out is adapted as a Hindi language Indian film 102 Not Out directed by Umesh Shukla. He is credited as a writer of the film.[4]

Recognition

Joshi won Yuva Gaurav Puraskar (2007) and Takhtasinh Parmar Prize (2008-09) for his contribution in Gujarati literature. He received Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta Award, named after renowned Gujarati dramatist Chandravadan Mehta, in 2013 for his contribution in Gujarati theatre. He is also a recipient of the Ravji Patel Award, Balvantray Thakor Prize and Sadbhavna Award (2014).[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A poet's stagecraft". The Times of India. 2013-04-07. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  2. 1 2 "સૌમ્ય જોશી". મોરપીંછ (in Gujarati). 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  3. 1 2 "An all-new state". Livemint. 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  4. ↑ Bhattacharya, Roshmila (24 December 2013). "Paresh Rawal to play Amitabh Bachchan's son". Times of India. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  5. ↑ Shukla, Kirit (2015). Gujarati Sahityakar Parichaykosh. Ahmedabad: Gujarat Sahitya Akademi. p. 130. ISBN 9789383317028.
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