Rajendra Keshavlal Shah

He is considered one of the giants of the post-Gandhi era in Gujarati literature. Among his various professions, Shah was also a publisher in Mumbai, where he launched the poetry magazine Kavilok in 1957. The press itself became an important Sunday meeting-place for Gujarati poets. Apart from writing poetry, Shah also translated into Gujarati Tagore's poetry collection Balaaka; Jayadeva's Gita Govinda; Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; and Dante's The Divine Comedy. Shah received the Jnanpith Award for 2001.

• Name — Rajendra Shah • Born — 28 January 1913 • Birthplace — Kapadvanj, Bombay Presidency, British India • Died — 2 January 2010 • Place of death — Mumbai, Maharashtra, India • Occupation — Author • Period — 1947-2003 • Education — MSU Baroda • Notable Works — * Dhvani (1951) • Shant Kolahal (1962) • Awards — * Kumar Chandrak (1947) • Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak (1956) • Sahitya Akademi Award (1963) • Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar (1992) • Narsinh Mehta Award (1999) • Jnanpith Award (2001)

Shah was born in 1913 in Kapadvanj, a town in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency of British India (in present-day Kheda district of Gujarat, India). After attending Wilson College in Mumbai, he graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Shah's first poem came in print in Wilsonian, the college magazine of the Wilson College, in 1933. In 1930, he discontinued from the study, as he was arrested in Civil disobedience movement and sentenced to the jail. In 1931, he married Manjula Agrawal. Later, in 1934, he earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, and thereafter, started his career by teaching school students in Ahmedabad. He died on 2 January 2010 in Mumbai.

Rajendra Keshavlal Shah is recorded as having received Sahitya Akademi Award, Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and Jnanpith Award.