Nagindas Parekh was a famous literal, editor, and critic associated with the Gujarati language. He is best remembered for his translation works. He used the pen name, Granthkeet, for his writings, which means ‘bookworm’. He translated several Bengali, English, and Sanskrit works into Gujarati. The majority of his translations are from the Bengali language. Many of those works belong to Tagore. He stands as one of the most towering and scholarly figures in 20th-century Gujarati literature.
Nagindas Parekh: Gujarati Writer, Scholar, Translator, Editor, and Critic
Nagindas Narandas Parekh was born on 8 August 1903 in Bulsar, Gujarat, in British India. He completed his school education in his hometown, Valsad. Then he graduated from Gujarat Vidyapith in 1921. Following this, he attended Gujarat College run by the Gujarat Vidyapith, where he obtained a degree in Gujarati in 1925.
During the same academic year, 1925-1926, he joined Viswa-Bharati at Santiniketan for higher studies in Bengali. He studied Bengali and the literature of Rabindranath Tagore under Kshitimohan Sen. Since 1926, he taught at various educational institutions till his retirement in 1969 from H K Arts College, Ahmedabad. Alongside, he continued his research work and writings.
Nagindas Parekh started translating Tagore’s famous works since early 1930s. He worked with the historic Navajivan Trust (founded by Mahatma Gandhi) from 1944 to 1947. He edited the extensive writings of Gandhi’s personal secretary, Mahadev Desai, compiling them into historical volumes.
Nagindas Parekh – Translation and other works
Apart from translations, he has also published biographies and critic books. Hindustani Vyakaran Pravesh (1947) is his work of Indian grammar. His major critic works include – Swadhyay ane Samiksha, Abhinavno Rasvichar Bija Lekho, Parichay ane Pariksha, Crocenu Esthetic ane Bija Lekho, and Viksha ane Niriksha. Abhinavno Rasavichar ane Bija Lekho (1969) is his collection of essays, which earned him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1970. He also received Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1990 and Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar (1991).
Navalram (1961), Mahadev Desai (1962), Premanand (1963), and Gandhiji (1964) are his biographical works. He also authored a few short biographies. He edited five works of Mahadev Desai, which include different volumes of Vachanmala, Vishesh Vachanmala, Vartalahari, and Sahitya Pathavali.
His outstanding contributions as a translator to the Gujarati literature
His career as a translator started in the early 1930s. He heavily translated Rabindranath Tagore’s books to Gujarati, which include Poorva ane Paschim, Visarjan, Geetanjali ane Bija Kavyo, Poojarini ane Dakghar, Vishwaparichay, etc. He also translated the Bengali works of Dilipkumar Roy, Surendranath Dasgupta, and Maitreyi Devi to Gujarati. Parekh also co-translated some works of Tagore.
Also read: Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi ‘Dhumketu’: A Pioneer of the Gujarati Short Story
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