Sahitya Akademi invites you to meet the author Dhruv Bhatt 11th October 2012As he walked, he found... and monotonus?’ “Lonesome He spoke in a dialect that was a chaotic jumble of Hindi and jujarati. “Look at the ocean. I have never seen it in the same form a second time. Every moment it wears a new look. This rock, the trail, the shrubs, the soil; will they be same a moment henceastheyare just this moment? Friend nature doesn't appear in the same form ever again. Tt keeps changing every moment.” a passage from English version of Dhruy bhatt’s Gujarati work Samudrantike wansieted as Ocen side blues, by late shri Vinod Meghani. No Silk, No Khadi, No saffron, No black nor loincloth. I could accept no ism as my identity for the life time — From a Gazal by Dhruv Bhatt (Translation : Shivani Pathak.) Yes, recognize the letter grown on the nib of your pen, later will say it then, The moment finger turns in to ink the sible would transformed in to visible-From a poem by Dhruv Bhatt.(Translation:Janki Bhatt.) Bom on 5" May, 1947 at Ningala in Bhavnagar District of Gujarat, an eminent Gujarati Novelist, Shri Dhruv Bhatt received his primary education in various village schools. He believes that the exposure to language received during childhood from varying natural and socio-cultural grounds. instilled in him an urge ta try tamake sense of the life. That in the end has. led him on the path of to creative writing. Dhruv Bhatt who dropped out of college education started creative writing by composing songs. His. first poem appeared in Navneet Samarpan around 1970. He has been constantly experimenting with prose and verse writing, not confining his creativity to any one literary form. His father Prabodh Bhatt was also a poet and mother Harisuta Bhatt was an avid reader. The love for literature inherited from such parents found its first manifestation in the form of his first novel Agnikanyaa, the seeds of which were sawn at Banganga located in the midst of the Gir sanctuary. In a short while after that, he entered the Gujarati narrative scene with a novel — Samudrantike (The Oceanside Blues), which brought him considerable fame and acclairn of literary crities in Gujarat. Not only those, his narratives have kindled love and hope in the hearts of readers from other languages also. Around 1975, he along with Divyaben atternpted to add a new dimension to the education of children by exposing them to the wonders of Nature as well as man made sciences. This experiment grew in the form of children’s workshops ranging from star gazing to camps in the forests and on the seashores, such as camps along the banks of Narmada and on the seashore of Saurashtra in western Gujarat. These eventually led to the creation of Samudrantike and Tatvamasi. Atthe age of 51, Dhruy Bhatt, lefthis regular job and moved to Pindaval in the hills of Dharampur, a tribal taluka to study and understand the problems of primary education in that region and excersised his educational skills at a school run by Sarvodaya Parivaar. There he has composed some songs that deploy Gujarati and Kukana (one of the tribal languages) dialect as it happens in tribal discourse. Today Nachiketa runs educational program at Dharampur. They also publish a by-monthly ‘Sandarbh’ — for high school teachers and students. One of the major achievements of Dhruv Bhatt is the depiction of the inner reality as experienced by him in the form of a plausible narrative. Dhruv Bhatt succeeds in creating the milieu appropriate to his characters. As a result of this ability, characters like Aval, Bangali, Krishna Tandel, Supriya, Bitty Banga, Durga, Nandu, Sansai, Aaimaa and Sarmey take a definite form in the mind of the reader and create a memorable impression. A special feature of Dhruv Bhatt's writings is that in these narratives Nalure appears as one of the characters, True to the tradition of Indian mythology, modern narratives in our literature have also treated Nature as one of the important characters. Whether in Shakuntal of Kalidas or in the Malayalam film Kanchansita made in the 80s, such a representation of Nature has been evident. However, in Dhruy Bhatt's novels, the presence of Nature is felt throughout the narrative. His insights and abilities to bring to life the natural milieu as a character of the narrative have always appealed to the readers. His descriptions of various natural panoramas such as the seashore, the river Narmada, tribal forest land or the Gir sanctuary are poetic in the real sense of the term and bring to life the whole background in which the narration is set. In this backdrop, what the author offers is not merely an interesting plot construction of unusual events, but also a profound philosophical approach to life. The subtle and profound experiences depicted by him imports the reader in to the world of his narrative and the result is an exquisite work of art in his creative writing An equally noteworthy feature of Dhruv Bhatt’s writing is the use of local dialects. The author uses standard Gujarati language in the narrator's voice, but the characters invariably speak the local dialect. In doing so, the author has even added a new alphabet here and there in his attempt to represent the actual sounds of the dialect. Some parts of Dhruy Bhatt's narratives have been dramatized by prominent playwrights of Gujarat. The authar has himself written a few plays and they have been performed on various stages. This author who insists on not having an introduction / preface written by eminent personality, has always traversed untrodden paths and Gujarati readers have happily welcomed his endeavors Dhruv Bhatt has been reciting songs written by him in his own voice, and other composers have also come out with various compositions of his songs. The literary works that this novelist cum poet has been writing are his moments of deep experience which creates immense and common effect on the reader. It also lead them to think of a search of self, reaching ullimate fatva and of course leads to the question of who am /and efforts to find out its answer by merging individual self with the universal self.A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Khovayelu Nagar : 1982 Agnikanyaa Novel: 1988 Samudrantike Novel: 1993 Awarded by Gujarati sahitya parishad as Gramya naval kathaa and by Gujarat shithya akademi as Travelogue. By Marwadi sammelan as best literary work in Gujarati. also awarded by Govardharam Tripathi samiti and others Translated into Marathi as Sagatiri by Smt Anjani Narvane, in English as Oceanside blues, by late Shri Vinod Meghani and in Oria by Dr. Jogalekar. Tatvamasi Novel: 1998 Awarded by Bhartiya Sahity Akademi, Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, Gujarat Sahitya Akademi, Marwadi Sammelan Kalayatan/others. Translated into Marathi and English by Anjani Narvane, in Hindi by Smt. Ranjanaa Argade. Ataraapi Nove/:2001 Awarded by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi Translated in to English by Geeta Sheth, in Hindi by Dr. Smt. Sushma Shaligram Karnalok Novel: 2004 Translated in to Marathi by Smt. Anjani Naravane Akoopaar Novel: 2010 Translated into Marathi by Smt. Anjani Narawne and into English translation under process by prof, Piyush Joshi Lovely Paan House Novel: 2012 This book is written under Sahitya Akademi's Writer in residence program affiliated with Department of Gujarati, MKS. University, Bhavnagar. Gaay Tenaa Geet Poetry: 2003 Awarded by Gujarati Sahitya Akademi. He Got Darshak Award for his literary work in 2005.