Amrut ghayal biography

Gujarati Poet

Amrutlal Laljee Bhatt (1916–2002), better known by his pen name Amrut Ghayal, was a Gujarati language poet from India.

Life

Amrutlal Bhatt was born in Sardhar near Rajkot on 19 August 1916 to Lalji Bhatt and Santokben. He studied up to seventh standard in Sardhar. He served as a personal secretary of prince of Pajod state, a small princely state of Saurashtra, Khan Imamuddin Babi aka Ruswa Majhalumi, from 1938 to 1948. He passed matriculation in 1949 and joined Bachelor of Arts from Dharmendrasinhji Arts College, Rajkot but left studies after first year. He joined public works department of Rajkot in 1949 as an accountant and was retired in 1973. He settled in Rajkot following his retirement.

He died on 25 December 2002 at Rajkot.

Works

His pen name Ghayal literally means wounded. Already being a good scholar of Urdu and Persian poetry, Amrit Ghayal flourished into an outstanding Ghazal poet of Gujarati by 1940 once he started writing the Gujarati poetry. His poetry is known for "Jusso" (morale) "Jom" (spirit) and "Mijaj" (attitude or style). His language has been influenced by the vocabulary of Saurashtra region to which place he belonged.

In 1954, his first poetry collection Shula ane Shamana (Throns and Dreams) was published. His other collections are Rang (Colour, 1960), Roop (Beauty, 1967), Jhay (Shade, 1982), Agni (Fire, 1982) and Gazal Name Sukh (Happiness in name of poetry, 1984).

Awards

He received Sheikhadam Abuwala award for 1992–93. He was also awarded Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1993 and Gujarat Sahitya Akademi award in 1994. He received Kalapi Award in 1997.

Referen

Numerous scrolls of honour, mementos and photographs adorn the walls of a rather Spartan-looking room at Dev Ami. Near the window opening into a modest foreground of the house is a bed on which till some years ago a visitor would have found Ghayal, grand-daddy of Gujarati ghazal, whose only ambition was to be remembered as a martyr to the ghazal– shaheed-e-ghazal.

He not only brought the ghazal form as authentic poetry into Gujarati, insisting on using the words of his mother tongue, but also elevated its status to a spiritual level, to a level reflecting the trials and tribulations of the masses, rather than remaining a vehicle of the love-lorn.

Ghayal – a wounded soul – was his pen-name, but even the poet himself had given up using his surname, Bhatt, and signed as Amrut Ghayal. Why did he take this particular pen-name? With a toothless, hearty laughter, he said: “It is not a pen-name taken in the aftermath of a broken love-affair. In a way, all human beings are wounded souls. I sing their songs."

There was not a trace of bitterness in Ghayal,although he yearned to be thought of a martyr;. in truth, he came across as a man who had lived a full life, had no complaints ,and more importantly,who,unlike so many of his age, was  never tired of life. There was a peculiar zest for life, which made Ghayal an unusual ghazalkar, who had seen many ups and downs in his long innings. Teeth had taken leave rather early, and so had hair on his head, deep lines furrowed his largish forehead and veins stood out prominently on his shrivelled hands. But the mind was alert, registering as truthfully as ever. Though his throat parched easily, he spoke fluently, and coherently, never lost for either words or thought. The memory served the master efficiently, and Ghayal wrote incessantly. "You see, I cannot sleep much, and am much too restless to give up living."

The old world courtesy, long association with royalty and a modesty of s