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Rasiklal Chhotalal Parikh

ラシクラル・チョトーラル・パリク

Rasiklal Parikh

Pen Names: Musikar（Pen name used for poetry and literary works）, Sanjay（Pseudo used for publishing some plays）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1897-08-20 （Pethapur, now in Gandhinagar district, Bombay Presidency）
Died
1982-11-01 （Ahmedabad, Gujarat） age 85
Nationality
Indian
Languages
Gujarati
Residence History
Sadra (childhood) → Ahmedabad (education and later life) → Pune (studied at Fergusson College)

Career

Occupations
poet, playwright, literary critic, indologist, historian, editor
Active Years
1918-1982
Affiliations
Gujarat Vidyapith, Gujarat Sahitya Sabha (served as president), Gujarati Sahitya Parishad (appointed president in 1964), Natya Vidya Mandir (founder)
Influenced By
Muni Jinvijay, Sukhlal Sanghvi, Indulal Yagnik, Henrik Ibsen, Leo Tolstoy
Influenced
Bhogilal Sandesara, Hariprasad Shastri, Natmandal (influenced amateur theatre and drama education)

Education

Fergusson College (Pune)
Sanskrit and English
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Period: 1913–1918
Year of Graduation: 1918
Country: India
Studied Sanskrit and English; completed BA. Began MA but left to join Gujarat Vidyapith.

Awards

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak
1942
Organization: Gujarat Sahitya Sabha
Result: 受賞
Sahitya Akademi Award
1960
Work: Sharvilak
Organization: Sahitya Akademi
Result: 受賞
Narmad Suvarna Chandrak
1977
Work: Mena Gurjari
Organization: Narmad award body
Result: 受賞
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
1975
Organization: Sangeet Natak Akademi
Result: フェロー（栄誉）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sharvilak

1957 Play (reworking of classical Sanskrit plays)

A five-act play reworked from two Sanskrit plays: Sudraka's Mṛcchakaṭika and Bhāsa's Daridra Charudatta. Noted for blending classical sources with modern interpretation.

reinterpretation of classical dramajustice and moralityconflict of social classes
Adaptations
  • [translation] Sharvilak (Hindi translation) (1966)
Translations
  • Sharvilak (Hindi translation, 1966)

Mena Gurjari

Musical play / Bhavai (folk theatre)

A musical play written in the Bhavai folk form of Gujarat. Considered a landmark in Gujarati theatre, popular with both scholars and general audiences.

expression of folk cultureintersection of tradition and modernitymusic and storytelling

Pahelo Kalal

1931 Play (adaptation of a story by Tolstoy)

An early play adapted from a story by Leo Tolstoy. Represents his early experimentation with adaptations.

ethics and individual choicemoral dilemmas

Bibliography

  • Translation of Kavyaprakasha by Mammata (1924)
  • Vaidik Pathavali (1927)
  • Hemachandra: Kavyanushasan (Vol.1–2, 1938)
  • Pahelo Kalal (play, 1931)
  • Rupiyanu Jhad (as Sanjay, 1931)
  • Mena Gurjari (musical play)
  • Sharvilak (play, 1957)
  • Anand Mimansa (lecture series, 1963)
  • Purovachan ane Vivechan (applied criticism, 1965)
  • Jivan Na Vaheno (short story collection)
  • Aakashabhashit (radio talks, 1974)
  • Sanskrit Natak Sahitya (critique, 1980)
  • Saraswatichandrano Mahima (lectures on Saraswatichandra, 1976)
  • Gujaratni Rajdhanio (history, 1958)
  • Itihas Swarup Ane Paddhati (1969)

Adaptations

  • Mena Gurjari was widely performed in the Bhavai form and influenced regional theatre troupes.
  • Sharvilak was translated into Hindi and circulated in 1966.

Translations by Author

  • Gujarati translation of Kavyaprakasha (co-translation, 1924)
  • Translations and critical notes on parts of the Vedas (Vaidik Pathavali, 1927)

Translations of Works

  • Sharvilak (Hindi translation, 1966)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly, classical-annotative stylefusion of theatrical formality and folk elementscritical and analytical prose
Recurring Motifs
references to ancient Indian literaturesocial justice and moralityfolk culture (Bhavai)

Legacy

A major contributor to Gujarati literature and theatre: scholar-playwright who reworked classical Sanskrit drama, innovated Bhavai folk theatre, founded institutions for drama education, and left an extensive body of criticism that shaped modern Gujarati theatre.

Academic Societies

  • Gujarat Sahitya Sabha
  • Gujarati Sahitya Parishad

Archives

  • Papers and related materials held by Gujarat University and Gujarati literary institutions

In Popular Culture

  • Became well known through performances by theatre troupes such as Natmandal.

Trivia

  • Used pen names 'Musikar' and 'Sanjay'.
  • Died in Ahmedabad on the day of Sharad Purnima in 1982.