Gujarati author-journalist Bhagwatikumar Sharma passes away at 84
Author and journalist Bhagwatikumar Sharma died at his residence in Surat city of Gujarat today morning, family sources said. He was 84 years old. Sharma, a recipient of several awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award, died due to age-related ailments, the sources added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also belongs to Gujarat, and several other leaders expressed grief over the author's death.
PM Narendra Modi condoles the death of Sharma
Sharma won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1988
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said Sharma's death has left a huge vacuum in the literary world. Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda also condoled the author's demise. Born in May 1934, Sharma authored novels, short stories, poetries, essays and articles during his 65-year career. He received Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1984 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1988 for his novel 'Asooryalok'.
Sharma also received the Harindra Dave Memorial Award for Journalism
In 2017, the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi honored him with the 'Sahityaratna' Award. In 2011, he received the Harindra Dave Memorial Award for Journalism and the Vali Gujarati Gazal Award for his contribution to literature. Some of his famous Gujarati novels include 'Aarti Ane Angara' (1957), 'Man Nahi Mane' (1962), 'Rikta' (1968), 'Vyaktamadhya' (1970) and 'Samaydvip' (1974), among others.
Sharma had also written Ghazals and sonnets
He was conferred a Doctorate of Literature by Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in 1999. He had also worked in different genres of poetry such as Ghazal, Geet and Sonnet. His first Ghazal collection, 'Sambhav', was published in 1974, followed by 'Chhando Chhe Pandada Jenan' (1987), 'Nakhdarpan' (1995), 'Jhalhal' (1995) and 'Adhi Aksharnu Chomasu' (2002), among many others.
