Ashwinee Bhatt (1936-2012)

A well known Indian author was born in Ahmedabad to Harprasad and Sharadkanta Bhatt. His novels have captured the hearts of readers throughout Gujarat. He penned nine novels, four novelettes, and several short stories and plays. While he majored in psychology for his formal studies, he was passionate about theatre from childhood. After the early demise of his father, he worked in several fields to make a living, but continued acting, writing, directing, and producing plays. In 1967, he married Neeti, who shared his zeal in the arts.

He translated several works of fiction from English to Gujarati and adapted several plays. In 1978, his first novel, Lajja Sanyal, was published. All of his subsequent novels were serialized in newspapers and magazines before being published in book form which were best sellers in Gujarati. In 1982, he began an experiment called “Samantar” to introduce the theatre back to common people, who could not afford to attend plays. As a journalist, he was sensitive to environmental and social movements of the time, and supported them wholeheartedly. When asked about his contribution to Gujarati literature, he laughed and said “I kept one generation of Gujaratis reading Gujarati!”