Geet Chaturvedi (born 27 November 1977) is a Hindi poet, short story author, lyricist, screenwriter and novelist.[1] Often regarded as an avant-garde writer, he was awarded the Bharat Bhushan Agrawal Award for poetry in 2007 [2] and Krishna Pratap Award for Fiction in 2014.[3] He lives in Bhopal, India. He is active both as a fiction writer and critic. In 2011, The Indian Express included him in a list of the 'Ten Best Writers' of India.[4] His poems have been translated into 22 languages worldwide. He translated the work Spanish poet Pablo Neruda] and others into Hindi.[citation needed]

Geet Chaturvedi
Geet Chaturvedi in 2018
Geet Chaturvedi in 2018
Born (1977-11-27) 27 November 1977 (age 46)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
OccupationPoet, lyricist, screenwriter, short story author, novelist, journalist and translator
NationalityIndian
Period1994–present
GenrePoetry, Novel, Screenwriting
Literary movementPostmodern literature
Notable awardsBharat Bhushan Award for Poetry,

Krishna Pratap Award for Fiction, Spandan Award for poetry, Krishna Baldev Vaid Fellowship for fiction,

Syed Haider Raza Fellowship for fiction
Website
www.geetchaturvedi.com

Chaturvedi is the author of eleven books including the poetry collections Aalaap me girah in 2010, Nyoonatam Main in 2017, and Khushiyon Ke Guptchar in 2019. He also published two collections of novellas, Savant Anti Ki Ladkiyan and Pink Slip Daddy, in 2010. The novella "Pink Slip Daddy" was considered to be one of the best works of fiction in contemporary Hindi writing by the literary periodical Kathadesh.[5] The English translation of his novella "Simsim", translated by Anita Gopalan, won the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, 2016.[citation needed]

Poetry

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Geet Chaturvedi was awarded the Bharat Bhushan Agrawal Award in 2007.[2] His poetry has been translated into 22 languages.[3] In Anita Gopalan's English translation, his poems have been published in AGNI, PEN America, Poetry International, Sycamore Review, World Literature Today, Words without Borders, Asymptote, Chicago Review, The Offing, Modern Poetry in Translation, and elsewhere.[6]

The Amphibian

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His long poem Ubhaychar (The amphibian) was published in 2010, and treats topics such as memory and collective myths.[7]

Aalaap mein girah

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Aalaap mein girah (Lit. Nodule in Prelude) is the first volume of his poems, published in 2010 with positive reviews. It established Chaturvedi as the leading poet of his generation.[8]

Nyoonatam Main

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Nyoonatam Main (Lit. The Minimal I) is the second volume of his poems, published in 2017. It was named among the best books of Hindi poetry by many literary critics along publications like Femina, Navbharat Times etc. It was included in the Dainik Jagran Bestseller list 2017–2018. Nyoonatam Main won the prestigious Spandan Award for Hindi poetry.[8]

Khushiyon Ke Guptchar

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Khushiyon Ke Guptchar (Lit. Secret Agents of Joys) is the third book of Chaturvedi's poems. It became an instant bestseller after its publication. The books has 81 poems of his, written during 2014 to 2017.[8]

Fiction

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Aunt Savant And Her Daughters

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Savant Anti Ki Ladkiyan (lit. Aunt Savant And Her Daughters), his first book of fiction, contains three novellas set in Mumbai. The common theme of the stories is women obsessed with the idea of love.

Pink Slip Daddy

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Geet Chaturvedi

Pink Slip Daddy, published in 2010, is also a collection of three novellas, "Gomutra", "Simsim", and "Pink Slip Daddy". "Gomutra" is a critique of the open market economy, in which the protagonist gets into increasingly large debts, ending with his death. "Simsim" is a love story set in a decaying library; the English translation by Anita Gopalan was awarded with the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants in 2016.[9] The title story is about a man called Prafful Shashikant Dadhich or PSD, nicknamed "Pink Slip Daddy".

The book received the Krishna Prataap Award for Fiction 2014. The award statement mentioned Chaturvedi's "mastery as a storyteller", and his "taut poetic language".[3]

Translation

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Among the poets he has translated into Hindi, Sabeer Haka, Adam Zagajewski, Bei Dao, Dunya Mikhail, Iman Mersal, Eduardo Chirinos, Adunis, Mahmoud Darwish, Pablo Neruda, Federico Garcia Lorca are to name a few.

Selected bibliography

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Poetry

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  • 2019: Khushiyon Ke Guptchar. Rukh Publications, New Delhi. December 2019. ISBN 978-81-943123-0-7.
  • 2017: Nyoonatam Main. Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi. January 2017. ISBN 978-81-267-2971-5.
  • 2010: Aalaap mein girah. Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi. February 2010. ISBN 978-81-267-1853-5.

Fiction

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Non-fiction

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Translated by Geet Chaturvedi

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Editing

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Geet Chaturvedi in translation

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  • 2019: The Memory of Now, translated by Anita Gopalan, Anomalous Press, Rhode Islands, USA. ISBN 978-1-939781-44-4.
  • 2019: Simsim, Marathi translation by Jui Kulkarni, Book Hungama, Pune
  • 2021: Chitta Phool Je Gulabi Hona Chahunda, Essays on literature in Punjabi translation, translated by Gaurav, Autumn Art Publishers, Patiala, Punjab. ISBN 978-93-90849-24-6.

Awards and honors

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Chaturvedi has won several awards and recognitions for his writings.[10]

  • 2007: Bharat Bhushan award for poetry
  • 2011: One of the ten best writers of India, Indian Express
  • 2014: Krishna Pratap Katha Samman for fiction for Pink Slip Daddy
  • 2016: PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for Simsim to his translator Anita Gopalan
  • 2018: Shailesh Matiyani Katha Samman for fiction for Pink Slip Daddy
  • 2019: Krishna Baldev Vaid fellowship for fiction
  • 2019: Syed Haider Raza fellowship for fiction
  • 2020: Vagdhara Navratna Samman for poetry for Nyoonatam Main
  • 2020: Spandan Kriti Samman for poetry for Nyoonatam Main
  • 2021: Vatayan International Literature Award for his contribution to Hindi literature (United Kingdom)

Other recognition

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  • During 2017–2018, Nyoonatam Main was regularly listed in the Dainik Jagran Bestselling Books.[11] It was listed in the Best Books of the Year lists by many publications including Navbharat Times, Dainik Jagran, Nai Duniya and Femina Magazine.[12]
  • Khushiyon Ke Guptchar was listed into the top five Hindi poetry books of the year in 2019-2020 by the leading newspaper Navbharat Times.[13]

References

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