MEGHANI (1897) 1947), acclaimed as a national bard, Shri Zaverchand Meghani gave voice to the ideals and aspirations of those who lived in what has come to be known in Gujarati literature as the Gandhi age. For more than a quarter of a century he continued to concretize in poetry all that India sought and stood for. A novelist, a short story writer, and a col- lector and editor of folk-literature, Shri Meghani came to literature through journalism. In all these will be found the breadth of Shri Meghani's vision and imagination, his ability to portray vividly and above all the storm and stress the people suffered from. He was a social reformer who discarded all conventions, and his novels are conclusive proof of this. But his greatest work lies in the collection and editing of folk-literature, and in enriching it with numerous tales and anecdotes as related to him by the people. Add to this his rich and sonorus voice which enabled him to sing the songs he made-songs that literally captivated his audience. All this he did for the freedom of the nation. He saw, he sang and he conquered. To-day, Meghani lives in the memory of all those who knew him and who continue to read him as a national bard, unrivalled and un- matched.
The author of this monograph Sr. V. J. Trivedi is a noted literateur of Gujarat. He has been working as a distinguished teacher of English literature since 1941. At present he is the Principal of Gujarat College, which is the premier institution of higher education in the state of Gujarat.
A thick-set person, with a white turban and white chudidars often walked the outskirts of the Ranpur town and was sometimes seen with white-bearded old men, light-of-steps young men, often taking shelter under a tree on a moonlit night outside the limits of the town. This thick-set man, plumpy, heavy-of -step had a rich, sonorous, vibrant voice which held spell-bound the people who heard him and shook them out of their lethargy. The village folk and the city dwellers who visited him were alike captivated when this quick-eyed, quick-perceiving white-dressed man sang songs of valour and courage, love and conflict, of social evil and of virtue, of battles long ago, of men and women who lived their lives in a simple, truthful. honest manner, songs that celebrated for them a rich heritage and a rich past, songs that enshrined a folk culture and a folk-literature which had been lost sight of for centuries by the people of the region. The singer who carried this burden of bringing to light forgotten outlaws, forgotten tales, and forgotten social virtues was none other than the indefatigable Zaverchand Meghani. Or any day, one could find him moving in Saurashtra, collecting data, collecting people, collecting tales, a spirit intertwined with all that was noble and all that was strengthful Meghani, the man, Meghani the journalist and Meghani the litterateur was an outstanding person. Rarely in Gujarati literature did a poet combine the art of singing with the art of research. No poet had ever toiled for folk-literature as did Meghani. No journalist had ever wielded a pen that roused an uneducated public to sacrifice everything for the independence of the country. No poet had ever sacrificed himself for the sake of the people. Such was Zaverchand Meghani who rightly became a national bard, though writing in a regional language. Born
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