Gautam Chand Sharma 'Vyathit'

Gautam Chand Sharma 'Vyathit' (born on 15 August 1938), also known as Gautam Sharma Vyathit or simply Gautam Vyathit, is a folklorist, playwright, and poet from Himachal Pradesh, India. He is noted for his literary works in Dogri and Hindi, as well as for his various efforts to preserve and nurture the endangered folk arts of Himachal Pradesh, especially those of the Kangra region. Vyathit was the joint recipient of the 2007 Sahitya Akademi Award (Bhasha Samman) for his contributions to Himachali languages and literature. 'Vyathit', Gautam Sharma's pen-name in Hindi, means 'pained', or 'distressed'.

Personal life

Vyathit was born to Faquir Chand and Sheela Devi on 15 August 1938, at village Nerti in the Kangra district of erstwhile Punjab Province, British India. Nerti is now located in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, India. Vyathit did his primary schooling from Nerti, matriculation from the nearby village of Rait (1957), and B.A. (1965), B.Ed., and M.A. in Hindi (1968) from Punjab University. He ultimately earned a PhD in 1974, from the Guru Nanak Dev University in Punjab. His doctoral thesis was titled Literary evaluation and critical analysis of Kangri folk songs. He began his teaching career as a primary school teacher and proceeded to teach Hindi at Government College, Dharamshala for many years. Vyathit continues to live in Nerti.[1][2][3]

Works

Kangra Lok Sahitya Parishad

Vyathit has been the founder-director of the NGO 'Kangra Lok Sahitya Parishad' (translated as Kangra folk literature council), established at Nerti in 1973.[1][2] This NGO works for documenting and promoting the endangered folk arts of Himachal Pradesh. Its activities have included surveying and documenting these arts,[4][5] and organizing cultural events including poetry recitals,[6][7] folk theatre,[8] folk dances,[9] festivals,[10] and publications.[11][12] Vyathit has also developed an open-air theatre in Nerti, where the Parishad often hosts its activities.[1]

Work on Kangri folklore

Vyathit's documentation and analyses of Kangra's folklore have been considered significant by scholars of disciplines including literature, anthropology, and folklore studies. These include Kirin Narayan,[13][14][15] and Alan Dundes,[16] besides others.[17][18]

Poetry

Vyathit is widely considered a prominent poet from Himachal Pradesh.[17][19][20][3] He writes in Dogri and Hindi. His poems revolve around rural life and nature in Kangra. Atma Ram notes that Vyathit expresses the 'vyatha' (suffering; from which the pen-name 'vyathit' is derived) of the common person in rural Kangra.[2]

Promotion of Jhamakara folk dance

Since the early 1970s, Vyathit has been known for re-choreographing Kangra's Jhamakara folk-dance, which earlier used to be performed by women during marriage festivities only behind closed doors, and promoting this dance as a public art form.[1][9]

Experimentation with and promotion of Kangri folk theatre

Vyathit is known for revitalizing Kangra's traditional folk-theatre, infusing it with current themes and challenging traditional norms of participation in these plays.[8]

Linguistics

Vyathit contributed the sections on Kangri and Hindi for the Himachal Pradesh volume of the People's Linguistic Survey of India.[21]

Others

Vyathit is a member of the Himachal Pradesh Brahmin Kalyan Board.[22][23]

Recognition

Some among the numerous awards received by Vyathit are the following:[1][2]

  • In 2007, Vyathit shared the Sahitya Academi Award (Bhasha Samman) with Pratyush Guleri for his contributions to the Himachali language and literature.[24]
  • In 2014, Vyathit received the Shan-e-Himachal Award from Virbhadra Singh, then Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
  • In 2016, Vyathit received the Himachal Shiromani Samman from the Himachal Sanskritik Shodh Sansthan evam Natya Rangmandal.
  • In 2022, Vyathit received the Himachal Gaurav Puraskar (Pride of Himachal Award) of the Government of Himachal Pradesh, from Jai Ram Thakur, then Chief Minister of the state.

Select Bibliography
  • (1973) Kangri Lok Geet. Palampur: Sheela Prakashan
  • (1973) Dholru: Himachal ki lok gathae.
  • (1984) Kāṅgaṛā ke lokagīta, sāhityika viśleshaṇa evaṃ mūlyāṅkana. Jayaśrī prakāśana
  • (2000) Bharatiya sahitya ke nirmata: Baba Kanshi Ram.
  • (2006) Folklore of Himachal Pradesh. Delhi: National Book Trust.

References
  1. Joshi, Sriniwas (12 April 2015). "Dr Vyathit is Dr Modest". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  2. Ram, Atma (1995). Morality in Tess and Other Essays: In Honour of Mulk Raj Anand. Mittal Publications. pp. 81–83. ISBN 978-81-7099-610-1.
  3. Dutt, K. C. (1999). Who's who of Indian Writers: 1999 : In 2 Vol. Vol. 1 A-M. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1193. ISBN 978-81-260-0873-5.
  4. "पारंपरिक विवाह व रीति-रिवाज के गीत सहेजेगी कांगड़ा लोक साहित्‍य परिषद Kangra News". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. "पारंपरिक लोक वाद्य एवं वादक विलुप्तता की कगार पर". khas khabar (in Hindi). 7 December 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. "त्रिगर्त उत्सव | जिला काँगड़ा, हिमाचल प्रदेश सरकार | भारत" (in Hindi). Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  7. "कांगड़ा की संस्कृति से रूबरू होंगे देश-विदेश के निवेशक". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  8. "Folk Theatre of Kangra". www.123himachal.com. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  9. ChandraKanta. "Jhamakada Folk Dance Of Kangra झमाकड़ा - काँगड़ा का लोक नृत्य". गजगामिनी. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  10. Jeratha, Aśoka (1998). Dogra Legends of Art & Culture. Indus Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-81-7387-082-8.
  11. Phull, Sushil Kumar (1978). "Hindi Short Story in Himachal". Indian Literature. 21 (1): 33–40. ISSN 0019-5804. JSTOR 23333170.
  12. Rahi, Javaid. The Gujjars -Vol 04 (Gujjars History & Culture) by Dr. Javaid Rahi. Jammu and Kashmir Acacademy of Art, Culture , Languages , Jammu.
  13. Narayan, Kirin (1995). "The Practice of Oral Literary Criticism: Women's Songs in Kangra, India". The Journal of American Folklore. 108 (429): 243–264. doi:10.2307/541878. hdl:1885/100198. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 541878.
  14. Narayan, Kirin; Sood, Urmila Devi (1997). Mondays on the Dark Night of the Moon: Himalayan Foothill Folktales. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-510348-9.
  15. Narayan, Kirin (22 November 2016). Everyday Creativity: Singing Goddesses in the Himalayan Foothills. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-40756-2.
  16. Dundes, Alan (1996). The Walled-up Wife: A Casebook. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-299-15070-9.
  17. Das, Sisir Kumar (2005). A History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom : triumph and tragedy. Sahitya Akademi. p. 702. ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9.
  18. Lavie, Smadar; Swedenburg, Ted (22 July 2013). Displacement, Diaspora, and Geographies of Identity. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-7957-7.
  19. George, K. M. (1992). Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems. Sahitya Akademi. p. 103. ISBN 978-81-7201-324-0.
  20. Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1601. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
  21. "PLSI Contributors". bhasha.frappe.cloud. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  22. "List of Members of H.P. Brahmin Kalyan Board" (PDF).
  23. "CM announces Makar Sakranti of Brijeshwari Dham as District Level Festival".
  24. "Sahitya Academy - List of Bhasha Samman Awardees" (PDF).
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