Honouring Professor Ramprasad Shukla with a Visiting Chair in Gujarati Literature and a Student Award for Sanskrit Education

Ahmedabad University has established a Visiting Chair in Gujarati Literature and a Student Award for Sanskrit Education in memory of the distinguished poet and critic, Professor Ramprasad Shukla.

These initiatives have been made possible through phenomenal support by his son, Priyadarshi Shukla, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Global Centre for Environment and Energy, and his wife, Darshini Mahadevia, Professor in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Professors Shukla and Mahadevia are globally recognised for their pioneering research on climate change and urban development.

The Ramprasad Shukla Visiting Chair for Gujarati Language and Literature

The Chair will promote the study of Gujarati language and literature through the following activities:

1. Support research scholars for a specific duration to study Gujarati literature or the works of a particular literary figure. During their stay at Ahmedabad University, these scholars will also teach a course or conduct a workshop.
2. Host an international conference on Gujarati language and literature once every two years.
3. Attract academics to teach Gujarati literature at Ahmedabad University and to develop new courses in the field.

The Ramprasad Shukla Awards for Sanskrit Learning

The Award will support students pursuing Sanskrit at Ahmedabad University through the following:

1. Recognise academic merit by awarding two students each year who have completed four Sanskrit courses at the University.
2. Support students who wish to pursue additional Sanskrit courses in India or abroad.
3. Enable student-led initiatives such as workshops or seminars on Sanskrit scholarship at Ahmedabad University.

Born Ratilal, Professor Shukla earned his BA in Sanskrit in 1928 and his MA in Gujarati in 1944. He taught in the Idar state and at CN Vidyalaya before serving as Professor and Head of the Gujarati Department at LD Arts College.

His first collection of 60 sonnets, Bindu (1943), reflected his contemplative spirit and intellectual depth. In 1993, at the age of 83, he published Samaya Najarayo Samay Thi, a collection of essays, poems, sonnets, ghazals, and songs with a foreword by Niranjan Bhagat, who described his poetry as “the poetry of intellectual emotions.” That same year, he published Saritaona Sanidhyama (In the Company of Rivers), based on his walking journeys along Gujarat’s rivers. First serialised in Kumar magazine, the collection later won the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi’s first prize.

In addition to poetry and travel writing, Professor Shukla was a respected critic. His essays in Prasthan, such as Vivechan – Sahurdayatani Kelvani, were widely appreciated. He also wrote critical studies including Samuuli Kranti, Vasantavilas, and Nhanalal’s Urmikavyo, which remain unpublished in collected form. His scholarly writings extended to Sanskrit literature as well, with articles such as Mrichchhakatika, Sanskrit Natya-Sahitya, and Vedanta Bichhadhara published in literary magazines. He also authored Aapana Sahitya, a history of Gujarati literature. For his literary service, the Gujarat Sahitya Sabha posthumously honoured him with the Dhanji Kanji Suvarna Chandrak.

Professor Shukla was a close associate of Gandhian era poets Umashankar Joshi and Sundaram (Tribhuvandas Luhar). Their collective works have been published as Triur poems, in which ‘Tri’ stands for Tribhuvandas, ‘R’ for Ratilal, and ‘U’ for Umashankar. Umashankar Joshi always said that he was the vowel between the two consonants.

His wife, Shantilabhen Shukla, was an accomplished woman herself and is recognised as the first woman employee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Welcoming the endowment, Vice Chancellor Professor Pankaj Chandra said, “We are deeply grateful to Professors Shukla and Mahadevia for this wonderful gift to the University. This endowment allows us to honour an eminent literary figure while promoting critical scholarship in Gujarati and Sanskrit, helping to shape the next generation of thought leaders.”