The history of documented Gujarati literature goes back to Shri Hemchandracharya, a Jain muni in the late 10th century. His books Kavyanushasan and Siddhahem, about poetry writing and grammar, were supposed to be the first documented books in Gujarati literature. His books were respectfully placed on an elephant, and the king and the writer were on foot. This kind of procession is said to be unique and never recorded in any other language. Gujarati language, after his time, was preserved by the Jain munis for about five centuries. Then, about 530 years ago, came Narsinh Mehta, Meera, and Akho. Narsinh and Meera wrote devotional songs. Akho wrote short form poetry, popularly known as “Akhana Chhappa.”

Premanand, Dayaram and Shyamal came at a time when bhajans were dominating Gujarati poetry. Their message through poetry was for social change and philosophical. Premanand’s narrative poetry was more aggressive. Shyamal wrote poetic stories.

Narmad and Dalpatram were prominant in pre-independent India. Narmad gave up his full time job, as a schoolteacher, to pursue his writing full time. Dalpatram’s poetry helped social reforms.

Manishankar Bhatt, also known as “Kavi Kaant”, Nahnalal and Balwantrai K. Thakore wrote poetry full of shringar ras. Around the same time, Sursinhji Takhtsinhji Gohil, popularly known as “Kalaapi”, a royal from Laathhi, experimented with Urdu poetry form “gazal” in Gujarati. Balashankar Kantharia, however, wrote the first Gujarati gazal.

Then came the era of Umashankar Joshi, Sundaram and Krishnalal Shridha-ranni. Umashankar Joshi was recognized for his varied writings from a very young age. Sundaram continued to write even after settling down in Pondicherry devoting his life at Aurobindo Ashram.

Prahalad Parekh, Rajendra Shah and Niranjan Bhagat continued emulating Umashankar Joshi. Shayada, Mariz, Shoonya, Saif, Befam were the milestones of Gujarati gazals. A major change in Gujarati poetry was brought by a group of the young rebels, Labhshankar Thaker, Chinu Mody, Aadil Mansuri, and Manhar Modi. These poets brought everyday issues and simple language to Gazals.

Sitanshu Yashshachandra pioneered surrealism in Gujarati poetry and opened a new direction for budding poets. The trio, Jagdish Joshi, Harindra Dave and Suresh Dalal set a new trend in Gujarati modern poetry. Ramesh Parekh, Anil Joshi, Harish Minashru, Manoj Khanderia, Rajendra Shukla and many more have contributed in different forms of poetry in free verse, gazal, geet etc. Outside India, especially in England, a few poets have experimented in writing Gujlish gazals, wherein, Gujarati and English words are used in the gazal. Adam Tankarvi has mastered this art effectively.

Swami Anand was the pioneer essay writer. Kaka Kalelkar’s mother tongue was Marathi but wrote Gujarati effectively. Suresh Joshi brought Western literature to Gujarati readers. Bholabhai Patel, Gunvant Shah and Father Wallace with their own penmanship brought new colour to essay writing. Rajanikumar Pandya worked with real life stories.

Govardhanram Tripathi’s novel Saraswatichandra brought revolutionary changes to the society. Kanaiyalal Munshi, founder of Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, wrote series of novels about glory of Gujarat. Pannalal Patel, with his simple language, explored the feelings and struggle of labor class through his novels like ‘Manavini Bhavai’. Gunvantrai Acharya wrote novels about sea voyages and pirates. Manubhai (Darshak) Pancholi’s novel ‘Jher to pidha chhe janni janni’ was revolutionary for its time.

Chunilal Madia, Ramnarayan Pathak and Dhumketu, famous for their short stories, experimented in different forms. Raghuvir Chaudhary has written novels, plays, poems and many other forms in Gujarati and Hindi. Chandrakant Bakshi has written the most number of books in his unique style of writing.

Jyotindra Dave’s contribution to humor in Gujarati is unforgettable. Bakul Tripathi, Vinod Bhatt, Taarak Mehta continued and brought their own style.

Kundanika Kapadia, Dhiruben Patel, Himanshi Shelat, Varsha Adalaja, Sonal Shukla, Panna Naik, Preety Sengupta are some of the leading female writers of Gujarati literature.

Chandravadan Mehta, Jayanti Dalal, Rasiklal Parikh are significant playwrights. Madhu Rye and Chandrakant Shah incorporated western styles inGujarati plays. Harivhallabh Bhayani, Shantibhai Acharya and Prabodh Pandit have conducted serious research. Radhe-shyam Sharma, Chandrakant Sheth, Anantrai Raval, Shirish Panchal and Sharifa Vijalivala are major critics .

In the global village, Gujaratis living outside India, such as Adil Mansuri, Panna Naik, Preety Sengupta, Madhu Rai, Chandrakant Shah, Deepak Bardolikar, Adam Tankarvi, and Ahmed Gul, still write in Gujarati. Vipul Kalyani’s ‘Opinion’ and Kishor Desai’s ‘Gurjari Digest’ are two Gujarati magazines published outside India.