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{{Short description|Gujarati poet and ruler of Lathi, India (1874–1900)}}
{{For|the 1967 Indian film about the poet|Kalapi (film)}}{{More citations needed|date=July 2008}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Sursinhji Gohil 'Kalapi'
| image = Sursinhji Gohil Kalapi.jpg
| caption = Kalapi
| pseudonym = Kalapi
| birth_name = Sursinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil
| birth_date ={{birth date|1874|1|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Lathi, Gujarat|Lathi]], [[Amreli]], [[British India]]
| death_date ={{death date and age|1900|6|10|1874|1|26|df=y}}
| death_place = Lathi, [[Bombay presidency]], [[British India]]
| occupation = poet, writer
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| nationality = Indian
| education = Std. 5 (English medium)
| alma_mater = [[Rajkumar College, Rajkot|Rajkumar College]], [[Rajkot]]
| period = [[Gujarati literature#Modern literature (1850 AD – present)|Pandit Yuga]]
| genres =
| subjects = Love, nature and spirituality
| notableworks = {{plainlist|
* ''Kalapino Kekarav'' (1903)
* ''Kashmirno Pravas'' (1912)
}}
| spouse =
* Rajba a.k.a. Ramaba (1889–1900)
* Kesharba a.k.a. Anandiba (1889–1900)
* Monghi a.k.a. Shobhana (1898–1900)
| signature = Kalapi autograph.svg
| years_active = 1892–1900
| website =
}}
'''Sursinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil''' (26 January 1874 – 10 June 1900), popularly known by his pen name, '''''Kalapi''''' was a [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] poet and the [[Thakor]] (prince) of [[Lathi, Gujarat|Lathi state]] in [[Gujarat]]. He is mostly known for his poems depicting his own [[pathos]].

He lived in [[Lathi, Gujarat|Lathi]]-Gohilwad, which is located in the [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] region of [[Gujarat]].

==Life==
Kalapi was born on 26 January 1874 to his father [[Maharaja]] Takhtasinhji, the ruler of [[Lathi, Gujarat|Lathi]], a small state situated in a far away corner of Saurashtra region, and mother Ramaba. Takhtasinhji died when Kalapi was 5, and Ramaba died when Kalapi was 14. These deaths left a permanent impact on Kalapi's mind.<ref name="Desai1990">{{cite book|last=Desai|first=Hemant G.|title=Kalapi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6AhAAAAMAAJ|series=Makers of Indian Literature|year=1990|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|page=3–9|oclc=24489625}}</ref>

At the age of 8, Kalapi entered into [[Rajkumar College, Rajkot|Rajkumar College]], [[Rajkot]] for school education, and spent next 9 years (1882 – 1891) there, but didn't complete his schooling and dropped out of school. During these times, he studied extensively English, Sanskrit and contemporary Gujarati literature.<ref name="Desai1990"/>

Kalapi's date of death is uncertain. It is formally noted down as 10 June 1900. There is also some controversy over his death. It was declared as death due to [[Cholera]] but some believed that it was not a [[natural death]].<ref name="Desai1990"/>

===Personal life===
Kalapi was married—at the age of 15—to two princesses. These were Rajba-Ramaba (born 1868), the princess of [[Kutch]]–[[Roha Fort|Roha]]; and Kesharba-Anandiba (born 1872), the princess of [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]]–Kotada.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} When Kalapi was 20 years old, he fell in love with a family maid, Shobhana, who served his royal family.<ref>{{cite book | editor=Joseph T. Shipley |title=Encyclopedia of Literature |url= |location=New York |publisher=Philosophical Library |year=1946 |pages=514| url-access=| via= |isbn=}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>

It is believed that Kalapi's love for Shobhana became a source of conflict with Rajba-Ramaba and the reason for his subsequent death due to [[poison]]ing by her.<ref name="Datta1988">{{cite book | author=Amaresh Datta| title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1436| volume=2| year=1988| publisher=Sahitya Akademi| isbn=978-81-260-1194-0| page=1436}}</ref><ref name=a>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Kavi-Kalapis-birth-anniversary-celebrated/articleshow/7374519.cms| work=The Times of India| date=Jan 27, 2011| title=Kavi Kalapi's birth anniversary celebrated| access-date =July 1, 2014}}</ref>

==Works==
[[File:Handwriting of Poet Kalapi.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Handwriting of Kalapi (A letter written to Monghi (a.k.a. Shobhana)]]

In spite of his short life, Kalapi's body of work was large. The poet penned about 250 [[poem]]s, including about 15,000 verses. He also authored a number of [[prose]] writings and over 900 letters to his friends and wives. He not only used the [[Gujarati language]] as his [[Media (communication)|medium]] to elaborate on his thoughts, but also translated four [[English novel]]s to Gujarati.

Kalapi mentored a number of budding poets who carried on his style of writing, many of whom become famous in their own right. The most prominent among these was Kavi Lalitji, who was about the same age as Kalapi, and was already an established poet when he was invited to the Lathi Darbar as a tutor for the royal children. He came under Kalapi's influence and the two became great friends. Lalitji went on to become the ''Rajya Kavi'' (Royal Bard) of [[Lathi, Gujarat|Lathi]].

Kavi Kalapi had written poems in various [[Chhand]] (metres) of the Gujarati language. Like [[Mandakranta metre|Mandakranta]], Shardulvikridit, Shikharini and others, to write poems in Chhand, one has to follow the structure of that chhand and the rules of chhandas poetry. ''Aapni Yadi'' is one of his best known [[ghazal]]s in the Gujarati literature.<ref name="George1992">{{cite book | author=K. M. George| title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA557| year=1992| publisher=Sahitya Akademi| location=New Delhi| isbn=978-81-7201-324-0| page=557}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
In his remembrance, the Indian National Theater at Mumbai, since 1997, gives the [[Kalapi Award]] to an accomplished Gujarati [[ghazal]] [[poet]] annually.

===Museum===
{{anchor|Kalapi Museum}}
The ''Kalpi Tirtha Museum''<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://amreli.nic.in/gallery/kalapi-tirth-lathi/|title=Kalapi Tirth – Lathi {{!}} District Amreli, Government of Gujarat| website=amreli.nic.in| language=en-US| access-date=2018-10-06}}</ref> holds objects related to the life of the Gujarati poet Kalpi. The museum was inaugurated in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://gt.intentlabs.com/destination/details/9/404| title=Kalapi Tirth Museum Lathi| website=gt.intentlabs.com| language=en| access-date=2018-10-06| archive-date=2019-04-10| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410124608/http://gt.intentlabs.com/destination/details/9/404| url-status=dead}}</ref> It is located at Lathi on the birthplace of Kalpi in the Amreli district of Gujarat. There is a huge collection of articles written by the artists themselves, letters, the rare items they used, and the history of the monarchy. The memorials were also associated with the Kalpi Tirtha, where the Kalpati lived, the palace, which was sitting on the banks of the lake. This place is a center of attraction for Gujarat's literature makers.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Verse-comes-to-worst-in-parched-Amreli/articleshow/4418876.cms| title=Verse comes to worst in parched Amreli - Times of India| work=The Times of India| access-date=2018-10-06}}</ref> There is a small auditorium on the upper floors of Kalpitirth Bhawan. Apart from Wednesdays, this museum gives free entry. Videography and photography are permitted.

==In popular culture==
The 1966 [[Gujarati cinema|Gujarati film]], ''[[Kalapi (film)|Kalapi]]'', is based on his life. [[Sanjeev Kumar]] plays the titular role, and [[Padmarani]] plays the role of his wife, Rama. The film was directed by [[Manhar Raskapur]].<ref name="GokulsingDissanayake2013">{{cite book | author1=K. Moti Gokulsing| author2=[[Wimal Dissanayake]]| title=Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djUFmlFbzFkC&pg=PA94| accessdate=21 April 2017| date=17 April 2013| publisher=Routledge| isbn=978-1-136-77284-9| page=94}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = center
| image1 = Rajba-Rama-Wife-Of Kalapi.jpg
| width1 = 175
| caption1 = First wife, Rajba a.k.a. Ramaba
| image2 = Kesharba-Anandiba-Wife-of-Kalapi.jpg
| width2 = 175
| caption2 = Second wife, Kesharba a.k.a. Anandiba
| image3 = Monghi-Shobhana-girlfriend-of-Kalapi.jpg
| width3 = 175
| caption3 = Third wife, Monghi a.k.a. Shobhana
| footer =
}}

{{Clear}}

==See also==
* [[List of Gujarati-language writers]]
* [[List of unsolved deaths]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | author=Indravadana K. Dave|title=કલાપી: એક અધ્યયન|trans-title=Kalapi: A Study|script-title=gu:Kalāpī: Ek Adhyayana| url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.305640| year=1969| publisher=Gujarat University| location=Ahmedababd|language=gu|oclc=20312779}}
* {{cite book|author=Navalram Trivedi |title=Kalapi [Biography of Kalapi] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.410686 |year=1944 |publisher=Gujarat Vernacular Society |location=Ahmedabad |oclc=35740313}}

==External links==
* {{Gujarati Vishwakosh}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalapi, Kavi}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1900 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Amreli district]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language poets]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:Poets from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Unsolved deaths in India]]
[[Category:Poets from British India]]

Kalapi - Revision history

Mihmbathinda at 07:59, 31 December 2025