Eco-feminism in Jhaverchand Meghani’s ‘Charan Kanya’

Abstract

 Literature and poetry are an important part of the Charan identity, literature written primarily during times of peace or shortly after returning from battle, and particularly to record the exploits of fellow warriors. Charani literature is a literary genre in its own right. This caste is primarily responsible for the Dingal language and literature. Jhaverchand Meghani was a prolific Gujarati novelist, critic, and journalist who lived from 1897 to 1947. This paper focuses on his pioneering work in Gujarati folk literature, especially his popular poem "Charan kanya," about a charan girl's valour in saving her calf. Meghani spent many years travelling across Saurashtra, gathering and recording oral culture repositories through folk tales, songs, ballads, and other traditional types. People from different professions, castes, genders, and social classes served as his sources. This paper attempts to analyse the poem “Charan Kanya” through an eco-feminist perspective.