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Mumbai: Former Chief Minister of Gujarat Amarsinh Bhilabhai Chaudhary, leading light of the Congress Party Sushilkumar Shinde, well known actor (Govardhan) Asrani, and Hemraj Veeram Shah – what is the common link connecting these four persons having different personalities, ideas and ideals, and fields of activity? All four of them were born in 1941.
Hemraj was born at Samakhiyali, a tiny village of Kutch region of Gujarat. He came to Mumbai to pursue higher studies, which he could not complete due to some family problems. But for the past forty-five years or so, he has immersed himself in various activities in varied fields.
Long back he realized that the Gujarati people of Maharashtra need to come under one umbrella and speak with one voice. It is only then, that their voice will reach power centers of the state. So, on December 30, 1985, he started Bruhad Mumbai Gujarati Samaj (BMGS), a federation of many smaller institutions representing Gujarati people of different caste, regions, and religions.
Under this newly formed association he started various activities including honoring leading Gujarati industrialists, screen and stage artists, writers and journalists. He also represented the cases of needs, aspirations, and problems of Gujarati people and got their problems solved by various agencies including the State Government.
Maharashtra Government had sponsored literary academies for language and literature of Hindi, Urdu, Sindhi, etc. They all received handsome grants from the Government. But in spite of a very large Gujarati population in the state, Maharashtra had no such academy for Gujarati. For close to eight years he approached various authorities, ministries, and power centers.
Finally, as a result of his painstaking efforts Maharashtra State Gujarati Sahitya Akademi (MSGSA) was established by the state government in 1998. Under this newly formed Akademi, he organized various activities, such as annual prizes and awards, publication of books, giving grants to libraries and to authors, and organizing various literary events.
Under the Bruhad Mumbai Gujarati Samaj he regularly organizes competitions for writing essays, short stories, and even novels. Gujarati’s from all around the country, and some even from abroad, participate.
Once these institutions were put on a firm footing, he undertook a very necessary, but at the same time, very difficult project: To construct and establish a ‘Gujarat Bhavan’ in Mumbai for the benefit of Gujarati’s visiting Mumbai. Many major cities of our country have such a facility where visitors can board by paying a nominal charge. But Mumbai lacked such a facility. Major hurdle was to get a piece of land at a suitable place in Mumbai.
But with sustained efforts, he managed to get a plot of 37 thousand square feet in the Lokhandwala area of Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai. On this plot was constructed a seven storied building, with AC rooms, a moderate hall, a cafeteria, and some other facilities. These are available at a fraction of the market rates.
He also worked hard to get some castes and classes included in the various categories, so that they can get benefits as scheduled castes and tribes. On March 22, Hemraj completes 80 years of his fruitful life. We wish him many more years of active life.
