Bholabhai Patel | |
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| Born | (1934-08-07)7 August 1934 Soja village,Mehsana district, Gujarat, India |
| Died | 20 May 2012(2012-05-20) (aged 77) Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | Gujarati |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri (2008) |
| Signature | |
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| Academic background | |
| Thesis | Agney: Ek Adhyayan Adhunikta Avam Pashyat Prabhavoke Vishesh Sandharbh Me |
| Doctoral advisor | Ambashankar Nagar |
| Academic work | |
| Doctoral students | Bindu Bhatt |
Bholabhai Patel (pronounced[bʰo.ɭa.bʰa.ipə.ʈel]) was an IndianGujarati author. He taught numerous languages atGujarat University and did comparative studies of literature in different languages. He translated extensively and wrote essays and travelogues. He was awarded thePadma Shri in 2008.[1]
Patel was born on 7 August 1934, in Soja village nearGandhinagar, Gujarat.[2] He completed S.S.C. in 1952. He earned aBachelor's degree in Sanskrit, Hindi and Indian culture fromBanaras Hindu University in 1957. He also studied at the Gujarat University, and completed his master's degree in Hindi in 1960, a Bachelors in English in 1968, a Masters in English and Science of Language in 1970. From 1974, he started working on his PhD thesis onSachchidananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya', a modernist Hindi writer, and completed it in 1977. The thesis was later published asAgyeya: Ek Adhyayan in Hindi. During his studies in Gujarathi University, Gujarathi writerUmashankar Joshi was his Gujarati lecturer. Joshi influenced literary taste and critical discrimination.[3] He also completed a diploma in German in 1971 and linguistics in 1974.[4] Patel obtained a fellowship from theVisva-Bharati University where he did a comparative study of Indian literature.[2][5][6]
Patel was married and had three children. He began his teaching career working at a primary school inModasa. He taught at Saradar Vallabhbhai Arts College in Ahmedabad from 1960 to 1969. Later he taught and headed the Hindi Department of the School of Languages at Gujarat University from 1969 until his retirement in 1994. Patel served as a fellow of comparative literature at Visva-Bharati University,Santiniketan in 1983-84 and at the Institute of Humanities, Vidya Bhavan. He was also the trustee of the institute which publishedGujarati Vishwakosh, the Gujarati encyclopaedia. He served as the president of theGujarati Sahitya Parishad from 2011 until his death in 2012. He editedParab, a monthly of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad for three decades starting 1974.[2][5][6][7]
He died on 20 May 2012 atAhmedabad following a heart attack.[6][7]
Patel had published more than 52 books. He was apolyglot who spoke Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, German, French, Marathi, Puria and Sanskrit fluently. He translated many books from these languages to Gujarati and vice versa. He wrote literary travelogues about his travels across Europe and the US. Patel was an expert on the works of the ancient poetKalidas and the Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore.[2][5][7]
Vidisha (1980) is collection of his eleven travel essays.Purvottar (1971) is travelogue of his travel inNortheast India,West Bengal andOdisha.Kanchanjangha (1985) is collection of travel essays. His other two collections areBole Zina Mor (1992) andShalbhanjika (1992). His other travelogues areRadhe Tara Dungariya Par (1987),Devoni Ghati (1989),Devatma Himalaya (1990) andEurope-Anubhav (2004).[5]
His works of criticism areAdhuna (1973),Bharatiya Tunkivarta (1987),Purvapar (1976),Kalpurush (1979),Adhunikata ane Gujarati Kavita (1987),Sahityik Paramparano Vistar (1996),Aav Gira Gujarati (2003).[5]
He has edited some works;Asamiya Gujarati Kavita (1981),Gujarati Sahityano Athmo Dayko (1982),Gujarati Sahityano Navmo Dayko (withChandrakant Topiwala, 1991) andJeevannu Kavya (1987), selected works ofKaka Kalelkar. His Ph.D. thesis,Agney: Ek Adhyayan was published by Gujarat University in 1983.[5]
As he was apolyglot, he translated large number of works. A large number of these translations were fromBengali to his native Gujarati, such asSukumar Sen's history of Bengali literature,Bangali Sahitya Itihasni Rooprekha in 1982.[8] Other translations from Bengali include works byRabindranath Tagore, such asChar Adhyay (1988),Jibanananda Das's poetry collectionVanlata Sen (1976),Sunil Gangopadhyay's novelSwargani Niche Manushya (1977),Buddhadeb Bosu's playTapaswi ane Tarangini (1982).
He also translated Vinayak Athwale'sVishnu Digambar (1967), Gopal Singh'sGuru Nanak (1969),Maheswar Neog'sShankardev (1970), He translatedSumitranandan Pant's poetry collection in Gujarati asChidambara (1969) withRaghuveer Chaudhari. He translatedUmashankar Joshi's poetry booksPrachina (1968) andNishith (1968) in Hindi. Rabindranath Tagore'sGeet Panchshati (1978) was translated in Gujarati by him,Nagindas Parekh and others. He also translatedPrabhudutt Brahmachari'sChaitanya Mahaprabhu (1986) with Nagindas Parekh. He translated Hindi writerShrikant Verma'sBijana Pag (1990) withBindu Bhatt. He translatedR. M. Lala'sThe Creation of Wealth from English in Gujarati asSampattinu Sarjan (1984).Kamroopa is translation of selected Assamese poetry. He also translatedSyed Abdul Malik's novel asSoorajmukhina Swapna and Vasudev Sharan Agrawal's studies asHarshacharit: Ek Sanskritik Adhyayan.[5] He translatedAgyeya'sHindi workAngan Ke Par Dwar into Gujarati asAnganani Par Dwar (2002).[9]
Patel was awarded thePadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2008. He also won the KK Birla Foundation fellowship. He received theRanjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1995, the highest award in Gujarati literature. He was the recipient of theSahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1992 forDevoni Ghati.[2][5][6][7] Bholabhai Patel Chowk, a crossroad near Gujarat University, is named after him.[10]
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