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{{Infobox writer
| name = Balwantray Thakore
| image =Balvantrai-Thakor.jpg
| caption =Balwantrai Thakore
| native_name = બળવંતરાય કલ્યાણરાય ઠાકોર
| native_name_lang =guj
| pseudonym = Valkal, Sehni
| birth_name = Balwantray Kalyanray Thakore
| birth_date ={{birth date|1869|10|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bharuch]], [[Gujarat]]
| death_date ={{death date and age|1952|1|2|1869|10|23}}
| death_place =[[Mumbai]]
| occupation = Poet, Critic
| language =[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| nationality = Indian
| education = [[Master of Arts]]
| alma_mater = [[Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute|Deccan College, Pune]]
| period = Pandit Era
| genres = [[Sonnet]]
| subjects =
| movement =
| notableworks = * ''Bhankaar'' (1918; Dhara Paheli)
* ''Bhankaar'' (1928; Dhara Biji)
* ''Mhara Sonnet'' (1935)
| spouses = Chandramani
| children =
| awards =
| signature =
| years_active = 1886 - 1952
}}
'''Balwantray Kalyanray Thakore''' ({{lang-gu|બળવંતરાય કલ્યાણરાય ઠાકોર}}) (23 October 1869 – 2 January 1952), popularly known as '''B. K. Thakore''' ({{lang-gu|બ.ક.ઠાકોર}}), was a poetry teacher and one of the great pioneers of the ''Pandit yug'', the turn of the twentieth century period in [[Gujarati literature]]. Known as 'Ballukaka' in his intimate circle, he played a key role in the development of modern Gujarati poetry.<ref name= "an">{{cite book |last=Panchal |first=Shirish |year=1998 |title=B.K. Thakore |series=Makers of Indian Literature |location=New Delhi |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=81-260-0373-1}}</ref>

==Early life==
The son of a lawyer, Thakore was born on 23 October 1869 in [[Porbandar]], and later moved to [[Bharuch]] in [[Gujarat]]. After attending school in Bharuch, he went to [[Rajkot]] for further education where he became acquainted with [[Navalram Pandya]], a contemporary of [[Narmadashankar Dave|Narmad]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Manishankar Bhatt]] 'Kant'. While studying at Rajkot, he came under the influence of [[Christianity]]. In his later life he also appreciated certain principles of [[Islam]]. At age 18, he married Chandramani. He later remarried after the death of his first wife.<ref name= "an"/>

==Education==
Thakore learned [[Sanskrit]] from [[Manilal Dwivedi]], a language in which he also composed poetry.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} He hoped to study abroad but was unable to do so due to the death of his wife, after which he had to take on the responsibility of raising his children. He graduated with honors from [[Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute|Deccan College]] in [[Pune]], where he was awarded an Ellis scholarship for his high marks in [[English language|English]]. Afterwards he went to [[Mumbai]] to sit the [[Indian Civil Service]] examinations, and started writing articles for ''[[The Times of India]]'' to support himself. He later worked as an assistant editor with the ''[[The Spectator (Indian newspaper)|Indian Spectator]]''. He subsequently returned to Deccan College to pursue his master's degree in Arts. He was offered the position of assistant editor for the celebrated news weekly ''Maratha'', but he declined the invitation. In 1983, he was awarded a gold medal for his historical essay ''An account of the first Madhavrao Peshwa''.<ref name= "an"/>

==Career==
Thakore taught history, economics, political science, logic, and ethics at the [[D. J. Sindh Government Science College|D. J. Sindh College]] in [[Karachi]]. He remained active throughout his life, even lecturing at [[Wilson College, Mumbai]] at the age of 80. He also started his own publishing house at around the same time, hoping to invigorate Gujarati literature. He died shortly after, at the age of 82, in Mumbai.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZZjWzi42eUC&q=balwantrai+thakore&pg=PA7|title=B.K. Thakore|isbn=9788126003730|last1=Pañcāla|first1=Śirīsha|year=1998}}</ref>

==Works==
Thakore wrote under the pen-names 'Sehni' (Senani or military officer, after his great grandfather Anuprai, who had been an officer in the army of the [[Scindia]]s) and 'Valkal'. He wrote his first poem in 1886, published in the same year. His first essay on was published in 1891.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

His sonnet sequence ''Premo Divas'' ("Day of love") and the collection of poems ''Bhankaar'' (published in 1917) are major contributions to Gujarati literature.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} They were followed by ''Mhara Sonnet'' (1935). He also wrote books on literary criticism; his first collection of critical essays, ''Kavitashikshana'', was published in 1924, followed by ''Lyric'' (1928), ''Navin Kavita Vishe Vyakhyano'' (1943), ''Vividh Vyakhyano'' and ''Praveshako''.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} Thakore emphasized very strongly the need of intellection in the meaning of poetry and of flexibility in its metre.<ref name="Patel1969">{{cite journal|last=Patel|first=Bholabhai|author-link=Bholabhai Patel|title=New Trends in Gujarati Criticism|journal=Indian Writing Today|editor1-last=Padhye|editor1-first=Prabhakar|editor2-last=Bhatkal|editor2-first=Sadanand|volume=2|issue=3|date=July–September 1968|publisher=Nirmala Sadanand Publishers|location=Bombay|page=8|issn=0019-6495|oclc=1089579817}}</ref>

As an editor, he compiled a collection of Gujarati poetry, ''Aapani Kavita Samriddhi'', in 1931, with the aim of introducing readers to some of the best poems in Gujarati literature. It has 85 poems written by 57 poets. The collection is considered to be a landmark in the history of [[Gujarati literature]].<ref name="Jhaveri1978">{{cite book|last=Jhaveri|first=Mansukhlal Maganlal|authorlink=Mansukhlal Jhaveri|title=History of Gujarati Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA0RAAAAMAAJ|year=1978|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|pages=122|oclc=639128528}}</ref> With the same aim he started contributing a regular feature to a literary magazine called ''Prasthan'', edited by [[Ramnarayan V. Pathak]], where he selected a poem and discussed it in detail. He also edited Vachak Manimanikya's ''Ambad Vidyadhar Ras'' and Vachak Udaybhanu's ''Vikramcharit Ras''. In co-operation with other scholars, he edited a series of six medieval 'Ras' poems called ''Gurjar Rasavali''.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

As a translator, he produced versions from Sanskrit of [[Kalidasa]]'s ''Abhijnan Shakuntalam'' in 1906, ''Malvikagnimitra'' in 1933 and ''Vikramorvarshiyam'' in 1958. He adapted a Russian comedy by [[Valentin Kataev]] called ''Quadrature of the circle''.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

He also authored two plays, ''Ugati Jawani'' ("Rising Youth") and ''Lagnaman Brahmacharya'', both published in 1923. A collection of his short stories was published as ''Darshaniyun'' in 1924. ''B.K. Thakoreni Dinki'' (1969) is a diary work by him. His historical works include ''Itihas Digdarshan'' (1928), ''An account of First Madhavrao Peshwa'' (1897) and ''Indian Administration to the Dawn of Responsible Government'' (1922).{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

The Shree Lalshankar Umiyashankar Arts and Harivadan and Padmaben Thakore Commerce College for Women was established in part by Thakore's support.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slucollege.org/content.php?id=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209181302/http://slucollege.org/content.php?id=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-12-09|title=History of S.L.U. Arts and H. & P. Thakore Commerce College for Women - Women Empowerment - Women Education Ahmedabad}}</ref><ref name= "an"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Brahmbhatt |first=Prasad |editor-last=Topiwala |editor-first=Chandrakant |encyclopedia=Gujarati Sahityakosh (Encyclopedia of Gujarati Literature) |title=Thakor Balwantray Kalyanray |language=Gujarati |year=1990 |publisher=[[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] |volume=2 |location=Ahmedabad |pages=175–177 }}</ref>

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Trivedi |first=Harshad M. |title=વિવેચક પ્રો. બલવન્તરાય ઠાકોર |trans-title=Critic Pro. Balwantray Thakore |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.537503 |year=1979 |publisher=Department of Gujarati, [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]] |location=Vadodara |oclc=60604479}}
* {{cite book|last=Trivedī|first=Vishṇuprasāda Ra|authorlink=Vishnuprasad Trivedi|title=Pro. Ba. Ka. Ṭhākora Adhyayana-grantha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpcRAQAAIAAJ|year=1969|publisher=Gujaratī vibhāga, Mahārājā Sayājīrāva Viśvavidyālaya|location=Vadodara|oclc=767541435}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author|search=Balvantray Thakor}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thakore, Balwantry}}
[[Category:1869 births]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language writers]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language poets]]

Balwantray Thakore - Revision history

>Gazal world at 05:29, 28 January 2021