https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Bholabhai_PatelBholabhai Patel - Revision history2026-07-31T00:26:33ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Bholabhai_Patel&diff=468988&oldid=prevSachin Soni at 07:59, 31 December 20252025-12-31T07:59:34Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian Gujarati author (1934–2012)}}<br />
{{EngvarB|date=June 2014}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}<br />
{{Infobox writer<br />
| name=Bholabhai Patel<br />
| image=BholabhaiPatelPic.jpg<br />
| img_capt=<br />
| caption=<br />
| birth_date={{birth date|1934|8|7|df=y}}<br />
| birth_place=Soja village, [[Mehsana district]], Gujarat, India<br />
| death_date={{death date and age|2012|5|20|1934|8|7|df=y}}<br />
| death_place=[[Ahmedabad]], Gujarat<br />
| occupation= Author<br />
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]<br />
| period=<br />
| nationality=Indian<br />
| influenced=<br />
| signature= Bholabhai Patel signature.png<br />
| awards=[[Padma Shri]] (2008)<br />
| module={{Infobox academic<br />
| child = yes<br />
|doctoral_advisor = Ambashankar Nagar<br />
| thesis_title=Agney: Ek Adhyayan Adhunikta Avam Pashyat Prabhavoke Vishesh Sandharbh Me<br />
| thesis_url= http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/47771<br />
| doctoral_students = [[Bindu Bhatt]] }}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Bholabhai Patel''' ({{IPA|gu|bʰo.ɭa.bʰa.i pə.ʈel|pron|}}) was an Indian [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] author. He taught numerous languages at [[Gujarat University]] and did comparative studies of literature in different languages. He translated extensively and wrote essays and travelogues. He was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 2008.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=July 21, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref><br />
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== Life ==<br />
Patel was born on 7 August 1934, in Soja village near [[Gandhinagar]], Gujarat.<ref name=dna>{{cite news|title=Gujarati litterateur Bholabhai Patel dies|date=21 May 2012|place=Ahmedabad|work=Daily News and Analysis|access-date=16 June 2014|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-gujarati-litterateur-bholabhai-patel-dies-1691747|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308032757/http://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-gujarati-litterateur-bholabhai-patel-dies-1691747|url-status=live}}</ref> He completed S.S.C. in 1952. He earned a [[Bachelor's degree]] in Sanskrit, Hindi and Indian culture from [[Banaras 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 on [[Sachchidananda Vatsyayan]] 'Agyeya', a modernist Hindi writer, and completed it in 1977. The thesis was later published as ''Agyeya: Ek Adhyayan'' in Hindi. During his studies in Gujarathi University, Gujarathi writer [[Umashankar Joshi]] was his Gujarati lecturer. Joshi influenced literary taste and critical discrimination.<ref name="Bholabhai and Umashankar">{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Avadhesh Kumar |title=Bholabhai Patel (1934-2012): An Invisible Bridge between Gujarati and Indian Literatures |journal=Indian Literature |date=2012 |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=51–58 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |location=New Delhi |jstor=23345961 |issn=0019-5804}}</ref> He also completed a diploma in German in 1971 and linguistics in 1974.<ref name=toi>{{cite news|title=Famous literary figure Bholabhai Patel passes away, his wisdom survives|first=Priya|last=Adhyaru Majithia|date=21 May 2012|access-date=16 June 2014|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Famous-literary-figure-Bholabhai-Patel-passes-away-his-wisdom-survives/articleshow/13323689.cms|work=The Times of India|archive-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209080903/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Famous-literary-figure-Bholabhai-Patel-passes-away-his-wisdom-survives/articleshow/13323689.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Patel obtained a fellowship from the [[Visva-Bharati University]] where he did a comparative study of Indian literature.<ref name=dna/><ref name=AGSI>{{cite book|title=અર્વાચીન ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યનો ઈતિહાસ - આધુનિક અને અનુઆધુનિક યુગ (History of Modern Gujarati Literature – Modern and Postmodern Era)|first=Prasad|last=Brahmabhatt |publisher=Parshwa Publication|location=Ahmedabad|year=2010|pages=263–267|language=gu|isbn=978-93-5108-247-7}}</ref><ref name =gsp>{{cite web|url=http://gujaratisahityaparishad.com/prakashan/sarjako/savishesh/Savishesh-Bholabhai-Patel.html|publisher=[[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]]|access-date=23 June 2014|language=gu|title=Bholabhai Patel|archive-date=7 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607164729/http://www.gujaratisahityaparishad.com/prakashan/sarjako/savishesh/Savishesh-Bholabhai-Patel.html|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
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Patel was married and had three children. He began his teaching career working at a primary school in [[Modasa]]. 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 published ''[[Gujarati Vishwakosh]]'', the Gujarati encyclopaedia. He served as the president of the [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] from 2011 until his death in 2012. He edited ''Parab'', a monthly of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad for three decades starting 1974.<ref name=dna/><ref name=AGSI/><ref name =gsp/><ref name=dgx>{{cite news|title=President of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Bholabhai Patel dies|url=http://deshgujarat.com/2012/05/20/president-of-gujarati-sahitya-parishad-bholabhai-patel-dies/|work=DeshGujarat|date=20 May 2012|access-date=16 June 2014|archive-date=20 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920014103/http://deshgujarat.com/2012/05/20/president-of-gujarati-sahitya-parishad-bholabhai-patel-dies/|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
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He died on 20 May 2012 at [[Ahmedabad]] following a heart attack.<ref name=gsp/><ref name=dgx/><br />
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== Works ==<br />
Patel had published more than 52 books. He was a [[polyglot]] 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 poet [[Kalidas]] and the Nobel laureate [[Rabindranath Tagore]].<ref name=dna/><ref name=AGSI/><ref name=dgx/><br />
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=== Non-fiction ===<br />
''Vidisha'' (1980) is collection of his eleven travel essays. ''Purvottar'' (1971) is travelogue of his travel in [[Northeast India]], [[West Bengal]] and [[Odisha]]. ''Kanchanjangha'' (1985) is collection of travel essays. His other two collections are ''Bole Zina Mor'' (1992) and ''Shalbhanjika'' (1992). His other travelogues are ''Radhe Tara Dungariya Par'' (1987), ''Devoni Ghati'' (1989), ''Devatma Himalaya'' (1990) and ''Europe-Anubhav'' (2004).<ref name=AGSI/><br />
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His works of criticism are ''Adhuna'' (1973), ''Bharatiya Tunkivarta'' (1987), ''Purvapar'' (1976), ''Kalpurush'' (1979), ''Adhunikata ane Gujarati Kavita'' (1987), ''Sahityik Paramparano Vistar'' (1996), ''Aav Gira Gujarati'' (2003).<ref name=AGSI/><br />
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=== Edited and translated works ===<br />
He has edited some works; ''Asamiya Gujarati Kavita'' (1981), ''Gujarati Sahityano Athmo Dayko'' (1982), ''Gujarati Sahityano Navmo Dayko'' (with [[Chandrakant Topiwala]], 1991) and ''Jeevannu Kavya'' (1987), selected works of [[Kaka Kalelkar]]. His Ph.D. thesis, ''Agney: Ek Adhyayan'' was published by Gujarat University in 1983.<ref name=AGSI/><br />
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As he was a [[polyglot]], he translated large number of works. A large number of these translations were from [[Bengali language|Bengali]] to his native Gujarati, such as [[Sukumar Sen (linguist)|Sukumar Sen]]'s history of Bengali literature, ''Bangali Sahitya Itihasni Rooprekha'' in 1982.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Singh|first=Avadhesh Kumar|date=2012-01-01|title=Bholabhai Patel (1934-2012): An Invisible Bridge between Gujarati and Indian Literatures|jstor=23345961|journal=Indian Literature|volume=56|issue=3 (269)|pages=51–58}}</ref> Other translations from Bengali include works by [[Rabindranath Tagore]], such as ''Char Adhyay'' (1988), [[Jibanananda Das]]'s poetry collection ''Vanlata Sen'' (1976), [[Sunil Gangopadhyay]]'s novel ''Swargani Niche Manushya'' (1977), [[Buddhadeb Bosu]]'s play ''Tapaswi ane Tarangini'' (1982).<br />
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He also translated Vinayak Athwale's ''Vishnu Digambar'' (1967), Gopal Singh's ''Guru Nanak'' (1969), [[Maheswar Neog]]'s ''Shankardev'' (1970), He translated [[Sumitranandan Pant]]'s poetry collection in Gujarati as ''Chidambara'' (1969) with [[Raghuveer Chaudhari]]. He translated [[Umashankar Joshi]]'s poetry books ''Prachina'' (1968) and ''Nishith'' (1968) in Hindi. Rabindranath Tagore's ''Geet Panchshati'' (1978) was translated in Gujarati by him, [[Nagindas Parekh]] and others. He also translated [[Prabhudutt Brahmachari]]'s ''Chaitanya Mahaprabhu'' (1986) with Nagindas Parekh. He translated Hindi writer [[Shrikant Verma]]'s ''Bijana Pag'' (1990) with [[Bindu Bhatt]]. He translated [[R. M. Lala]]'s ''The Creation of Wealth'' from English in Gujarati as ''Sampattinu Sarjan'' (1984). ''Kamroopa'' is translation of selected Assamese poetry. He also translated [[Syed Abdul Malik]]'s novel as ''Soorajmukhina Swapna'' and Vasudev Sharan Agrawal's studies as ''Harshacharit: Ek Sanskritik Adhyayan''.<ref name="AGSI" /> He translated [[Agyeya]]'s [[Hindi]] work ''[[Angan Ke Par Dwar]]'' into Gujarati as ''Anganani Par Dwar'' (2002).<ref name="Rao2004">{{cite book|last=Rao|first=D. S.|title=Five Decades: The National Academy of Letters, India : A Short History of Sahitya Akademi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8JDsBBDoMccC&pg=PA50|year=2004|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-260-2060-7|page=50|access-date=23 August 2019|archive-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329080311/https://books.google.com/books?id=8JDsBBDoMccC&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
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== Recognition ==<br />
[[File:Padmashri Bholabhai Patel Chowk.jpg|thumb|Padmashri Bholabhai Patel Circle named after him on University Road, [[Ahmedabad]]]]<br />
Patel was awarded the [[Padma Shri]], the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2008. He also won the KK Birla Foundation fellowship. He received the [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] in 1995, the highest award in Gujarati literature. He was the recipient of the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] for Gujarati in 1992 for ''Devoni Ghati''.<ref name=dna/><ref name=AGSI/><ref name =gsp/><ref name=dgx/> Bholabhai Patel Chowk, a crossroad near Gujarat University, is named after him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Welcome-to-Bholabhai-Chowk/articleshow/15396533.cms|title=Welcome to Bholabhai Chowk!|first=Priya Adhyaru|last=Majithia|date=8 August 2012|access-date=23 June 2014|work=The Times of India|archive-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801201220/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Welcome-to-Bholabhai-Chowk/articleshow/15396533.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[List of Gujarati-language writers]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Bholabhai Patel}}<br />
* {{Gujarati Vishwakosh}}<br />
{{SahityaAkademiFellowship}}<br />
{{Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati}}<br />
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Bholabhai}}<br />
[[Category:1934 births]]<br />
[[Category:2012 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Writers from Gujarat]]<br />
[[Category:Gujarati-language Indian writers]]<br />
[[Category:Academic staff of Gujarat University]]<br />
[[Category:People from Gandhinagar district]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati]]<br />
[[Category:Indian literary critics]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian translators]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]<br />
[[Category:Indian travel writers]]<br />
[[Category:Banaras Hindu University alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]]<br />
[[Category:Scholars from Gujarat]]<br />
[[Category:Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]]<br />
[[Category:Translators of Rabindranath Tagore]]</div>Sachin Soni