>DEFCON5 at 06:03, 25 June 2021

2021-06-25T06:03:05Z

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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Dhansukhlal Mehta
| image = DhansukhlalMehtaPic.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Dhansukhlal Krishnalal Mehta
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1890|10|20}}
| birth_place = [[Wadhwan]], [[Gujarat]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|8|29|1890|10|20}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Novelist, short story writer, humourist
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| residence =
| nationality = [[India]]n
| education =
| alma_mater = [[Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute]]
| period =
| genre = Short story, novel
| movement =
| notableworks = ''[[Ame Badha]]'' (1935)
| spouse =
| children =
| awards = {{plainlist|
* [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] (1940)
* [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] (1957)
}}
| signature = Dhansukhlal Mehta autograph.svg
}}

'''Dhansukhlal Krishnalal Mehta''' was a [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] writer from [[Gujarat]], India. He is considered a pioneer of Gujarati short stories. He is known for his humorous novel ''[[Ame Badha]]'', co-written with [[Jyotindra Dave]]. He received the Gujarati literary awards [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] in 1940 and the [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] in 1957.

==Life==
Dhansukhlal Mehta was born on October 20, 1890, in the city of [[Wadhwan]], which is on the [[Kathiawar]] peninsula (now in [[Surendranagar district]], Gujarat). His family was native to [[Surat]]. After completing his schooling in Wadhwan, [[Palitana]] and Surat, he obtained a diploma from [[Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute]], [[Mumbai]]. From 1914 to 1925, he worked at various places in Mumbai, before joining [[Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd.]] in 1925.<ref name="Gujarati Sahitya Parishad">{{cite web | title=સવિશેષ પરિચય: ધનસુખલાલ મહેતા, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય પરિષદ | website=Gujarati Sahitya Parishad | url=http://www.gujaratisahityaparishad.com/prakashan/sarjako/savishesh/Savishesh-Dhansukhlal-Mehta.html | language=gu | access-date=2018-04-28}}</ref>

Mehta died on August 29, 1974.<ref name="Gujarati Sahitya Parishad"/>

==Works==
Mehta wrote short stories, plays, literary criticism, book reviews, an autobiography, and humorous essays. According to [[Mansukhlal Jhaveri]], he was a pioneer of Gujarati short stories and one of the first Gujarati writers who depicted psychological conflicts in his characters.<ref name="JhaveriAkademi1978">{{cite book|author=Mansukhlal Maganlal Jhaveri|authorlink=Mansukhlal Jhaveri|title=History of Gujarati Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA0RAAAAMAAJ|year=1978|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|page=166}}</ref> His short stories dealt with contemporary family life.<ref>{{cite book|title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Language and literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMBd9PJ1sCoC|access-date=19 April 2018|year=1953|publisher=Directorate of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications|page=371}}</ref> However, according to the ''Encyclopedia of Indian Literature'', he couldn't develop the short stories as an art form.<ref name="Lal1992">{{cite book|author=Mohan Lal|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA4041|access-date=22 April 2018|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-260-1221-3|page=4041}}</ref> Mehta began earnestly studying humorous writers of the West and wrote humorous essays, short stories, and sketches. In 1908, his short stories appeared in ''[[Jnanasudha]]'', a magazine edited by [[Ramanbhai Neelkanth]].<ref name="Datta1988">{{cite book|author=Amaresh Datta|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1602|access-date=22 April 2018|year=1988|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-260-1194-0|page=1602}}</ref>{{quote|Dhansukhlal Mehta never goes far afield in search of humor, but finds it in the actual work-a-day life around him. His art can be fully enjoyed only by a man who has lived in a small town in Gujarat, and as one read his works, he almost comes to love the everyday life of modern Gujarat in spite of its shortcomings.|author=[[Krishnalal Jhaveri]]|source=''Further Milestone in Gujarati Literature'', 1956<ref name="Jhaveri1956">{{cite book|last=Jhaveri|first=Krishnalal Mohanlal |author-link=Krishnalal Jhaveri |title=Further milestones in Gujarāti literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqxHAAAAMAAJ|year=1956|edition=2nd|publisher=Forbes Gujarati Sabha|location=Mumbai|pages=321}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>}}

Mehta's collections of short stories include ''Hu, Sarla ane Mitramandal'' (1920) and ''Asadharan Anubhav ane Biji Vato'' (1924).<ref name="George1992">{{cite book|author=K. M. George|authorlink=K. M. George (writer)|title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA131|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-7201-324-0|page=131}}</ref><ref name="NatarajanNelson1996">{{cite book|author1=Nalini Natarajan|author2=Emmanuel Sampath Nelson|title=Handbook of Twentieth-century Literatures of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&pg=PA110|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=London|isbn=978-0-313-28778-7|page=110}}</ref> In 1936, he co-wrote ''Ame Badha'' ({{abbr|lit.|literally}} We All), a humorous autobiographical novel, with [[Jyotindra Dave]]. It was highly acclaimed and is widely regarded as one of the best humorous novels in Gujarati literature.<ref name="Menon1963">{{cite book|author=Rekha Menon|title=Cultural Profiles: Calcutta. Santiniketan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ntCAAAAYAAJ|access-date=19 April 2018|year=1963|publisher=Inter-National Cultural Centre|page=35}}</ref><ref name="Datta1988"/> It was the second humorous novel in Gujarati, after ''[[Bhadrambhadra]]'' by [[Ramanbhai Neelkanth]]. According to Harshavadan Trivedi, it was the first co-written Gujarati novel.<ref name="Gujarati Sahitya Parishad"/>

In collaboration with [[Gulabdas Broker]], Mehta wrote ''Dhumraser'', a dramatization of Broker's short story of the same name.<ref name="JhaveriAkademi1978"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Proceedings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scUtAQAAIAAJ|access-date=19 April 2018|year=1957|page=288}}</ref> His selected humorous works were edited by [[Vinod Bhatt]] and published as ''Hasya Visesha: Dhansukhlal Mehta'' in 2017.<ref name="divyabhaskar 2017">{{cite web | title=ધનસુખલાલ મહેતાનું હાસ્ય-ધન | website=divyabhaskar | date=2017-10-08 | url=https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/news/MAG-the-laughter-of-dhansukhlal-mehta-gujarati-news-5714962-NOR.html | language=gu | access-date=2018-04-21}}</ref>

==Awards==
Mehta was awarded the [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] in 1940 for contributions to Gujarati literature. He received the [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] in 1957 for ''Garib Ni Jhunpadi''.<ref name="Menon1963"/><ref name="Gujarati Sahitya Parishad"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Gbooks-author|Dhanasukhalāla Kr̥shṇalāla Mahetā}}
* {{Internet Archive author|search=Dhansukhlal Maheta}}
* [http://www.sahityasetu.co.in/issue29/varta.php ''Hu ane Sarla''] on Sahityasetu E-Journal.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Dhansukhlal}}
[[Category:Indian humorists]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language writers]]
[[Category:People from Surat district]]
[[Category:Novelists from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Indian male novelists]]
[[Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:People from Surendranagar district]]
[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Gujarat]]

Dhansukhlal Mehta - Revision history

>DEFCON5 at 06:03, 25 June 2021