NicholasPrentice at 20:59, 4 February 2026

2026-02-04T20:59:25Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian writer (1909–2006)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name=Gulabdas Broker
| image= Gulabdas Harjivandas Broker.png
| caption=
| birth_name= Gulabdas Harjivandas Broker
| birth_date={{birth date|1909|9|20|df=y}}
| birth_place=[[Porbandar]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date={{death date and age|2006|6|10|1909|9|20|df=y}}
| death_place=[[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]], India<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2006-06-11 |title=Gujarati writer Gulabdas Broker dies |url=https://www.oneindia.com/2006/06/11/gujarati-writer-gulabdas-broker-dies-1150036482.html |access-date=2025-12-04 |website=Oneindia |language=en}}</ref>
| occupation= Writer, journalist
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| period=
| influenced=
| signature=
| awards=[[Padma Shri]] (1991), [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] (1998)
}}

'''Gulabdas Harjivandas Broker''' (20 September 1909 – 10 June 2006) was a [[Gujarati language]] writer, [[literary critic]], and editor from [[India]]. He is primarily known for his short stories and one-act plays in [[Gujarati literature]].<ref name=sj>{{cite book|last=Jagmohan|first=Sarla|title=Selected Stories from Gujarat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ghkJaKIVTsC&pg=PT9|access-date=25 April 2017|date=1 January 2002|publisher=Jaico Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7224-955-7|page=9}}</ref> He is considered a pioneer in introducing psychoanalytic themes to Gujarati storytelling.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999">{{cite wikisource |editor-first1=Tanaji |editor-last1=Halarnkar |editor-link1=Tanaji Halarnkar |others= |title=Konkani Vishwakosh |trans-title=Konkani Encyclopaedia |wslink=Page:Konkani Viswakosh Vol3.pdf/319 |type= |edition= |series= |pages=319–320 |volume=3 |year=1999 |publisher=[[Goa University]] |location=Goa |language=gom |wslanguage=gom }}</ref>

== Life and career ==
Gulabdas Harjivandas was born at [[Porbandar]] on 20 September 1909. He completed his education in Gujarati and English literature from [[Bombay University]] in 1930.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" /> He briefly worked at the [[Bombay Stock Exchange]]. Later, he started his writing in 1932 when he was jailed during the [[Satyagraha]] movement. He was imprisoned at the [[Yerwada Central Jail]] in [[Pune]] during the civil disobedience movement of the early 1930s. It was during this incarceration that he wrote his first short story at the behest of a Parsi jailor.<ref name="TOI2002">{{cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Nisha |date=21 February 2002 |title=Gulabdas Broker: A master storyteller |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/pune-times/gulabdas-broker-a-master-storyteller/articleshow/1611024.cms |work=The Times of India |access-date=25 April 2017}}</ref> He was sentenced to 16 months in imprisonment during the agitation. From 1933 until his retirement in 1964, he worked as a broker in the futures market.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" />

His first short story collection was ''Ane Biji Vato'' ("And Other Talks").<ref name=lit>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&dq=gulabdas+broker&pg=PA116|pages=116–117|title=Handbook of Twentieth-century Literatures of India|first=Nalini Natarajan|last=Emmanuel Sampath Nelson|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=9780313287787}}</ref> He traveled as an Indian representative to the [[United Nations]]. He also visited the [[United States]] in 1962 and [[West Germany]] in 1963.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" /> He also traveled with President [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]] and received special invitations to visit France and England.<ref name="TOI2002" /> He served as a member of the Advisory Board for Gujarati at the [[Sahitya Akademi]].<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" />

Broker served as the president of [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] from 1973 to 1974. Later in life, he settled in Pune with his family.<ref name="TOI2002" /> He died on 10 June 2006 at [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]].<ref name="oi">{{cite news|url=http://www.oneindia.com/2006/06/11/gujarati-writer-gulabdas-broker-dies-1150036482.html|title=Gujarati writer Gulabdas Broker dies|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115041905/http://www.webmasteronline.biz/ppersonality.htm|archive-date=2013-01-15|work=One India News|date=2006-06-11|access-date=2014-04-24|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dg">{{cite news|url=http://deshgujarat.com/2006/12/30/gujarat-lost-range-of-giants-in-2006text-article/|title =Gujarat lost range of giants in 2006|work=DeshGujarat|date=2006-12-30|access-date =2014-04-24}}</ref>

== Themes and style ==
Broker occupies a significant place in Gujarati literature, particularly for his use of psychoanalysis in fiction. His stories, often written in simple language, explore the complexities of the human mind and everyday events. He frequently addressed the social and sexual issues faced by the upper-middle-class youth in urban environments. He also wrote stories centered on the relationships between mothers and children.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" />

Broker believed that the short story format allowed for the development of a single aspect of life. He was known for creating female characters that were strong and ahead of their times, though he was occasionally criticized for being "obsessed" with female characters. Regarding his literary standing compared to Russian or French masters, he maintained, "I have my own style."<ref name="TOI2002" />

== Works ==
He edited ''Akhandand'', a Gujarati monthly. His first short story, ''Lata Sun Bole'', was published in many magazines and invited readers to suggest endings.<ref name="TOI2002" /> Many of his early stories were published in ''Prasthan'', a prestigious Gujarati literary magazine based in Mumbai.<ref name="TOI2002" />

He wrote a large number of short stories, plays, travelogues, and an autobiography. Several of them are translated into Hindi, Spanish, German, and English.<ref name=oi/><ref name=dg/> Additionally, his works have been translated into [[Italian language|Italian]] and other European languages.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" /> He also edited ''Ekanki'', a periodical devoted to one-act plays.<ref name=sj/>

Some of his notable works include:<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" /><ref name="TOI2002" />
* ''Lata Ane Biji Vato'' (1938)
* ''Vasundhara Ane Biji Vato'' (1941)
* ''Ubhi Wate'' (1944)
* ''Surya'' (1950)
* ''Mansa na Man''
* ''Punya Parvardum Nabhi'' (1954)
* ''Prakashan Smit'' (1956)
* ''Jwalant Agni'' (1956)
* ''Jeevanam Amrit'' (1974)
* ''Neeli Nu Bhooth''
* ''Prem Padarath''
* ''Gulamdin Ghadiwalla''
* ''Vasante'' (1964) – Poetry collection
* ''Rup Srishtiman'' (1962) – Critical reviews
* ''Nava Gaganni'' (1970) – Travelogue

Broker also translated literature into Gujarati, including [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s ''[[Ghosts (play)|Ghosts]]'' (1960) and [[Henry James]]'s ''[[The American (novel)|The American]]'' (1967).<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" />

== Awards ==
Broker was awarded the [[Padma Shri]], the fourth highest civilian award in India in 1992.<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 | archive-date=October 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> He was also awarded [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]], the highest literary award in [[Gujarati language]], in 1998. He also received [[Kumar Chandrak]] in 1968.

He received the Mahida Gold Medal in 1943 for his story ''Dhumraser''. The Government of Bombay awarded him the first prize for the play ''Dhumraser'' (1947). His collection ''Mansana Man'' received the first prize from the Government of Gujarat in 1968, an honor also bestowed upon his works ''Surya'' and ''Nava Gaganni Neeche''. He was honored as a Gujarati writer at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in 1974.<ref name="Vishwakosh1999" />

The Government of Gujarat also awarded him the [[Narsinh Mehta]] Award.<ref name=oi/><ref name=dg/>

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

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Gulabdas Brokar}}
* {{Gbooks-author|Gulābadāsa Brokara}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broker, Gulabdas}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:People from Porbandar district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]]

Gulabdas Broker - Revision history

NicholasPrentice at 20:59, 4 February 2026