>Monkbot at 09:48, 29 September 2019

2019-09-29T09:48:00Z

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{{for|the album of Indian composer [[Hariharan (singer)|Hariharan]]|Gulfam}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Gulfam
| image = Jehangir Nasharvanji Patel Gulfam.png
| image_size =
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| caption =
| native_name = ગુલ્ફામ
| native_name_lang = gu
| pseudonym = Gulfam
| birth_name = Jahangir Nasharvanji Patel
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1861|07|14}}
| birth_place = [[Bombay]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1936|08|24|1861|07|14}}
| death_place =
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| occupation = Humour writer, journalist
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| residence =
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| signature = Sign of Gulfam.png
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}}
'''Gulfam''', born '''Jahangir Nasharvanji Patel''' alias '''Pestonji''', was a [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] humour writer and journalist from [[Bombay]], India.<ref name="GS2003"/>

==Life==
He was born on 14 July 1861 in [[Parsi]] Patel family living in a large and one of the oldest house in [[Fort (Mumbai precinct)|Fort area]] of [[Bombay]] which was used as a court and jail during [[Portuguese India|Portuguese rule]] in city. His father was a translator. He started writing at the age of nine and published his first book ''Sonarna Gadh'' at the age of 13. He started writing in [[broadsheet|spreads]] then. As he believed that his host would not like it, he published in spreads under name of his sister. His first writing was published in ''Gul-afshan'' spreadsheet. He received a nickname ''Gulfam'' as he played a role of it in a play in his school. Initially he did not liked it but he later proudly accepted it. At the age 16, his [[ghazal]] was published in ''Gyanvardhak'' magazine. At the age of 53, in 1931, he had written his autobiography ''Mari Potani Jindagino Hewal'' and wished to be published posthumously which was later published by Jahangir B. Karani & Sons. He died on 24 August 1936.<ref name="GS2003">{{cite web | title=ગુલફામ:તમે આ નામ જાણો છો? - ક્રોસરોડ (in Gitika font) | website=[[Gujarat Samachar]] | date=12 February 2003 | url=http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20030212/guj/supplement/cross_road.html | language=gu | accessdate=27 March 2017 | archive-url=https://archive.is/20170327055618/http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20030212/guj/supplement/cross_road.html | archive-date=27 March 2017 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Works==
He had written large number of works under several pen names. It is not known that how many of his works survived. His writing used to publish in several magazines and newspapers like ''Kaiser-e-Hind'', ''Fursad'', ''Gyanvardhak'', ''Laxmi'', ''Akhbar-e-Sodagar'', ''Gapsap'', ''Jam-e-Jamshed'' and ''[[Bombay Samachar]]''.
His first book was ''Sonarna Gadh''. He had written large number of humorous sketches which were so popular that they were often plagiarised by other publishers.<ref name="GS2003"/>

In 1909, Firozshah Jahangir Marzban, the founder of ''Jam-e-Jamshed'', had written in introduction of his book ''Khen Kotak'', "The writer of nearly 50 stories, several original anecdotes and original plays, column writer in half-dozen newspapers and quarter-less-in-dozen magazines, specialist of jokes and sketches, person who swam across an ocean of poetry and short stories, favourite of goddess of writing; Jahangir Patel".<ref name="GS2003"/>

''Khen Kotak'' is filled with solid wit in its more than 200 pages. ''Guldaste Ramuj'' is 325 pages filled with jokes. He had translated a thousand year old Arabic work on [[dream interpretation]] as ''Swapnani Tasir''. ''Sugandhma Sado'' and ''Mote Gharna Bai Saheb'' is a suspense stories based on Parsi householder life. English writer [[H. Rider Haggard]] had written two popular novels; ''[[She: A History of Adventure]]'' and ''[[Ayesha (novel)|Ayesha]]'' which were translated by him as ''Mashukno Ijaro''. ''Pratapi Laxmi Prasad'' was a historical story set in before arrival of British in India. ''Naval Nanavati'' was a humorous story of a dumb Parsi boy, a duff lady, a gullible villager and honest Zoroastrian lady. It was considered as the most humorous story of all his work by himself.<ref name="GS2003"/>

He has published 52 story-plays and if his plays and dramas for drama clubs and amateur clubs is considered then it rises to 63. He has written more than 60 short stories. His sketches and jokes are counted in thousands.<ref name="GS2003"/> He had written [[one-act play]]s.<ref name="Mody1998">{{cite book|author=Nawaz B. Mody|title=The Parsis in western India, 1818 to 1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwZuAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-7023-894-2|page=230}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDkUAQAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Asiatic Society of Mumbai|page=135}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Parsiana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkEvAAAAYAAJ|year=2003|publisher=P. Warden|page=6}}</ref> 

He had written a book on European etiquette, ''Bhulsho Na – Aa Adab Ada (Etiquette) Mateni Suchnao'' which was published posthumously in 1937. It included his short biography.<ref name="GS2003"/>

==Criticism==
[[Amrit Keshav Nayak]], a prolific stage actor had said, "I love whatever Jahangir writes as he is first born actor and second born writer among Parsis."<ref name="GS2003"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* Selected works
** [http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/537607 ''Jangalma Mangal''] (1933)
** [http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/537848 ''Mota Gharma Bai Saheb''] (1923)
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulfam}}
[[Category:1861 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Indian male short story writers]]
[[Category:1936 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Parsi people from Mumbai]]

Gulfam writer - Revision history

>Monkbot at 09:48, 29 September 2019