Joann47Q9259 at 14:57, 23 February 2026

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{{Short description|Indian poet and literary critic (1920–2003)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Jayant Pathak
| image = JayantPathakPic.jpg
| caption =
| native_name = જયંત હિંમતલાલ પાઠક
| native_name_lang = gu
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Jayant Himmatlal Pathak
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1920|10|20}}
| birth_place = Goth village, Rajgadh, [[Panchmahal district]], [[Gujarat]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2003|9|1|1920|10|20}}
| death_place = Nanpura, [[Surat]], Gujarat, India
| occupation = Poet, literary critic
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| nationality = Indian
| education = [[Master of Arts|M. A.]], Ph. D.
| alma_mater = M.T.B Arts College, Surat
| period = Modern [[Gujarati literature]]
| genres =
| subject =
| movement =
| notableworks = {{plainlist|
* ''Vananchal'' (1967)
* ''Anunaya'' (1978)
* ''Mrugaya'' (1983)}}
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives =
| awards = {{plainlist|
* [[Kumar Suvarna Chandrak]] (1957)
* [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] (1964)
* [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] (1976)
* [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] (1980) }}
| signature = Jayant Pathak signature.png
| years_active =
}}
'''Jayant Himmatlal Pathak''' (20 October 1920 – 1 September 2003) was a Gujarati poet and literary critic from [[Gujarat]], India. He was the president of the [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] from 1990 – 1991. He received several awards, including the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]], the [[Kumar Suvarna Chandrak]], the [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]], the [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] and the [[Uma-Snehrashmi Prize]]. The Jayant Pathak Poetry Award is named after him.

== Early life ==
Pathak was born into a [[Gauda Brahmins]] family on 20 October 1920, at Goth, a village now in the Rajgadh taluka of [[Panchmahal district]], Gujarat, India, to Ichchhaba and Himmatram Joitaram Pathak. "Bachudo" (Lit. Small Child) was his childhood nickname. Pathak was raised by his grandfather Joitaram, because his father Himmatram died when he was about ten years old. He completed his preschool education in Rajgadh. Then, he moved to Motabahen's (a.k.a. Pushpabahen) home in [[Kalol (Panchmahal)|Kalol]] in 1930, and joined the N.G.S. High School in Kalol and completed [[matriculation]] there in 1938. He completed a Bachelor of Arts from M.T.B Arts College in 1943 and a Master of Arts in Gujarati and [[Sanskrit]] subjects from [[Vadodara]] college in 1945. He received a Ph.D. in 1960, under [[Vishnuprasad Trivedi]], for his research thesis, ''1920 Pachhini Gujarati Kavitani Sanskrutik Bhoomika: Paribalo Ane Siddhi''. He married Bhanubahen.<ref name="jp">{{cite thesis|last=Patel|first=Darshana|title=Anugandhiyugni Prakurti Kavita : Ek Abhyas|date=6 October 2015|publisher=Veer Narmad South Gujarat University|chapter-url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/50289/10/10_chapter%205.pdf|language=gu|type=Ph.D|chapter=Chapter 5: Jayant Pathakni Prakruti Kavita|access-date=10 March 2017|hdl=10603/50289}}</ref>

==Career==
From 1943 to 1945, he served as a teacher at different schools including the New Era School in Vadodara, the Katapitiya School, and a school at [[Karjan]] village. From 1948 to 1953, he lived in Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi, and worked in different fields, including journalism. He joined the MTB Arts College in Surat in 1953 as a professor and retired from there in 1980. He was appointed president of the [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] from 1989 to 1991. He also served as the president of the Narmad Sahitya Sabha in 1992 and of the Kavi Narmad Yugavarta Trust in 1992. His literary works had been published in ''Gujaratmitra'', ''Loksatta'', ''[[Kumar (magazine)|Kumar]]'', ''[[Buddhiprakash]]'', ''Granth'', ''Vishwa Manav'', ''Kavita'' and ''[[Kavilok]]''.<ref name=jp/>

He died on 1 September 2003 at his home in Nanpura, [[Surat]].<ref name=jp/>

== Works ==
The ambiance of his birthplace, Panchamahal, a tribal forest region of Gujarat, strongly influenced his poetry. He was also acquainted with literary personalities and was influenced by them when he was young. This included first, his cousin [[Ushnas]], who later became a renowned Gujarati poet, and his school teacher, Pranshankar Bhatt. He was also influenced by the Gujarati poets [[Umashankar Joshi]] and [[Tribhuvandas Luhar|Sundaram]].<ref name="Gujaratilexicon.com">{{cite web | title=Beyond The Beaten Track | website=Gujaratilexicon.com | url=http://www.gujaratilexicon.com/poems/view/23 | language=gu | access-date=2017-03-10}}</ref>

''Marmar'', is his first collection of poems, published in 1954,<ref name="Das1991">{{cite book|author=Sisir Kumar Das|title=History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom : triumph and tragedy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqBjpV9OzcsC&pg=PA545|year=1991|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-7201-798-9|pages=545–}}</ref> followed by ''Sanket'' (1960), ''Vismay'' (1964), ''Sarga'' (1969), ''Antariksha'' (1975), ''Anunaya'' (1978), ''Mrugaya'' (1983), ''Shooli Upar Sej'' (1988), ''Be Akshar Anandna'' (1992), and ''Drutvilambit'' (2003).<ref name=jp/> His poems are characterized by [[nostalgia]] for his lost childhood spent in his village, as he finds city life uneasy and unbearable.<ref name="George1992">{{cite book|author=K. M. George|title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA138|access-date=10 March 2017|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-7201-324-0|page=138}}</ref> ''Anunaya'', a collection of his poems was translated and published by Brajendra Tripathi in 1993.<ref name="Rao2004">{{cite book|author=D. S. Rao|title=Five Decades: The National Academy of Letters, India : a Short History of Sahitya Akademi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8JDsBBDoMccC&pg=PA61|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-2060-7|pages=61–}}</ref>

His critical works are: ''Aadhunik Kavita Pravah'' (1963), ''Aalok'' (1966), ''Tunki Varta: Swaroop ane Sahitya'' (1968), ''Jhaverchand Meghani: Jivaan ane Sahitya'' (1968), ''Ramnarayan V. Pathak'' (1970), ''Kavyalok'' (1974), ''Arthat'' (1997), and ''Tunki Varta ane Bija Lekho'' (2000).<ref name=jp/>

== Recognition ==
He received the [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] (1964) for his book ''Vananchal'', the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] (1980) for ''Anunaya'', the [[Uma-Snehrashmi Prize]] (1982 - 1983) for ''Mrugaya'', and the [[Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak]] for ''Shooli Upar Sej''. He is also a recipient of the [[Kumar Suvarna Chandrak]] (1957) and the [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] (1976). The [[Jayant Pathak Poetry Award]] is named after him.<ref name=jp/> He shared the [[Premanand Suvarna Chandrak]] (2001) with [[Raghuveer Chaudhari]].

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Kshan Vismay Ke (Hindi translation of poems written by Jayant Pathak) |language=hi |last=Pathak |first=Jayant |translator=[[Daksha Vyas|Vyas, Daksha]] |year=2015 |publisher=[[Gujarat Sahitya Akademi|Hindi Sahitya Akademi]] |location=Gandhinagar |isbn=978-93-83317-49-3}}

==External links==
* {{Gbooks-author|Jayanta Himmatalāla Pāṭhaka}}
* {{Gujarati Vishwakosh}}
{{Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathak, Jayant}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:Gujarati writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from Gujarat]]
[[Category:People from Panchmahal district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Gujarati]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]]

Jayant Pathak - Revision history

Joann47Q9259 at 14:57, 23 February 2026