HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jaishankar Bhudhardas Bhojak, (30 January 1889 – 22 January 1975) better known by his theatre name Jaishankar Sundari , was an Indian actor and director of
Gujarati theatre Gujarati theatre refers to theatre performed in the Gujarati language, including its dialects. Gujarati theatre is produced mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda, Surat and else where Gujarati diaspora ex ...
. Starting at the young age, he rose to fame for his roles of female impersonator in early Gujarati plays. He retired from acting in 1932 but returned to theatre direction and teaching in 1948. He directed and acted in several successful plays. He was awarded the
Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...
in 1951 and the
Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...
in 1971.


Early life

He was born in the family of Bhojak, in Undhai near
Visnagar Visnagar is a city and a municipality in Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Visnagar is also a taluka capital. History "Visnagar" named after its founder king Visaladev from Ajmer Dynasty was founded in 953 on the auspicious day ...
on 30 January 1889 to Bhudhardas and Krishna. However, his family members were traditionally involved in performing arts and singing. He studied up to second standard. He was trained in performing arts and singing by his grandfather, Tribhuvandas who himself was trained by Ustad Fakhruddin. He was also trained in music by Pandit Vadilal Nayak. His father conducted rituals and performed in Jain temples.


Career

He started his career by joining Dadabhai Thunthi's Urdu performing art company in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1897. He worked in a chorus of girls for a salary of six rupees a month. He returned to
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and joined Chotalal Kapadia's
Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali Gujarati Natak Mandali (1878–89) and its successor Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali (1889–1948) was a theatre company in Bombay, British India. It gave immense contributions to the Gujarati theatre, with productions of more than hundred plays, ...
in 1901. Along with Gujarati, he also performed in Hindi and Urdu languages. He mainly performed as a female impersonator as females were not allowed in theatres in those times. He played role of
Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...
as a female impersonator in '' Saubhagya Sundari'', an adaptation of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
'' by Parsi theatre in Bombay. It was successful and Jaishankar received his sobriquet ''Sundari'' (). He performed female lead opposite Bapulal Nayak several times including in ''Jugal Jugari'' (Jugal the Gambler), ''Kamlata'' (Lovestruck Girl, 1904), ''Madhu Bansari'' (Sweet Flute) and ''Sneh Sarita'' (River of Affection), ''Vikrama Charitra'' (Vikrama's Life, 1902). He along with Bapulal brought
Govardhanram Tripathi Govardhanram Madhavram Tripathi (; 20 October 1855 – 4 January 1907) was an Indian Gujarati language novelist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known for his four volume novel, '' Saraswatichandra'', acclaimed as one of the mas ...
's '' Saraswatichandra'', Nrisinh Vibhakar's nationalistic plays and plays of
Mulshankar Mulani Mulshankar Harinand Mulani (1 November 1867 – 14 December 1957) was a Gujarati playwright from the Gujarati theatre of India. After working as a village development officer and as an editor with a weekly newspaper, he joined the Mumbai Gujarati ...
to stage. He retired in 1932 and returned to Visnagar. In ''Vikrama Charitra'', he played a character of Rambha, a dairy-maid. This play continued for three years and was performed 160 times, on every Saturday night. He was active in
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
from 1948 to 1964 as the director and teacher in theatre. He joined
Gujarat Vidhya Sabha Gujarat Vidya Sabha, originally called Gujarat Vernacular Society, is a literary institution for the promotion of vernacular Gujarati literature and education, and for the collection of manuscripts and printed books; located in the city of Ahmed ...
in 1948 in Ahmedabad to perform in
Ramanbhai Neelkanth Ramanbhai Mahipatram Nilkanth ( gu, રમણભાઈ મહીપતરામ નીલકંઠ) (13 March 1868 – 6 March 1928) was a Gujarati novelist, essayist, literary critic from India. The Ramanlal Nilkanth Hasya Paritoshik is named a ...
's '' Raino Parvat'' in 1950 on the occasion of its centenary. Later he organised a performing troupe and theatre school,
Natmandal Natya Vidya Mandir, a theatre school, and its amateur theatre troupe Natmandal from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India had heavily influenced new Gujarati theatre. Established in 1949, it trained many theatre people and produced classic, modern and exp ...
with
Rasiklal Parikh Rasiklal Chhotalal Parikh (1897–1982) was a 20th-century Gujarati poet, playwright, literary critic, Indologist, historian, and editor from Gujarat, India. He was the president of Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and was appointed the president of Gujar ...
and
Ganesh Mavlankar Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar (27 November 1888 – 27 February 1956) popularly known as ''Dadasaheb'' was an independence activist, the President (from 1946 to 1947) of the Central Legislative Assembly, then Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of I ...
. He revived
Bhavai Bhavai, also known as ''Vesha'' or ''Swang'', is a popular folk theatre form of western India, especially in Gujarat. Etymology ''Bhavai'' may derive from the Sanskrit word ''Bhava'', meaning expression or emotion. It is also associated wit ...
, the traditional performing art form, by directing ''
Mithyabhiman ''Mithyabhiman'' (; English: ''False Pride'') is an 1871 Gujarati play by Indian writer Dalpatram. Considered to be a milestone in Gujarati literature, it holds an important place among the comic plays in the history of Gujarati drama. The pla ...
'' (False Vanity, 1955), a satirical play by
Dalpatram Dalpatram Dahyabhai Travadi (21 January 1820 – 25 March 1898) was a Gujarati language poet during 19th century in India. He was the father of Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi, a poet. He led social reform movements in Ahmedabad, and wrote articles again ...
. They produced several plays like ''Mena Gurjari'' (Mena of Gujarat) in 1953 which he synthesized Bhavai and
Beijing Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...
. He trained several actors including Jaswant Thaker,
Dina Pathak Dina Pathak (née Gandhi; 4 March 1922 – 11 October 2002) was an Indian actress and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was an activist and President of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). A doyenne of Hindi a ...
,
Pransukh Nayak Pransukh Manilal Nayak (23 April 1910 – 12 March 1989) was an Indian Gujarati theatre actor, director, manager, and playwright from Gujarat, India. Born into a family of traditional theatre actors, he joined theatre troupes at a young age and r ...
and Kailash Pandya. He died on 22 January 1975 at
Visnagar Visnagar is a city and a municipality in Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Visnagar is also a taluka capital. History "Visnagar" named after its founder king Visaladev from Ajmer Dynasty was founded in 953 on the auspicious day ...
, Gujarat.


Recognition

He received the
Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...
in 1951; which is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. In 1957, the
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...
presented him with the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists - the President's award, now called the
Sangeet Natak Akademi award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...
for drama direction. In 1963, he was elected chairman for the Department of Arts at
Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society an ...
. He was felicitated by Gujarat Rajya Sangeet Nrutya Akademi in 1967. He was awarded
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, the third highest civilian award, by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
in 1971.


Legacy

His autobiography ''Thoda Aansu, Thoda Ful'' in Gujarati was in part written and in part dictated to his son Dinkar Bhojak and Somabhai Patel over a period of four years. It was first published posthumously in 1976. It was adopted as part of the syllabus at the Master of Arts course level at the
Gujarat University The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the postgraduate level. It is accredited B++ by N ...
. It was reprinted in 1989 in an expanded version in the birth centenary year. In 2002, the first edition was translated into Hindi as ''Kuchh Aansu, Kuchh Phool'' by Dinesh Khanna and published by the
National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...
. In 2011, it was translated in English as ''Some Blossoms, Some Tears''. Jaishankar Sundari Natyagruh - a drama theatre - was named after him in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Bhavai Government Museum in
Vadnagar Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India. It just about 35 km from Mehsana city. Its ancient name was Anartapura, and was also known as Anandapura. It was a Buddhist location visited by Xu ...
,
North Gujarat North Gujarat (), the Northern part of Indian state of Gujarat includes the districts of Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Mehsana, and Patan. North Gujarat is dominant in the dairy industry. Currently, the water table of th ...
has an exhibition and description of his works. His oil painted portrait was unveiled by the Kala Mandal of
Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. H ...
and adorns the halls of the Kala Mandir in Saurashtra. A play ''Sundari : An Actor Prepares'' based on his autobiography was produced in 1998.


References


Further reading

;Autobiography * ;Other *


External Links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundari, Jaishankar Indian male stage actors Indian theatre directors Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male musical theatre actors Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Gujarati theatre Hindi theatre 1889 births 1975 deaths People from Mehsana district Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Gujarati people 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Male actors from Gujarat 20th-century Indian male actors Dramatists and playwrights from Gujarat 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian male singers Female impersonators