Jayant Gokaldas Gadit ( gu, જયંત ગોકળદાસ ગાડીત) was a Gujarati novelist, critic and professor from Gujarat,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He received the

Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak also known as Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Gold Medal, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India given by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha. Established in 1983, the award is conferred annually on the most outstanding literate for his ...

in 2008 and was awarded the

Gujarat Sahitya Akademi The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi ( gu, ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી) or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India an ...

prize twice.

Life

Gadit was born on 26 November 1938 in

Kandivali Kandivali (Pronunciation: aːn̪d̪iʋəliː formerly Khandolee is a neighbourhood in the north of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and has a large Marathi and Koli population followed by Gujarati population living in small areas. The area also ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

to Gokaldas Gadit and Santok. He studied Gujarati and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

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 NA ...

and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961 and a Master of Arts degree in 1964. In 1974 he received his PhD under Harivallabh Bhayani. Gadit taught at the art colleges of Petlad and Mahudha from 1965 to 1977. He worked as a professor in the postgraduate department of

Sardar Patel University Sardar Patel University (SPU) is a public state university in Vallabh Vidyanagar, a town Gujarat, India. It is named after the iron man of India Vallabhbhai Patel, and was founded in October 1955 by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the then ...

from 1977 to 1986 and headed the Gujarati department there before retiring at the age of 60. He also worked as the Reader in K. L. Study Center, a research center of

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 married Manjula in 1963, and had two sons. He died of cancer on 29 May 2009 in

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

, India.

Works

He started his literary career with ''Avrut'' (1969), a novel which deals with the theme of corruption in the field of education, and presents the inner life of its central character. The dreams and symbols are used to depict the futility of life. He published two novellas in one volume entitled ''Chaspakshi ane Karna'' in 1979. In ''Chaspakshi'', Gadit depicted the personal relationship of Mr. Panchal and Mrs. Soni, their sexual sensations and its psychological backgrounds. ''Badlati Kshitij'' (English: Changing Horizon) was published in 1986 and is based on the riots that ignited after anti-reservation protests. He started to write a novel of the life of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, publishing three parts, but it was not completed due to his death. ''Kya Chhe Ghar?'' (1982) is a social novel, while ''Shikhandi'' (1991) is centered around the life of

Shikhandi Shikhandi ( sa, शिखण्डी, translit=Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes a biological male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a y ...

, a famous character from the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

''. ''Prashanmu'' (2002) was inspired by the mass migration of

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

s of Sambarada village near

Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...

. ''Ek Aswapna Sukhi Jeevan'' (2003) is a social novel on family life. ''Satya'' (2010) was his last novel centered around

. He also adapted the novel ''Shikhandi'' into a play of the same name. ''Nhanalal Nu Apadyagadya'' (1976, originally his PhD thesis), ''Nhanalal'' (1977) and ''Navalkathama Vastavvad'' (1985; Realism in Novel), ''Aa Apni Katha'' (2000) are his volumes of criticism. He also helped in editing ''Gujarati Sahityakosh'' (Encyclopedia of Gujarati Literature'' Volume I (1990) and ''Anuadhunik Sahitya Sangnyakosh'' (1999). Mohit (1982) ''and'' Amulni Gauravgatha (1997) ''are his works of translation.'' Ek ne Ek Agyar (1994)'' is a collection of stories written with his wife, Manjula.''''

Recognition

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 Ahmedab ...

(a literary institution for the promotion of vernacular Gujarati literature and education) awarded him the

(a literary honour in Gujarat) in 2008. He received the

prize twice.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gadit, Jayant 1938 births 2009 deaths Indian male novelists Gujarati-language writers Deaths from cancer in India 20th-century Indian novelists Indian literary critics Gujarat University alumni Novelists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian male writers