Joravarsinh Danubhai Jadav (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

and proponent of the folk arts from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. Exposed to folk culture as a child, he studied history and culture 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 ...

. He has written and edited more than 90 works on

folk culture Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

folk literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used vary ...

, and folk arts. He established the Gujarat Lok Kala Foundation for the promotion of folk arts. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 2019. He is also the current Vice-chairman of the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

Early life

Jadav was born on 10 January 1940 in Akru village near Dhandhuka (now in

Ahmedabad district {{Infobox settlement , name = Ahmedabad District , native_name = , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = District of Gujarat , image_skyline = D ...

, Gujarat) to a karadiya

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Jagirdar family. His parents were Danubhai Halubhai Jadav and Pamba. He was the second of six children. He was raised by his stepmother, Gangaba. He was exposed to folk literature and folk arts as a child due to his living in a rural area. He received his primary school education in his village and in Sheth Hasanali High School in

Dholka Dholka is a city and municipality in the Ahmedabad District of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the headquarters of Dholka Taluka, and is 48 km by road via National Highway 8A southwest of the city of Ahmedabad. Dholka has an average ...

. He received his secondary school education from Gujarat Vidyapith in 1956–57. In 1961, he completed his bachelor of arts degree in

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Gu ...

and History at

St. Xavier's College A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

, Ahmedabad. Jadav had found the remains of a Late Harappan site on a mound near the Khalavi lake near his native village of Akru. This whetted his interest in archaeology and history, and he completed his master of arts in Ancient Indian Culture at the Bholabhai Jeshingbhai Institute of Learning and Research, Ahmedabad, in 1963. His interests in folk literature, folk culture, and folk arts developed further during these years.

Career

After completing his master's degree, he became a teacher of Gujarati at Panchsheel High School in Saraspur, Ahmedabad. He left and joined St. Xavier's College as a part-time lecturer. In 1964, he joined the ''Sahkar'' weekly published by the Gujarat State Co-operative Union as a publication officer. He was later promoted to the post of chief executive officer in 1994 and served there until his retirement in 1998. He also edited and published the ''Gramswaraj'' monthly and edited the ''Jinmangal'' monthly. Jadav popularised folk arts and patronised folk artists by promoting them on various mass media sites, including television and radio. In 1978, he established the Gujarat Lok Kala Foundation for the promotion of the folk arts and to give folk artists from Gujarat and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

wider exposure and employment. The Foundation provided a platform for folk artists at the national and international levels.

Works

As of 2019, Jadav has written and edited 94 works on folk literature, folk culture, and folk arts. Since 1958, his articles on folk literature and folk arts have been published in various magazines and dailies, including '' Buddhiprakash'', ''Nutan Gujarat'', ''Rang Tarang'', ''Akhand Anand'', '' Sandesh'', and ''

Gujarat Samachar ''Gujarat Samachar'' is a Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. Its headquarters are in Ahmedabad with a branch in Surat. It is distributed from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Mehsana, Bhuj and New Y ...

''. His collections of folk stories set in a rural background are ''Marad Kasumbal Rang Chade'' (1968), ''Maradai Matha Sate'' (1970), ''Loksahityani Chaturaikathao'' (1974), and ''Rajput Kathao'' (1979). His collections of children's stories include ''Bhatigal Lokkathao'' (1973) and ''Manoranjak Kathamala'' (1977). His reference works on folk literature and arts include ''Aapna Kasabio'' (1972), ''Lokjivanna Moti'' (1975), ''Gujaratni Loksanskriti'' (1976), ''Loksanskritina Pashuo'' (1979), and ''Prachin Bharatna Shastrashastro'' (1981). For ''Gujarati Loksahityamala'' (Gujarati Folk Literature Series), he edited folk songs from the Bhal region. He has edited several works of folk literature, including ''Saje Dharati Shangar'' (1972), ''Loksahityani Nagkathao'' (1973), and ''Gujaratni Lokkathao'' (1984).

Recognition

Jadav was awarded the Meghani Suvarna Chandrak in 1978 by the Loksanskriti Sodh Sansthan for his work ''Lokjivanna Moti''. The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi awarded a prize for his ''Loksanskritima Pashuo''. ''Aapna Kasabio'' Volume I received the first prize from the

NCERT The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India which was established in 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Registration Act. Its head ...

, and ''Doshino Deekro Bayadi Lavyo'' received a prize from the Government of Gujarat. In 2019, Jadav was awarded the

, the fourth highest civilian honour from 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 ...

, for his contributions to the field of art.

Personal life

Jadav married Sajjankunwar, the daughter of Vadansinh Chavda, in May 1963. They had two daughters before his wife died in an accident in 1968. Jadav then married Hemkunwar, the daughter of Pethabhai Solanki, in 1969; they had two daughters and a son.

References

Bibliography

External links

A Documentary produced by Gujarat Sahitya Akademi (in Gujarati)

GIAA 2022 - Life Time Achievement Award to Joravarsinh Jadhav
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jadav, Joravarsinh 1940 births Living people People from Ahmedabad district Gujarati-language writers Indian children's writers Indian male writers Indian editors Indian folklorists Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts