Father Varghese Paul Chollamadam (31 May 1943 – 10 April 2021) was a writer, journalist, translator and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest 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 ...

, India. Born in South India, he was ordained a priest in 1977. He had written 53 essay books and edited a Catholic magazine ''Doot'' for 14 years. He had served on various posts in several press organisations including some which he had founded.

Biography

Father Varghese Paul was born on 31 May 1943 in Enanalloor, a village now in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India. He joined

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

of Gujarat on 8 June 1964. He studied theology at

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was ordained a priest at

Church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a fulls ...

in Rome on 21 June 1977. He graduated in

Gujarati literature The history of Gujarati literature ( gu, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય) may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, othe ...

. He studied journalism in

London School of Journalism The London School of Journalism (LSJ) is an independent journalism school based in London, England, which offers qualifications in journalism, freelance journalism and creative writing. The LSJ provides both on-site and distance learning to it ...

. He had served as the president of Gujarati Lekhak Mandal. He also served on the Executive Committee of Guild of Indian English Writers, Editors and Critics. He edited Gujarati Catholic magazine ''Doot'' for 14 years. He was a member of Indian Catholic Press Association and International Catholic Union of the Press. He founded South Asia Religious News in 1981 and served as its director. He was also the founder of Gujarat Catholic Press Association and Catholic Information Service Society (CISS) where he served as the director from 1984 to 2018. He died 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 capital ...

on 10 April 2021 following prolonged illness and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Works

Varghese primarily wrote in Gujarati. He had written 46 essay books in Gujarati, four in English and three in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. He translated

Perumbadavam Sreedharan Perumbadavam Sreedharan ( ml, പെരുമ്പടവം ശ്രീധരന്‍) (born 12 February 1938) is a Malayalam author from Kerala, India. He is former Chairman of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He has written several novels and short s ...

's Malayalam novel ''

Oru Sankeerthanam Pole ''Oru Sankeerthanam Pole'' () is a 1993 Malayalam novel written by Indian novelist and writer Perumbadavam Sreedharan. Set in the city of Saint Petersburg, it deals with the life of the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his love affair with ...

'' into Gujarati as ''Ek Strotgan Ni Jem'' (2003). He also translated ''Winged Reason'' by K. V. Dominic from English to Gujarati. His works on

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

include ''Isu Mari-Tamari Najare'' (What Does Jesus Mean to You and Me?), ''Biblena Patro'' (Personalities of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, 2003) and the ''Navo Karar Biblena Patro'' (Personalities of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, 2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Varghese 1943 births 2021 deaths Gujarati-language writers 21st-century Indian Jesuits People from Vadodara People from Ernakulam district Writers from Gujarat Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Alumni of the London School of Journalism 20th-century Indian journalists Indian editors Journalists from Gujarat Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India 20th-century Indian Jesuits

Biography

Works

See also

References