Balashankar Kantharia
Balashankar Kantharia | |
---|---|
Born | Balashankar Ullasram Kantharia 17 May 1858 Nadiad, Gujarat |
Died | 1 April 1898 Vadodara, Gujarat | (aged 39)
Pen name | Kalant Kavi, Bal,Nijanand,Mast |
Occupation | poet, translator |
Language | Gujarati |
Nationality | Indian |
Notable works | Hariprem Panchdashi |
Balashankar Ullasram Kantharia (May 17, 1858 – April 1, 1898),[1] was a Gujarati poet.
Biography
[edit]Balashankar Kantharia was born on May 17, 1858, into a Sathodara Nagar Brahmin family in Nadiad, Bombay Presidency (now in Gujarat, India).[2][3] He was born to Ullasram Arjunlal Kantharia, a government magistrate, and Revaba, and had one brother, Umedram, and one sister, Rukshmani. Balashankar had studied till the first year of his college. He was a polyglot and knew Gujarati, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Braj and Hindi languages as well as music and archaeology.[2] His wife's name was Manilakshmi.[4]
He briefly worked in government service. He managed Bharati Bhusan, Itihas Mala, Krishna Mahoday magazines. He served as an editor of Buddhiprakash magazine briefly.[2] He is considered as the founder of the modern Gujarati poetry and Ghazal. Manilal Dwivedi was his close friend. He considered himself as a follower of Dalpatram and was expert in poetry in Shikharini metre.[2] It is believed that Kalapi had learned Ghazal poetry from him and Manilal Dwivedi.[5]
He died due to the plague, on April 1, 1898, at Baroda (now Vadodara, Gujarat).[2]
Works
[edit]Kalant Kavi and Bal were his pen names. He is credited with bringing Persian style poetry such as Ghazal in Gujarati literature.[3] Kalant Kavi and Hariprem Panchdashi are his collections of poetry. He had translated Karpūramañjarī by Rajasekhara, Mṛcchakatika and Sufi Ghazals of Hafez in Gujarati.[2]
"Gujare Je Shire Tare" is his popular ghazal poetry composed in Bah’r Hazaj Saalim metre.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Sisir Kumar Das (2000). History of Indian Literature. Vol. 1. p. 245. ISBN 9788172010065.
- ^ a b c d e f "બાલાશંકર કંથારીયા" (in Gujarati). 3 July 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ a b Jeṭhālāla Nārāyaṇa Trivedī (1987). Love Poems & Lyrics from Gujarati. p. 145.
- ^ Suhrud, Tridip (1999). "Love, Desire and Moksha: Manibhai Nabhubhai and the Loss of Svadharma" (PDF). Narrations of a Nation: Explorations Through Intellectual Biographies (Ph.D). Ahmedabad: School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University. p. 106. hdl:10603/46631.
- ^ K. M. George (1992). Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems. p. 124. ISBN 9788172013240.
- ^ Smt. Hiralaxmi Navanitbhai Shah Dhanya Gurjari Kendra (2007). Gujarat. Vol. 2. Gujarat Vishvakosh Trust.
Further reading
[edit]- Mehta, Narmadashankar. કવિબાલ: તેમનું જીવન અને સાહિત્યસેવા [Poet Bal: His Life and Literary Works]. Gujarat Vernacular Society Annual Lecture Series No. 8 (in Gujarati).
External links
[edit]- Balashankar Kantharia on GujLit
- Kalant Kavi at the Internet Archive