Jayant Pathak

Jayant Pathak, full name Jayant Himmatlal Pathak, was a noted poet and literary critic from Gujarat, India. He was born on October 20, 1920, in the village of Goth, which is now located in the Rajgadh taluka of Panchmahal district. He belonged to a family of Gauda Brahmins and was affectionately known as Bachudo during his childhood. Jayant’s father passed away when he was around ten years old, and he was raised by his grandfather, Joitaram. He completed his schooling in Rajgadh and went on to study at N.G.S. High School in Kalol, where he passed his matriculation exam in 1938. After that in 1943, he studied a Bachelor of Arts degree from M.T.B Arts College. He also holds a Master of Arts in Gujarati and Sanskrit from Vadodara College in 1945.

He received his Ph.D. in 1960, under the guidance of Vishnuprasad Trivedi, for his research thesis on the cultural background of Gujarati poetry in the 1920s. He was married to Bhanubahen. Jayant Pathak was honored with several awards, including the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, Sahitya Akademi Award, the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak, the Kumar Suvarna Chandrak, and the Uma-Snehrashmi Prize. In his memory, the Jayant Pathak Poetry Award was established. Between 1943 and 1945, Jayant worked as a teacher at a number of institutions, including the Katapitiya School, the New Era School in Vadodara, and a school in the Karjan settlement. He worked in different fields, including journalism, in Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi from 1948 to 1953 before joining the MTB Arts College in Surat as a professor in 1953. Pathak retired from teaching at the college in 1980.

Pathak was appointed as the president of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad from 1989 to 1991, and he also held the presidency of the Narmad Sahitya Sabha and the Kavi Narmad Yugavarta Trust in 1992. His works were published in various literary magazines such as Granth, Gujaratmitra, Buddhiprakash, Loksatta, Kumar, Vishwa Manav, Kavita, and Kavilok. His poetry was influenced by his birthplace, the Panchamahal region, and by literary personalities such as Ushnas, Umashankar Joshi, Pranshankar Bhatt, and Sundaram.

His first collection of poems, Marmar, was published in 1954, and he published several collections afterward, including Shooli Upar Sej (1988), Sanket (1960), Sarga (1969), Be Akshar Anandna (1992), Vismay (1964), Antariksha (1975), Mrugaya (1983), Anunaya (1978), and Drutvilambit (2003). Pathak's poems reflected his longing for his lost childhood in his village, where he found city life unbearable. Some of his critical writings are: Aadhunik Kavita Pravah (1963), Jhaverchand Meghani Jhaverchand Meghani was born in August 1896 to Kal >> Read More... : Jivaan ane Sahitya (1968), Tunki Varta: Swaroop ane Sahitya (1968), Aalok (1966), Kavyalok (1974), Arthat (1997), Ramnarayan V. Pathak (1970), and Tunki Varta ane Bija Lekho (2000). Jayant Pathak passed away on September 1, 2003, at his residence in Nanpura, Surat.