Dhansukhlal Mehta
{{short description|Gujarati writer (1890–1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Dhansukhlal Mehta
| image = DhansukhlalMehtaPic.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Dhansukhlal Krishnalal Mehta
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1890|10|20}}
| birth_place = Wadhwan, Gujarat, India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|8|29|1890|10|20}}
| death_place =
| occupation = {{hlist|Novelist|short story writer|humourist}}
| language = Gujarati
| residence =
| nationality = Indian
| education =
| alma_mater = Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute
| period =
| genre = {{hlist|Short story|novel}}
| movement =
| notableworks = {{Lang|gu-latn|Ame Badha}} (1935)
| spouse =
| children =
| awards = {{plainlist|
- Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak (1940)
- Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (1957)
}}
| signature = Dhansukhlal Mehta autograph.svg
}}
Dhansukhlal Krishnalal Mehta (October 20, 1890 – August 29, 1974) was a Gujarati writer from Gujarat, India. He is considered a pioneer of Gujarati short stories. He is known for his humorous novel {{Lang|gu-latn|Ame Badha}}, co-written with Jyotindra Dave. He received the Gujarati literary awards Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1940 and the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak in 1957.
Life
Dhansukhlal Mehta was born on October 20, 1890, in the city of Wadhwan, which is on the Kathiawar peninsula (now in Surendranagar district, Gujarat). His family was native to Surat. After completing his schooling in Wadhwan, Palitana and Surat, he obtained a diploma from Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Mumbai. From 1914 to 1925, he worked at various places in Mumbai, before joining Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1925.{{cite web | title=સવિશેષ પરિચય: ધનસુખલાલ મહેતા, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય પરિષદ | website=Gujarati Sahitya Parishad | url=http://www.gujaratisahityaparishad.com/prakashan/sarjako/savishesh/Savishesh-Dhansukhlal-Mehta.html | language=gu | access-date=2018-04-28}}
Works
Mehta wrote short stories, plays, literary criticism, book reviews, an autobiography, and humorous essays. According to Mansukhlal Jhaveri, he was a pioneer of Gujarati short stories and one of the first Gujarati writers who depicted psychological conflicts in his characters.{{cite book|author=Mansukhlal Maganlal Jhaveri|authorlink=Mansukhlal Jhaveri|title=History of Gujarati Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA0RAAAAMAAJ|year=1978|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|page=166}} His short stories dealt with contemporary family life.{{cite book|title=Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Language and literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMBd9PJ1sCoC|access-date=19 April 2018|year=1953|publisher=Directorate of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications|page=371}} However, according to the Encyclopedia of Indian Literature, he couldn't develop the short stories as an art form.{{cite book|author=Mohan Lal|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA4041|access-date=22 April 2018|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-260-1221-3|page=4041}} Mehta began earnestly studying humorous writers of the West and wrote humorous essays, short stories, and sketches. In 1908, his short stories appeared in Jnanasudha, a magazine edited by Ramanbhai Neelkanth.{{cite book|author=Amaresh Datta|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1602|access-date=22 April 2018|year=1988|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-260-1194-0|page=1602}}{{quote|Dhansukhlal Mehta never goes far afield in search of humor, but finds it in the actual work-a-day life around him. His art can be fully enjoyed only by a man who has lived in a small town in Gujarat, and as one read his works, he almost comes to love the everyday life of modern Gujarat in spite of its shortcomings.|author=Krishnalal Jhaveri|source=Further Milestone in Gujarati Literature, 1956{{cite book|last=Jhaveri|first=Krishnalal Mohanlal |author-link=Krishnalal Jhaveri |title=Further milestones in Gujarāti literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqxHAAAAMAAJ|year=1956|edition=2nd|publisher=Forbes Gujarati Sabha|location=Mumbai|pages=321}} {{PD-notice}}}}
Mehta's collections of short stories include Hu, Sarla ane Mitramandal (1920) and Asadharan Anubhav ane Biji Vato (1924).{{cite book|author=K. M. George|authorlink=K. M. George (writer)|title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Surveys and poems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA131|year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-7201-324-0|page=131}}{{cite book|author1=Nalini Natarajan|author2=Emmanuel Sampath Nelson|title=Handbook of Twentieth-century Literatures of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&pg=PA110|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=London|isbn=978-0-313-28778-7|page=110}} In 1936, he co-wrote Ame Badha ({{abbr|lit.|literally}} We All), a humorous autobiographical novel, with Jyotindra Dave. It was highly acclaimed and is widely regarded as one of the best humorous novels in Gujarati literature.{{cite book|author=Rekha Menon|title=Cultural Profiles: Calcutta. Santiniketan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ntCAAAAYAAJ|access-date=19 April 2018|year=1963|publisher=Inter-National Cultural Centre|page=35}} It was the second humorous novel in Gujarati, after Bhadrambhadra by Ramanbhai Neelkanth. According to Harshavadan Trivedi, it was the first co-written Gujarati novel.
In collaboration with Gulabdas Broker, Mehta wrote Dhumraser, a dramatization of Broker's short story of the same name.{{cite book|title=Proceedings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scUtAQAAIAAJ|access-date=19 April 2018|year=1957|page=288}} His selected humorous works were edited by Vinod Bhatt and published as Hasya Visesha: Dhansukhlal Mehta in 2017.{{cite web | title=ધનસુખલાલ મહેતાનું હાસ્ય-ધન | website=divyabhaskar | date=2017-10-08 | url=https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/news/MAG-the-laughter-of-dhansukhlal-mehta-gujarati-news-5714962-NOR.html | language=gu | access-date=2018-04-21}}
Awards
Mehta was awarded the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1940 for contributions to Gujarati literature. He received the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak in 1957 for Garib Ni Jhunpadi.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Gbooks-author|Dhanasukhalāla Kr̥shṇalāla Mahetā}}
- {{Internet Archive author|search=Dhansukhlal Maheta}}
- [http://www.sahityasetu.co.in/issue29/varta.php Hu ane Sarla] on Sahityasetu E-Journal.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Dhansukhlal}}
Category:Gujarati-language writers
Category:People from Surat district
Category:Novelists from Gujarat
Category:Indian male novelists
Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights
Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
Category:20th-century Indian novelists
Category:People from Surendranagar district
Category:20th-century Indian short story writers