Balashankar Ullasram Kantharia (May 17, 1858 – April 1, 1898), was a Gujarati poet.

Biography

Balashankar Kantharia was born on May 17, 1858, into a Sathodara

Nagar Brahmin Nagar Brahmin is a Brahmin subcaste from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki writes, amongst Brahmins of Gujarat, Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social relation, social activities o ...

family in

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

, Bombay Presidency (now in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

, India). 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 Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...

and Hindi languages as well as music and archaeology. His wife's name was Manilakshmi. He briefly worked in government service. He managed ''Bharati Bhusan'', ''Itihas Mala'', ''Krishna Mahoday'' magazines. He served as an editor of ''

Buddhiprakash (, English: Light of Knowledge) is a Gujarati language magazine published by Gujarat Vidya Sabha (formerly known as Gujarat Vernacular Society), Ahmedabad, India. History was established in 1850 as a lithotype fortnightly. The first issue ...

'' magazine briefly. He is considered as the founder of the modern Gujarati poetry and

Ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

Manilal Dwivedi Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi (; 26 September 1858 – 1 October 1898) was a Gujarati-language writer, philosopher, and social thinker from British India, commonly referred to as Manilal in literary circles. He was an influential figure in 19th-ce ...

was his close friend. He considered himself as a follower of

Dalpatram Dalpatram Dahyabhai Travadi (21 January 1820 – 25 March 1898) was a Gujarati language poet during 19th century in India. He was the father of Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi, a poet. He led social reform movements in Ahmedabad, and wrote articles aga ...

and was expert in poetry in ''Shikharini''

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

. It is believed that

Kalapi Sursinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (26 January 1874 – 10 June 1900), popularly known by his pen name, ''Kalapi'' was a Gujarati poet and the Thakor (prince) of Lathi state in Gujarat. He is mostly known for his poems depicting his own pathos. He li ...

had learned Ghazal poetry from him and Manilal Dwivedi. He died due to the plague, on April 1, 1898, at

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

(now

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

, Gujarat).

Works

Kalant Kavi and Bal were his pen names. He is credited with bringing Persian style poetry such as Ghazal in

Gujarati literature The history of Gujarat, Gujarati literature () 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, other than its composers. Gujarat Vidhya S ...

. ''Kalant Kavi'' and ''Hariprem Panchdashi'' are his collections of poetry. He had translated ''Karpūramañjarī'' by

Rajasekhara Rajasekhara may refer to: * Rama Rajasekhara/Cheraman Perumal "Nayanar" (''fl.'' 9th century), theologian, devotional poet and ruler from south India * Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet) (''fl.'' 10th century), Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic * ...

, ''

Mṛcchakatika ''Mṛcchakatika'' (), also spelled ''Mṛcchakaṭikā'', ''Mrchchhakatika'', ''Mricchakatika'', or ''Mrichchhakatika'' (''The Little Clay Cart'') is a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed to Śūdraka ( Simuka), an ancient playwright who is pos ...

'' and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Ghazals of

Hafez (), known by his pen name Hafez ( or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz, “Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart" also known by his nickname Lisan al-Ghaib ('the tongue of the unseen'), was a Persian lyri ...

in Gujarati. "Gujare Je Shire Tare" is his popular ghazal poetry composed in Bah’r Hazaj Saalim metre.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kantharia, Balashankar Gujarati-language writers 1898 deaths 1858 births People from Kheda district Gujarati-language poets Indian magazine editors Poets from Bombay Presidency

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links