Jayant Heerji Khatri (1909-1968) was a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

short story writer.

Life

Jayant Khatri was born to Heerji Hansraj Khatri and Jayaben on 24 September 1909 at

Mundra Mundra is a census town and a headquarter of Mundra Taluka of Kutch district, Kachchh district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Founded in about the 1640s, the town was an important mercantile centre and port thr ...

, Kutch,

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. His father was a government doctor of

Cutch State Cutch State, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present ...

. He completed his primary education from

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

and secondary school education from New Bharda Highschool,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He matriculated in 1928. He received L.C.P.S. from National Medical College, Mumbai in 1935 and started his medical practice. He later moved to

Mandvi Mandvi is a beach town with municipality in the Kutch district, Kachchh district (Kutch) in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao (king) of the Cutch ...

. He had close association with labors in Bhuj and Mumbai. He also served as a president of Navik Mandal, Mandvi (Seafarers Association) and later Mandvi Municipality. He died on 6 June 1968 at Mandvi due to cancer.

Personal life

He married Bachuben from Morjar village in 1929. After death of her first wife, he married his sister-in-law in 1935. His son Kirti Khatri is an editor of Gujarati daily, '' Kutchmitra''.

Works

He was a progressive writer of his era. ''Fora'' (1944), ''Vehta Zarna'' (1952) and ''Khara Bapor'' (1968, posthumous) are his collections of short stories totaling forty one stories. Another eight stories are published in various magazines. ''Varsadni Vadali'' was his first short story while ''Dead End'' was his last. His only novel ''Chamarchaal'' was serialised in ''Pragnyatantra'' magazine. ''Mangal Pandey'' was his

one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

. Several of his stories revolved around Kutch region where he belonged. He was also painter and painted symbols and images for his short stories.

Racognition

He received Uma-Snehrashmi Prize for the year 1968-69 for his work ''Khara Bapor''.

References

External links