Kalyan Bulchand Advani (10 December 1911 - 17 March 1994) was an Indian poet, critic, and scholar of

Sindhi literature Sindhi literature () is the collection of oral and written literature in the Sindhi language in prose (romantic tales and epic stories) and poetry (''ghazals'' and '' nazm''). The Sindhi language of the province of Sindh in Pakistan is consider ...

. He compiled an edition of the

Shah Jo Risalo Shah Jo Risalo () is a book of poems of the Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Shah Abdul Latif's poetry was transmitted orally during his lifetime and compiled after his death and designated as ''Shah Jo Risalo'' or ''Po ...

in 1958 and translated

Kalidas Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

's work

Shakuntala Shakuntala () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play '' Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD ...

in Sindhi. He was awarded the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1968.

Biography

Kalyan Advani was born on 10 December 1911 at

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. After the partition of the subcontinent, he migrated to India in 1948 and joined

Jai Hind College Jai Hind College (Autonomous) (Marathi: जय हिंद कॉलेज) is an autonomous college in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, affiliated to the University of Mumbai. It was established in 1948. In 2000, ''India Today'' named Jai Hind C ...

Bombay (now

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 ...

). There, he retired as a Professor of English and Persian in 1976.

Literary Contributions

Kalyan Advani contributed articles to the college magazine Phuleli. After joining as a lecturer, he started a magazine ''Latifi Bari'', named after the saint and poet

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet from Pakistan, widely considered to be the ...

. He regularly contributed to the literary magazines Sindhu, Latifi Bari, and others. His first award-winning literary contribution came in 1946. This was the translation of Kalidasa's drama Shakuntala into Sindhi Language. In 1951, his book "Shah" was published.It covered various aspects of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai's poetry. This was followed by similar work on Sachal (1953) and Sami (1954). His work "Shah Jo Risalo" appeared in 1958. Kalyan Advani was a poet himself. His poetry collection Raz-o-Niaz was published in 1960. His two English monograms, "Shah Latif" and "

Sachal Sarmast Sachal Sarmast or Sacho Sarmast (; – 1827), was an 18th and 19th century Sindhi Sufi poet, mystic and philosopher from Daraza (present-day Sindh, Pakistan), regarded as an important figure in the Sindhi-language literature. He is revered ...

" were published in 1970 and 1971, respectively. In 1973, he published a translation of Deewan Muhiuddin from Persian to Sindhi. In 1970, he was part of the Indian delegation of writers to France, sent by the

. He was a member of Sindhi Advisory Board of the prestigious

Sahitya Academy The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

. and a member of the Board of Studies of Sindhi departments of

and Pune Universities.

Awards

He received

Sahitya Academy Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for his compilation of the Shah Jo Risalo in 1968. He also received a Gold Medal from the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

for the same work in 1958.

Death

Kalyan Advani died on 17 March 1994 in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Advani, Kalyan Bulchand 1911 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian scholars 20th-century Indian male writers People from Hyderabad, Sindh Sindhi-language writers Indian Sindhi people Scholars from Mumbai Scholars from Sindh Writers from Mumbai Writers from Sindh Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sindhi Sindhi Hindus