(Late) Prof. Kalyan Bulchand
[Late] Prof. Kalyan Bulchand Advani [10 December 1911 - March 1994], born in Hyderabad, Sind, was a retired Lecturer of English with an M.A. in English Literature, and a former member of the Sindhi Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi. He was also part of a three-member Indian writers’ delegation to France in 1970.
A renowned Sindhi scholar-poet, he had mastery over Sindhi, Persian, and English, and made lasting contributions through his research on Shah, Sachal, and Sami. His landmark work Shah-Jo-Risalo earned him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award and several national honours.
Key Facts
- Birth Date: 10-12-1911
- Place of Birth: Hyderabad, Sind (Pakistan)
- Academic Attainments: M.A. (English literature)
- Permanent Address: Mumbai, India
- Occupation: Retired Lecturer of English
Significant Literary Achievements / Contributions
- Mr. Advani's first Award Winning Publication was Sindhi version of Kalidasa's masterpiece Shakuntala.
- His critical work on Shah Latif in 1951, Sami in 1953 and Sachal in 1954 [Trinity of Sindhi Poets] were acclaimed and preserved in libraries and other literary circles.
- His major contribution to Sindhi literature was compilation of Shah-Jo-Rasalo in 1958, which was also declared as a masterpiece.
- Raz-o-Niyaz, compilation of poems in 1960, also became very popular.
- His publications, namely Shah Latif & Sachal Sarmast were published in English in 1970 & 1971 respectively by Sahitya Akademi, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India.
Recognition By Way Of Awards / Honours
- Gold Medal for his Publication Shah-Jo-Rasalo, 1958 [At Mumbai by Sindhi Sahitya Mandal].
- Gold Medal for the same Publication, 1967 [At Bangalore at Sindhi Sammelan].
- Award for same Publication, 1966 [At New Delhi by Sahitya Akademi, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India].
In addition to the above, he had also received several other Awards / Honours at various Sindhi Literary Forums.
Additional Information
- In 1970, he was part of Indian delegation of writers to France, sent by Govt. of India. [There were only 3 writers in delegation.]
- He was a member of Sindhi Advisory Board of prestigious Sahitya Akademi, Govt. of India.
He expired in March 1994.
Finale
[Late] Kalyan Bulchand Advani was a great scholar-poet in Sindhi. His knowledge of Sindhi, Persian and English languages was superb. He was a great research scholar. His critical works on the trinity of Sindhi classical poets: Shah, Sachal & Sami are a testimony to such scholarship. His monumental work is the compilation of poetry of great Sindhi poet, Shah Latif with annotation and erudite comprehensive introduction of the poet and his work 'Shah-Jo-Risalo' is an extra-ordinary contribution to Sindhi language, which won an award for the author, the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award. For this work, he was also bestowed gold medals and honours from many other literary associations of India.