About The Author

Chandrakant Keshavlal Bakshi (Gujarati: ચંદ્રકાંત કેશવલાલ બક્ષી) was a Gujarati author. He is also addressed as Bakshi or Bakshibabu. Born in Palanpur, he completed higher education and had business in Calcutta. He started writing there and later moved to Mumbai for teaching career. He wrote 178 books. He wrote extensively in newspaper columns. He was one of the three children of Keshavlal and Chanchalben, a Gujarati Jain family. He was born on 20 August 1932 in Palanpur, Banaskantha and completed his primary education there. He completed Bachelor of Arts from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, followed by MA in History and Bachelor of Laws. He was in textile business for 12 years and had garment shop. He wrote his first short story Makan Nu Bhut (Ghost of the House) at this garment shop. He published his first book Padgha Doobi Gaya (Sunken Echoes) in 1957. In 1969, he moved to Mumbai and settled there and started teaching history at Raheja College. He joined Mithibai College as professor of history and politics, in 1970 and retired as a principal in 1982. He was a senate member of Bombay University. He was appointed as the Sheriff of Mumbai in the 1999 by Maharashtra government. He died on 25 March 2006 in Ahmedabad due to heart attack. Bakshi never prepared more than one draft for his writings. His language was mix-up of Gujarati and Urdu words. His novels and stories had impact of existentialism, his characters are suffering and frustrated yet surviving. He wrote historical fictions like Atitvan and Ayanvritta. His short stories have themes like complexities of urban life, emotional outbursts, atmosphere of war etc. He wrote extensively on history and culture. According to Rediff, his writing was ‘sharp and brutal’ when he criticised people he disliked. His biography Bakshinama was partially published in serialised form in Gujarati daily Samkalin. Some parts were not published due to its violent imaginations like urinating on the dead body of his enemy.