Vijaydan Detha facts for kids

Vijaydan Detha (born September 1, 1926 – died November 10, 2013) was a very famous Indian writer. People also knew him as Bijji. He wrote many stories in the Rajasthani language. He won many important awards, including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Detha wrote more than 800 short stories. These stories have been translated into English and other languages. He helped start Rupayan Sansthan with Komal Kothari. This group collects and saves Rajasthani folklore, art, and music.

One of his most famous works is Bataan ri Phulwari. This means "Garden of Tales." It is a collection of 14 books filled with stories. These stories come from old folk tales told in Rajasthan. Many of his stories have been made into movies and plays. Some famous adaptations include:

• Duvidha (1973) by Mani Kaul
• Charandas Chor (1975) by Habib Tanvir and Shyam Benegal
• Parinati (1986) by Prakash Jha
• Paheli (2005) by Amol Palekar
• The Honour Keeper (2014) by Pushpendra Singh
• Kaanchli Life in a Slough (2020) by Dedipya Joshii
• Laila aur Satt Geet (2020) by Pushpendra Singh

Early Life and Education

Vijaydan Detha came from the Charan community. His father, Sabaldan Detha, and his grandfather, Jugtidan Detha, were also well-known poets in Rajasthan. When Detha was four years old, he lost his father and two brothers. This happened during a family feud.

At age six, he moved to Jaitaran. This town is about 25 kilometers from his home village of Borunda. His brother, Sumerdan, worked there in a court. Detha studied in Jaitaran until the fourth grade. Sumerdan's job meant he moved often. So, Detha moved with him, studying in Bihar and Barmer.

It was in Barmer that Detha realized he wanted to be a writer. He was competing with another student, Narsingh Rajpurohit, and found his passion. Later, Sumerdan moved to Jodhpur. Detha then studied at Durbar School in Jodhpur.

Becoming a Writer

Detha felt that Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was his first inspiration. He also greatly admired Anton Chekhov. At first, he did not like Rabindranath Tagore's work. But he changed his mind after reading Tagore's story 'Stri Patra'.

Detha started college in 1944. By this time, he was already known for his poetry. He gave credit for his early success to his cousin, Kuberdan Detha. Kuberdan had left school after the tenth grade. Detha used to pretend Kuberdan's poems were his own. The praise he got for those poems made him want to become a famous writer himself.

One of his first works that caused discussion was Bapu Ke Teen Hatyare. This book criticized the work of Harivanshrai Bachchan, Sumitranandan Pant, and Narendra Sharma. These three writers published books about Mahatma Gandhi soon after Gandhi's death.

Nathuram Godse may have killed Gandhi physically, but these three writers killed his soul

— Vijaydan Detha ,  Bapu Ke Teen Hatyare

Between 1950 and 1952, Detha read many 19th-century Russian books. This inspired him greatly. He thought, "If you don't want to be an average writer, you should go back to your village and write in Rajasthani." By then, he had already written 1300 poems and 300 short stories.

Stories on Screen and Stage

Many of Detha's stories have been made into films and plays. In 1973, the famous filmmaker Mani Kaul directed Duvidha. This movie was based on Detha's story of the same name. Much of the film was shot in Detha's village, Borunda. It became famous all over the world.

Later, Amol Palekar directed Paheli, which was based on the same story. Shah Rukh Khan starred in this movie. Paheli was also India's official entry for the Academy Awards. Prakah Jha made Parinati, a film based on another of Detha's stories.

Habib Tanvir turned Detha's story into a very popular play called Charandas Chor. This play was later made into a film by Shyam Benegal. Director Pushpendra Singh made a movie called The Honour Keeper from Detha's short story "Lajwanti". In 2020, Dedipya Joshii made the Hindi-Rajasthani film Kaanchli Life in a Slough. Pushpendra Singh also made the Gojri film Laila aur Satt Geet from Detha's famous story Kenchuli.

Detha once told Mahendra Lalas from India Today, "My land [Rajasthan] is full of stories. Whatever I've written is just a small part of it." He was inspired by Shah Govradhan Lal Kabra to write in Rajasthani. He said, "Till date I have not written in any other language." This shows his deep love for his language. He wrote about the struggles of poor people. In 2011, he was even considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature. However, Tomas Tranströmer won it that year. Vijaydan Detha had four sons and one daughter.

His Works

Detha wrote most of his works in Rajasthani. He loved his mother tongue very much. Many of his works have been translated into Hindi by his son, Kailash Kabeer.

Rajasthani Books

• Batan Ri Phulwari, volumes 1–14 (1960–1975) – These are collections of folk tales.
• Prerana (1953) – Co-edited with Komal Kothari.
• Soratha (1956–1958)
• Parampara – He edited three special issues: Folk songs, Gora Hatja, Jethava Ra.
• Rajasthani Lokgeet (1958) – Six books of Rajasthani folk songs.
• Tido Rao (1965) – The first small book in Rajasthani.
• Uljhan (1984) – A novel.
• Alekhun Hitler (1984) – Short stories.
• Roonkh (1987)
• Kaboo Rani (1989) – Stories for children.

Hindi Books

• Usha (1946) – Poetry.
• Bapu ke teen hatyare (1948) – A book of criticism.
• Column in Jwala Weekly (1949–1952)
• Sahitya aur samaj (1960) – Essays.
• Anokha Ped (1968) – Illustrated children's stories.
• Phoolwari (1992) – Translated into Hindi by Kailash Kabir.
• Chaudharain Ki Chaturai (1996) – Short stories.
• Antaral (1997) – Short stories.
• Sapan Priya (1997) – Short stories.
• Mero Darad Na Jane Koy (1997) – Essays.
• Atirikta (1997) – Criticism.
• Mahamilan (1998) – A novel.
• Priya Mrinal (1998) – Short stories.

Detha also helped edit other works:

• The complete works of Ganeshi Lal Vyas for Sahitya Akademi.
• A Rajasthani-Hindi dictionary of proverbs (Kahawat Kosh).

Awards and Recognition

Vijaydan Detha received many important awards for his writing:

• Sahitya Akademi Award for Rajasthani in 1974
• Bhartiya Bhasa Parishad Award in 1992
• Marudhara Puraskar in 1995
• Bihari Puraskar in 2002
• Sahitya Chudamani Award in 2006
• Padma Shri in 2007
• Rao Siha 2011 by Mehrangarh Museum Trust
• Rajasthan Ratna in 2012