NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, NOV 9
Renowned Spain-based Gujarati author and Jesuit priest Father Carlos Gonzalez Valles died at the age of 95 in his native country on Monday.
Father Vallés endeared himself to many, especially in Gujarat. He distinguished himself in diverse areas such as mathematics and Gujarati literature. He was also passionate about serving society. Saddened by his demise. May his soul rest in peace.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 9, 2020
Father Valles authored many books in Gujarati and taught mathematics at Gujarat University for several decades.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Father Valles endeared himself to many, especially in Gujarat. He distinguished himself in diverse areas such as mathematics and Gujarati literature. He was also passionate about serving society. Saddened by his demise. May his soul rest in peace.”
“સવાયા ગુજરાતી” તરીકે જાણીતા ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યકાર કાર્લોસ જી. વાલેસ (ફાધર વાલેસ) ના દુઃખદ અવસાનથી શોકમગ્ન છું.
ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યને તેમણે અનેક પુસ્તકો અને લેખો દ્વારા સમૃદ્ધ કર્યું હતું, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય જગતને તેમની ખોટ હંમેશા રહેશે.
પ્રભુ તેમના દિવ્ય આત્માને શાંતિ બક્ષે.
ૐ શાંતિ…— Vijay Rupani (Modi Ka Parivar) (@vijayrupanibjp) November 9, 2020
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said even though the Jesuit priest was not a Gujarati by birth, he made a name for himself in Gujarati literature through his writings and books, essays, and travelogues.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel, the party’s Gujarat unit chief Amit Chavda and Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani expressed grief.
“With his demise, not only Gujarat but the entire country has lost an excellent literary creator, a lover of literature, a sensitive and loving personality,” said the Congress in a statement.
Father Valles was born in Logrono in Spain on November 4, 1925, and came to India as a missionary at the age of 15.
He completed his studies at Madras University and went on to teach mathematics at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad.
“I started my mathematics teaching in Ahmedabad the year Gujarat separated from Mumbai and became a new state (1960). Thus I grew with it from the start. I gave myself body and soul to my teaching,” he wrote in a column about himself on his official website.
He translated many mathematical concepts into Gujarati, including co-authoring a volume on the subject in the official Gujarati encyclopedia, and his essays won the state government’s literary award five times.
Valles wrote several books in English and in his native Spanish language, while a collection of Sunday columns in the Gujarat Samachar was turned into a book.
He was the recipient of “Ranjtram Gold Medal” in 1978, the highest cultural award in Gujarat, the first time it was awarded to a foreigner.
The Jesuit priest was also bestowed with the ”Acharya Kakasaheb Kalelkar Award for Universal Harmony” and the ”Ramakrishna Jaidalal Harmony Award”.
“The word harmony is in both citations. I would like it to be the summary of my life,” Valles had written on his website.
