Father Valles passes away at 95

Ahmedabad: Veteran author and Gujarat columnist of yesteryears Father Carlos Gonzalez Valles SJ, popularly known as Father Valles(95) passed away today at 2 am. A Jesuit priest born in Spain, was Mathematics teacher in Gujarat for a few years. He wrote extensively in Gujarati, English, Spanish.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi expressed condolences on the passing away of Father Vallés.

“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”, the Prime Minister said.

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

Vallés won the literary prize for essays from the Government of Gujarat five times. He received the Kumar Chandrak in 1966. He was awarded Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, the highest award in Gujarati literature, in 1978 He was the first foreign recipient of the prize. His domestic wandering to understand culture and people won him the Acharya Kakasaheb Kalelkar Award for Universal Harmony in 1995 and the Ramakrishna Jaidalal Harmony Award in 1997. He was also named an Honorary Jain for his friendship with Jain community in Mumbai. He was awarded Santokbaa Award Santokbaa Award. Santokbaa Award. Surat, India.

Father Valles had during his stay in Gujarat started learning the Gujarati language, as he was asked to teach mathematics at the newly opened St Xavier’s college in Ahmedabad, which had Gujarati students. He learned Gujarati for two years, and later practised writing it during his four-year theological studies at Pune. He was ordained to the priesthood on 24 April 1958.

He started teaching mathematics in Ahmedabad in 1960. He translated many mathematical concepts into Gujarati for Gujarat University and coined terms for them. He helped to start and contributed regularly to the first mathematical review in an Indian language, Suganitam. He also contributed in Gujarati to the encyclopaedia Gnanganga on mathematical topics. He participated in World Mathematical Congress in Moscow, Exeter, and Niece.

In 1960, he wrote a Gujarati book titled Sadachar, which he published with the help from his mother, since nobody agreed to publish it. It was successful and he was invited to write in the monthly Kumar by its editors. Five years later he started writing for Kumar and won its annual Kumar Prize for best writing in the monthly.

Later, he started writing in Sunday supplement of Gujarat Samachar in a column titled Navi Pedhine (“To the new generation”). It was successful and his articles were later published as a book. Later, he left his staff quarters in the college and started living with people to understand their life. He would live with one family for a few days and then move to the next one. He lived this way for ten years.

He retired from his mathematics chair and left India and settled in Madrid and accompanied his ninety-year-old mother until she died at the age of 101. He continued to write in Gujarati, and began translating and writing in English and Spanish focused on his experiences in India and in Latin America. (Details on Valles from Wikipedia)