Veteran journalist and editor Sheela Bhatt and noted Gujarati writer Madhu Rye dedicated to the public, a unique memorial and reading room that stores all the works of legendary Gujarati journalist and writer Late Kanti Bhatt. A program was held at Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
The memorial is hosted by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Harilal Bhagwati Institute of Communication and Management (HBICM) at Ahmedabad. It stores Late Khanti Bhai's personal book collection of over 1,600 books and over 16,000 of his published articles, along with some of his personal belongings.
Kantibhai started his writing career spans over nearly five decades. He started writing in the year 1970 and continued it without a break until 2019, when he passed away. He has written mainly as Kanti Bhatt and also extensively under multiple pen names. His columns and articles were a staple for Gujarati readers for decades to have accurate information and sharp perspectives on local, national and global affairs. He and his wife jointly launched one of the most popular Gujarati magazines, Abhiyaan. He has penned over 50 books. Known for his honesty and integrity and for writing very sharp and hard-hitting articles, Kanti Bhatt reached a legendary stature.
Describing a memorial as a fitting tribute to a journalist of Kanti Bhatt's stature, his wife Sheela Bhatt appreciated Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's initiative to create such a memorial. She exhorted the audiences and the society in general to replicate this model and create living memorials of legendary journalists and writers. "Books were so close to him. I am sure during his last moments he must have thought about what would happen to his books and his writings. Now his soul can rest in peace," said Bhatt, while addressing the audience at the function.
Renowned Gujarati author and playwright Madhu Rye dedicated the memorial to the public. He touched upon the massive popularity and success that Kanti Bhatt enjoyed, which was rare even for many accomplished writers like him.
Veteran Journalist and editor Shyam Parekh is the Memorial curator and Director of Bhavan's Rajendra Prasad Institute of Communication and Management (RPICM). Talking about the memorial, he said, "It was indeed a great initiative of Sheelaben to entrust the entire legacy of Kantibhai to this public institute and makes it accessible to all." He added that currently all the published articles of Kantibhai are getting digitised and will be eventually accessible online.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Bhavans' Ahmedabad Kendra Mukesh Patel and Secretary Prakash Bhagwati welcomed Sheelaben's support to the Bhavans for setting up this memorial. Treasurer of Bhavans, Gaurav Shah expressed that this is the right tribute to a journalist of Kanti Bhatt's calibre.
Late Kantibhai's sister Indiraben Vyas recollected her memories of young Kantibhai who was deeply attached to his books and reading. The Memorial houses about 1,600 books of personal collection of Kantibhai, donated by Sheela Bhatt to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ahmedabad. This Memorial will also function as Lecture Hall and Classroom for students of journalism and other disciplines. Some 16,000 odd articles penned by Kanti Bhatt are being digitised and preserved here.
The memorial will be free to access and remain open from Mondays to Fridays between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm. The memorial has a seating capacity for 50 persons for lectures and will be hosting discussions and lectures in the evenings. It is also equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, projector and a curated collection of old communication gadgets.
