By Matters India
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those mourning the death of a Spanish Jesuit who contributed a new style of writing in Gujarati and translated many mathematical concepts into that Indian language.
Father Carlos Gonzalvez Valles died November 9 in Madrid, capital of Spain. The priest, who was popularly known as Father Valles, had turned 95 on November 4.
“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,” Prime Minister Modi wrote on Twitter.
Father Cedric Prakash, a member of the Jesuits Gujarat province, says Father Valles was “a Gujarati at heart.” Father Valles had written 78 books containing his essays dealing with life and how to live it, he adds.
“Our nation honored him by conferring on him Indian citizenship. Gujarat will always be indebted to Father Valles for his contribution to literature and upholding our culture,” Father Prakash says.
Father Valles came to India in 1949 at the age of 24. He taught Mathematics at St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, during 1960-1982. During the teaching career, he lived ten years among middle class families as their guest in the by-lanes of Ahmedabad’s walled city.
The Jesuit savant is known for using short sentences and a conversational style.
Father Valles’ books have been translated into several European languages and Chinese.
In 1999, he created his own website so as to reach out to modern youth.
Father Valles was born in Logrono on November 4, 1925. When he was ten, his father died of Vincent’s angina. Six months later, when the Spanish Civil War broke out, he fled his home, along with his mother and brother, and went to live with his mother’s aunt. He attended a Jesuit school along with his brother. He joined a Jesuit novitiate when he was 15.
In India, Vallés attended Madras University and completed an MA in mathematics with first class honors in 1953. There, he learned English to complete his studies. He later 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 practiced writing it during his four-year theological studies at Pune. He was ordained a priest April 24, 1958.
He started teaching mathematics in Ahmedabad in 1960. Besides translating mathematical concepts into Gujarati for Gujarat University he coined terms for them. He helped contributed regularly to the first mathematical review in an Indian language, Suganitam. He also contributed in Gujarati to the encyclopedia Gnanganga on mathematical topics. He participated in World Mathematical Congress in Moscow, Exeter, and Niece.
He retired from his mathematics chair and left India to settle down in Madrid with 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.
He wrote twelve books on mathematics. He also co-authored the series of mathematics textbooks in Gujarati.
His book include Gandhi: Alternative to Violence, Nine Night in India, Life with Honour, Leader of Leaders, Teacher to a Nation, Himalayan Blunder, Cult of Excellence and Two Countries, One Life
Father Vallés won the literary prize for essays from the Gujarat government 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.