Fr. Carlos Valles, SJ, passed away on Monday morning in Madrid, Spain. Born in Logrono on November 4, 1925, Fr. Valles came to India in 1949 and became not only an Indian but a Gujarati at heart.
Fr Valles has written over 78 books containing his essays dealing with life and how to live it. Some of those are Sadachar, Vyakti Ghadtar, Lagnasagar, Gandhiji ne Navi Pedhi, Parvotsav, Murli, Atmkathana Tukda, Shabdlok etc. Besides this, Fr. Valles contributed a new style of writing in Gujarati using short sentences and a conversational style. He published over 24 books in English and 42 in Spanish. His books have been translated into other European languages, and Chinese as well.
In 1999, he created his own website so as to reach out to the youth of today. From 1960 to 1982, he taught Mathematics at St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad. During 10 of those 22 years, he lived in the by-lanes of the walled city among various middle class families as their guest. An outstanding literary figure Umashankar Joshi praised his style of writing. His writings won him the Kumar Gold Medal, the Ranjitram Gold Medal, the Saccidananand Appreciation Award, etc. The nation honoured him by conferring on him Indian citizenship. Gujarat will always be indebted to Fr. Valles for his contribution to literature and upholding the culture.