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what he wrote is a forgone conclusion. Bhayani Saheb's full awareness of the dynamic potentiality inherent in a word, its syntactic placement, and contextual appropriateness was instinctive. The words chosen and phraseology built in his writings amply reveal it. The current styles in Gujarati writings, be they in the domain of prose or poetry, gravitate to two opposite polarities. One style, used now by a minority of writers, relishes in the profuse use of tatsama/Sanskrit words and hence it can be classed as 'Samskṛtādhyā;' the other employs tadbhava and dialectic vocabulary as well as the corresponding native idiom adopted from the spoken parlance of the masses and in their powerfully expressive effects. Prof. Bhayani's writings strike a balance between the two positions. He viewed the employment of deliberate and too frequent (and the tendentiously 'Hindi' type of) Sanskrit vocabulary as unneeded, burdensome, and adversely affecting readability just as obstructing comprehension. Where śuddha (pure) Gujarati vocables are available and can discharge the function of communication far more effortlessly, efficiently, and eloquently, indeed with a direct and distinct appeal, there is neither need nor room for heavy Sanskrit equivalents he felt.
Although he did occasionally write in English, for certain precise, neat, and clear, the main bulk of his writings he did was in Gujarati, his native tongue, which he loved, adored, and had considerably enriched in its multifarious manifestations. He also encouraged. translations in Gujarati of the literary and philosophical works published in English.
Bhayani Saheb (as we all here preferred to call him) was also gifted at the art and science of prosody. He occasionally rendered ancient Prakrit or Apabhramsh, or for that matter also Sanskrit verses into corresponding Gujarati verses. From his intensive studies of old literature of various categories, he drew parallels between, as well as searched out the origins of the living verbal urban and folk language traditions and next pointed out to the continuality of the transmission of ideas by, and within the unbrokenly flowing cultural streams. Moreover, he had produced original /creative versified literature, besides excellent prose in Gujarati. He was equally interested in the 'bhakti' literature with special focus on the Vaisnava compositions in Old Gujarati.
Prof. Bhayani, in point of fact, had wide ranging interests. Some of these transcend the sphere of languages, linguistics, and literature. He, for instance, was also interested in music, the field where he specially paid attention with the view on researching and documenting/recording and thus preserving the old modes of people's music such as the dhola (Skt. dhavala) and related genres. Age had not diminished his fervour for searching, thinking, and next communicating through writing. Despite ailments lately visiting him, his mind was faultlessly alert.
Both within as well as outside India, Bhayani Saheb's contributions are held in high regard for their intrinsic worth just as for their erudition. In fact, he was held in high esteem both as an academic of stature and as an ideal human being. Meetings and
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