Jay Gajjar, one of the first members of the Gujarati community to receive Canada’s highest honor, the Order of Canada, passed away on march 31st, 2016. Gajjar was well-known for his community service and involvement in various organizations like Friends of India Association, Hospital Foundation and the Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce to name a few.
Gajjar, a prolific writer of more than four hundred short stories, was published in several well known dailies and magazines in India such as Kumar, Aarasi, Shrirang and Gruhshobha while some of his work was also broadcast on
CBC Television in Canada. His novel “Paththar Thar Thar Dhruje” was published in a Sunday supplement of “Gujarat Samachar”. Several of his novels have been serialized are in Toronto’s weekly newspapers like ‘Gujarat Express’, ‘Gujarat Abroad’ and in ‘Gujarat Darpan’ a monthly out of New Jersey, USA.
He was also invited to read a chapter from his new novel ‘Kachi Matinu Ghar’ in 2004 and ‘Timirna Tej’ in 2005 by the ‘Word on the Street Festival’ in Toronto, Canada.
A professor and successful businessman, Gajjar is survived by his wife, Kavita and his son, Neil Gajjar’s family. An afternoon of bhajans and devotional songs to honour his memory will be held at the Mississauga Hindu Heritage Mandir, 6300 Mississauga Rd, Mississauga ON L5N 1A7, on Sunday, April 10, 2016 from 2pm-4pm. For more details, please contact: Dr. Neil J. Gajjar, DDS at 905.564.2021 or Prakash Moody at: [email protected]
