Background
He was born on 20 August 1932 in Palanpur, Banaskantha and completed his primary education there.
He was born on 20 August 1932 in Palanpur, Banaskantha and completed his primary education there.
Born in Palanpur, he completed higher education and had business in Calcutta. He completed Bachelor of Arts from Saint Xavier"s College, Calcutta, followed by Master of Arts in History and Bachelor of Laws.
He is also addressed as Bakshi or Bakshibabu. He started writing there and later moved to Mumbai for teaching career. He wrote 178 books He wrote extensively in newspaper columns.
He was in textile business for 12 years and had garment shop.
He wrote his first short story Makan Nu Bhut (Ghost of the House) at this garment shop. He published his first book Padgha Doobi Gaya (Sunken Echoes) in 1957.
In 1969, he moved to Mumbai and settled there and started teaching history at Raheja College. He joined Mithibai College as professor of history and politics, in 1970 and retired as a principal in 1982.
He was appointed as the Sheriff of Mumbai in the 1999 by Maharashtra government.
He died on 25 March 2006 in Ahmedabad due to heart attack. Bakshi never prepared more than one draft for his writings. His language was mix-up of Gujarati and Urdu words.
He wrote historical fictions like Atitvan and Ayanvritta.
His short stories have themes like complexities of urban life, emotional outbursts, atmosphere of war et cetera He wrote extensively on history and culture.
According to Rediff, his writing was "sharp and brutal" when he criticised people he disliked. His biography Bakshinama was partially published in serialised form in Gujarati daily Samkalin.
Some parts were not published due to its violent imaginations like urinating on the dead body of his enemy.
His short story Kutti was banned by Government of Gujarat and the arrest warrant was issued against him. He fought court case against government and later government withdrew all the charges against him. He criticised Indian politician, Bal Thackeray in his column and was asked to apologise by Thackeray"s party members.
He refused and never did.
His autobiography is adapted into play, Hu Chandrakant Bakshi, written by Shishir Ramavat and directed by Manoj Shah. The lead role is played by Pratik Gandhi.
His novels and stories had impact of existentialism, his characters are suffering and frustrated yet surviving.
He was a senate member of Bombay University.