Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar (11 January 1898 – 2 September 1976) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

writer from

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, India. He was the first Marathi author to win the prestigious

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

Early life

Khandekar was born on 11 January 1898 in

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks o ...

, Maharashtra. His father was a ''munsif'' (a subordinate official) in Sangli principality where he spent his childhood and completed his early education. In his early life, he was interested in acting in movies and staged various dramas during school days. After passing his matriculation exam in 1913, Khandekar joined

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. In 1920, he started working as a school teacher at a school in Shiroda

Professional and literary life

Khandekar's writing career began in 1919 when ''Shrimat Kalipuranam'', his first work, was published, and continued to 1974 when his novel ''

Yayati Yayāti ( sa, ययाति, translit=Yayāti), is a king in Hindu tradition. He is described to be a Chandravamsha king. He is regarded to be the progenitor of the races of the Yadavas and the Pandavas. He is considered in some texts to ...

'' was published. In 1920, Khandekar started working as a school teacher in a small town, ''Shiroda'', in the present-day

Sindhudurg district Sindhudurg district (Marathi pronunciation: in̪d̪ʱud̪uɾɡ is an administrative district of the Konkan division in India, which was carved out of the erstwhile Ratnagiri district. The district headquarters are located at Oros and the dis ...

of the

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

region in Maharashtra. He worked in that school until 1938. While working as a teacher, Khandekar produced in his spare time abundant

Marathi literature Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari and Modi script. History Ancient Era Maharashtri Prakrit was the southern Prakrit tha ...

in various forms. In his lifetime, he wrote sixteen novels, six plays, around 250 short stories, 50 allegorical stories, 100 essays, and over 200 critiques. He worked and founded Khandekari alankar in Marathi grammar.

Honors and awards

In 1941, Khandekar was elected as the president of the annual

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Literary Conference) is an annual conference for literary discussions by Marathi writers. Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra State. The first Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was he ...

(Marathi Literary Conference) in

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch line ...

. In 1968, the Government of India honoured him with a

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

award in recognition of his literary accomplishments. Two years later, he was also honoured with the

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.Quote: "In his acceptance speech when India's National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi) in 1997 conferred its h ...

of the Indian

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

. in 1974, he was awarded

, country's highest literary recognition, for his novel ''

''.

Shivaji University Shivaji University, established in 1962, is a state university located at Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. The university, with a campus spread over , is named after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire. It was inaugurated ...

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

, Maharashtra conferred on him an honorary degree of

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

In 1998, the Government of India issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour.

Major works

Khandekar's novel '' Yayāti'' (ययाति) received three prestigious awards: A Maharashtra State Award (1960), a

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

(1960), and a

(1974). Khandekar's other novels are as follows: *''Hrudayāchi Hāk'' (हृदयाची हाक) (1930) *''Kānchan Mruga'' (कांचनमृग) (1931) *''Ulkā'' (उल्का) (1934) *''Don Mane'' (दोन मने) (1938) *''Hirwā Chāphā'' (हिरवा चाफ़ा) (1938) *''Don Dhruwa'' (दोन धृव) (1934) *''Rikāmā Dewhārā'' (रिकामा देव्हारा) (1939) *''Pahile Prem'' (पहिले प्रेम) (1940) *''Kraunchawadh'' (क्रौंचवध) (1942) *''Jalalelā Mohar'' (जळलेला मोहर) (1947) *''Pāndhare Dhag'' (पांढरे ढग) (1949) *''Amrutawel'' (अमृतवेल) *''Sukhāchā Shodh'' (सुखाचा शोध) *''Ashru'' (अश्रू)) *''Soneri Swapne Bhangaleli'' (सोनेरी स्वप्ने भंगलेली) *''

'' (ययाति) *''Eka Panachi Kahani'' (एका पानाची कहाणी) (Autobiography)

Other works

The following is a partial list of Khandekar's other works: *अभिषेक(Abhishek) *अविनाश (Avinash) *गोकर्णीची फुले (Gokarnichi Fule) *ढगाआडचे चांदणे (Dhagaadache Chandne) *दवबिंदू (Davabindu) *नवी स्त्री (Navi Stree) *प्रसाद (Prasad) *मुखवटे (Mukhawate) *रानफुले (Ranfule) *विकसन (Vikasan) *क्षितिजस्पर्श (Kshitijsparsh)

Movies and television serials

Several movies and television serials have been made based on the works of Khandekar. The movies include: *''Chhāyā''...........

arathi The Arathi, a term meaning "prophets", are a Christian religious movement founded in 1926 in Kenya.Francis Kimani Githieya, "The Formation and Development of the Arathi," ''The Freedom of the Spirit: African Indigenous Churches in Kenya'' (Oxford ...

(1936) *''Jwālā''.............. arathi and Hindi(1938) *''Devatā''............

(1939) *''Amrut''.............. arathi and Hindi(1941) *''

Dharma Patni ''Dharma Patni'' or ''Dharmapatni'' ( Wife) is a 1941 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by P. Pullayya under the Famous Films banner. It stars Santha Kumari, Bhanumathi, Uppuluri Hanumantha Rao and C. Hemalatha. The film ...

''... elugu and Tamil(1941) *''Pardeshi''.........

(1953) Khandekar wrote the dialogue and screenplay for the Marathi movie ''Lagna Pahāwe Karoon'' (1940).

Other works

Bibliography

* ''Yayati'' (Marathi). 1959. .

Works in translation

* ''Yayati by V. S. Khandekar'' (English), Tr. by Y. P. Kulkarni. Orient Paperbacks. .

References

External links

*
Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar, profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khandekar, Vishnu Sakharam Presidents of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Marathi-language writers Marathi people Indian male novelists People from Sangli 1898 births 1976 deaths Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Recipients of the Jnanpith Award Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian novelists Indian male poets Poets from Maharashtra Novelists from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian male writers