Gajanan Tryambak Madkholkar (

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 * * ...

: गजानन त्र्यंबक माडखोलकर) (December 28, 1900 – November 27, 1976) was a

novelist and a literary critic from Maharashtra,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Early life

Madkholkar was born on December 28, 1900, in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. His father, a Karhade

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

priest who was financially well-off, brought up Madkholkar in a strict, highly orthodox

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

environment. At his age 18, Madkholkar failed in the high school matriculation examination, and abandoned his formal studies. However, he extensively read

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, and

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literature. He also carefully studied the history of

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and

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Literary work

At his age 19, Madkholkar wrote a critical article titled ''

Keshavasuta Krishnaji Keshav Damle ( mr, कृष्णाजी केशव दामले) (October 7, 1866 - November 7, 1905) was a Marathi poet from Malgund , Ratnagiri Maharashtra, India, who wrote poetry under the pen name Keshavasuta or Keshavsut ...

ncha Sampraday'' (केशवसुतांचा संप्रदाय). It got published in ''Navayug'' (नवयुग) magazine and received much acclaim. At his age 21, Madkholkar started writing political articles. His first four articles concerned

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

movement in Ireland; they got published in the reputed ''Kesari'' (केसरी) newspaper. At his age 22, Madkholkar wrote his critical book ''Adhunik Kawi-Panchak'' (आधुनिक कविपंचक). This book too received high acclaim. In 1924, Madkholkar joined the editorial board of the

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( 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 As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

weekly ''Maharashtra'' (महाराष्ट्र). In 1944, he became the editor of the

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

daily ''Tarun Bharat'' (तरुण भारत). Madkholkar wrote ten critical books, twelve novels, six one-act plays, two collections of his short stories, and a few poems. He presided over

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 h ...

in Belgaum in 1946.

List of novels

* नवे संसार (Nave Samsār) (1941) * मुक्तात्मा (Muktātmā) (1933) * चंदनवाडी (Chandanavāḍi) (1943) * मुखवटे (Mukhvate) * उद्धार (Uddhār) * कांता (Kāntā) * प्रमद्वरा (Pramadwara) * भंगलेलें देऊळ (Bhangalelen Deuḷ) * दुहेरी जीवन (Duherī Jīvan) * शाप (Śāp) (1936) * नागकन्या (Nāgakanyā) * डाक बंगला (Ḍāk Banglā) {{DEFAULTSORT:Madkholkar, G T Marathi-language writers 1900 births 1976 deaths Presidents of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan