Bhalchandra Nemade became the fourth Marathi writer to win the Jnanpith award – India’s highest literary award. Nemade is the only marathi writer after V S Khandekar (1974), V V Shirwadkar (1984) and Vinda Karandikar (2003) to win Jnanpith award.
Bhalchandra Nemade
Who is Bhalchandra Nemade?
- Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade (born 1938)
- Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India.
- Famous for his books named “Hindu” & “Kosala”
- Also known for his novel “Hindu jagnyachi samrudhha adgal”
Kosala
- Nemade wrote his first novel Kosala in 1963.
- It is a fictitious autobiographical novel of one Pandurang Sangvikar, a youth from rural Maharashtra who studies in a college in Pune; but it is loosely based on Nemade’s own life in his youth.
- Sangvikar, the narrator in Kosala, uses everyday Marathi spoken in rural Maharashtra and his worldview also reflects that held by residents of rural Maharashtra.
- Kosala is a chronological autobiographical narration, yet it employs certain innovative techniques.
- Kosla is extensively translated into various languages including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Oriya, et al.
Other work
- After Kosala, Nemade presented a different protagonist, Changadev Patil, through his four novels Bidhar (बिढार), Hool (हूल), Jarila (जरीला) and Jhool (झूल).
- Another tetralogy begins with Hindu – Jagnyachi Samruddha Adgal (हिंदू – जगण्याची समृद्ध अडगळ) in 2010 having Khanderao, the archaeologist as its protagonist.
Deshivad
- As a critic, Nemade’s contribution rests in initiating Deshivad
- Deshivad is a theory that negates globalisation or internationalism, asserting the value of writers’ native heritage
- Deshivad indicates that Marathi literature ought to try to revive its native base and explore its indigenous sources.
- Nemade is a winner of the Sahitya Academy Award
- He was also conferred with Padma Shri in 2011 by Government of India.