Madhavrao Sapre
Madhavrao Sapre was an Indian writer, journalist, and social reformer, widely regarded as a pioneer of Hindi short stories. He is best known for Ek Tokri Bhar Mitti, considered the first Hindi short story. His contributions extended beyond storytelling to include editing, translation, lexicography, and institution-building.
Sapre played a key role in developing economic terminology in Hindi and edited the Vigyan Shabdkosh in 1902 under the Kashi Nagari Pracharini Sabha. Many scholars also consider him one of the first Hindi literary critics.
Early life
Sapre was born in June 1871 in Patharia, Damoh district, in present-day Madhya Pradesh. He belonged to a Marathi-speaking family and completed his education in Bilaspur, graduating from Calcutta University in 1899. After initially working as a tehsildar, he left his job to engage in activities related to India's independence movement and Hindi literary development.Career
In 1900, Sapre founded Chhattisgarh Mitra, one of the earliest Hindi magazines, from Pendra in present-day Chhattisgarh. Although Chhattisgarh Mitra had a short run, it is credited with laying the foundation of Hindi journalism in the region. He edited several Hindi language journals, including the Hindi edition of Kesari. He translated notable works of Marathi literature into Hindi, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Geeta Rahasya and Samarth Ramdas's Dasbodh.He was instrumental in standardizing Hindi economic terminology and compiling a science dictionary for the Kashi Nagari Pracharini Sabha. He also started the Hindi Mathematical Magazine in Nagpur in 1906 to support Hindi literary writers, however, it was shut down by the British government due to its nationalist content in 1908.
In 1920, Sapre founded the Hindi Mandir in Jabalpur. In 1921, he founded the National School and established the first girls' school, Janaki Devi Mahila Pathshala, in Raipur. In 1924, he chaired the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan session in Dehradun. He died on 23 April 1926 at Tatipara, Raipur.
Notable works
Swadeshi Andolan aur BoycottEurope ke Itihas Se Seekhne Yogya BaateinHamare Samajik Hras ke Kuch Karanon ka VicharMadhavrao Sapre ki Kahaniyan;TranslationsHindi Dasbodh Geeta Rahasya
- ''Mahabharat Mimamsa''