Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar
Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was the first Marathi author to win the prestigious Jnanpith Award.
Early life
Khandekar was born on 11 January 1898 in Sangli, Maharashtra. His father was a munsif 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, Pune. 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 was published.In 1920, Khandekar started working as a school teacher in a small town, Shiroda, in the present-day Sindhudurg district of the Konkan region in Maharashtra. He worked in that school until 1938. While working as a teacher, Khandekar produced in his spare time abundant Marathi literature in various forms. He frequented a hillock located overseeing the sea where he wrote many of his literary works, this place later came to be known by locals as "Khandekaranchi Khurchi". 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 in Solapur. In 1968, the Government of India honoured him with a Padma Bhushan award in recognition of his literary accomplishments. Two years later, he was also honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship of the Indian Sahitya Akademi. in 1974, he was awarded Jnanpith Award, country's highest literary recognition, for his novel Yayati. Shivaji University at Kolhapur, Maharashtra conferred on him an honorary degree of D.Litt. In 1998, the Government of India issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour.Major works
Khandekar's novel Yayāti received three prestigious awards: A Maharashtra State Award, a Sahitya Akademi Award, and a Jnanpith Award.Khandekar's other novels are as follows:
- Hrudayāchi Hāk
- Kānchan Mruga
- Ulkā
- Don Mane
- Hirwā Chāphā
- Don Dhruwa
- Rikāmā Dewhārā
- Pahile Prem
- Kraunchawadh
- Jalalelā Mohar
- Pāndhare Dhag
- Amrutawel
- Sukhāchā Shodh
- Ashru )
- Soneri Swapne Bhangaleli
- Yayati
- ''Eka Panachi Kahani''
Other works
The following is a partial list of Khandekar's other works:- अभिषेक
- अविनाश
- गोकर्णीची फुले
- ढगाआडचे चांदणे
- दवबिंदू
- नवी स्त्री
- प्रसाद
- मुखवटे
- रानफुले
- विकसन
- क्षितिजस्पर्श
Movies and television serials
Several movies and television serials have been made based on the works of Khandekar. The movies include:- Chhāyā...........
- Jwālā..............
- Devatā............
- Amrit..............
- Dharma Patni...
- Pardeshi.........)