Maza Pravas: 1857 cya Bandaci Hakikat
Encyclopedia
Maza Pravas: 1857 cya Bandaci Hakikat (AKA "Majha Pravaas", which translates into English as My Travels: the Story of the 1857 Mutiny):
This Marathi
travelogue
was written by Vishnubhat Godse, who travelled on foot from Varsai, a village near Pen
(in what is now the state of Maharashtra
, in India
), to the central and northern parts of India during 1857-1858, and witnessed several incidents of what he calls "The Mutiny of 1857", also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857
.
During his travel, he witnessed the events at Mhow, worked for the Rani of Jhansi for a few months, and witnessed the defeat of Jhansi, visited Ayodhya, eventually returning penniless to his village. Apart from his encounters of the mutiny, he also visited most Hindu holy places.
(used commonly in the period for writing Marathi), Vaidya got it transcribed into the Devnagari script (also called balbodh, which translates as lisible to children). He got it published only in 1907, after editing the "objectionable" passages. The edition by Datto Vaman Potdar restores all the passages that were removed.
Vishnu Bhat Godse's great great great grand daughter, Sukhmani Roy Vijh is expected to publish her translation of 'Majha Pravaas' in English by the end of 2011. The Asiatic Society, Bombay is to be the publisher of this upcoming book.
This Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
travelogue
Travel literature
Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...
was written by Vishnubhat Godse, who travelled on foot from Varsai, a village near Pen
Pen, India
Pen is a town and taluka in Raigad district of Indian state of Maharashtra. It is famous for world class Ganesh idols. It is geographical and cultural center of Raigad district.-History:...
(in what is now the state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
), to the central and northern parts of India during 1857-1858, and witnessed several incidents of what he calls "The Mutiny of 1857", also known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
.
During his travel, he witnessed the events at Mhow, worked for the Rani of Jhansi for a few months, and witnessed the defeat of Jhansi, visited Ayodhya, eventually returning penniless to his village. Apart from his encounters of the mutiny, he also visited most Hindu holy places.
Author
Godse Bhatji, whose full name is Vishnubhat Godse, belonged to a rapidly impoverished family. He got to learn only a little of the shastra, the indebted family was in need of money. He got to hear that a major yajna was to be performed in the north, by Bayjabai Shinde. It was common during the performance of such yajnas that large donations would be made to deserving brahmans. He decided to try his luck, and be present for this yajna (it was the sarvato-mukha yajna). He travelled with his uncle, and a few others, returning after about a year and a few months.How the Travelogue Came to be Written
After returning penniless from his travels, Godse Bhatji worked as a family "priest" (purohit) for the Vaidya family in Pune. Chintamanrao Vaidya, then a young college going student, grew fond of listening to Godse Bhatji's stories of his experiences of the 1857 events. Eventually, Chintamanrao Vaidya asked Godse Bhatji to write down his stories in a coherent narrative, and offered to give Rs. 100 for it, and the promise of publication. Godse Bhatji eventually wrote down his narrative in six notebooks. He died soon after.Publication
Chintamanrao Vaidya who was an educated young man of the 1890/1900s, checked the narrative against colonial historical accounts (e.g. Kay's history etc.), and found that it was accurate. However, since he was advised that the British government might find the narrative more provocative than desired, and because it also contained some "objectionable" (read erotic) material, delayed the publication for some time. Godse Bhatji's text was written in the modi scriptModi script
' is one of the scripts used to write the Marathi language& Rajasthani language, which is the primary language spoken in the state of Maharashtra & Rajasthan in western India respectively. MoDiis also known as MuDiya, MuDi & VañiyāvaTi...
(used commonly in the period for writing Marathi), Vaidya got it transcribed into the Devnagari script (also called balbodh, which translates as lisible to children). He got it published only in 1907, after editing the "objectionable" passages. The edition by Datto Vaman Potdar restores all the passages that were removed.
Vishnu Bhat Godse's great great great grand daughter, Sukhmani Roy Vijh is expected to publish her translation of 'Majha Pravaas' in English by the end of 2011. The Asiatic Society, Bombay is to be the publisher of this upcoming book.