Yashwant Dinkar Pendharkar
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Yashwant Dinkar Pendharkar (यशवंत दिनकर पेंढरकर) (1899 - 1985) was a Marathi
poet from Maharashtra
, India
. He wrote poetry under the pen name Yashwant (यशवंत).
Pendharkar was born on March 9, 1899 in the town of Tarale in Satara District
. Before finishing his school education at the City High School of Sangli
, he discontinued it out of unfavorable financial circumstances. He moved to Pune
to take up clerical jobs to support himself. While working, Pendharkar read Marathi literature widely, and developed love for reading especially poetry and also composing his own poetry.
At the 1921 Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Baroda, Pendharkar met Madhav Julian
and Shridhar Ranade, and the three formed a friendship based on common literary interests. The three lived in Pune and started frequently meeting for literary discussions. Soon Gajanan Tryambak Madkholkar, Shankar Kanetkar (poet Girish), and D. L. Gokhale joined the meetings, and the group eventually identified itself as Ravikiran Mandal (रविकिरण मंडळ). (Viththal Dattatreya Ghate
later joined the group.)
Ravikiran Mandal popularized Marathi poetry in Maharashtra during approximately 1922-35 through public poetry recitals by member poets. Especially Pendharkar was gifted with both a melodious voice and a talent for presenting his recitals very effectively. (Some of the recitals used to be held in Lokamanya Tilak
' s Gayakwadwada
in Pune
under the sponsorship of Tilak's son Shridhar.)
In 1940, Maharaja Pratap Singh Gayakwad
of the princely state of Baroda
(which was then under British Raj
) honored Pendharkar by naming him as Raj Kawi (राजकवि) --state poet. (The previous year, soon after Pratap Singh's ascension to the throne following the death of his highly public-spirited grandfather Sayajirao Gayakwad
, Pendharkar had composed his epical Kawya Kirit (काव्य-किरीट), which contained a description of the obligations of a princely head of a state toward the subjects. Pratap Singh turned out to be a hedonistic spendthrift who squandered Baroda state's money.)
Pendharkar presided over Marathi Sahitya Sammelan
in Mumbai
in 1950.
The following is a list of collections of Pendharkar's poems and prose writings:
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
poet from 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...
, 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...
. He wrote poetry under the pen name Yashwant (यशवंत).
Pendharkar was born on March 9, 1899 in the town of Tarale in Satara District
Satara district
Satara District is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of 10,480 km² and a population of 2,808,994 of which 14.17% were urban . Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns include Wai, Karad, Koregaon, Koyananagar, Rahimatpur, Phaltan, Mahabaleshwar...
. Before finishing his school education at the City High School of Sangli
Sangli
Sangli is a city in the state of Maharashtra of India. Sangli is known as the Turmeric city for its vast production of Turmeric. Sangli is situated on the banks of river Krishna and is the largest market place for Turmeric in Asia and houses many sugar factories, which it is also noted for...
, he discontinued it out of unfavorable financial circumstances. He moved to Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
to take up clerical jobs to support himself. While working, Pendharkar read Marathi literature widely, and developed love for reading especially poetry and also composing his own poetry.
At the 1921 Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Baroda, Pendharkar met Madhav Julian
Madhav Julian
Madhav Julian was the pen name which Madhav Trimbak Patwardhan used in writing Marathi poetry.He hailed from Maharashtra, India.-Biography:...
and Shridhar Ranade, and the three formed a friendship based on common literary interests. The three lived in Pune and started frequently meeting for literary discussions. Soon Gajanan Tryambak Madkholkar, Shankar Kanetkar (poet Girish), and D. L. Gokhale joined the meetings, and the group eventually identified itself as Ravikiran Mandal (रविकिरण मंडळ). (Viththal Dattatreya Ghate
Viththal Dattatreya Ghate
Viththal Dattatreya Ghate was an educationist and a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was born in Ghospuri in Ahmednagar district. After spending childhood in Ahmednagar he went to Gujarat. Later he lived in Malwa, Indore, Gwalher and came back to Maharashtra...
later joined the group.)
Ravikiran Mandal popularized Marathi poetry in Maharashtra during approximately 1922-35 through public poetry recitals by member poets. Especially Pendharkar was gifted with both a melodious voice and a talent for presenting his recitals very effectively. (Some of the recitals used to be held in Lokamanya Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Lokmanya Tilak –, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities derogatorily called the great leader "Father of the Indian unrest"...
' s Gayakwadwada
Gayakwadwada
Gayakwadwada is the name of a large edifice in Pune, India which was built by the Sardar Gayakwad family as a residential place for it. Sayajirao Gayakwad, the prince of Baroda state, would occasionally stay there....
in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
under the sponsorship of Tilak's son Shridhar.)
In 1940, Maharaja Pratap Singh Gayakwad
Pratap Singh Gaekwad of Baroda
Maharaja Pratap Singh Gaekwad was a Maharaja of Baroda who succeeded his grandfather Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III at his death in 1939. He ruled for a period of twelve years, from 1939 to 1951, when he was deposed by the Government of India and exiled to England...
of the princely state of Baroda
Baroda State
Baroda State was an Indian princely state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until 1947 when it succeed to newly formed, India. With the city of Baroda as its capital, during the British Raj it was part of the Baroda Residency...
(which was then under British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
) honored Pendharkar by naming him as Raj Kawi (राजकवि) --state poet. (The previous year, soon after Pratap Singh's ascension to the throne following the death of his highly public-spirited grandfather Sayajirao Gayakwad
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III
165454565Sayajirao Gaekwad III was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is notably remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule....
, Pendharkar had composed his epical Kawya Kirit (काव्य-किरीट), which contained a description of the obligations of a princely head of a state toward the subjects. Pratap Singh turned out to be a hedonistic spendthrift who squandered Baroda state's money.)
Pendharkar presided over Marathi Sahitya Sammelan
Marathi Sahitya Sammelan
Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan is a conference for literary discussions by Marathi writers. Though the conference has sometimes been held in a town outside the Indian state of Maharashtra, it is typically held annually in one of the towns in Maharashtra where Marathi is the mother tongue...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
in 1950.
Literary work
Pendharkar wrote poetry with romantic, social, and nationalitic themes. He also wrote some poetry for children (and three prose books.)The following is a list of collections of Pendharkar's poems and prose writings:
- Yashawantī (1921)
- Mahārāshṭra Wīṇājhaṅkār (1922)
- Bhāvamanthan (1930)
- Jaya-Maṅgalā (1931)
- Yashogandha (1935)
- Bandīshāḷā (1939)
- Kāwya Kirīṭ ((काव्य-किरीट)) (1939)
- Yashonidhi (1941)
- Motībāg (Poems for children) (1942)
- Ghāyaḷ (1944)
- Yashogirī (1944)
- Kāntaṇīchẽ Ghar (1945)
- Ojaswinī (1946)
- Yaśhodhan (यशोधन) (1956)
- Pāṇapoī (1956)
- Muthe, Lokamate (मुठे, लोकमाते) (1961)
- Hāpisar (1962)
- Kamaṇḍalu (1962)
- Samartha Rāmdās (1964)
- Chhatrapatī Shiwarāy (1968)
- Raṇadurgā Jhāshīwālī (1977)