Prahlad Keshav Atre
Encyclopedia
Prahlād Keshav Atre (13 August 1898 – 13 June 1969), popularly known as Āchārya Atre , was a multi-faceted India
n figure. He was a prominent Marathi
writer, a poet, an educationist, a newspaper founder–editor of Maratha
(a Marathi language daily whose head office and press was located at Coca-Cola gulley in Worli
, Mumbai
), a political leader, a movie producer–director–script writer and above all, a noted orator.
His Marathi film, Shyamchi Aai
(श्यामची आई) won the 1954 National Film Award for Best Film
.
, near Pune
, in Maharashtra
, India.
In his autobiography Atre has devoted one full chapter to Cambridge educated mathematician Wrangler R.P.Paranjpe whose personality made a tremendous impact on him when he was studying for his BA degree at Ferguson College in Pune where R.P. Paranjpe was principal. He has also acknowledged the influence Professor Sir Percy Nunn (Principal of London Day Training College) and P.B. Ballard ( A senior inspector in the education department of London County Council)had on his work in the field of education and also that of H.R.Hamley (Principal of the Secondary Training College, Bombay). He has also stated that his style of oratory of greatly influenced by Prof. Ballard. The other professors at London Day Training College whose influence on him Atre acknowledges in his autobiography are Messrs Cyril Burt
( An educational psychologist), James Fairgrieve
( A geographer and educator ) and John Dover Wilson ( professor and scholar of Renaissance drama).
Atre's contributions to Marathi literature have been listed under Important works below. He was an outstanding humorist, and his writing style — whether he wrote humorous or serious material — was highly effective. He introduced parodistic poetry to Marathi language under the pseudonym Keshav Kumār. His book, Jhenduchi Phule, is a collection of his parodistic poems.
Atre wrote seven plays; some of them had a humorous theme while others, a serious one. All of them received high public acclaim. His comedy-play, Moruchi Mavshi was later adapted into Hindi film, Aunty No. 1 (1998), starring Govinda
and Raveena Tandon
.
Atre's two autobiographical works, Mi Kasā Jhālo and Karheche Pāni, similarly received much public acclaim. Atre was the founder–editor of four Marathi newspapers. Two of them had a short life. But the other two, Maratha and (Weekly) Navayug, ran for many years with a large circulation.
Atre also became known for his public feud with another well known Marathi author of his times Prof. N.S.Phadke. Several years later however there was a public reconciliation between these two in the city of Pune.
Atre had studied Urdu language in depth. He while writing under the pseudonym Maulana Allauddin Khilji, ridiculed the predilection of the Marathi poets of those times of using not easily understood Sanskrit words and using bigger than life comparisons.(He wrote a poem, Shyamale, under this whimsical pen name Maulānā Allāuddin Khilji).
Atre was one of the defendants in the then well known "People's Own" litigation but was acquitted as being innocent by Mr. Justice Broomfield of Bombay High Court.( He had earlier been convicted by a lower court judge by name Gundil in Pune)
Atre's worthy contributions in the Marathi movie world have been listed below. His movie Shyamchi Aai
(1953) received an award as the National Film Award for Best Film
in 1953, while his movie Mahatma Phule (1955) received the President's Silver Medal.
Atre was an important political leader of his times in Maharashtra, and he worked vigorously in the Sanyukta Mahārāshtra Āndolan (Unified Maharashra Movement) during 1956-60. He possessed extraordinary oratory skills, humor being a captivating feature of his speeches.
Atre was one of the few members of the Brahmin
community in his times who supported since early days the efforts of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar to uplift the social status of the Harijan
community and remove that community's curse of "untouchability".
It was also alleged that he had an affair with Vanmala who was the leading lady in his movie Shyamchi Aai.
His wife later wrote movingly about the trauma that it caused her and also about the various property disputes that erupted after Atre's death and her inability to cope with them.
However his ambition of becoming a member of the Indian Parliament could not be fulfilled as he lost these elections.
Novels, Biographies, and Essays
Poetry
Autobiographical Works
Movies
Journalism
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...
n figure. He was a prominent 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...
writer, a poet, an educationist, a newspaper founder–editor of Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
(a Marathi language daily whose head office and press was located at Coca-Cola gulley in Worli
Worli
-History:Worli was one of the original seven islands that constituted the city of Mumbai. Although primarily a fishing village, the Worli Fort, a British fort that is now in ruins, is located there. Its original resident was the legendary Dishankeshwar Kalsi who has also been recognized in several...
, 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...
), a political leader, a movie producer–director–script writer and above all, a noted orator.
His Marathi film, Shyamchi Aai
Shyamchi Aai (film)
Shyamchi Aai is a Marathi film , directed by P.K.Atre. The film is based on the book Shyamchi Aai written by Sane Guruji in the Marathi language, the film was acclaimed upon release. It stars Damuanna Joshi, Vanamala and Madhav Vaze...
(श्यामची आई) won the 1954 National Film Award for Best Film
National Film Award for Best Film
The National Award for Best Feature film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1954. This is one of the Golden Lotus Awards given among National Film Awards...
.
Early life
Atre was born in the town of SaswadSaswad
Saswad is a city and a municipal council in Purandhar taluka of Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:Saswad is located at . It has an average elevation of 769 metres .-Demographics:...
, near 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 ...
, in 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.
Education
Atre got his BA and BT degrees from the University of Bombay and later Teacher's Diploma (TD) from the University of London. He was ranked first in the BT examination.Also his general work was praised as being of high quality by his British Professors at the London Day Training College of London University.Career
His teaching career spanned 20-years, at the height of which, he ran a high school as its principal. He compiled a series of Marathi language textbooks for elementary and secondary schools, which were widely used in in Maharashtra State for several years.In his autobiography Atre has devoted one full chapter to Cambridge educated mathematician Wrangler R.P.Paranjpe whose personality made a tremendous impact on him when he was studying for his BA degree at Ferguson College in Pune where R.P. Paranjpe was principal. He has also acknowledged the influence Professor Sir Percy Nunn (Principal of London Day Training College) and P.B. Ballard ( A senior inspector in the education department of London County Council)had on his work in the field of education and also that of H.R.Hamley (Principal of the Secondary Training College, Bombay). He has also stated that his style of oratory of greatly influenced by Prof. Ballard. The other professors at London Day Training College whose influence on him Atre acknowledges in his autobiography are Messrs Cyril Burt
Cyril Burt
Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt was an English educational psychologist who made contributions to educational psychology and statistics....
( An educational psychologist), James Fairgrieve
James Fairgrieve
James Fairgrieve was a British geographer, educator, and geopolitician. He is best known for his books Geography and World Power and Geography in School.-Biography:...
( A geographer and educator ) and John Dover Wilson ( professor and scholar of Renaissance drama).
Atre's contributions to Marathi literature have been listed under Important works below. He was an outstanding humorist, and his writing style — whether he wrote humorous or serious material — was highly effective. He introduced parodistic poetry to Marathi language under the pseudonym Keshav Kumār. His book, Jhenduchi Phule, is a collection of his parodistic poems.
Atre wrote seven plays; some of them had a humorous theme while others, a serious one. All of them received high public acclaim. His comedy-play, Moruchi Mavshi was later adapted into Hindi film, Aunty No. 1 (1998), starring Govinda
Govinda (actor)
Govinda is a Filmfare award-winning Indian actor and politician. He has appeared in over 120 Hindi language films. At the start of his career, his acting and dancing skills gained him widespread attention among film viewers. He later gained worldwide fame as a Bollywood icon through comedy films...
and Raveena Tandon
Raveena Tandon
Raveena Tandon is a National Film Award winning Indian actress, producer, and a former model. She has primarily worked in Bollywood films, though she appeared in a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films as well....
.
Atre's two autobiographical works, Mi Kasā Jhālo and Karheche Pāni, similarly received much public acclaim. Atre was the founder–editor of four Marathi newspapers. Two of them had a short life. But the other two, Maratha and (Weekly) Navayug, ran for many years with a large circulation.
Atre also became known for his public feud with another well known Marathi author of his times Prof. N.S.Phadke. Several years later however there was a public reconciliation between these two in the city of Pune.
Atre had studied Urdu language in depth. He while writing under the pseudonym Maulana Allauddin Khilji, ridiculed the predilection of the Marathi poets of those times of using not easily understood Sanskrit words and using bigger than life comparisons.(He wrote a poem, Shyamale, under this whimsical pen name Maulānā Allāuddin Khilji).
Atre was one of the defendants in the then well known "People's Own" litigation but was acquitted as being innocent by Mr. Justice Broomfield of Bombay High Court.( He had earlier been convicted by a lower court judge by name Gundil in Pune)
Atre's worthy contributions in the Marathi movie world have been listed below. His movie Shyamchi Aai
Shyamchi Aai
Shyamchi Aai is hailed as one of the greatest tribute to mother's love in Marathi literature. This book has been written by famous author and social activist Sane Guruji....
(1953) received an award as the National Film Award for Best Film
National Film Award for Best Film
The National Award for Best Feature film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1954. This is one of the Golden Lotus Awards given among National Film Awards...
in 1953, while his movie Mahatma Phule (1955) received the President's Silver Medal.
Atre was an important political leader of his times in Maharashtra, and he worked vigorously in the Sanyukta Mahārāshtra Āndolan (Unified Maharashra Movement) during 1956-60. He possessed extraordinary oratory skills, humor being a captivating feature of his speeches.
Atre was one of the few members of the Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
community in his times who supported since early days the efforts of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar to uplift the social status of the Harijan
Harijan
Harijan was a term used by Gandhi for Dalits. Gandhi said it was wrong to call people 'untouchable', and called them Harijans, which means children of God...
community and remove that community's curse of "untouchability".
Personal
Atre was married twice. After his first wife Kashibai died of TB in less than a fortnight after his return from England in October 1928, he married again ( the former Ms. Godavari Munge who herself was a qualified teacher and worked in a leading Pune Girls' School) and had two daughters by this marriage. One daughter Shirish Atre- Pai born in November 1929 went on to become an author and social worker of some note in her own right. After the death of Atre, she was the editor of newspaper Maratha but was unable to maintain its popularity and the newspaper had to close down a few years later.It was also alleged that he had an affair with Vanmala who was the leading lady in his movie Shyamchi Aai.
His wife later wrote movingly about the trauma that it caused her and also about the various property disputes that erupted after Atre's death and her inability to cope with them.
In Politics
- Member of Local Municipal Board of Pune during 1936-1938.
- Member of Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti during 1956-60.
- Member of Maharashtra Vidhan SabhaMaharashtra Vidhan SabhaThe Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha or the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated in the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai...
from Dadar constituency (18) 1962-1967
However his ambition of becoming a member of the Indian Parliament could not be fulfilled as he lost these elections.
Important works
Plays- Sāshtāng Namaskār (1935)
- Gharābāher (1934)
- Bhramāchā Bhopalā (1935)
- Udyāchā Sansār (1936)
- Lagnāchi Bedi (1936)
- Moruchi Māwashi (1947) a marathi comedy play
- To Mi Navhech (1962)
Novels, Biographies, and Essays
- Chāngunā (1954)
- Battāshi Wa Itar Kathā (1954)
- Mahātmā Jyotibā Phule (1958)
- Suryāsta (1964) (On the life of Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
) - Samādhiwaril Ashru (1956)
- Kelyāne Deshātan (1961)
- Atre Uwāch (1937)
- Lalit Wāngmaya (1944)
- Hashā Āni Tālyā (1958)
Poetry
- Jhenduchi Phule (1925)
Autobiographical Works
- Karheche Pāni (5 volumes)(1963, '64, '65, '67, and '68)
- Mi Kasā Jhālo (1953)
Movies
- Bramhachāri
- Shyāmchi Aai
- Premveer (Script writer)
- Dharmveer (Script writer)
- Brandichi Bātali (Script writer)
- Paayaachi Daasi (Hindi: Charanon Ki Daasi). Producer.
- Mahātmā Phule
Journalism
- Founder/Editor of (weekly) Sāptāhik Navyug (1940–1962) and Tukārām (1954)
- Evening newspaper Jai Hind (1948)
- Daily Marāthā (1956 - Till the end)
Honors
- President of 27th Maharashatra Sahitya Sammelan at Nasik (1942)
- President of 38th Natya Sammelan at Belgaon (1955)
- President of 10th Maharashatra Patrakar Sammelan (1950)
- President of Regional Sahitya Sammelan at Baroda, IndoreIndoreIndore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
and Gwalior